Tuberville hopes to get off 'hot seat'

HOOVER, ALABAMA - Every day, Auburn players walked into the weight room and saw five jerseys hanging on the wall. <br> <br> The jerseys represented each of the teams the Tigers lost to last season, including one from rival Alabama&#39;s 31-7 victory. <br> <br> ``Every time we go in there, we look at that, and we&#39;re tired of seeing that crimson jersey every day now,&#39;&#39; tight end Lorenzo Diamond said at Wednesday&#39;s Southeastern Conference Media Days. <br> <br> ``Knowing Alabama came to Auburn and beat you really has stuck with us all through the year.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The Tigers have had plenty of time to stew over last season&#39;s late collapse when they lost four of their last five games. <br> <br> ``After the downslide last season we were really upset, but we just have to use that as a motivational tool,&#39;&#39; coach Tommy Tuberville said. ``Hopefully that makes us a hungry team and a team that knows what they have to do to be successful.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Tuberville even joked about preseason publications that picked him as one of the league coaches on the hot seat. A blowout loss to your chief rival with a chance to clinch the SEC Western Division title tends to put a coach on wobbly ground. <br> <br> Tuberville said the program, however, is definitely on solid footing. <br> <br> ``When you lose that game, especially way we lost it, you&#39;re on the hot seat,&#39;&#39; Tuberville said. ``Our program is as good as it&#39;s been, and we&#39;re going north, we&#39;re not going south.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Diamond said the players share the responsibility for last season&#39;s poor finish. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s our responsibility to go out and make plays,&#39;&#39; he said. ``He shouldn&#39;t be on the hot seat, we should.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Regardless, the Tigers will have other things on their mind once two-a-day practices begin next week. <br> <br> Things such as a trip to Southern Cal (Sept. 2), a visit by Syracuse (Sept. 28) and four games in the first 18 days. <br> <br> ``I think we&#39;ve worked harder this summer than we ever have,&#39;&#39; said Diamond, saying the grueling opening stretch provided added incentive to stay in shape. <br> <br> Daniel Cobb and Jason Campbell will enter two-a-days once again in a heated battle for the starting quarterback job. <br> <br> ``We still have no clue who the quarterback&#39;s going to be,&#39;&#39; Tuberville said. ``One thing I&#39;ve told them the last few weeks is I&#39;m looking for leadership. <br> <br> ``They both have the same athletic qualities, both have had good times and bad times. We need to find someone to be more consistent. This year we have a better supporting cast around them, a better group of running backs, tight ends, wide receivers. It will be easier for a quarterback to be successful.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The Tigers lost three starting offensive linemen and top receivers Tim Carter and Deandre Green. <br> <br> However, sophomore tailback Carnell Williams returns, along with three veteran tight ends. Tuberville also signed five prep receivers he expects to be nearly instant contributors. <br> <br> ``We have a good chance to compete with everybody we play week in and week out,&#39;&#39; he said. ``Over the past seven years, I haven&#39;t been able to stand up here and say that.&#39;&#39;