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NFL.com says- 
Fairley was once considered the consensus top defensive tackle prospect in the 2011 class, but his attitude and work ethic might have caused him to slip on some boards. Still, he projects to be incredibly disruptive against the pass and run. Nightmare to pass protect against. Possesses great burst, hands that never stop moving, brute strength to push the pocket, and a vast arsenal of moves. Against the run, keeps blockers away from his body, uses his height to find the football, and simply beats lineman with his quickness. Can sniff out screens and draws. There are almost no flaws with Fairley’s physical tools, but his character and work habits should be checked out. Regardless, he is certainly a top-five talent.
The Heisman Trophy winner from Auburn is taken.
NFL.com says-
Newton is one of the most athletically gifted quarterbacks in draft history. Possesses a quick, clean release, enough arm strength to complete the deep out, prototypical size, and is a dangerous threat outside of the pocket. However, he has a ways to go before turning into a productive, reliable NFL starter. Was not asked to make pro-style reads or move through progressions in college. Footwork is sloppy and accuracy is inconsistent. He’s competitive and vocal on the field, but has had several off-the-field issues and his character is in question. Despite the risk, Newton’s talent will likely prevent him from lasting past the middle of the first round.
I predict Newton to be a NFL Draft Bust.
He replaces Mark McCarthy. From the Charlotte Observer-
East Carolina has turned to former Auburn coach Jeff Lebo to lead its long-struggling men’s basketball program.
The school announced Monday it had hired Lebo to replace Mack McCarthy, who spent three seasons on the sideline for the Pirates before stepping down to take a fundraising job in the school’s athletics department. Lebo had spent the past six seasons at Auburn, going 96-93 overall before he was fired earlier this month.
The 43-year-old coach played at North Carolina under Dean Smith in the late 1980s and had coached at Tennessee Tech and Chattanooga previously.
The school has scheduled a news conference for Lebo on Tuesday.
Lebo inherits a difficult job at East Carolina, a Conference USAb school located in the shadows of instate Atlantic Coast Conference programs Duke, North Carolina and North Carolina State.
East Carolina hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 1993 and has had only been .500 or better once since then. Lebo faces a next impossible task in turning around the Pirates fortunes.
He will replace the fired Mike Leach. From Redraiders.com-
Former Mississippi and Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville has been hired as the next head football coach at Texas Tech, the university announced Saturday.
A news conference to introduce Tuberville will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday in the United Spirit Arena. It is closed to the public, Tech officials said. Tuberville was getting ready to fly to Lubbock Saturday afternoon and said university officials had instructed him not to discuss his hiring until Sunday.
Tuberville will have a five-year contract, a source told the A-J.
*****
Former Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum said he thinks Tuberville is an ideal choice for a program that has won 29 games in the last three years.
“I think that’s a good fit,†said Slocum, who once had Tuberville on his staff. “He’s not one of those guys that feels like he has to come in and tear everything down and put his stamp on it. I don’t see him being that kind of ego guy.
“He’s smart enough to know … They’ve been pretty dang impressive to me, and I think he’d have the same opinion. He can probably lend a little help to the defensive side and shore that up and then kind of keep the scheme offensively, so I think it’s a really good fit.â€
*****
Slocum hired Tuberville to be Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator in 1994 after Bob Davie left to become defensive coordinator at Notre Dame. At the time, Slocum said he wanted someone to just keep the defense then known as the “Wrecking Crew†pointed in the same direction.
Tuberville lost his Auburn job(Here’s some dispute over whether he resigned voluntarily or was forced to resign) after one bad season. Based on Tuberville’s track, I think he has a good chance of building on Texas Tech’s recent success.
No I’m not talking about some middle aged man propelling a ball at some objects at the end of a lane, but the games that climax every college football season. Bowl season officially starts this afternoon, here are the matchups for all the college football fanatics out there.
Note- I gave the shortened name version of all the upcoming games. Also I listed what broadcast network would be televising the game and what time they would be coming on the air. All times are Eastern Standard.
