It has been a long off season (242 days to be exact) for us Auburn fans. The last time we saw our team they were finishing out the season by losing their last three games by a total of 43 points. That will give even the most upbeat Auburn fans a severe bellyache. The only bright spot during this time was the news that Alabama got put on severe probation by the NCAA. It sure is funny how seeing your cross-state rival in pain can raise your spirits.

Here are some numbers for you: No. 2. No. 42. and No. 84. Selma residents need to remember these numbers because they will be worn by Selma’s own Ben Obomanu, Brett Holliman and Todd Bradford, respectively. It is unbelievable that a town as small as Selma will have three players on a major college football team. Not only are they on the team, but they will all be major contributors.

Auburn will be taking eight wide receivers to the USC game. This means that Selma natives will make up one quarter of Auburn’s rotation, and Ben Obomanu will probably start. Also, Coach Tuberville told the Selma Quarterback Club members that Brett Holliman would be a major contributor on our special teams this year.

It should be a fun year to watch the Auburn Tigers. The Tigers have a challenging schedule with non conference opponents Southern California and Syracuse joining our usual SEC slate. It will not take long to see if we are any good since we are playing four games in 18 days to kickoff the season. I hope that our strong defense and kicking game will keep us in games until our youthful offense matures. Look for Carnell &uot;Cadillac&uot; Williams to have a big year, and carry the offense throughout the year.

It’s been 242 long days since Auburn last played a football game, and I can’t wait for Monday night when the season kicks off in Southern California.

Note: This column was written on short, short notice. Hopefully, I’ll be like my Auburn Tigers, and survive the first few games and improve throughout the year.