Contributed
(August 15, 2010)

AUBURN - The Auburn football team held its second scrimmage of the season Saturday morning inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, running approximately 70 plays in damp but cooler conditions.

Following the scrimmage, head coach Gene Chizik said that the Tigers took a step forward in their preparation for the Sept. 4 season opener against Arkansas State.

"I thought we got a lot accomplished," said Chizik. "Today was a good scrimmage. We got a great chance to look at a lot of the young guys in a lot of ways. We did some live kickoffs and punt returns, and really had a chance to evaluate some of our young talent. We really played them a lot, offensively and defensively, as well."

Chizik stressed that it was important to get a good look at the newcomers to help determine which players might play important roles during the upcoming season.

"When you have 22 seniors, you have really good ideas of where they stand," said Chizik. "We just have to know what our depth factor is going to be. That was the means to the madness and when we scrimmage again, we will probably do the same thing. There is no substitute for going out there and doing it and the experience of it."

Chizik noted that much of the improvement shown by his squad in comparison to the first scrimmage was in the mental aspect of the game.

"We cut down on the mental mistakes in terms of penalties and things, it was much better," said Chizik. "That was what we were looking for, a noticeable improvement from scrimmage one to scrimmage two. I think we got that today."

Chizik was also pleased with how hard the team worked, but noted that there is still much room for improvement.

"Their effort was really good," said Chizik. "We had some good things happen on both sides of the ball, but again, we are a long way away from where we need to be come game day. But, today was a great step in the right direction."

The Tigers will return to the practice fields Sunday at 7:50 p.m. CT, after participating in Fan Day presented by Golden Flake Snack Foods from 2-4 p.m. The event is free of charge. Doors for Fan Day will open at 1:45 p.m.

Chizik and the Auburn football team, Auburn men’s basketball coach Tony Barbee and his staff, the Auburn women’s basketball team including head coach Nell Fortner, along with the Auburn cheerleaders, Tiger Paws, Aubie, and the soccer and volleyball teams will be available for autographs. Posters and schedule cards will be provided at no charge.

Fans are asked to enter the Auburn Arena from the south side through the doors leading in to the practice court facility. Fans interested in obtaining Coach Chizik’s autograph will be asked to enter the arena through the Scholarship Entry on the southeast corner. There will not be access to Coach Chizik’s line inside the arena.

The Auburn football team will be staged on the main concourse of the arena. The men’s basketball staff, women’s basketball team and staff, Auburn cheerleaders, Tiger Paws, Aubie, and the soccer and volleyball teams will be located in the practice court facility.

The upper concourse will be closed as will access to the main basketball floor.