Dec 19
New Mexico- Fresno State vs. Wyoming 4:30 p.m. ESPN
St. Petersburg- Central Florida vs. Rutgers 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 20
R+L Carriers New Orleans- Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee 8:30 p.m. ESPN
Dec 22
MAACO Las Vegas- Oregon State vs. BYU 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 23
Poinsettia- Utah vs. Cal 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 24
Sheraton Hawaii- Nevada vs. SMU 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 26
Little Caesars- Marshall vs. Ohio 1 p.m. ESPN
Meineke- Pitt vs. North Carolina 4:30 p.m. ESPN
Emerald- Boston College vs. USC 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 27
Music City- Kentucky vs. Clemson 8:30 p.m. ESPN
Dec 28
Independence- Texas A&M vs. Georgia 5 p.m. ESPN2
Dec 29
EagleBank- UCLA vs. Temple 4:30 p.m. ESPN
Champs Sports- Miami vs. Wisconsin 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 30
Humanitarian- Bowling Green vs. Idaho 4:30 p.m. ESPN
Holiday- Arizona vs. Nebraska 8 p.m. ESPN
Dec 31
Armed Forces- Houston vs. Air Force Noon ESPN
Sun- Oklahoma vs. Stanford 2 p.m. CBS
Texas- Navy vs. Missouri 3:30 p.m. ESPN
Minnesota vs. Iowa State 6 p.m. NFL Network
Chick-fil-A- Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee 7:30 p.m. ESPN
Jan 1
Outback- Northwestern vs. Auburn 11 a.m. ESPN
Capital One- Penn State vs. LSU 1 p.m. ABC
Gator- West Virginia vs. Florida State 1 p.m. CBS
Rose Bowl- Ohio State vs. Oregon 4:30 p.m. ABC
Sugar- Cincinnati vs. Florida 8:30 p.m. FOX
Jan 2
International- South Florida vs. Northern Illinois Noon ESPN2
Papajohns.com- South Carolina vs. UConn 2 p.m. ESPN
Cotton- Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss 2 p.m. FOX
Liberty- Arkansas vs. East Carolina 5:30 p.m. ESPN
Valero Alamo- Michigan State vs. Texas Tech 9 p.m. ESPN
Jan 4
Fiesta- Boise State vs. TCU 8 p.m. FOX
Jan 5
FedEx Orange- Iowa vs. Georgia Tech 8 p.m. FOX
Jan 6th
GMAC- Central Michigan vs. Troy 7 p.m. ESPN
Jan 7th
BCS National Championship Game- Texas vs. Alabama Jan. 7 8 p.m.
Some random notes on the above 34 games
*- 19 of the 34 games are not scheduled till Dec. 31st or later. I guess college football fanatics are expected to flip channels very quickly on those 3 days(Dec 31-Jan 2) when 15 games are being aired.
*- What a downer must it be for Oregon State players and fans. A few weeks ago they were one win from a Rose Bowl trip. Instead they lost to Oregon and are playing in a minor bowl before Christmas.
*- The NFL network televises a college football game. I guess that’s the cable sports equivalent of the Sci-Fi channel showing wrestling….
*- The bowls are now set where now certain conference finishers are locked into the same bowl games every year. I understand why the current system is done, but I prefer the day when bowl games would have greater variance from year to year. The Peach bowl would usually invite a ACC or SEC school but they could be creative, like when they invited Army and Illinois. Wouldn’t a SEC team against BYU or Wyoming be nice for a change?
*- Bobby Bowden’s farewell game is against the same school(West Virginia) that he left before coming to Florida State. I do know FSU and WV have played at least twice previously in bowls during the Bowden-Florida State era.
He coached women’s and men’s teams at the college level where he won national championships with three different schools. RIP.
Auburn swimming coach Richard Quick, who won 13 NCAA titles with three schools during a career that spanned four decades, has died of cancer. He was 66.
Auburn said in a statement on its Web site that Quick, who coached men’s and women’s teams at the school, died Wednesday. His family told the Austin American-Statesman that he died in Austin, Texas.
Quick had been diagnosed in December with an inoperable brain tumor.
“While he lost a valiant battle against a cruel disease, Richard was an inspiration to countless people who were touched by his steadfast faith and amazing courage in the face of tremendous adversity,” Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said.
He won one title at Auburn, seven at Stanford and five at Texas. He also led the U.S. Olympic teams in 1988, 1996 and 2000 and was an assistant coach at the 1984, 1992 and 2004 Games.
Quick’s women’s teams at Texas won five straight titles from 1984-1988. The Stanford women’s team won the title in his first year there in 1989.
Auburn’s men won the championship in 2009 and Quick was named NCAA Coach of the Year for the sixth time.
“Richard will be remembered as one of the greatest coaches in the history of swimming, but more importantly, he will be remembered as a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather and teacher,” Jacobs said.
