Vegas sets the odds for SEC Tournament; Auburn a better bet than Bama…sort of

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We’re about 33 hours until Florida and Auburn tip off in the third of four SEC Tournament first-round games tomorrow in Nashville.

Can you feel the excitement? No? Well, spring football is two weeks away, so that’s something to look forward to.

Las Vegas weighed in early this week on how it thinks the SEC Tournament will shake out. Not surprisingly, the regular season champs, Kentucky, are your top favorites at 2/5 odds, followed Tennessee (3/1) and Vanderbilt (4/1).

As for Auburn? The Tigers are 20/1. Not bad, right?

Well, there’s a catch.

The Tigers aren’t exactly listed on the big board. Instead, they’ve been lumped into “the field” with LSU and Georgia. That’s why the odds are better than, say, Alabama, which has a 30/1 chance of winning the whole thing.

Slap in the face? Maybe, but the Tigers did finish fifth of six in the Western Division, which went 0-for-24 against the top four teams in the East. I say it’s pretty fair.

Side note: I bet “the field” last summer for the MLB Home Run Derby. It wasn’t a bad bet, though I came away with nothing after Nelson Cruz petered out in the finals against Prince Fielder.

Here are the odds, courtesy of TheSpread.com, in descending order.

- Kentucky: 2/5
- Tennessee: 3/1
- Vanderbilt: 4/1
- Mississippi State: 13/2
- Florida: 12/1
- Mississippi: 12/1
- South Carolina: 15/1
- Alabama: 30/1
- Arkansas: 30/1
- Field: 20/1

(Photo credit: Todd Van Emst)

What hit the cutting room floor from our Pro Day wrapup

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Despite the low number of participants, Auburn Pro Day kept me busy pretty much all of Tuesday.

The result was two stories.

This featured story focuses on the days of Walt McFadden and Antonio Coleman.

This notebook discusses the happenings of Ben Tate, Gabe McKenzie and others.

There were plenty of leftovers that didn’t make the cut. Here they are, person by person.

Ben Tate

(So you think you’re underestimated?)
“I think I’ve been underestimated my whole career. It drives me, it keeps me working hard. I don’t mind being the underdog. One day the underdog will be on top.“

(What’s the plan now?)
“Stay in shape. Keep working. Maybe take a little time off, a week or so. But then get back to work. Draft day is coming and then after draft day you’ve got mini-camp. You can’t relax now. You’ve still got to keep working.“

(What you hearing about your stock?)
“I am hearing some things about that, but I like to keep things private. The only thing I can control is my hard work and how I can perform. The hard decision is going to be up to the teams.“

Gabe McKenzie

(How’d you do?)
“I think I did pretty well. You don’t do you best every time, but it’s all good. I had been planning every day for it, I was looking forward to it. My numbers weren’t as close as I thought they’d be, so I’ll train more.“

(What position are you going to play?)
“They were looking at me at both. I was getting back in the hang of tight end again. I think everything will look good for me.“

Walt McFadden

(Why’d you pick Drew Rosenhaus as your agent?)
“He recruited a lot of guys out of South Florida and he was already recruiting me, and then Bryant, he just signed with Rosenhaus as soon as I was getting recruited. He kind of kept it in the family to keep us doing everything. At first I wasn’t going to go with Rosenhaus because I believe he was just trying to take me because of Bryant, but he kind of talked to me and walked me through the steps, and as I thought about it, he was recruiting me before he even met Bryant. So I kind of beat Bryant to the punch.“

(Your plan now)
“Just working out. Just staying in shape and doing what I was doing before. Keep praying and reading my Bible and talking to my family. Just trying to get some new things started in my life.“

Antonio Coleman

(You excited?)
“I’m excited to see what team picks me up. But I can’t control that. All I can do is work out for these guys and show them that I’m one of the best D-ends out there.“

(Fun working with Gabe?)
“We were pushing each other. It was real fun. I was solo. Jake Ricks got hurt on me, so I was going to be out there by myself. I think it was a great job for him to give me a little breather because he HAS played end at Auburn.“

Chris Todd

(How’d it go?)
“It’s a different experience. We’ve got a lot of people watching you and stuff and a lot of people working out so everyone’s going out and trying to do their best. Everybody’s been prepping for this for a while. It was a good experience and it was a lot of fun to get in front of these NFL guys and show them what you’ve got a little bit.“

(What’d scouts say?)
“A lot of them just talk about what you’re doing. I was doing a lot of different drills with a lot of different people. The ball was coming out good. If they needed you to do something, they’d comment on that. It wasn’t anything crazy, but I guess conversation was good.“

(Photo credit: Todd Van Emst)

Dr. ‘Strange Game,‘ or How Matt Cimo Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Long Ball

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Equal shout outs to Tim Cottrell and Stanley Kubrick on the post title.

