Defensive Recruiting

[AUApostle 7,648]

Oh I expect to see Tre a good bit on Saturday. He's not going to redshirt. By the end of the year, I'm hopeful that he'll give us 10-20 snaps in meaningful games. That would be ideal, but he's not good enough (especially from a mental standpoint) to do that right now. So Frost plays every snap. When we go to the double-Star look, it's generally Frost manning the single LB position.

When we shift into the 3-3-5, Frost stays on the field then too (usually with Garrett or Therezie playing the other OLB). That's been an interesting alignment. Against KState, the most common personnel that I could see for that group was: Adams-Blackson-Wright, Frost-McKinzy-Therezie, Mincy-Reed, Holsey-Ruffin-Ford. We used it a lot. Ruffin played a good bit of Safety with Holsey and Ford flanking him.

Mincy played every snap of the game as well, by the way. THAT is why we need Whitehead back. Holsey is the only guy we trust at Boundary CB behind Mincy. Whitehead allows us to play Holsey at CB. Even if you want to leave Holsey at Safety (which may be his best spot), you could rotate him down to CB from time to time to give Mincy a rest.

Could Reed back up Mincy? He's currently backing up Jones, correct?

[mcgufcm 4,096]

I suspect Trovon Reed is in the running for the starting spot at the Field CB position. Even so, he's a little rangier, which is what you look for on the field side.

The idea when we signed those guys was that Ruffin was a boundary-type guy; Roberts was a Safety, and Bessent was the heir-apparent to the field CB spot. Only one of those guys gets any reps at that particular position (Roberts at Field Safety... but he didn't get extra burn with Whitehead on the bench so he's not really a rotation guy). Ruffin is playing Star and middle Safety in the 3-3-5 alignment. Bessent is cruising toward a redshirt.

[Guest jojo1515]

Oh I expect to see Tre a good bit on Saturday. He's not going to redshirt. By the end of the year, I'm hopeful that he'll give us 10-20 snaps in meaningful games. That would be ideal, but he's not good enough (especially from a mental standpoint) to do that right now. So Frost plays every snap. When we go to the double-Star look, it's generally Frost manning the single LB position.

When we shift into the 3-3-5, Frost stays on the field then too (usually with Garrett or Therezie playing the other OLB). That's been an interesting alignment. Against KState, the most common personnel that I could see for that group was: Adams-Blackson-Wright, Frost-McKinzy-Therezie, Mincy-Reed, Holsey-Ruffin-Ford. We used it a lot. Ruffin played a good bit of Safety with Holsey and Ford flanking him.

Mincy played every snap of the game as well, by the way. THAT is why we need Whitehead back. Holsey is the only guy we trust at Boundary CB behind Mincy. Whitehead allows us to play Holsey at CB. Even if you want to leave Holsey at Safety (which may be his best spot), you could rotate him down to CB from time to time to give Mincy a rest.

Could Reed back up Mincy? He's currently backing up Jones, correct?

If Jones doesn't step his game up, Reed will be starting. Then maybe Jones could back up Mincy

[JFDTiger80 790]

I saw that UGA just got their 3rd commitment from a DE today. This DE flipped from FL ST. They also have several highly rated DT's committed including Thompson. It is hard to argue that they are killing it on Dline recruiting this year. Pruitt has definitely made a name for himself with the recruits UGA is going after. I am not sure how we are going to do it, bit we are going to have to pick up,the Defensive line recruiting pace.

[mom2kid 216]

I saw that UGA just got their 3rd commitment from a DE today. This DE flipped from FL ST. They also have several highly rated DT's committed including Thompson. It is hard to argue that they are killing it on Dline recruiting this year. Pruitt has definitely made a name for himself with the recruits UGA is going after. I am not sure how we are going to do it, bit we are going to have to pick up,the Defensive line recruiting pace.

I have to admit that I am getting concerned about our dline recruiting this year. We did very well last year getting top targets, we end up playing for the national title almost winning out, and our D has played very well so far. Ellis is highly respected and has shown to be great at 2nd half adjustments. I know the UGA folks had lots of negative comments regarding CRG regarding recruiting and coaching but true or not, those issues didn't appear to be so since coming to AU. And yes we have started to develop relationships with 2016 targets. But I am curious if there is something hurting us this year. In business when we lose a deal we do due diligence and try to find out what happened so we can do better the next time. I know Pruitt is the new shiny toy but is there a reason we not getting our share of targets?

[ellitor 33,062]

But I am curious if there is something hurting us this year. In business when we lose a deal we do due diligence and try to find out what happened so we can do better the next time. I know Pruitt is the new shiny toy but is there a reason we not getting our share of targets?

