2013 4* RB Jordan Wilkins (Ole Miss signee)

[Guest jrljr]

This kid has star all over him. I would take either he or Dye at this point. I wonder if his late offer has anything to do with Isaac committing to kiffin or maybe we feel Dye is leaning elsewhere. I see no drop-off with this guy. He isn't slow and he seems pretty strong. Jordan Wilkins...Come On Down!

[Guest Tigereagle03]

Will we still go after dye if wilkins commits?

[kkolumbo 8]

Will we still go after dye if wilkins commits?

No, IMO. I see us giving Dye a deadline to commit. Either he commits before Wilkins or he loses his offer.

[Guest jrljr]

Will we still go after dye if wilkins commits?

No, IMO. I see us giving Dye a deadline to commit. Either he commits before Wilkins or he loses his offer.

^^^THIS^^^ I think TD is told look you're our guy but you aren't the only talent out there and we intend to sign some (talent). In a sense, we won't be held hostage as per 2011. And thank the sweet Lord for Jovon Robinson. He and either Dye or Wilkins could remind us of some other great AU RB tandems.

[Guest Tigereagle03]

That stinks I like dye better..

[AUwenMD 0]

Will we still go after dye if wilkins commits?

No, IMO. I see us giving Dye a deadline to commit. Either he commits before Wilkins or he loses his offer.

^^^THIS^^^ I think TD is told look you're our guy but you aren't the only talent out there and we intend to sign some (talent). In a sense, we won't be held hostage as per 2011. And thank the sweet Lord for Jovon Robinson. He and either Dye or Wilkins could remind us of some other great AU RB tandems.

Isn't there a risk in getting "1" to commit rather than "2" (and/or "3", etc.)  who really wants to come to Auburn, then later "1" changes his mind thinking that he was pressured into commiting earlier than he wanted? Meanwhile, perhaps "2" and "3" on down the line decide to go somewhere else where they feel they might be more wanted. And  Auburn would be left with no one, or someone with less potential at a key position for that recruiting year.

[Guest jrljr]

Will we still go after dye if wilkins commits?

No, IMO. I see us giving Dye a deadline to commit. Either he commits before Wilkins or he loses his offer.

^^^THIS^^^ I think TD is told look you're our guy but you aren't the only talent out there and we intend to sign some (talent). In a sense, we won't be held hostage as per 2011. And thank the sweet Lord for Jovon Robinson. He and either Dye or Wilkins could remind us of some other great AU RB tandems.

Isn't there a risk in getting "1" to commit rather than "2" (and/or "3", etc.)  who really wants to come to Auburn, then later "1" changes his mind thinking that he was pressured into commiting earlier than he wanted? Meanwhile, perhaps "2" and "3" on down the line decide to go somewhere else where they feel they might be more wanted. And  Auburn would be left with no one, or someone with less potential at a key position for that recruiting year.

Sure, but there is also the risk of telling a recruit you're our guy and sitting on him...then he decides to go elsewhere and the other top guys are like "Oh, so I'm #2 huh? Let me show you how that feels." If they both want to come while the numbers are still there then great!

[IronMan70 3,277]

KK, I think that is a pretty fair trade off. I'd rather a back that can catch out of the backfield than one that can outrun everyone on the field. He is shifty enough and has good enough speed to be an excellent SEC back.

Top end speed is highly over rated. That doesn't mean that you can have a slow back. It means that its more important how quick a back is in his first 2 steps and then how fast he is able to get to his top end speed. The quickness of those first 2 steps determines how fast he is able to hit the hole. After he is thru, the fewer strides it takes him to get to his top end speed, the sooner he will separate himself. Lateral vision is also more important.

[BirdofPrey76 0]

Ahhh, the psychology of recruiting!

[mustache eagle 2,397]

KK, I think that is a pretty fair trade off. I'd rather a back that can catch out of the backfield than one that can outrun everyone on the field. He is shifty enough and has good enough speed to be an excellent SEC back.

Top end speed is highly over rated. That doesn't mean that you can have a slow back. It means that its more important how quick a back is in his first 2 steps and then how fast he is able to get to his top end speed. The quickness of those first 2 steps determines how fast he is able to hit the hole. After he is thru, the fewer strides it takes him to get to his top end speed, the sooner he will separate himself. Lateral vision is also more important.

good points.  emmitt smith was one of the all time greats.  at least one of the top 15 RB's ever.  he was not fast.  he had crazy good balance, low center of gravity, absolutely uncanny vision and had a great knack for setting up his blocks.  he was fast enough, but speed was not his thing.

[AuburnNTexas 7,134]

KK, I think that is a pretty fair trade off. I'd rather a back that can catch out of the backfield than one that can outrun everyone on the field. He is shifty enough and has good enough speed to be an excellent SEC back.

Top end speed is highly over rated. That doesn't mean that you can have a slow back. It means that its more important how quick a back is in his first 2 steps and then how fast he is able to get to his top end speed. The quickness of those first 2 steps determines how fast he is able to hit the hole. After he is thru, the fewer strides it takes him to get to his top end speed, the sooner he will separate himself. Lateral vision is also more important.

good points.  emmitt smith was one of the all time greats.  at least one of the top 15 RB's ever.  he was not fast.  he had crazy good balance, low center of gravity, absolutely uncanny vision and had a great knack for setting up his blocks.  he was fast enough, but speed was not his thing.

