Coffee and Magnolia: 26 May 2015

I took yesterday off from posting the link dump because I was spending time with family and friends over the weekend for my mother's 60th birthday and for Memorial Day. So, there's going to be a good bit of links to digest that we've missed over the weekend and yesterday!

BASEBALL

Well, after five years, the Tigers are back in the NCAA Tournament. They're heading to Tallahassee and will be playing College of Charleston this Friday. Tickets can be purchased through the Florida State website.

SOFTBALL

The ladies are out in Oklahoma City and have already gotten a practice in and plan on having fun with the experience.

You can check out the bracket, here. It has a distinctly SEC flavor to it.

BASKETBALL

If you missed it, Jack Purchase has announced he is transferring from Auburn. That leaves Auburn with only two players on the current roster that were recruited by Tony Barbee. Tahj Shamsid-Dean and Jordan Granger. I do believe that means the Tigers are one below the scholarship limit, so it makes you wonder if there aren't plans to add an as-yet unforeseen player to the mix.

AL.com has a feature on incoming Auburn freshman New Williams, who was one of the biggest recruiters for the Tigers leading up to signing day, as well.

FOOTBALL

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer has two features on the defense. One on Lance Thompson and the business decision to make the move from Alabama to Auburn. The other is on a topic important to Auburn folks watching the defensive backfield situation. It's a discussion on true freshman Tim Irvin and the moves he's been making since arriving on campus to claim a key place in the defensive rotation.

The Montgomery Advertiser has been continuing with their analysis of the depth chart. They've got a few features for you. The first is looking at the Sam Linebacker / Nickel position. That's followed by the weak-side linebacker. Then to finish up the middle of the defense, there's the Middle Linebacker.

Speaking of the issues in the secondary, Auburn hosted a very big visitor this weekend in former Michigan CB Blake Countess. Countess has graduated from UM and is looking for a new home for his final season of eligibility. He will also visit a number of other schools before he makes his final decision.

Help is on the way in the form of the 2015 signing class. Many of them arrived on campus this weekend. One name to watch for in particular is Jordan Colbert. He has potential to earn a big role early on. And I'm a homer for him since he comes from my home town.

The SEC Spring Meetings are coming up soon, and there's a good bit to talk about. Including those infamous satellite camps.

In pre-season prognostication, Athlon Sports has a high opinion of the Tigers after the spring. ESPN.com has a preview of the 2015 Tigers, though it doesn't make any predictions over the final record. They also have an article on the "sleeper" player on every SEC team. Check it out and see who they predict as Auburn's sleeper.

In sad news, the young lady who took Sen'Derrick Marks to prom has passed away from cancer. Our prayers go out to her family.