Coach Groves

By Mike Szvetitz
Sports Editor, Opelika-Auburn News
Published: August 6, 2007

Today, Tommy Tuberville addressed the media in his first “formal” press conference since SEC Media Days in late July. Tubs even wore a tie ... and a Salmon-colored shirt.

The 30-minute presser was filled with interesting tidbits, and you can watch the entire conference on AuburnVersus.com. Just click the “video” link when you get there. It should be up later this afternoon.

For me, there were two things that stuck out. First, Tuberville dropped the “technique” word about 57 times. Well, maybe not that many, but he was trying to prove a point. After every position or individual player he was asked about, he made sure to talk about how important technique was to every player and every position.
It’s something the AU coaches are focusing on. A lot.
“(We’re) trying to teach fundamentals to all the guys. From Quentin Groves on down,“ Tuberville said.

The second thing that stuck out, speaking of Quentin Groves, was this ...

“Right tackle is going to be interesting,“ Tuberville said. “I think that it’s going to be right tackle by committee for the next couple weeks.
“Quentin Groves is a guy we’re putting over the left side of the defense, the right side of the offensive line. We want to find out one that can compete against him. If you can block Quentin coming off the corner, you’re going to have a pretty good offensive lineman.
We’re giving Quentin full responsibility for training that right offensive tackle. And he’s a pretty good job of schooling early.“

In my experience, if you want to make someone better, you’ve got to let him get beat up by the best guy on your team. Time will tell if Coach Groves gets his point across.