This has been answered countless times. Garner does not have as long or as deep a relationship with the current class for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the most important thing to him was to fix the then current problem of repairing broken psychies and coaching horrible habits of of the 2013 season's D Line. That took time and energy away from recruiting. The other big reason is Garner went from a 3-4 D at UGA to a 4-3 D at AU. Other than the 3-4 Nose Guard being similar to the 4-3 0 technique DTs there are no similarities in the 2 sets of D Linemen.so Garner had to start relationships with a new set of prospects when he arrived at AU. For example, when Garner was at UGA he was not recruiting one of our current top targets in D'Andre Walker because UGA was and is recruiting him as an OLB. Somebody's going to now say well Pruitt is new at UGA and is doing well. Well Pruitt did not and is not changing base schemes. He been in a 3-4 D his whole career and is installing that at UGA so he has a very long relationship with the kids he wants to get. That's going to give him a year or so major advantage in this case. If the 2016 class, which has a lot of momentum right now on the DL, is subpar then we can start to worry about DL recruiting in the long run.

[aujeff11 6,243]

We can't afford to wait until after the 2016 class to worry about our DL recruiting. If the 2015 and 2016 DL classes are subpar, our program will be seriously lacking. I'm not saying those classes will be subpar; however, I am saying if we are having this predicament in 2016, then 2016 will have to be as strong as our 2013 DL class. This is just my two cents on the state of our DL class.

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

The amount of talent in the 2016 class is stellar. I know we've all said that the 2016 class could be one of the best ever, but the amount of kids who we're in on is out of this world. If we don't sign enough DL in 2015, we'll make up for it in 2016.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

Seems like every time I turn on ESPN or The SEC Network, their talking about uat, UT, UG,, MSU and other SEC teams getting more commitments. Not Auburn.

[JFDTiger80 790]

The amount of talent in the 2016 class is stellar. I know we've all said that the 2016 class could be one of the best ever, but the amount of kids who we're in on is out of this world. If we don't sign enough DL in 2015, we'll make up for it in 2016.

I hope this is right. I would like to start with the Rochester kid.

[IronMan70 3,277]

But I am curious if there is something hurting us this year. In business when we lose a deal we do due diligence and try to find out what happened so we can do better the next time. I know Pruitt is the new shiny toy but is there a reason we not getting our share of targets?

This has been answered countless times. Garner does not have as long or as deep a relationship with the current class for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the most important thing to him was to fix the then current problem of repairing broken psychies and coaching horrible habits of of the 2013 season's D Line. That took time and energy away from recruiting. The other big reason is Garner went from a 3-4 D at UGA to a 4-3 D at AU. Other than the 3-4 Nose Guard being similar to the 4-3 0 technique DTs there are no similarities in the 2 sets of D Linemen.so Garner had to start relationships with a new set of prospects when he arrived at AU. For example, when Garner was at UGA he was not recruiting one of our current top targets in D'Andre Walker because UGA was and is recruiting him as an OLB. Somebody's going to now say well Pruitt is new at UGA and is doing well. Well Pruitt did not and is not changing base schemes. He been in a 3-4 D his whole career and is installing that at UGA so he has a very long relationship with the kids he wants to get. That's going to give him a year or so major advantage in this case. If the 2016 class, which has a lot of momentum right now on the DL, is subpar then we can start to worry about DL recruiting in the long run.

I think I would rather believe that CRG has something up his sleeve which I actually think is the case. Honestly, to think otherwise isn't very comforting. The notion that there hasn't been enough time to work the 2015 class doesn't stand up when you compare us to another program in a similar situation, Tennessee.

The Auburn and Tennessee coaching staffs are both in their 2nd year. Both had the same amount of time with 2015 recruits, except for our bowl prep. Both run a 4 man front. Both can offer early playing time on the DL in 2015. Auburn has the advantage of being much more successful on the field last year. The DL commits as of today are,

Auburn:

DE- 0

DT- 3* Johnson

Tennessee:

DE- 4* Taylor, 4* Butcher, 3* Ford, 3* Jackson

DT- 5* McKenzie, 4* Tuttle, 3* Picou

I have to believe that CRG is working on something.

[mom2kid 216]

But I am curious if there is something hurting us this year. In business when we lose a deal we do due diligence and try to find out what happened so we can do better the next time. I know Pruitt is the new shiny toy but is there a reason we not getting our share of targets?