Quick coached at Auburn from 1978-82 and returned there in 2007. In between, he coached the women’s teams at Texas and Stanford. He also served as the men’s head coach at Iowa State during the 1977-78 season and the women’s head coach at SMU in 1976-77.
When’s the last time two colleges took their next head coaches from one another? From ESPN-
The icy roads, daunting upcoming schedule and tough conference affiliation might have scared away many potential candidates.
But not Paul Rhoads. He made a head-long charge into his new job as Iowa State’s new coach, before vowing to create a blue-collar mentality of hard work central for his new team.
Paul Rhoads, a former assistant at Iowa State, is returning to the Cyclones, this time as head coach.
The former Auburn and Pittsburgh defensive coordinator and one-time ISU defensive coach was introduced Saturday as the 31st head football coach in the school’s history.
And he couldn’t be more excited for what he termed as “a dream job” where he will coach only a couple of long touchdown passes away from the Ankeny, Iowa, area where he was born and raised. His father, Cecil, is a member of the Iowa High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame.
“There are deep roots here,” Rhoads said. “My youngest was born here. I was born 10 miles down the road. The group over here . . . I have more support and they are all family. I could see myself here for a long time.”
Those words were soothing for Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard, who was burned when Gene Chizik packed up and left the Cyclones for Auburn after twice telling Pollard he would stay. Chizik compiled a 5-19 record in his two seasons with the Cyclones, leaving with a 10-game losing streak that is tied for the second-longest among all FBS teams.
The merry go round between Auburn and Iowa is amusing. Rhoads better be a miracle worker, for Iowa State is in need of a major reclamation project before it becomes even a .500 team.
How many times does a career 5-19 head coach get an offer elsewhere. From ESPN-
Iowa State coach Gene Chizik has been hired as the next football coach at Auburn, Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard said in a statement.
A former Auburn defensive coordinator, Chizik will succeed Tommy Tuberville, who resigned following 10 seasons. The hiring was first reported by several media outlets, including AuburnUndercover.com, the Birmingham News and the Mobile Press-Register.
*****
Chizik made $1.05 million in base salary and guaranteed pay last season under a six-year deal and would owe Iowa State $750,000 if he takes the Auburn job.
Auburn was paying Tuberville an average of $3.3 million a year and agreed to give him $5.1 million to buy out his contract despite calling his departure a resignation. He stepped down after a 5-7 season and the Tigers’ first loss to rival Alabama in seven years, a 36-0 rout that was the final blow for a team that was predicted to win the Southeastern Conference Western Division.
Chizik is 5-19 in two seasons at Iowa State after stints running the defenses at Auburn and Texas. He coached the nation’s top scoring defense in 2004 in his third and final season with the Tigers. That defense allowed just 11 points a game and Auburn went undefeated.
*****
Before coming to Iowa State to replace Dan McCarney, Chizik was one of the hottest defensive coordinators in the country. He led teams at Auburn and Texas to a 29-game winning streak over two-plus seasons before losing in 2006 to Ohio State while at Texas. He was Frank Broyles national award winner in 2004 and served as the coordinator on Texas’ 2005 national championship team.
But he’s gone just 5-19 in two seasons at Iowa State — including a 2-10 mark in 2008. The Cyclones went winless in Big 12 play this season, and their win total has dipped in each of the past three seasons.
Chizik is a familiar face to Auburn. Auburn, winner of 6 SEC Championships the latest of which was in 2004, has only had 7 head coaches since 1951.
According to WSFA: |WSFA 12 NEWS CONFIRMS TUBERVILLE RESIGNED
WSFA 12 News has confirmed through a person close to Tuberville that the coach resigned and was not fired.
The University will still honor Tuberville’s buyout clause and he will receive his $6 million severance package.
Of course, if they are honoring the buyout, one has to wonder if the resignation wasn’t a negotiated one…
I just received a news alert from WSFA in Montgomery, AL stating that Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville has been fired.
I am not an Auburn fan, but rather just an observers of the world of Alabama college sports. This strikes me as a horrible move, given that he has really only had one bad season (i.e., this one).
Here are the basics: Report: Auburn Fires Tuberville
Tubberville was 85-40 in his decade with Auburn, including a 13-0 season in 2004 when the Tigers finished No. 2 in the nation.
But Auburn went 5-7 this year and was routed 36-0 by rival Alabama, currently ranked No. 1.
Apparently no official word from Auburn as yet, just a report out of the Birmingham News
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