Auburn Coaches Stress That Iron Bowl About Players

AUBURN — Yes, Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp spent five years as an assistant to Alabama head coach Nick Saban. Yes, the two men won a national championship together at LSU in 2003.

And yes, Saturday’s Iron Bowl game will be the first time they’ve coached against each other.

But no, the game isn’t about Muschamp and Saban. At least, that’s what Muschamp’s players are saying.

Muschamp, like Auburn’s other assistant coaches, hasn’t spoken to the media since the Nov. 10 Georgia game. But defensive end Sen’Derrick Marks says Muschamp isn’t making a big deal of the matchup with his former boss.

“He hasn’t said nothing about it,” Marks said.

Tuberville said he spoke briefly to Muschamp about Saban’s coaching philosophy, though the two men haven’t worked together since 2005, when Saban was the head coach of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and Muschamp was his defensive coordinator.

Still, every bit of information helps, according to Tuberville.

“We’ve sat down and talked to Will about some things they’ve possibly did, or how they did it down at LSU when he was there,” Tuberville said.

“But Nick knows Will very well. It’s probably going to be a pretty good tradeoff there in terms of knowing each other.”

Big recruiting weekend ahead for AU: Saturday’s game isn’t the only important milestone on Auburn’s football calendar this weekend.

This weekend is also one of AU’s biggest recruiting weekends of the year. A season-high 12 players, including some of Auburn’s top targets, are taking official visits to the Plains this weekend.

“It’s a big event for future years, not just for this game, but down the road,” Tuberville said.

The list of official visitors includes Kissimmee, Fla., cornerback T’Sharvan Bell; Griffin, Ga., defensive end Toby Jackson; Fairburn, Ga., safety Terrance Parks; Marietta, Ga., linebacker Chase Thomas; Hernando, Miss., defensive end Andre Wadley and Strongsville, Ohio wide receiver D.J. Woods.

Also making the trip are three Pahokee, Fla., teammates: cornerback Janoris Jenkins, linebacker Jatavious Miller and wide receiver Martavious Odoms.

Bell, Jackson, Jenkins and Thomas are rated four-star prospects by Rivals.com. The others are considered three-star prospects, except for Miller, a relatively unknown two-star prospect whose only scholarship offers are from Auburn and Western Michigan.

Two current Auburn commitments are also making official visits: tailback Enrique Davis, who signed with AU last February and is in prep school at Hargrave Military Academy, and junior-college cornerback Blair Irvin. Prep school defensive tackle Charles Deas, who signed with LSU in 2005 but is expected to sign with AU this year, is the 12th official visitor.

More than 400 prospects will be in Auburn on unofficial visits, paying their own way but receiving free tickets to the game. Tuberville said AU had instituted a lottery for tickets for high school football coaches; several dozen will be in attendance.

PK Byrum feeling healthy: It’s possible no Auburn player got as much out of the bye week as place-kicker Wes Byrum.

The freshman, who sprained his ankle in the season opener, had been troubled by a sore quadriceps muscle since mid-October. The ailments prevented Byrum from kickoff duty for AU and limited his practice time.

But after a week of rest, Byrum kicked this week in practice and is feeling healthy.

“I’m all good,” he said. “There’s nothing bothering me anymore. … I’m 100 percent.”

Byrum leads Auburn with 76 points scored. He has hit 15 of 19 field goals, including a 49-yarder, and 31 of his 32 extra points.

Early this season, when he was able to handle kickoffs, Byrum recorded seven touchbacks on 36 kicks. He is the only Auburn player with a touchback this season.