One thing that is bothering me at the moment is me being able to see the game, Utah State isn't a big team but I still want to watch this young Auburn team play and what kind of excitement they could bring to the season (and its also the opener! duh). I am moving houses next weekend, so I may get stuck having to move boxes and may even be without Internet connection. But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Don't believe all the downplay of Auburn's 2011 season from all the talking heads in the media either, sure Auburn isn't going to repeat but we sure as hell won't be gutter slugs either. Right now, Auburn is a young yet talented team which needs time to gel and gain experience. There are bound to be players at each position stepping up and becoming play-makers when you look at the state of things.
Auburn has enough weapons on offence to be successful in 2011, and when you have an offensive co-ordinator as talented as Gus Malzahn you have to feel like you are in a safe position. The defense has also won games for Auburn in the last few years too so don't expect that side of the ball to be completely terrible either, sure we lost experience but there is a clear upgrade in talent at certain areas of the team.
Leadership is also a big need for Auburn this year if they are to win games, in reality the team has very few seniors and the players I am looking to step up into being leaders are Eguae, Blake Thorpe and Freeman (and to a certain extent Dyer). Having enough leaders on both sides of the ball will be instrumental to Auburn this season. The coaching staff is talented but they can't play the game can they? Auburn has enough talent to compete but leadership is a very underrated thing.
Just a short blog today, but you can tell the excitement is building within the program. the closer I get to game time the more confident I get about the upcoming season. Who says down years can't be fun, and who says this has to be a down year?
Buckle up folks, it's going to be good.
"Tradition never graduates" - Nosa Eguae
