IT'S GAMETIME FOR CHIZIK

AUBURN – From the time Gene Chizik was introduced as Auburn’s head coach last Dec. 15, he’s had few missteps.

He assembled a coaching staff of proven recruiters and proven winners. Players quickly bonded with Chizik and the men he hired.

Chizik and that staff salvaged a recruiting class that looked for a time like it might implode. They have gotten serious interest and even commitments from some of the top prospects in the country for the Class of 2010.

And now it’s time to play. Chizik’s first Auburn team opens its season Saturday night at 6 against Louisiana Tech. The game will be televised by ESPNU.

Until something happens on the field to chase it away, the specter of a 5-19 record in two seasons at Iowa State and a personal 10-game losing streak won’t be far away.

On the day he was introduced, Chizik took on that issue head-on.

“I think the answer is really easy,” Chizik said. “You have to win. There is going to be skepticism, no matter who you hire, whether your record is 6-6, 7-5 or 4-8. There are going to be people that agree with it and there are going to be people that don’t agree with it. I’m smart enough to know that.

“What I do know is this was the right hire for Auburn. What I do know at the end of the day is that this job is a dream job for me because I understand the place. The people that are going to be negative, I can’t control. That’s out there for everybody to mull over for themselves. But at the end of the day, when you win, I think all of that goes away.”

Chizik, Auburn’s defensive coordinator from 2002-2004, surveyed the talent on hand. He saw enough to give him a chance. He didn’t see anything like what he left after a 13-0 record in 2004. And that talent level has taken a serious hit since.
No fewer than 10 players who would have been starters or in the two-deep depth chart are either injured and unavailable or are no longer on the team.

As many as a dozen freshmen are expected to play early and often tonight against a team that went 8-5 last season and has 17 starters returning, including all the starters on the offensive and defensive lines. But Chizik says there will be no excuses.
“It is what it is,” he said. “We’re going to take who we have and go play.”

Chizik and his staff take a long-term view in building the program. But he knows well that the 80,000-plus who will come to watch tonight will want instant satisfaction.

“That pressure is there no matter where you are,” Chizik said. “When you have people that are passionate, they want you to be the best there is, because they want to walk around and be very proud. They should want to do that.

“Patience is hard to come by at any of the schools you look at that are typically in the top 50 in the country. I know where we have to get to and I have a good feeling about how to get there. Those expectations and those people are going to be out there. That’s what makes places like Auburn great.”