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G'day mates.
Keeping up with the Hall of Fame theme slowly building over the course of the week, Charles Goldberg looks at how Frank Thomas got to Auburn on a football scholarship, and then stayed on it, even when it was apparent he was only playing baseball.
Auburn team doctor Michael Goodlett discussed his history with the team and the way the Tigers handle concussions on the field with AL.com's Joel Erickson. He says he likes to play it conservatively and that the team goes above and beyond the new NCAA recommendations for head safety.
Also on the state's flagship site, Brandon Marcello looks at incoming freshman Roc Thomas, who was called the top guy on the board multiple times by Gus Malzahn this past recruiting season. Thomas will look to make the most of his early opportunities that are available via the early departure of Tre Mason.
Alex Byington took a look at the physical transformation of one Gabe Wright over the last 18 months or so. You probably saw the picture on Twitter by now. It's mighty impressive.
Preseason countdowns and lists continued with Mr. Tate ranking Shon Coleman as the 15th most important 2014 Tiger. Shon will finally get his big chance on the line after Greg Robinson's being drafted and after a very difficult struggle through some health problems before he made it to the Plains. Also, Ryan Black has Florida at No. 10 in his preseason rankings, and shares what he thinks are the outer edges of their realistic accomplishments and failures this year.
Jon Solomon wrote about players being paid for their likenesses appearing in video games, looking at how the compensation could vary depending on how the settlement shakes out.
Mike Szvetitz has a column out about Mazlahn's response to a question he was asked in Bristol the other day: "What's your biggest fear?" Szvetitz says the answer Gus gave reflects well on his football program.
A brief Greg Robinson chat with some reporters popped up on the St. Louis Rams website. Robinson talked about the positives that come out of a long camp and his excitement for getting his pro career started. A bunch of former Tigers reported to their respective NFL camps yesterday: Cody Parkey with the Colts, Ryan Smith and Tyronne Green with Dallas, Josh Bynes and his Ravens, Jason Campbell and Onterio McCalebb with the Bengals, King Dunlap and Chris Davis with the Chargers and Corey Lemonier's 49ers.
If you're up for an immense read, Sports On Earth has a nearly 9000 word post ranking their top 100 players in college football this season.
And to wrap up today's links, the Wall Street Journal talked to some NFL refs who share their experiences with the HUNH offense and how it is forcing officials to continually be upping their conditioning game.