BMatt’s Monday musings
AUBURN | Barring any surprise late additions, it looks like Auburn is done with the transfer portal for 2021.
And overall, the coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for improving the team heading into this fall, especially on defense.
Three transfers and a late JUCO signee have certainly bolstered the secondary. The defensive line is better with the addition of a noseguard, strongside defensive end and edge rusher.
The offensive haul wasn’t as impressive but the Tigers did add a talented young quarterback, depth at running back and some help at receiver.
The one need that wasn’t filled was perhaps the most glaring on the team: offensive tackle. It looks like Auburn will roll into 2021 with the same options it had at tackle a year ago.
That and inexperience at the receiver position could make the Tigers one dimensional on that side of the ball, which won’t be very effective against quality SEC opponents.
But. But. But
Offensive line is the most developmental position in football. It’s also a position that thrives on experience and reps.
Those players were thrown into the fire last season. They had the inconsistencies you’d expect from a group of first-year starters.
There’s every reason to expect they’ll be better in 2021. How much better? It won’t take long to find out. A week three matchup at Penn State will be a big early test. Opening conference play at LSU and against Georgia the first two weeks of October will provide the answers.
Bryan Harsin and his new staff did a great job bolstering the ranks via the portal but took a gamble by not bringing in a plug and play tackle or two. He’s betting on the fifth-year seniors that have paid their dues to get it done.
It’s OK to be skeptical, have some doubts, but that doesn’t mean they can’t write a happy ending to their story this fall.
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In today’s musical journey, we go back 36 years to a phone call from a rock star that helped inspire one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all-time and start a tradition that ended with one of the greatest upsets in sports history. On June 19, 1985, Joan Jett gave Mike Tyson a wakeup call before his fight against Larry Sims, which Tyson went on to win in a third-round knockout. The pair had become friends during a magazine photoshoot. The superstitious Tyson insisted on getting a call from Jett before every fight, which he did for five years as he became heavyweight champion and won his first 37 bouts. The streak ended on Feb. 11, 1990 in Tokyo, Japan as Jett and Tyson failed to connect and 42-1 underdog Buster Douglas shocked the boxing world with his knockout of Tyson in the 10th round.
Jett was born Joan Marie Larkin in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania in 1958 to an insurance salesman and secretary. She got her first guitar at age 13 but quit because her instructor insisted on playing folk music. After her parent’s divorce and a move to California, she changed her name to Joan Jett and became a founding member of the Runaways in August of 1975 along with Sandy West. Lita Ford, Jackie Fox and Cherie Currie were added and the first all-female rock group was signed by Mercury Records in 1976. Their biggest hit, Cherry Bomb, came in 76. The group opened for a number of top groups at the time including Van Halen, Talking Heads and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers before breaking up in 1979. Jett formed the Blackhearts in 79 and the group has remained active through today with 15 different members cycling through the band in support of Jett. Their second album in 1981 included the hit, I Love Rock ’n’ Roll, which was a cover of the original by the Arrows in 1975. Jett’s version spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 100 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016. Jett has had several other hits including 1980’s Bad Reputation, 1982’s Crimson and Clover and 1988’s I Hate Myself for Loving You.
Michael Gerard Tyson was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1966 to a single mother who passed away when Tyson was 16. His boxing manager, Cus D’Amato, became his legal guardian but passed away in 1985, a year before Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion with his second-round TKO of Trevor Berbick in 1986. Tyson unified the heavyweight divisions with wins over James Smith and Tony Tucker in ’87. He successfully defended his three belts for six more fights including knockouts of Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks and Carl Williams. The fight against Douglas was preceded by the breakup of his marriage to Robin Givens and the firing of his long-time trainer Kevin Rooney as Don King took over his management. Douglas used his jab to pummel Tyson throughout the fight although Tyson scored a knockdown with a fierce uppercut in the eighth round. Just 35 seconds into the 10th round, Douglas nailed Tyson with five consecutive punches, knocked him to the ground for the first time in his career and Tyson was unable to get up before being counted out. Tyson and Douglas never had a rematch as Douglas lost his belts to Evander Holyfield at the end of 1990. Tyson went on to win his next eight matches before consecutive losses to Holyfield in 1996 and 97.