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Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville continues to tout fifth-year senior quarterback Brandon Cox. "I think Brandon's going to have a great senior year,'' Tuberville said Thursday night during the Huntsville-Madison County Auburn Club's annual dinner at the Von Braun Center. "He wasn't healthy last year, but he still helped lead us to an 11-2 season. "Right now, he's near 100 percent. He's focused. He has his degree and he's working on his master's. He's 215 pounds and it's all muscle. He has accepted the leadership role of this team.'' Cox, a left-hander from Trussville, has been widely ignored in all the preseason all-conference lists. It's a mistake, says Tuberville. "This time next year at this meeting, we'll be talking about breaking in a new quarterback,'' he said, "and Brandon will be in the NFL.'' Tuberville said his coaches and players are more than eager to begin a new season. The Tigers begin practice next week leading up to the opener against Kansas State on Sept. 1 in Auburn. "Our guys are really driven,'' he said. "I've never seen them like this - and it really doesn't have anything to do with what has happened across the state. "We're going to have an up-and-down year in terms of making mistakes because we're breaking in so many new guys at different places. But we're going to be a good team." -- Huntsville Times

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