http://www2.oanow.com/oan/sports/college/article/au_football_another_big_cat_weekend_scheduled/134817/
<h1 class="story_headline">AU FOOTBALL: Another ‘Big Cat’ weekend scheduled</h1>
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Gene Chizik has set Big Cat Weekend II for May 28.</p></div> </div>
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By Andrew Gribble
<span class="divider">|</span> Auburn University Beat Reporter
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Published: March 1, 2010
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When LaDarius Owens arrived on campus with a bevy of
other highly touted prospects for the infamous Big Cat Weekend, he
didn’t know exactly what to expect.</p>
When he found out that a home run derby and a pie-eating contest was on the agenda, and football wasn’t, he was relieved.</p>
“We did nothing football,” Owens said. “That’s what made it so great.”</p>
Auburn is hoping this year’s crop of recruits will have the same
experience when it hosts Big Cat Weekend II on the weekend of May 28.
Approximately 25 of the Tigers’ top targets will be on campus for the invite-only weekend, according to AuburnSports.com.</p>
Ten of Auburn’s 32 signees were present for last year’s event, which
focused less on football and more on fun. They were: Owens, OL Eric
Mack, OL Shon Coleman, WR Trovon Reed, LB Jake Holland, LB Jawara
White, DT Kenneth Carter, WR Jeremy Richardson, WR Shaun Kitchens and
LB Jessel Curry.</p>
“It was a stress-free weekend,” Owens said. “Just being down there,
even though we were atAuburn and we were being recruited, we were just
having fun.</p>
“It’s way better than a camp because you get to have fun all weekend.”</p>
Last year’s events didn’t go without consequences, though.</p>
Auburn was flagged with six NCAA recruiting violations, was forced
to halt its recruiting of six prospective student-athletes for six
weeks, six
Auburn assistants received reprimands and assistant coach Trooper
Taylor was prevented from recruiting off-campus from July 31 to Nov.
30.
Three of the six players (Curry, Mack and Reed) still signed with the Tigers despite the six-week contact ban.</p>
The controversy centered on an impromptu rolling of Toomer’s Corner
with hundreds of fans, most of whom heard of the event on Auburn
scouting Web site message boards.</p>
Auburn will seek to strike a fair balance between cutting edge and compliant this time around.</p>
“We want to continue to be creative on the recruiting trail, but we
know at the end of the day it’s really going to be about rolling up
your sleeves and really working hard at it,” coach Gene Chizik said at
his Signing Day press conference. “You can be as creative as you want,
but if you don’t work hard, you’re not going to get these guys if
you’re not going to build those relationships.”</p>
<h1 class="story_headline">AU FOOTBALL: Another ‘Big Cat’ weekend scheduled</h1>
<div id="article_right">
<div class="highlight-image">
<div class="img">
</div>
<div class="txt"><span>
Vasha Hunt | Opelika-Auburn News</p></span></div> </div>
<div class="highlight-caption">
Gene Chizik has set Big Cat Weekend II for May 28.</p></div> </div>
<div class="article_info">
By Andrew Gribble
<span class="divider">|</span> Auburn University Beat Reporter
<span class="article_info_stamps">
Published: March 1, 2010
</span>
</div>
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» 0 Comments
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Post a Comment
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When LaDarius Owens arrived on campus with a bevy of
other highly touted prospects for the infamous Big Cat Weekend, he
didn’t know exactly what to expect.</p>
When he found out that a home run derby and a pie-eating contest was on the agenda, and football wasn’t, he was relieved.</p>
“We did nothing football,” Owens said. “That’s what made it so great.”</p>
Auburn is hoping this year’s crop of recruits will have the same
experience when it hosts Big Cat Weekend II on the weekend of May 28.
Approximately 25 of the Tigers’ top targets will be on campus for the invite-only weekend, according to AuburnSports.com.</p>
Ten of Auburn’s 32 signees were present for last year’s event, which
focused less on football and more on fun. They were: Owens, OL Eric
Mack, OL Shon Coleman, WR Trovon Reed, LB Jake Holland, LB Jawara
White, DT Kenneth Carter, WR Jeremy Richardson, WR Shaun Kitchens and
LB Jessel Curry.</p>
“It was a stress-free weekend,” Owens said. “Just being down there,
even though we were atAuburn and we were being recruited, we were just
having fun.</p>
“It’s way better than a camp because you get to have fun all weekend.”</p>
Last year’s events didn’t go without consequences, though.</p>
Auburn was flagged with six NCAA recruiting violations, was forced
to halt its recruiting of six prospective student-athletes for six
weeks, six
Auburn assistants received reprimands and assistant coach Trooper
Taylor was prevented from recruiting off-campus from July 31 to Nov.
30.
Three of the six players (Curry, Mack and Reed) still signed with the Tigers despite the six-week contact ban.</p>
The controversy centered on an impromptu rolling of Toomer’s Corner
with hundreds of fans, most of whom heard of the event on Auburn
scouting Web site message boards.</p>
Auburn will seek to strike a fair balance between cutting edge and compliant this time around.</p>
“We want to continue to be creative on the recruiting trail, but we
know at the end of the day it’s really going to be about rolling up
your sleeves and really working hard at it,” coach Gene Chizik said at
his Signing Day press conference. “You can be as creative as you want,
but if you don’t work hard, you’re not going to get these guys if
you’re not going to build those relationships.”</p>