AU FOOTBALL: Chizik turns attention to recruiting

Auburn finds out its place in the postseason bowl hierarchy one week from today.

Until then, and even after the fact, Gene Chizik’s focus will be elsewhere.

He’ll be recruiting.

“That’s what I’m worried about right now and that’s what I’m going to do,” Chizik said Saturday, one day after Auburn lost in dramatic fashion to Alabama at Jordan-Hare Stadium, 26-21.

“We’re hitting the road starting ASAP. The bowl committees are going to do their thing and, administratively, we’ve got great leadership, and those guys worry about those things.”

Along with a sellout crowd of 87,451, the Tigers hosted more than 100 high school prospects at Friday’s Iron Bowl. Some had already committed to Auburn, many were uncommitted to anyone and some were even committed to other schools.

All, Chizik said, left with a strong impression of Auburn — a place he’s repeatedly said has established a foundation, especially after Friday’s closer-than-projected result, for good things to come in the future.

“It’s overwhelming the response that their parents and they have felt by our fanbase,” Chizik said. “It’s overwhelming and it’s been unbelievable just listening to them talk about everything from Tiger Walk to the gameday atmosphere to how they stayed after the game.

“And our fans realize how important they are to us, but I think they also realize how important they are to recruiting.”

As for the team he’s currently in charge of, Chizik said the word of the week will be “academics” with final exams for fall semester on the horizon. That means there will be few, if any, extended meetings and get-togethers while physical activities, especially in the coming week, will be at a minimum before bowl practice.

“They’re beat up and bruised up and we’ve had guys that are playing with all kinds of injuries and bumps and bruises,” Chizik said. “We’re going to give them an opportunity for their bodies to heal, give them a couple days away from football until we find out what’s going on.”

Chizik’s mind was on the future Saturday, though he was able to lament about a few missed opportunities in the previous day’s Iron Bowl.

Auburn’s lack of execution when it received prime field position, or when poor special teams play led to great field position for Alabama and put the defense in precarious situations, were at the forefront of his concerns.

Alabama’s average starting field position was at its own 37 — a total boosted by Auburn’s failure to effectively angle away punts and kicks from speedster Javier Arenas. On offense, the Tigers had three second-half drives that began at their own 40 or better and ended with zero points.

The most costly situation occurred early in the fourth quarter, when Auburn started at Alabama’s 45, lost 16 yards on three plays and was forced to punt. Alabama followed with its 15-play, 7:03 drive that resulted in Roy Upchurch’s game-winning touchdown.

“Things of that nature,” Chizik said, “cost us some points.”

It wasn’t the first time Auburn has seen a potential victory go by the wayside. Many of the things that went wrong against Alabama happened against Georgia and Kentucky as well — things that prevented the Tigers from doing better than a still-modest 7-5 in Chizik’s first season.

That fact provided some bittersweet feelings for Chizik, but those were quickly wiped away with all the positives he sees in the days to come.

“I’m satisfied with the fact in us working toward building a foundation for what we know is going to be great here. I don’t think there’s any question in my mind that we’ve done that,” he said. “Are there some games like yesterday where we wish we could have pulled out? There’s no question about it. But we have a chance for eight wins in our first year.

“More importantly, we have set down a foundation for a very, very bright future here.”

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