A number of relatives of the guy whose picture is at the top of this post got absolutely demolished at Sam Welborn Field during Auburn High’s 25-24 win over Troup County (Ga.) on Monday night.

The Tigers, who trailed 18-5 at one point, withstood nine hit batsmen and six errors before Todd Thompson ended everyone’s nightmare—or confusion ... or just plain exhaustion—with a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the seventh.

I was at Beauregard’s 4-hour, 45-minute, 18-15, 12-inning win over Tallassee in the second round of the playoffs last year, so I can kind of imagine how nutso the game was.

But I wasn’t there. But I wish I was. So I talked to Tigers coach Matt Cimo a little about it today.

And here’s what I’ve pieced together:

Auburn High baseball coach Matt Cimo watched his team hit nine batters, commit six errors, fall behind by 13 runs surrender 24 on the game and basically do everything it could to lose against Troup County (Ga.) on Monday night.

But when Todd Thompson’s laser beam blasted over the left-feld wall in the bottom of the seventh at Sam Welborn Field — a good three and a half hours after the game started — all was forgiven.

“For a while there, I was thinking, ‘I’m gonna kill these guys,’” Cimo said. “But they kept coming back. So what are you gonna do?”

Thompson’s walk-off grand slam capped a 25-24 win for the Tigers, one in which they came back from an 18-5 fourth-inning deficit, combined with Troup to score the second-most runs in a game in AHSAA history — just behind a 26-25 Maplesville/Billingsley affair from 1985 — and generally played one of the craziest games their coach had ever seen.

“I’ve never been in a ballgame like that in my life,” Cimo said.

Auburn had battled to within 18-17 in the sixth before Thompson grounded out to end the threat. Troup scored six more in the seventh and the game appeared to be over.

But, after a Tanner Cimo groundout to start the inning, the Tigers’ next eight batters scored.

Ending, of course, on Thompson’s bomb.

“Our players went berserk,” Cimo said. “They battled back so many times. To do it with a walkoff was just so exciting.”

Auburn and Smiths Station combined to send 32 fewer runners across the plate in two games Tuesday—the Tigers swept the doubleheader, 7-0 and 6-4—than Troup and Auburn did in one game Monday night.

“It was a strange game,” Cimo said. “I’m glad to be on the winning side.”

The Pro Day numbers are in; big showings from McKenzie, Billings and McFadden

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Here’s a full rundown of the heights, weight, times and repetitions from today’s Pro Day.

Heights/weights

Antonio Coleman - 6-1, 248
Walter McFadden - 5-11, 181
Gabe McKenzie - 6-2 ½, 256
Jake Ricks - 6-2 ½, 288
Ben Tate - N/A, 219
Chris Todd - 6-1 ½, 216
Gabe Barrett - 5-8 ½, 169
Robert Dunn - 5-10 ¼, 173
Robert Johnson - 6-5 ½, 278
Brad Lester - 5-9, 195
Maurice Smith - 6-1, 200
Montez Billings - 6-1 ¼, 181
Clayton Jones - 5-10 ¼, 183

40-yard dash

Coleman - 4.72, 4.78
McFadden - 4.40, 4.39
McKenzie - 4.80, 4.74
Ricks - 5.00, 4.95
Tate - N/A
Todd - 4.84, 4.95
Barrett - 4.60, 4.66
Dunn - 4.73, 4.70
Johnson - 5.01
Lester - 4.46, 4.47
Smith - 4.69
Billings - 4.42, 4.48
Jones - 4.72

Vertical leap

Coleman - 33.5
McFadden - 33, 35.5
McKenzie - 36, 37
Ricks - 24.5 (hammy)
Tate - N/A
Todd - 27.5
Barrett - 32.5
Dunn - 27, 28
Johnson - 27, 28
Lester - 38
Smith - 32.5, 33.5
Billings - 34
Jones - 29, 30

