Blanc set to take over at nose guard for Auburn

By Robert Rousseau  |   Wednesday, August 20, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Auburn Tigers
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Auburn has a new starting nose guard in sophomore Mike Blanc, a 6-foot-4, 287-pounder.

According to assistant coach Don Dunn, Blanc has improved substantially over the past six months.

"He's had a big fall camp," Dunn said. "I expect big things out of him."

Blanc had a difficult time in 2007 dealing with a high ankle sprain. As a result, he only accrued six total tackles on the season. Meanwhile, the player who has stood atop the nose guard depth chart for the majority of this preseason -- junior Jake Ricks -- had eight tackles. But Blanc has simply outplayed Ricks up to this point.

Blanc, a Deerfield Beach, Fla., native and a three-star defensive tackle prospect in 2006, originally chose Auburn during a recruiting year when the Tigers brought in what Rivals considered the second-best DT class in the nation; in fact, Ricks was a four-star D-tackle from that class.

Now that he's the No. 1 nose guard, the onus will be on Blanc to take Josh Thompson’s place. Big shoes to fill, obviously.

Having put on between 20 and 30 pounds since he came to Auburn, Blanc appears ready for the challenge.
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About Robert Rousseau

Robert Rousseau is a sports writer that has been published in a variety of print and online venues. He’s been writing for RealFootball365.com for almost three years now. When Rousseau isn’t writing about college football he tends to be penning mixed martial arts pieces for MMAFighting.com or...
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