Bobby Petrino Pre-Auburn Press Conference Recap

We'll have video and a transcript link later, but for now, here are some of the highlights of Bobby Petrino's pre-Auburn press conference.

--Held a mock game on Friday. We've never done two scrimmages in one year before, but really felt it was important to make sure we're in game shape before Saturday's opener.

--Special teams should be a bright spot. Our coverage guys are fast and reliable, and our specialty players have really been kicking and punting the ball well.

--Will release a two-deep depth chart tomorrow because that's when Auburn is releasing theirs. There will be some "ORs" on that depth chart, including at the quarterback and offensive line positions. There's still legitimate competition happening on the line.

--Wide receiver Alphonso Carter is still out and hasn't practiced, but everybody else should be back.

--Says again that he likes Eric Crawford's suggestion about not naming a starter at quarterback until the game on Saturday. Our players will know who the starting quarterback is before Saturday.

--Pedro Sibiea has been playing both center and guard, so we have to figure out which position is best for him. We've had multiple guys rotating at every other OL position. Our depth is great, we just have to figure out who the best five are. Khalil Hunter and Geron Christian have been working at one tackle, and Aaron Epps and Kelby Johnson at the other one. T.C. Klusman has been working at center. Most of the other guys have been rotating at guard. We've got 11 guys competing for 5 spots.

--Some of the young receivers really showed out during the mock game on Friday.

--On if he's decided on a starting quarterback but just isn't saying because of gamesmanship: "I've probably got a pretty good idea."

--Need a quarterback who can lead, who the players trust and who can make the throws necessary. Need a guy who can throw receivers open sometimes because they're not always going to be wide open themselves.

--Chucky Williams had a very good scrimmage on Friday. The position battles in the secondary will continue into the start of the season because you're always going to be playing multiple corners.

--Our defense has to win the sticks on first and second downs and put Auburn in passing situations on third down. Then we need to get off the field on third down. We have to stop the run on first down and also stop the deep, play action passes on first down. It's going to be a big challenge for us.

--I really like our talent, the question is going to be how fast these guys are ready to learn and compete in actual games.

--We've had to move a lot slower than we would have liked in year two because of all the newness. We were very senior heavy last year and now all of those guys are gone.

--Has a pretty good idea of where the team is. Just hopes they go out there and execute and play well on Saturday.

--Reiterates that there's still legitimate competition on the offensive line, and believes that's a good thing.

--This should be a review week for us as far as what Auburn does. We've been working very hard on Auburn.

--Will Muschamp is great at getting his teams to play fast and physical. They play with a great deal of emotion. The key for us is to keep them on the field. We really need to execute on third down and keep drives alive.

--I'm smiling about the start of the season because I'm just tired of answering the same questions all summer. Rocco said let's get out there and talk to the press all summer, so maybe it's seemed longer because of that. But I'm just anxious to get going and I'm very excited about this opener, it should be a terrific environment and a great game.