Cardin Drake

I'm not going to underestimate the importance of putting together a great offensive line. It's key. And I know the coaches understand this. But I'm not going to freak out either just because one big ugly committed to UGA.

I live in Austin, and I'll add my 2 cents. UT is recruiting well again under Tom Herman, but he is once again selling the future, not the present. And the Big 12 is a liability. Auburn has a bigger brand than you think. And the SEC is a big draw. Texas produces about 350 Division 1 football players every year, the most of any state, about 25 more than Florida. A&M successfully sells playing in the SEC. But there are a lot of people who just don't want to be Aggies all their life. If you don't waste time on players likely to go to UT or A&M, there are still a lot of players left. And Auburn has just as much or more to sell as the rest of the schools recruiting in Texas. Outside of Oklahoma and LSU, everyone is weak or has the same geographical disadvantage that we do. If you can get an athlete to take a visit, they will be impressed, and we'll have some success. However, if the question is the bandwidth of the coaches, then of course they will have a lower hit rate trying to drag kids from Texas. But targeting some areas of need will pay off if the coaches have the time.

Ok, I'm completely sold now on Ja'Varrius Johnson. War Eagle!

Luke Deal has an incredible offer list. Great pickup.

Chances are he wins his appeal. Back up center at Bama. Area of need for us right now. I have a feeling we'd find a way to take him if he wants to come, and the SEC lets him.

I have no faith in this offense right now, but I was glad to see Clemson shut down Louisville. This game was weird. I wouldn't have thought it was possible to complete 87% of your passes without looking outstanding. Crap, most QB's wouldn't go 32 for 37 without a defense on the field. Still, something is missing.

Stidham has a strong arm, throws a nice ball and is pretty accurate. I still question his ability to read defenses and know where his open receiver will likely be. He is going to have to get much better quickly if we are going to survive in the SEC. He holds the ball too long, and we still can't stretch the field vertically. I would like to see some ZoneRead packages and Willis in spots. I'm not optimistic that this offense can score on the league's better defenses.

Stidham has a great arm, and he is very accurate. But his indecisiveness is painful to watch. This is not going to fly in SEC play. Receivers are open. He just can't find them fast enough.

Stidham is still holding the ball too long. Don't tell me nobody is open.

Well, here's my 2 cents. The offensive line has a ton of talent. It will be fine. Unfortunately, they weren't up to the challenge of what could be the top defensive line in the country with 2 new starters. That line will NOT be a problem going forward. They will get their act together. Much more concerning to me was Stidham's performance. I'm not ready to give up on him, but I'm close. I'm just not seeing a competent QB, much less an elite QB. He has to get rid of the ball much quicker than that to be effective. This will be a very productive offense with a good QB. I'm just not sure we have one on our roster right now. Sean White may not even be completely healthy. One more performance like that from Stidham, and I'd be ready to go with Malik. Seriously.

He does flat out need to make that catch, but PI should have been called. He had to one hand it cause the defender was clamped down on his other arm.

I take that as our chances are pretty good..

I just can't get concerned about running back recruiting. It's the easiest position to fill. There is no shortage of good backs, and true freshmen can contribute immediately. If we don't land the right guy this year, it will be much easier next year because of the lure of immediate playing time. Other positions need a good pipeline in place, and can't be fixed in one year. We are fine.

I couldn't disagree more that we are early on this offer. This kid has done it on the football field. There is no question that he has a high football IQ. They just needed to verify that he had the athleticism to back it up at the college level. They saw that he did; at that point it's an easy decision. It's not hard to measure speed and size. But at linebacker, in particular, the most important thing is being it the right position and making plays. Nobody we are recruiting at that position does it better. This kid is not a backup plan; we took him because we think he can play for us.

Well, other than the 33,000 emails she deleted....