AU FOOTBALL: OL Sullen working hard to be ready for fall practice

Auburn offensive line coach Jeff Grimes knows from experience.

Count Auburn High coach Tim Carter in this, too.

Losing weight isn’t fun, no matter who you are. And it isn’t easy.

For incoming freshman John Sullen, Auburn’s new biggest offensive lineman, it will have to be seen as a priority in the coming months if he wants a fair shot at immediate playing time.

“It only happens if you discipline yourself and you be consistent,” Grimes said. “Once you get into the routine, you kind of lose those cravings and those urges.”

When Grimes agreed to come to Auburn, which coincidentally fell on the same day Sullen announced he was committing to the Tigers, he momentarily said goodbye to his family and the healthy lifestyle he lived in Colorado. Before his family joined him here, Grimes picked up most of his meals at a drive-thru window.

“I was eating like crap,” Grimes said.

So Grimes did something about it. He stopped eating the “crap.”

One month later, he’s down to near what he was before he took his first SEC coaching gig.

He set his mind to it and he did it. So can Sullen, Grimes said.

“He’s a good kid and he’s a hard worker,” Grimes said.

“So he’ll get where we need him to be.”

Sullen is already on his way.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Sullen weighed 340 pounds. The timestamp on that is important because he could be down even more by the time you read this.

He started the summer around 355 pounds.

“I’m getting in better shape overall and getting stronger,” Sullen said.

To reach his goal of 320 pounds by two-a-days, Sullen has had to adjust his lifestyle.

He wakes up at 6 a.m. and heads to the gym. When he gets back home, Sullen resists the urge to hop back in bed until he meets his teammates at the Auburn practice field to run through plays at 4 p.m.

He stays active.

“I might just go somewhere or play basketball or something like that,” Sullen said.

Of course, it’ll take more than just a few games of HORSE to shed those last few pounds.

Sullen said he hasn’t talked to Auburn’s team nutritionist Joseph Walker yet, but he’s already stopped going back for seconds and thirds when he sits down to eat.

“You need a lot of discipline to get yourself down,” Carter said. “I’m sure for him it’s the same way, and anyone trying to drop weight.
But John has never not been ready to play in the fall.”

Sullen played around 320 pounds during his senior season, when Auburn High blazed through the season undefeated before it was knocked out by eventual state champion Prattville in the third round of the AHSAA 6A playoffs. His leadership was key on that team,
Carter said, but his ability to play at a slimmer weight, while somehow increasing strength, proved to be even more vital.

Now he’ll just have to do that and then some if he wants to make an impact in 2009.

Grimes’ depth on the offensive line likely won’t get any worse than it will be in 2009.

The projected starting five — Ryan Pugh, Lee Ziemba, Mike Berry, Byron Isom and Andrew McCain — is solid, but beyond the first-team, it gets sticky.

With a solid showing in camp, Sullen or fellow freshman Andre Harris could see worthwhile playing time in a backup role.

First, though, Sullen has to get there in shape.

“I know I won’t get to play there if I’m not ready,” Sullen said. “I intend to be ready when the time comes. There’s nothing to be nervous about.”

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