Now we enter the true dead period. From Media Days until fall practice starts, there’s not really much happening. Most of what we have today is based on interviews from Media Days

Football

I’ll get the soapbox out first. Ricky Seals-Jones says that his block on Jeremiah Dinson was “part of the game”. Never mind that it was flagged as targeting and, as Coordinator of Officials Steve Shaw demonstrated in the offseason, incorrectly waived off. Never mind that Dinson was definitively a defenseless player. Never mind that Dinson suffered a concussion, separated shoulder, and three torn ligaments that may end up ending his career. Never mind that he then gloated about the hit on Instagram afterwards. It’s all “part of the game”. Give me a break. Considering he was ejected for targeting earlier in the season, Seals-Jones has a deserved reputation as a dirty player. His play is exactly what needs to be removed from the game. I also couldn’t care less for an Aggie’s opinion on the matter. Don’t @ me. Okay, down from the soapbox.

More of Marcus Davis’s answers from Monday are being developed into articles. The best broke down his development from being a high school quarterback to a top wide receiver. Another was how Kameron Martin can be a game-changer. Finally, he has been impressed with Auburn’s freshmen wide receivers($). That might be the most important part, because Auburn must get production from at least one of the newcomers to be successful in 2016.

Auburn’s other Media Days participants discussed their views on the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. It’s a bit interesting that Lawson has the same perspective that most Alabama residents have. Until recently, I never really harbored much hate for Georgia. It was a fun game on the schedule, and I like that Auburn is part of the SEC’s oldest rivalry. But true hate was reserved for Bama.

Former 5-star defensive line prospect Derrick Brown is making good progress on campus. Traditionally, the rule is that “the closer you are to the ball, the less you’ll play as a freshman”. Quarterbacks and linemen usually redshirt, while wide receivers and cornerbacks often get playing time. We’ll see if Brown can buck that trend.

The Texas A&M game has been moved up in the calendar for the 2016 season. Every conference game between the two schools has previously been in mid-October or later. This year it will be in mid-September. To be honest, the series is still too new for this to be a shock to the system. The concept of a particular game being on a particular weekend has mostly gone out the window outside of Georgia being two weeks before Thanksgiving, and Alabama being after Thanksgiving. And you can count me in the group that wants the Georgia game moved up in the schedule if they don’t fix the even-year mess that Auburn is in right now.

SEC Coordinator of Officials Steve Shaw got his turn at SEC Media Days yesterday and discussed the changes for the upcoming season. I’m a bit skeptical about the group in Birmingham being used for replays as well. The process takes long enough as it is, and MLB hasn’t exactly made the participation of officials in New York a smooth process. Hopefully the SEC has a better implementation.

Finally, the best news from yesterday, Auburn signee Tashawn Manning is done with chemotherapy. His first priority is to get to campus and get back into football shape. He lost 60 pounds during chemo, but has gained most of it back already.

Golf

Three former Auburn golfers will be participating in the Barbasol Championship hosted at Robert Trent Jones Grand National in Opelika. If you’re in the area and aren’t tied up, be sure to make it out there to cheer them on.

Track & Field

Several current and former Auburn track athletes competed at the Olympic Trials in Oregon. Unfortunately, none of them were able to qualify as part of Team USA.

Pokemon

If the incredibly popular new Pokemon Go app is your thing, be sure to check out WarRoomEagle’s interview with Auburn Uniform Database’s Clint Richardson about using the app on campus.

War Eagle