08/04 at 10:38 PM

Gene Chizik said Tuesday he needs a few more days before he’ll arrive at a final headcount for Auburn’s incoming freshmen.

“I don’t have an exact number,” Chizik said Tuesday, the first day incoming freshmen could officially report for fall camp. “There are more coming in; there are some ones we’re waiting on.”

That number is down to four, according to AuburnSports.com.

Tallassee athlete Demond Washington was cleared Tuesday, leaving just safety Daren Bates, defensive tackle Josh Jackson, cornerback
Taikwon Paige and defensive end Terrance Coleman in limbo.

“You hope to get it resolved within 48 hours,” Chizik said. “This time of year they’re so swamped because everybody is in the same position with one or two kids. Obviously, we have to be patient, but we hope to have everything resolved by Friday.”

Coleman’s uncle, senior defensive end Antonio Coleman, said he’s been talking to his nephew regularly, but had no news to report.

“He better be working out,” Antonio Coleman said.

Wide receiver LaVoyd James, cornerback Reggie Taylor and athlete Izauea Lanier have all been ruled ineligible and are pursuing their football careers at the junior-college level, according to AuburnSports.com.

Chizik said there were no notable no-shows among his veteran players.

Beating the heat
From all indications, Chizik’s twilight twist to Auburn’s fall practice schedule is a hit.

“Ain’t that much sweating going to be going on,” cornerback Walt McFadden said.

With the exception of two-a-days, all Tiger practices will start at 4 p.m. or later. This bucks the trend of the previous staff, which typically held summer practices in the wee hours of the morning.

The move wasn’t initiated by accident.

“Our numbers are down a little bit,” Chizik said. “You’ve got to be smart and there’s got to be some method to the madness when you’re doing that. You always want to beat the heat to the best of your ability.

“You don’t want a player to go down with full-body cramps or things of that nature and they’re out for three or four days watching.”

The response among players was even more positive in regards to Chizik moving all practices to the fields behind the Auburn Athletic Complex. In the past, former coach Tommy Tuberville held early practices at the unkempt intramural fields about 1/4 mile from the locker room.

“Ain’t nothing but a bunch of sand out there,” linebacker Josh Bynes said.

“That’s a long walk over there,” McFadden said. “You have to carry that Gatorade and that helmet all the way back. Now you get to run back inside and get to that air conditioning.”

Secondary matters
Cornerback Aairon Savage is healthy enough to help his roommate, McFadden, move into a new apartment, but it’s still uncertain if he’ll be available this season.

“I had him picking up a couple of things on his bad foot,” McFadden said. “He still got a little down on the side but he’s still moving along pretty well.”

Savage suffered an injury to one of his Achilles tendons during a summer workout. Chizik has been short on specifics regarding the injury and has not ruled Savage out for the season.

McFadden said Savage still wants to play and has been using alternative ways to get his fix.

“He really don’t play video games and lately he’s been playing nothing but video games,” McFadden said. “He’s been playing with Auburn and he’s on the game, so that’s all he’s been doing. I guess he’s using that as a sub.”

Safety Mike McNeil, who broke his leg during a scrimmage this spring, has been healthy enough to do some running this summer, fellow safety Zac Etheridge said Tuesday.

“Mike’s been doing a great job,” Etheridge said. “(He’s) just getting his legs back so he can be back with us at least by the first game, and if not by sometime this season.”

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