Auburn reports, begins practice Saturday

AUBURN — Auburn won’t officially start the 2008 season for another 30 days, when the Tigers host Louisiana-Monroe on Aug. 30.

But the ’08 season unofficially kicks off at 9:30 a.m. today, when the team gathers for its first preseason practice at AU’s intramural fields.

For Auburn’s incoming freshmen, it’s the first real taste of life as a college football player. The rookies got a sample Friday, when they officially reported for duty.

Twenty-seven freshmen — 18 scholarship players and nine invited walk-ons — reported Friday afternoon and went through a team meeting with their veteran counterparts.

Freshman cornerback D’Antoine Hood, a former Central Phenix City star, is one of several youngsters who hopes to compete for early playing time.

“It’s something I’m going to push for,” Hood said. “I’m going to push myself, push my teammates to compete against me.

“I want to be a successful corner. I’m definitely trying to push for that spot, and hopefully I’ll earn some playing time.”

Head coach Tommy Tuberville singled out Hood and fellow cornerback Harry Adams as possible early contributors. Hood isn’t exactly sure what he did to catch the head coach’s eye, but he hopes he can live up to the expectations.

“It’s always nice for your coach to know your name,” he said. “I feel blessed. I feel like there’s an opportunity for me to get some playing time early.”

Hood wasn’t the only newcomer with Auburn-area ties. Former Auburn High linemen Clay Clark and Cameron Hunt were both invited to walk on as freshmen this season.

DE Wadley’s status unknown: Freshman defensive end Andre Wadley didn’t report Friday with the rest of his signing class. The 6-foot-2, 278-pound Wadley collapsed during a team workout earlier this month and was briefly hospitalized at East Alabama Medical Center.

Wadley is still in Auburn, but his status for preseason practice is unknown.

Coaches tab AU 11th nationally: Since finishing the 2007 season with a 23-20 overtime win against Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Auburn has gotten used to two new coordinators, said goodbye to three-year starting quarterback Brandon Cox, and started a still-unfinished search for his replacement.

In the eyes of the nation’s coaches, that counts as improvement.

Auburn, which tied for 14th in the final coaches’ poll of 2007, moved up to 11th in this year’s preseason poll, released Friday. The Tigers received 888 points from the panel of 61 coaches, which includes Tuberville.

Three Southeastern Conference teams were ranked in the top 10: No. 1 Georgia, No. 5 Florida and No. 6 LSU. The Bulldogs received 22 first-place votes, while Florida had five and LSU three.

Tennessee was the fifth SEC team to be ranked, at No. 18. Alabama led the “others receiving votes” column, with 83 points.

What’s in a name? When freshman defensive back Neiko Thorpe first takes the field, he’s likely to cause several AU fans to check their programs. The 6-foot-2, 171-pound rookie from Tucker, Ga., signed with Auburn under the name “Neiko Lipscomb,” but has changed his name.