Auburn football notes: Quarterback recruit Zeke Pike enrolls early
AUBURN, Ala. -- Zeke Pike, a quarterback recruit from Dixie Heights High School in Crestview Hills, Ky., has enrolled at Auburn for the spring semester.
Pike’s status as an early enrollee makes him eligible to participate in spring practices with the team and brings Auburn’s total of early enrollees for the 2012 class to three.
Offensive lineman Shane Callahan and linebacker Javiere Mitchell enrolled earlier this week.
Pike, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound quarterback, passed for 1,964 yards, 13 touchdowns and 14 interceptions as a senior at Dixie Heights, and he added 728 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. He also was suspended for his school’s first-round playoff game for a violation of team rules.
He might have been better as a junior. During the 2010 season, Pike passed for 2,218 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed for 1,072 yards and 17 scores.
Rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com and a three-star prospect by AuburnUndercover.com, Pike served as one of the quarterbacks for the West team Saturday in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
Offensive coordinator
Now that Auburn has found its defensive coordinator in former Falcons coordinator Brian VanGorder, Auburn head coach Gene Chizik still has one more coordinator spot left to fill.
Chizik offered little new information on the offensive coordinator search at Wednesday’s news conference.
“We’re making progress,” Chizik said. “As soon as I feel like we’ve come to the best person that’s best for the job, we’re going to do it. Right now, I feel really good about where we are in the process.”
Chizik declined to put a number on how many offensive coordinator candidates he has contacted.
“I’ve talked to a handful,” Chizik said.
Mulling options
Quarterback Barrett Trotter has not decided whether he will return to Auburn for his senior season of eligibility.
Trotter, a junior in terms of football eligibility, already has his degree in communications and might decide to move on. He started the first seven games, but he was lifted in favor of Clint Moseley at halftime against Florida.
“We’re kind of working through that,” Chizik said. “We’ll see what happens next.”
When Moseley went down with an injury in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Trotter came in and completed 11-of-18 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown.
This story was originally published January 12, 2012 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Auburn football notes: Quarterback recruit Zeke Pike enrolls early."