Broad Jump

Coleman - 9-8
McFadden - 10-3.5, 10-1
McKenzie - 10-2, 10-4
Ricks - N/A
Tate - N/A
Todd - 8-11.5, 9-1.5
Barrett - 9-5.5, 9-6
Dunn - 9-6
Johnson - N/A
Lester - 10-2.5
Smith - 10-3
Billings - 10-5, 10-6.5
Jones - 8-9.5, 9-4

Bench Press

Coleman - N/A
McFadden - 5
McKenzie - 22
Ricks - 15
Tate - N/A
Todd - 13
Barrett - 14
Dunn - N/A
Johnson - 12
Lester - 22
Smith - 12
Billings - N/A
Jones - 13
 
(Photo credit: Todd Van Emst)

News and notes from Pro Day

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To see everyone’s Pro Day stats, click here.

Pro Day isn’t exactly the most exciting Auburn event to cover, but it’s certainly a unique one.

About 40 professional scouts, a bunch of current players, the expected participants and a few unexpected ones were on hand for the festivities.

Here’s what we found out.

****Ben Tate still has a chip on his shoulder. Tate, who performed only in the positional drills because of a stellar showing at the national combine, called out his doubters for (I hope) the last time.

“I think a lot of people were surprised,“ Tate said of his performance at the combine. “A lot of the scouts and a lot of you guys in the media, but I knew what I could do the whole time. I’ve been telling y’all I was fast, but no one really wanted to listen to me. My coaches knew, and my family knew.

“I think I’ve been underestimated my whole career.“

Tate looked significantly more muscular, but he said he hadn’t put on any weight.

“I lost some of that fat from the bowl game,“ he said. “I pigged out down there and got to the bowl game and weighed about 220-something. I’ve never been that heavy before.“

****Walt McFadden, as shown in the above photo, officially received his plaque for being named the inaugural “Good Guy” recipient from the everyday Auburn beat writers.

“I was really looking forward to it,“ he said. “I was just bragging on it right here.“

McFadden had a pretty solid showing and he needed it. He was snubbed from the national combine, so this was his one big chance to make a big impression.

“I think I had a good day,“ he said. “The word, everybody was saying that I ran good, that I did pretty pretty good. A lot of scouts came up to me saying a lot of great things. The only thing I’ve got to do is just keep praying and see what happens.“

McFadden’s biggest accomplishment today? His weight.

McFadden was listed at 170 pounds his entire Auburn career. He weighed in at 182 today.

****Gabe McKenzie certainly passed the “look” test today.

McKenzie didn’t exactly put it all together on the field during his Auburn career, but he certainly has the body of a professional football player. He tied Brad Lester for the most repetitions on the bench press with 22 and had an all-around solid day working at both defensive end and tight end.

“I could go all day,“ he said. “I could go again.“

****Antonio Coleman battled through a “busted-up” quadriceps injury today and felt pretty good about his performance.

“It bothered me a lot,“ he said. “I had a sleeve on it; I also had something under that. It’s a big thing when you’re out here running doing all these movements. It’s painful, but I’ve played through pain before.“

Coleman didn’t do much at the National Combine, so today was a pretty big day for him. He’s considered a linebacker to some people and a defensive end to others.

He considers himself whatever will land him a job.

“I’m just looking for an opportunity,“ he said. “Whatever opportunity presents itself—first, fourth, seventh. All I need is an opportunity. I know I’m a hard worker and I know I’ll make the team.“

****Jake Ricks had a rough day. He hurt his hamstring on his second attempt on the vertical jump and missed out on a number of events.

He participated in the bench press but was only able to get it up 15 times—18 less than Ndamuknog Suh did at the combine.

Ricks was not in a good mood when talking to reporters afterward and really didn’t have much to say.

****Here are the interesting names from today. Robert Dunn, Robert Johnson, Brad Lester, Maurice Smith and Montez Billings.

Johnson played at Auburn from 2000-03 and spent some time with the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins. He’s been out of football since 2006.

Smith is a Jamaican decathlete who has never played a game of organized football his entire life. He’s represented his country in the past two Olympics, but said it’s a slow year in the professional track record, so he decided to give it a shot.

“I figured it wouldn’t be that hard for me,“ Smith said. “I played a lot of soccer in my life, too, so hopefully a few teams will call me to come down and work out with their team.“

(Photo credit: John Walker)