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Friday, September 28, 2007 | The Red a Black
Auburn freshmen provide ‘spark’
By JOHN ZENOR
AP Sportswriter
AUBURN, Ala. Ryan Pugh, Chaz
Ramsey and Lee Ziemba are sharing
the whole freshman experience eat
ing together, studying together and
hanging out together.
They’re even starting on Auburn’s
offensive line together.
Pugh and Ramsey joined their pal
in the starting lineup against New
Mexico State because of injuries, sup
plying a little extra energy along with
the freshman mistakes in their first
college action.
“They brought a spark back to us
that we certainly needed,” line coach
Hugh Nall said. “They made some
mistakes and they’ve got to get bet
ter, but I really liked the attitude and
the tempo.”
They might get a chance to start
together again Saturday at No. 4
Florida, with left tackle King Dunlap
still nursing an elbow mjury and right
guard Mike Berry trying to rebound
from a shoulder problem.
Head coach Tommy Tuberville said
they wouldn’t necessarily be handed
their starting jobs back, but did prac
tice Tuesday.
“I think we’ve got two groups that
are fighting awfully hard to try to
beat each other out,” Tuberville said.
“It’s not that we’re giving up on
the season or anything because we
lost two games,” he said.
The youth movement did appear
to pay off. With the freshmen helping
pave the way, Auburn (2-2, 1-1 SEC)
had a season-high 229 yards rushing
against New Mexico State and both
Ben Tate and Mario Fannin went
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over 100 yards.
Ziemba has started every game,
but Pugh and Ramsey had been spec
tators who were thrust into the start
ing jobs last week. Pugh had been a
backup center who hadn’t worked at
left tackle his high school position
in practice at Auburn until last
week. Both appeared destined for a
redshirt season before they got the
call.
Pugh wound up filling in for
Dunlap, the only returning starter on
the line from last season. Apparently
their youthful excitement had a ripple
effect that even Pugh noticed in prac
tice last week.
“There was a lot of yelling and
whooping and hollering going on,” the
former Hoover High School lineman
said. “I think the coaches had as
much fUn as the players seeing the
change of tempo.”
But starting at home against New
Mexico State is one thing. Going to
“The Swamp” to play the defending
national champions with 88,000-plus
mostly hostile fans trying to distract
them is another.
“It’s an awakening,” quarterback
Brandon Cox said of a player’s first
road experience. “You really can’t pre
pare for it. The only way you can learn
from it is to get out there and olay in
it.”
The three freshmen come from
Alabama, Mississippi (Ramsey) and
Arkansas (Ziemba), but started bond
ing quickly when they arrived on
campus in June. Pugh and Ziemba,
both 18, are roommates. At 19,
Ramsey is the elder statesman of the
group.
“We hang out about as much as
FIRST & GOAL
DAVE MARTIN j Associated Press
▲ Auburn coach Tommy
Tuberville reacts after a score
in the fourth quarter of a 55-20
win over New Mexico State at
Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday.
anyone in college,” said Pugh before
heading off for dinner and a study
session with the other two. “They
take me to class. I take them to class.
It’s real fun.
Ramsey even goaded Pugh into
getting a Mohawk, which didn't go
over well at home.
“He told me one day in class, ‘Oh
you don’t have enough about yourself
to do it,”’ said Pugh, who now sports
a buzz cut. “I said, ‘I bet I’ll have it
before 2 o’clock.’ I did.”
And how’d that go over back in
Hoover? “My mom got mad.”
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Yellow Jackets hope
to regain confidence
By JONATHAN
LANDRUM JR.
AP Sportswriter
ATLANTA A couple
weeks ago, Georgia Tech
was surging. Now, things
have changed.
The Yellow Jackets
have been dismal, losing
two straight ACC games
and facing the possibility
of starting off 0-3 in con
ference play for the first
time since 1994.
Tech’s daunting mis
sion doesn’t get any easi
er Saturday when they
host 13th-ranked
Clemson (4-0, 2-0 ACC),
which dominated Tech
with the talented run
ning back duo of James
Davis and C.J. Spiller in
a 31-7 victory last sea
son.
With their backs
against the wall, the
Yellow Jackets (2-2, 0-2)
are trying to regain their
confidence. Coach Chan
Gailey has been telling
his players to learn from
past mistakes but not
dwell on them.
“You got to find out
what is wrong, fix it and
play the next week,” he
said. “That’s true in life.
You have to go forward
for whatever is on the
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horizon. That’s what I
try to get them to under
stand.”
Tech linebacker
Darrell Robertson said
execution will be the
focus for the defense,
which gave up 216
yards rushing to the
powerful Davis while the
elusive Spiller had a
50-yard touchdown run
and 50-yard TD
catch for Clemson last
year.
“They’re great backs,
but we need to be able to
tackle them,” said
Robertson, who leads
the ACC with 7.5 tackles
for-loss. “It comes down
to fundamentals. We’re
striving to get it right.
And when that happens,
everything else will
come.”
Meanwhile, the Yellow
Jacket offense had sev
eral injuries including
leading rusher Tashard
Choice.
With all the recent
negatives, Gailey hasn’t
gotten too worried about
his team’s circumstanc
es.
“There is a lot of foot
ball left,” he said. “You
don’t make or break the
season in the first half of
the year.”