This has been answered countless times. Garner does not have as long or as deep a relationship with the current class for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the most important thing to him was to fix the then current problem of repairing broken psychies and coaching horrible habits of of the 2013 season's D Line. That took time and energy away from recruiting. The other big reason is Garner went from a 3-4 D at UGA to a 4-3 D at AU. Other than the 3-4 Nose Guard being similar to the 4-3 0 technique DTs there are no similarities in the 2 sets of D Linemen.so Garner had to start relationships with a new set of prospects when he arrived at AU. For example, when Garner was at UGA he was not recruiting one of our current top targets in D'Andre Walker because UGA was and is recruiting him as an OLB. Somebody's going to now say well Pruitt is new at UGA and is doing well. Well Pruitt did not and is not changing base schemes. He been in a 3-4 D his whole career and is installing that at UGA so he has a very long relationship with the kids he wants to get. That's going to give him a year or so major advantage in this case. If the 2016 class, which has a lot of momentum right now on the DL, is subpar then we can start to worry about DL recruiting in the long run.

I think I would rather believe that CRG has something up his sleeve which I actually think is the case. Honestly, to think otherwise isn't very comforting. The notion that there hasn't been enough time to work the 2015 class doesn't stand up when you compare us to another program in a similar situation, Tennessee.

The Auburn and Tennessee coaching staffs are both in their 2nd year. Both had the same amount of time with 2015 recruits, except our bowl prep. Both run a 4 man front. Both can offer early playing time on the DL in 2015. Auburn has the advantage of being much more successful on the field last year. The DL commits as of today are,

Auburn:

DE- 0

DT- 3* Johnson

Tennessee:

DE- 4* Taylor, 4* Butcher, 3* Ford, 3* Jackson

DT- 5* McKenzie, 4* Tuttle, 3* Picou

I have to believe that CRG is working on something.

No offense meant but the suggestion that RG has not had time to recruit because he's been busy coaching is disconcerting. Every coach has to do both. We are seriously lacking in Dline recruiting and to some degree in high ranked receivers. With our running attack I can understand that receivers want to see more of a throwing offense but on the defense side I don't understand the issue. I for one would like to know from the recruits what their concern with AU was. We have missed out on just about all the top targets

[AU_Tiger_88 417]

But I am curious if there is something hurting us this year. In business when we lose a deal we do due diligence and try to find out what happened so we can do better the next time. I know Pruitt is the new shiny toy but is there a reason we not getting our share of targets?

This has been answered countless times. Garner does not have as long or as deep a relationship with the current class for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the most important thing to him was to fix the then current problem of repairing broken psychies and coaching horrible habits of of the 2013 season's D Line. That took time and energy away from recruiting. The other big reason is Garner went from a 3-4 D at UGA to a 4-3 D at AU. Other than the 3-4 Nose Guard being similar to the 4-3 0 technique DTs there are no similarities in the 2 sets of D Linemen.so Garner had to start relationships with a new set of prospects when he arrived at AU. For example, when Garner was at UGA he was not recruiting one of our current top targets in D'Andre Walker because UGA was and is recruiting him as an OLB. Somebody's going to now say well Pruitt is new at UGA and is doing well. Well Pruitt did not and is not changing base schemes. He been in a 3-4 D his whole career and is installing that at UGA so he has a very long relationship with the kids he wants to get. That's going to give him a year or so major advantage in this case. If the 2016 class, which has a lot of momentum right now on the DL, is subpar then we can start to worry about DL recruiting in the long run.

I think I would rather believe that CRG has something up his sleeve which I actually think is the case. Honestly, to think otherwise isn't very comforting. The notion that there hasn't been enough time to work the 2015 class doesn't stand up when you compare us to another program in a similar situation, Tennessee.

The Auburn and Tennessee coaching staffs are both in their 2nd year. Both had the same amount of time with 2015 recruits, except our bowl prep. Both run a 4 man front. Both can offer early playing time on the DL in 2015. Auburn has the advantage of being much more successful on the field last year. The DL commits as of today are,

Auburn:

DE- 0

DT- 3* Johnson

Tennessee:

DE- 4* Taylor, 4* Butcher, 3* Ford, 3* Jackson

DT- 5* McKenzie, 4* Tuttle, 3* Picou

I have to believe that CRG is working on something.

No offense meant but the suggestion that RG has not had time to recruit because he's been busy coaching is disconcerting. Every coach has to do both. We are seriously lacking in Dline recruiting and to some degree in high ranked receivers. With our running attack I can understand that receivers want to see more of a throwing offense but on the defense side I don't understand the issue. I for one would like to know from the recruits what their concern with AU was. We have missed out on just about all the top targets

Using your business analogy...say you were in IT sales but got a new job in Medical sales....it is still sales but you have to make all new contacts because your former clients and prospects were all in the IT arena ... yeah there are a few cross overs but not many...you have to make new contacts for the medical arena....same thing CRG had to do...first he had to shore up his current area and then make those new contacts with folks that fit in the 4-3 vice the 3-4 and with D-line it takes a while to cultivate those kids...most aren't ready as freshmen but some are and they are few and far between...we will be fine even though we are losing so many seniors...