There is no one formula for what makes a great back.  Look at how different some of the greatest were Bo , Emmitt Smith, Gayle Sayers, Walter Peyton. Every one was different but each new what their strenghts were and played to them. Remember some people said Bo should have been a Linebacker not a running back, some people thought that Emmitt was to small and slow and the people saying that were knowledgeable people.

So when one of us says that we think this guy will be better than the other and we start quoting 40 times, number or reps, shuttle times, height, weight, HS game film we saw, etc. it lends credence to our opinion but once they get on campus and start playing we all find out we are right sometimes and wrong sometimes.

The only way to know for sure who is a great running back is after the fact.

[IronMan70 3,277]

Will we still go after dye if wilkins commits?

No, IMO. I see us giving Dye a deadline to commit. Either he commits before Wilkins or he loses his offer.

^^^THIS^^^ I think TD is told look you're our guy but you aren't the only talent out there and we intend to sign some (talent). In a sense, we won't be held hostage as per 2011. And thank the sweet Lord for Jovon Robinson. He and either Dye or Wilkins could remind us of some other great AU RB tandems.

IMHO I say no deadlines. Let's just take the first of those two that really "wants" to be at Auburn and commits, then call it a day.

[roe4christ 940]

Just tweeted, "Feeling good about these Auburn coaches". Per Keith Niebuhr, college football analyst for Rivals.

[aubfan25 0]

Bryan Matthews seemed to be hinting that he could possibly commit when he visits.

[au_bsci_04 407]

JW said he wants to commit before the season. Has us, Michigan, UT, Vandy, and Clemson at the top.

[Rednilla 5,383]

I'd be just as happy with Wilkins as with Dye, but I'm really not concerned about running back recruiting now. You guys are talking about pairing a guy from this year with Robinson, but then again, the same could have been said of Robinson last year while Blakely was redshirting, it just wasn't because of the Yeldon debacle. Truthfully, we have four backs right now who are both SEC caliber and have at least three more years to play.

Moreover, we have loads of talent on the offensive line, and I believe John Sullen is the only one who has less than three years to play. As long as we have the blockers, we'll be able to find someone to run behind them. There are always guys like Tre Mason who fall through the cracks of the other elite teams just waiting to be gobbled up and put in a system with superior blocking and a solid passing game.

**NOTE** That is not at all a shot at Mason, whom I have been high on since the moment he first appeared on our board. My point was simply that there are tons of good backs that can excel if given the blockers to run behind.

[Orange and Blue 17211345162833 0]

I see a lot of similarities in JW and Ty Isaac. JW is a better receiver than Isaac. Auburn couldn't go wrong if JW signs as our RB for the class of 2013.   

[Rednilla 5,383]

I see a lot of similarities in JW and Ty Isaac. JW is a better receiver than Isaac. Auburn couldn't go wrong if JW signs as our RB for the class of 2013.   

Why did I just get a vision of that old ESPN Radio commercial with the elementary school kids talking sports like old pros until the very end, when they all sat attentively listening to the broadcast?

[Guest EagleDamnWar]

He has around 19 offers now.  Just offered by Nebraska and will try to visit them in the summer.  In regards to AU, we are "firmly" in the mix.  He talked to Luper who said he is their number 1 target.  Luper also said he doesn't redshirt players and promises he would play in the first game of his freshman year.

[CMPluvAU04 0]

Hopefully we can land this kid,he has beast potential!!! Get em coach Lupe!!!!!!

[kkolumbo 8]

I have a feeling that if Wilkins doesn't commit to AU close to Big Cat, there could be another RB coming into the fold sometime in June (not necessarily committing, but showing more interest to)............Alvin Kamara

[au_bsci_04 407]

So, do you believe that Dye/Wilkins/Kamara (these 3 seems like the top priorities) are all equal in the coaches eyes and they would be happy with any or are we more actively pursuing one more than the others?

[aupops2 8]

I have a feeling that if Wilkins doesn't commit to AU close to Big Cat, there could be another RB coming into the fold sometime in June (not necessarily committing, but showing more interest to)............Alvin Kamara

I have that same feeling, kk, and the Foster, Matthews, Kamara connection certainly makes that compelling.

[kkolumbo 8]

So, do you believe that Dye/Wilkins/Kamara (these 3 seems like the top priorities) are all equal in the coaches eyes and they would be happy with any or are we more actively pursuing one more than the others?

IMO....I think Wilkins is our guy. Kamara may end up in the picture but that's pretty unclear right now. Should know more in June.

[mustache eagle 2,397]

i know there has been some debate as to if we sign more than 1 RB.  i think we do.  hard not to take 2 of these guys if they want to sign with us.  instant size/strength.  hate to go here, but will ... reminds me a little of using ronnie brown in the pseudo FB role with caddie.  take one of these guys who will be playing at 220 lbs and put him in the backfield with another RB ... dont use them as a prototype fullback ... this may eleviate us from getting just anything but the absolute best fullbacks, just to fill a fullback spot. 

any 2 of those 3 guys is exciting.  particularly with our new 6'6" qb (who will probably play at around 235-240.  dont know how these guys will play in college, but they sure will look good off the bus.