ROGERS — Lee Ziemba is back on the Auburn campus, but the big question is for how long.
Ziemba has started at offensive tackle in every game Auburn has played over the last three seasons, but there is speculation that the former Rogers High All-State football player will forgo his senior season to enter the NFL Draft.
Underclassmen have until Friday to declare for the draft and Ziemba is keeping his options a closely guarded secret. Ziemba deflected questioning about the draft prior to the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, and his stance hasn’t changed.
“I’m not going to answer that,” Ziemba said when asked if he would declare for the draft. “I’m going back to Auburn (on Saturday). I don’t know.”
Ziemba has put together an impressive resume since playing for the Mounties. He has started in 38 consecutive games and was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection as voted on by the league coaches.
The Associated Press tabbed Ziemba as an honorable mention selection.
One NFL Draft site has Ziemba as the 10th-best left tackle available in the draft.
Rogers coach Ronnie Peacock is not surprised that Ziemba has put himself in a position to come out early. Peacock last talked with Ziemba about a month ago.
“Anytime you have a kid that has started that many games, has got stronger and put on weight, that is the type of kid that can come out early,” Peacock said. “I think he will generate some interest, but I don’t know what he is going to do.”
But Ziemba was more inclined to talk about the 2009 season and not his professional future.
Auburn (8-5) finished the season with a 38-35 overtime victory over Northwestern that capped Gene Chizik’s first season at Auburn. Auburn started 5-0 but dropped three straight at midseason, beginning with a 44-23 loss at Arkansas.
“The year started out very exciting,” Ziemba said. “Big road win at Tennessee (that made us 5-0). But we knew the season would get tougher and we dropped a few right there. We had some wear and tear on our bodies. We were very fortunate to get to play in a good bowl game.
“We ended the season the right way. Overall, it was a success. We had three games we could, should of won.”
Chizik’s hiring was met with disbelief by some Auburn faithful. But bringing former Springdale High coach Gus Malzahn on as offensive coordinator turned the Tigers into a potent offensive machine.
Ziemba said the transition from one coaching staff to another was a smooth one.
“Coach Chizik made it very easy,” Ziemba said. “He made sure there were no gray areas. We knew what was expected. We ran less plays and we got people in their right positions.
“I love Coach Malzahn. He is a hard worker, the way he studies film. A great asset to the program and I learned more from him than any other coach I have had.”
One thing that the new staff did with the offensive linemen was to put them on a diet. A weight-increasing diet.
Ziemba played at 280 pounds as a sophomore but was put on a 5,000-calorie-a-day diet that had the junior eating five to seven meals a day. He played most of the season at 310.
“It wasn’t hard,” Ziemba said. “I ate and lifted weights. I tried to eat the right foods and not gain bad weight. The staff did a great jog of maintaining my weight. I gained 10 pounds during the season.”
Now the only question is what Ziemba will have on his plate next season.
Profile
Lee Ziemba
Age: 20. Born: March 29, 1989.
High School: Rogers High.
College: Auburn.
Class: Junior (three-year letterman).
Position: Offensive tackle.
Height: 6-foot-8. Weight: 310.
Parents: Mike and Dawn Ziemba, both of whom attended Auburn.
Notable: In first year at Auburn, was named to Collegefootballnews.com's Freshman All-America First Team, Coaches' All-SEC Freshman Team, First-Team Freshman All-American by Scout.com and Rivals.com First Team Freshman All-American, Sporting News SEC All-Freshman Team and Sporting News First Team Freshman All-America Team. … Started all 13 games on offensive line. ... First true freshman at Auburn to start season opener since wide receivers Ben Obomanu and Devin Aromoshodu in 2002. … Many prep accolades including being named to the USA Today All-American team and selected as the 2006 Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year and Northwest Arkansas Morning News Co-Player of the Year as a senior.