DT Travis becomes Auburn’s 20th commit

Four-star Brewton defensive tackle Jamar Travis surprised few Monday when he decided to commit to Auburn.

Travis, who was previously committed to Southern Miss before making an official visit to Auburn this weekend, left the Plain on Sunday with an offer in hand, but said he needed 24 hours to come to a decision.

The offer was simply too good to bypass.

“I liked the atmosphere and I think it’s a better place for me,” Travis told AuburnSports.com. “It’s always been where I want to go and play football.

“It’s what I’ve been waiting for, for a long time.“

Travis, a 6-foot-1, 312-pounder, also had offers from UAB, Memphis, Oregon and others, according to Rivals.com. Travis told the Web site he will likely play at nose tackle and would be open to redshirting if necessary.

Travis became Auburn’s 20th commitment for the class of 2009, a number that has fluctuated up and down over the past two weeks. The number stood as high as 26 before Tommy Tuberville’s resignation.

At W.S. Neal High School, Travis collected 70 tackles, 14 tackles-for-loss, seven sacks, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two blocked kicks in his senior season.

Travis is the second current Auburn commitment to snub Southern Miss. Auburn High offensive lineman John Sullen, who committed to Auburn last week, was also previously committed to the Golden Eagles.

Four-star, dual-threat quarterback Tyrik Rollison (Sulphur Springs, Texas) ended his official visit Monday morning and left without committing, according to AuburnSports.com. Rollison has narrowed his decision between Auburn and Kansas State and could wait until National Signing Day to make a decision, according to the Web site.

Please, Countdown, Don’t Hurt ‘Em

Whew ... what a last couple days.

I actually worked this weekend. Shocking, I know. Hey, sometimes I actually do my job. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone.

The weekend was eventful, even if I did spend most of it in front of there here computer screen. And, you know me, I’m not going to let work get in the way of the countdown.

But first, a Lazy Boy Weekend Countdown first ... honorable mention.

HM) Saturday afternoon. I’m ready to bounce.
I’ve got to hand it to the person who invented the inflatable jumping houses ... or Moonwalks, if you will. No, not that Moonwalk ... this Moonwalk.
The Busy Baby had a birthday party to go to, and it was at the Opelika favorite, Frog Legs. Fun was had by all. Not only did my 4-year-old daughter bounce her way into a steady sweat, but so did the Lazy Boy. And I got the crowd going with the classic bounce-off-your-backside maneuver. A crowd favorite, if I do say so myself.

5) Sunday night. Sleepy time.
Seriously, I was worn out after a big day Sunday (more on that later) and a weekend full of making the doughnuts (that’s my own little slang for putting out the paper). (By the way, click the link for free doughnuts on the YouTube clip at your own risk. I didn’t, if it makes you feel better.)
I was in bed by 8:30 p.m. Sunday night. And it was glorious. Aside from a text message at 11:14 p.m., I had 10 hours of blissful sleep. And yes, there were sugar plumbs.

4) Sunday evening. Chicken picatta.
Seriously, have I told you how much I love my wife? Not only is she extremely beautiful, but she can cook. Really, really cook. And Sunday it was chicken picatta night. Last week, it was chicken cordon blue. Lovely. Absolutely lovely.
(Drooooooooool.)

3) Saturday afternoon. Hot and cold.
The Auburn basketball team (the men) (more on the women later) are a streaky team. And streaky is being nice. If they’re on, they’re on. But if they’re not, watch out.
Auburn opened up the game Saturday against Arkansas, in Fayetteville, making 8-of-10 from beyond the 3-point line. That’s blazing, if you ask me. Then, the Tigers missed their next 100. Well, maybe it wasn’t that many, but it was bad. Auburn went cold, and it was at times painful to watch.
Still, the Tigers ran the Razorbacks out of their own gym, winning 73-51, which is the most lopsided loss by the home team in Bud Walton Arena history. But if Auburn wants to continue to win, it must get more consistent from the land of the 3-ball. Either that, or develop an inside game.

2) Sunday late morning. Pack it up, pack it in.
Arriving at the Beave more than two hours before tipoff was eventful. First, I had to drive round and round looking for a parking space. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one looking for a place to rest my four-wheel automobile.
Then, I had to negotiate around 2,000 fans congregating by the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliesum ticket booth. By the time the game started, 12,067 fans were blowing the roof off the joint.
It was pandemonium. It was also nice to see a large crowd for a basketball game on the Plains. Any basketball game.

