Auburn notebook: Gene Chizik looks for better play in the secondary; big recruiting weekend
Auburn coach Gene Chizik talked earlier in the week about his offensive and defensive lines needing to be more physical, and he said Thursday night his secondary needs to play better, too.
The Tigers are ranked 11th in the SEC in pass defense heading into Saturday's game against South Carolina.
"I want to see us play the ball better,"
Chizik said during his weekly Tiger Talk call-in radio show. "When the ball is in the air, we let too many guys get behind us. That's an `eyes' problem. You can be a really good football player based on what you see, and you can be a very average player based on what you see - if you're not seeing the game. The game can trick you. There are places where you're supposed to have your eyes, and places where you're not supposed to have your eyes."
"We're not doing that enough."
**Chizik also repeated his plea that the Tigers need to be more physical. One reason for that may be his assessment of last Saturday's win over Clemson.
"We were ad for a long time in that game. Let's tell like it is,"
he said.
**Tailback Mario Fannin said earlier in the week he'd be back after missing last week's game with a bum shoulder. Chizik took a slightly more cautious approach Thursday night.
"He's doing better,"
Chizik said. "We're going to keep evaluating, but hopefully, we'll be able to use Mario on Saturday."
**Auburn practiced for about 70 minutes Thursday as it wound down its work for South Carolina.
**Auburn will host a lot of high school prospects for the second weekend in a row. A few of the headline visitors, according to AuburnUndercover.com, are running back Mike Blakely from Manatee High School in Bradenton, Fla., and cornerback Marcus Roberson of St. St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Blakely says he's interested in Auburn, Florida and South Carolina. Roberson says he likes Georgia and Auburn, among others.
Safety Erique Florence from Valley High School and defensive lineman Gabe Wright from Carver High in Columbus, Ga., are also expected to be on hand.
Without naming names, Chizik called it a "huge recruiting weekend"
on his radio show.
"We've got a lot of big recruits in here,"
he said.
**South Carolina players will wear a No. 11 decal on their helmets the rest of the season to honor former Gamecock Kenny McKinley, who committed suicide Monday. He was a member of the Denver Broncos. He left South Carolina in 2008 as the team's all-time leading receiver.
**South Carolina didn't sell out its ticket allotment, so Auburn has a limited number of seats available. They can be purchased on the Internet at aubtix.com or by calling the Auburn ticket office at (800) 282-1957.
Auburn officials are warning fans to be on the lookout for counterfeit tickets. Auburn says tickets listed for Sections 17-27 and the Upper Part of 28 (rows 28-48) are counterfeit. This is the Auburn student section and no tickets are printed for these sections.
Auburn says counterfeit tickets are high quality color copies on similar paper stock to the originals. When inspected closer, counterfeit tickets will appear slightly darker in color. The picture will appear grainier and of less quality than an original ticket. Sometimes the ticket can appear off-center as well.
Auburn also says to check for the unique "wagon wheel"
in the silver foil "AU"
logo on the front of the ticket. Auburn also says tell the seller about the scratch-off "AU"
logo on the back. Ask if they will let you rub it with a coin to check the ticket's authenticity. If they refuse, use caution.
