02/22 at 11:44 PM

At this point last year, Gene Chizik might not have been able to spare a part of his afternoon to answer questions.

This is a new year, though; his second on the job with an entire staff of assistants who have also been through the Auburn offseason drill before.

“It’s just easier for everybody,” Chizik said at a press conference Monday, his first media engagement since Signing Day.

“There’s a lot of variables in there that a year ago we didn’t know … Your second go-around is so much easier for everybody. I think it’s been smooth since we’ve come back from the bowl game. They’ve done a great job.”

Chizik’s 20-minute press conference touched on a number of subjects.

* Chizik said a number of his assistants were “sought after” by other schools during the offseason, which played a hand in the recent raises and extensions that were awarded to both coordinators and the six other assistants.

Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who drew interest from a number of schools including Louisiana Tech, was given a 43 percent raise up to $500,000 per year while the rest received 10 percent raises.

Chizik’s yearly salary went from $1.9 million to $2.1 million and his contract was extended through 2014.

“I want to be proactive with everybody to keep them here,” Chizik said. “We wanted to do what we felt we needed to do to keep everything together. And that’s kind of what the whole salary structure was based on. We just kept everything intact as best as we could to the best of our ability and did what we needed to do to do that.”

* Chizik said there has been no recent attrition on Auburn’s roster that hasn’t already been reported.

Linebackers Spencer Pybus and Adam Herring and offensive lineman Vance Smith retired in January for health-related reasons. Defensive end Cam Henderson also left the team in January.

As far as certain players’ availability during the spring, Chizik was less specific.

Senior Zac Etheridge, who is recovering from a severe neck injury, is “day to day” and likely won’t see contact, while fellow safety Daren Bates, who had offseason shoulder surgery, is questionable.

“When you talk about being ready for spring, ready for what? That’s the issue,” Chizik said. “Are some of them going to be able to have contact? Off the top of my head … (there is) nobody I can think about that can’t at least do something for us. I feel good about most of our guys being able to do something.”

* Unlike last year, Auburn’s spring practices will be held in the morning, Chizik said.

Barring weather, the Tigers will practice Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with scrimmages set for Saturdays. Practice is tentatively scheduled to open March 24 — the week after Auburn University’s spring break.

“It’s been a different schedule,” Chizik said. “They get over here in the morning and get everything knocked out early. Then they have the rest of the day to go to school and attend the study halls if needed.”

* Chizik called Auburn’s five-man competition for the open quarterback job “healthy.”

“We’ll figure out a way to rep them the right way,” Chizik said, “but it’ll be a really good competition.”

Chizik said he isn’t putting any elevated expectations on junior-college transfer Cameron Newton, the suspected frontrunner for the job.

“That’s not fair,” he said. “There’ll be a battle at the quarterback position. He’s going to be part of that battle. May the best man win. Expectation-wise, he’s not going to be in a different boat. It won’t be any different.”

Kodi Burns, who started seven games in 2008, competed for the job last August and had said he hoped to compete for the job in 2010, will not be in the mix, Chizik said.

“He’s a wide receiver,” Chizik said. “He’ll still play Wildcat, but his predominant position is wide receiver.”

* The battle to replace tailback Ben Tate is also wide open this spring, and may not have as many contenders as originally expected.

While Mario Fannin, Eric Smith and Onterio McCalebb will all be in the mix, Chizik said redshirt freshman Dontae Aycock may be destined for an H-back type role, similar to what Fannin and Smith played in 2009.

“Dontae’s a guy we can move around and do different things with,” Chizik said. “Obviously, he was a quarterback in high school, so he’s talented. Whether it be a guy playing in the slot-type option, whether it’s a guy that kind of did what Mario did last year — being able to stretch the field vertically, being able to run some wheels out of the backfield — he’s very talented and athletic in that regard.”

* Sixth-year senior Aairon Savage doesn’t have a set position yet, Chizik said.

Chizik said he was thrilled just to have Savage, who was recently granted a sixth year of eligibility after missing two consecutive seasons with ACL and Achilles’ injuries, back in the mix in the defensive backfield.

“He’s been at some different places,” Chizik said. “I know he can play (cornerback or safety), because he’s done it.”

| 737-2561