Even though his team is ranked in the top 25 in both the AP and coaches polls, Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton still feels like the Tigers are entering this season as underdogs.
“Oh, no doubt,” the starter said. “Anytime you turn on the TV or you turn on the sports talk radio show or anywhere, they’re talking about the other team ... Of course, we know that they’re an excellent team as well. We feel like we’re not being mentioned as we should be.”
Newton, of course, is talking about Alabama, the defending national champions and the No. 1 team in the nation, according to both polls. Auburn is ranked No. 22 in the AP Poll and No. 23 by the coaches after finishing last season unranked with an 8-5 record.
Newton said he wasn’t sure why the Tigers weren’t being talked about like he felt they should be, but his reasoning to get Auburn into national conversations was simple.
“We’re just going to do what we’re coached to do, and our No. 1 thing to do is
Newton believes his team can do that, entering this season with the attitude they can compete with anyone, anywhere. When asked about how the “playmakers” at Auburn compare to the ones he played with while he was the backup to Tim Tebow at Florida from 2007-08, Newton explained that mentality.
“Any Division I SEC school, you’re going to have talent,” he said. “It may not be in the same areas, but I feel like we can compete with Florida at any given day, and we’re not backing down. This year we’ve got this type of swagger about us that we’re not scared.
“We realize that we’re the underdog, so to speak, and we’re not going to back down from nothing.”
When he was reminded that Auburn didn’t play the Gators this year, Newton said, “We have a chance to meet them in Atlanta if we do our
Sullen: Best man will win
It’s a good thing John Sullen’s a realist, because the clock is ticking. There are only 12 days until Auburn’s first game, and there’s only one player who can
Sullen, a former Auburn High standout, said he’s locked in a battle for the position with junior A.J. Greene, and doesn’t even know where he stands.
But he does know offensive line coach Jeff Grimes will pick the best player.
“Right now, I really don’t know,” Sullen said. “(Greene’s) been working hard. I’ve been working hard. He’ll have a good day. I’ll have a good day. It’s been like a seesaw really.
Basically, it’s come down to more of a consistency thing.”
And if the “long process,” as Sullen calls it, isn’t tough enough, the sophomore is going up against one of his closest friends on the team.
“It just comes down to the point where we’re like, ‘OK, we’re friends and whoever wins the position battle, that’s not going to change that,’” Sullen said. “We’re going to stay friends.
But we both have the mentality that Coach Grimes is going to pick the best person. So that won’t even play a factor in it.”
Head coach Gene Chizik said they hope to name a starter sometime this week, understanding the urgency.
“Quick,” Chizik said. “That’ll probably be happening by Tuesday or Wednesday of this week.
I hate to put a deadline on something because there other variables in there, but we’d like to do it as soon as we could.”
Ready? Ready
It’s been two-and-a-half weeks, and Auburn is still hitting players in the same color jerseys.
About time for a change?
“They’re tired of playing against each other, that’s for sure,” Chizik said. “That two-week window we talked about (Saturday), it’s kind of that game. You’re seeing game on TV, you’re seeing NFL (preseason) every weekend, and it’s time.”
Alas, they still have to wait two weeks to play, but not to gameplan.
“It’s time to start preparing for the season in terms of opponents,” Chizik said. “I think they’re ready, they’re excited about it. I know coaching-wise we are.”
On the other hand, the coach does like having more time to prepare.
“I think we’re close,” Chizik said. “I don’t think we’re far off one way or another. Obviously, I’m glad we have two weeks of practice left to get ready for our first game, but I think we’re pretty close to where we envisioned ourselves being.”
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