1) Sunday afternoon. “Magical day.“
Those were the first words out of Auburn women’s head coach Nell Fortner’s mouth after her Tigers beat down Tennessee. An announced crowed of 12,067 fans showed up to watch the now-No. 5 Auburn Tigers beat the storied Lady Vols, who at the time were ranked No.10.
(Monday, the new Associated Press poll came out. Auburn, which was No. 6, moved up just one spot. And much like my friend and O-A News Auburn beat reporter Andrew P. Gribble pointed out, I think it’s a shame that the Tigers moved up just one spot in the poll after knocking off the two-time defending champ. Auburn’s one of only two undefeated teams in the country, and the Tigers are ranked behind two one-loss teams, and one two-loss team. What’s going on here?)
Anyway, back to the game ... The Tigers are legit. Maybe even Too Legit To Quit. Maybe.
All I know is if Hammer don’t hurt ‘em, the Auburn women will.

AP not exactly impressed with 20-0 Auburn women

Style points, apparently, mean nothing in women’s college hoops.

The Auburn women’s basketball team, 20-0 after arguably the biggest win in the program’s last 20 years, jumped the bare minimum to No. 5 in the new Associated Press poll. We say bare minimum because previously ranked No. 2 North Carolina lost three times this week to drop to No. 10.

The Tigers are one of just two undefeated teams left in the country. No. 1 UConn is the other, and is certainly where it deserves to be. No argument here. Think 2007 New England Patriots. That’s how good the Huskies are.

But it’s tough for us to see a reason why the Tigers were unable to hurdle the three teams in front of them, particularly No. 2 Oklahoma, which touts a 16-2 record. Yes, the Sooners two losses came against UConn and UNC—when the Tar Heels were still undefeated—but it’s two losses nonetheless. Auburn has none, and plenty of reasons to be unsatisfied with where it’s at.

Coach Nell Fortner was asked yesterday after the Tigers easily disposed of No. 10 Tennessee whether or not Auburn should be considered among the nation’s elite.

“Absolutely,“ Fortner said.

“I think it validates it for more people out there,” Fortner said. “I think it’s more for the people that don’t know more about Auburn. We don’t have the history that Tennessee has. I think it makes people sit up and take notice that ‘Oh, maybe they are for real.’”

Here’s the rest of the AP top 10. The ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll, in which the Tigers were already No. 5 in last week, comes out tomorrow.

1. Connecticut (19-0)
2. Oklahoma (16-2)
3. Duke (17-1)
4. Baylor (17-1)
5. Auburn (20-0)
6. Louisville (19-1)
7. California (16-2)
8. Maryland (16-3)
9. Stanford (15-4)
10. North Carolina (17-3)

(Photo credit: Todd Van Emst) 

Tuberville will have his say on Signing Day

Take a sick day? Pfft. We’ll stop working when the news stops happening.

As mentioned yesterday, the blog is a bit under the weather and isn’t feeling much better this morning. But, live from our couch, wrapped in a blanket, we learned that former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville will join ESPN’s panel of experts during its National Signing Day coverage. NSD, by the way, is next Wednesday.

Tuberville, in between trips to Aspen and his sons’ sports events, has been helping out the Worldwide Leader from time to time since his resignation. He provided color commentary during the third quarter of the Under Armour All-America High School game earlier this month, engaging in a friendly recruiting debate of sorts with ESPN recruiting expert Bruce Feldman. We figured that was the least Tuberville owed the official brand of all Auburn athletic gear, which provided a seemingly endless amount of outfits for the 10-year coach.

It will be interesting to hear what Tuberville will have to say—if he says anything at all—about Auburn’s 2009 recruiting class. Though he may not have been the “relentless recruiter” Gene Chizik claims to be, Tuberville definitely knows a thing or two about the bulk of Auburn’s prospective tackle football players. It’d also be interesting to get his take on Chizik and staff’s pursuit of some of the nation’s most highly touted players. Tuberville preferred to direct his focus toward players who weren’t flirting with the big cats of college football.

Maybe this was what athletic director Jay Jacobs had in mind when he said Tuberville would remain a part of the Auburn family.

(Photo credit: Todd Van Emst)

Hey I’m not dead

I haven’t been in a very bloggy mood lately. I will have the long-promised special post at some point later this week, as well as a couple other college football related things, then go back on hiatus for a few weeks until I figure out how I’m going to attack the offseason.

But in the meantime, I covered a high school basketball game for the first time in two years Friday night, and here is the admittedly mediocre result. Also, here is a super late link to my column wrapping the college football season.