Checking in with Auburn

By Thursday morning of game week, most of the game-week preparation is done. Players and coaches get to decompress, relax and freshen up for Saturday.

The hay is mostly in the barn at Auburn, and Gene Chizik seems to like how things have gone so far.

One thing I didn't consider until reading this article is the presence of the artificial surface at the Georgia Dome.

Clemson has field turf on its practice fields, but it's not accessible because the indoor facility is being constructed over it.

Auburn has an indoor facility with field turf, and Chizik says it's been helpful.

"It's good to be able to practice on the surface, simply because the speed of the game feels a little bit different to players than grass does."

Chizik also pointed out that the ability to create a bunch of noise inside the facility has helped as well.

Auburn running backs coach Curtis Luper says it'll be a by-committee approach Saturday among Onterio McCalebb, Tre Mason, Mike Blakely and Corey Grant.

Auburn hasn’t had a deep running back rotation since Gene Chizik arrived for the 2009 season. Even this year’s group was thinned when the Tigers lost freshman Jovon Robinson early in practice to academics. Still, Luper says he has depth.

"We have three or four running backs, and we can play two at a time, which is what wanted to do the last three or four years," he said. "We have that opportunity Saturday, and that would be exciting. That would put a lot of pressure on the defense."

Some insight on bulldozer fullback Jay Prosch, who Luper says will moonlight as a tight end and flex out on the line of scrimmage.

"He’s not just an I-formation fullback," Luper said.

And on Blakely:

Blakely missed time, too, but his stock rose in the past week to be listed as the co-No. 2 tailback with Mason, who has also been hurt.

"He's ready to go. He's ready to rock," Luper said.

Luper said Blakely has been "what we expected of him, which is he can make the first defender miss just about every time. He's a conscientious. He works hard. He's eager to play."

Our Auburn Rivals friends have an article on secondary coach Willie Martinez, who's fond of Brent Venables.

"In our profession, you keep it professional," Martinez said. "He's an extremely hard worker. Smart. He'll have that defense going, now. I know that about him. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and what he's done through the years. And we're really good friends."

Will the situation create an awkward feeling?

Martinez said these kinds of encounters are simply a by-product of coaching for more than two decades. Friends are made at various professional stops and those bonds often last longer than jobs.

"There's friends on this staff and you're going against each other every day. You want to do the best you can," Martinez said. "It makes it a little bit better when you know the person, the quality of the person."

And Luper offers more clues about Auburn's offensive scheme under first-year coordinator Scot Loffler:

Coaches have been careful during past season about how they delopy McCalebb. At 175 pounds, McCalebb doesn't exactly pose a threat to 220-pound linebackers.

Still, Luper said offensive coordinator Scot Loeffer has big plans for McCalebb this season. Those plans apparently will include some tough runs up the middle.

"We're going to ask a little bit more of him this year," Luper said. "I'm exciting to see (McCalebb) play a new role. He'll still do the perimeter stuff -- and we have a lot of new perimeter things that Loeffler brought in, so that role is even expanded for him. But he's also going to run the inside zone and get in between the tackles.

LW