[Mikey 16,550]

Using your business analogy...say you were in IT sales but got a new job in Medical sales....it is still sales but you have to make all new contacts because your former clients and prospects were all in the IT arena ... yeah there are a few cross overs but not many...you have to make new contacts for the medical arena....same thing CRG had to do...first he had to shore up his current area and then make those new contacts with folks that fit in the 4-3 vice the 3-4 and with D-line it takes a while to cultivate those kids...most aren't ready as freshmen but some are and they are few and far between...we will be fine even though we are losing so many seniors...

Apparently you didn't read IronMan70's post, above. What disadvantage are we working under that Tennessee doesn't also have? I can't find one, yet so far they are outclassing us in defensive recruiting.

And....if we graduate four DL guys and have a sub-par year recruiting on the DL, we won't be nearly as fine as we should be. 2016, whatever it is, will NOT make up for failure to recruit defensive players in 2015.

[IronMan70 3,277]

But I am curious if there is something hurting us this year. In business when we lose a deal we do due diligence and try to find out what happened so we can do better the next time. I know Pruitt is the new shiny toy but is there a reason we not getting our share of targets?

This has been answered countless times. Garner does not have as long or as deep a relationship with the current class for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the most important thing to him was to fix the then current problem of repairing broken psychies and coaching horrible habits of of the 2013 season's D Line. That took time and energy away from recruiting. The other big reason is Garner went from a 3-4 D at UGA to a 4-3 D at AU. Other than the 3-4 Nose Guard being similar to the 4-3 0 technique DTs there are no similarities in the 2 sets of D Linemen.so Garner had to start relationships with a new set of prospects when he arrived at AU. For example, when Garner was at UGA he was not recruiting one of our current top targets in D'Andre Walker because UGA was and is recruiting him as an OLB. Somebody's going to now say well Pruitt is new at UGA and is doing well. Well Pruitt did not and is not changing base schemes. He been in a 3-4 D his whole career and is installing that at UGA so he has a very long relationship with the kids he wants to get. That's going to give him a year or so major advantage in this case. If the 2016 class, which has a lot of momentum right now on the DL, is subpar then we can start to worry about DL recruiting in the long run.

I think I would rather believe that CRG has something up his sleeve which I actually think is the case. Honestly, to think otherwise isn't very comforting. The notion that there hasn't been enough time to work the 2015 class doesn't stand up when you compare us to another program in a similar situation, Tennessee.

The Auburn and Tennessee coaching staffs are both in their 2nd year. Both had the same amount of time with 2015 recruits, except our bowl prep. Both run a 4 man front. Both can offer early playing time on the DL in 2015. Auburn has the advantage of being much more successful on the field last year. The DL commits as of today are,

Auburn:

DE- 0

DT- 3* Johnson

Tennessee:

DE- 4* Taylor, 4* Butcher, 3* Ford, 3* Jackson

DT- 5* McKenzie, 4* Tuttle, 3* Picou

I have to believe that CRG is working on something.

No offense meant but the suggestion that RG has not had time to recruit because he's been busy coaching is disconcerting. Every coach has to do both. We are seriously lacking in Dline recruiting and to some degree in high ranked receivers. With our running attack I can understand that receivers want to see more of a throwing offense but on the defense side I don't understand the issue. I for one would like to know from the recruits what their concern with AU was. We have missed out on just about all the top targets

Yep, I agree.

[Rednilla 5,383]

Using your business analogy...say you were in IT sales but got a new job in Medical sales....it is still sales but you have to make all new contacts because your former clients and prospects were all in the IT arena ... yeah there are a few cross overs but not many...you have to make new contacts for the medical arena....same thing CRG had to do...first he had to shore up his current area and then make those new contacts with folks that fit in the 4-3 vice the 3-4 and with D-line it takes a while to cultivate those kids...most aren't ready as freshmen but some are and they are few and far between...we will be fine even though we are losing so many seniors...

Apparently you didn't read IronMan70's post, above. What disadvantage are we working under that Tennessee doesn't also have? I can't find one, yet so far they are outclassing us in defensive recruiting.

And....if we graduate four DL guys and have a sub-par year recruiting on the DL, we won't be nearly as fine as we should be. 2016, whatever it is, will NOT make up for failure to recruit defensive players in 2015.

Apparently you have chosen to blatantly ignore the information I've provided regarding the numbers along the defensive line. Even with 5 players graduating, we still have 12 more who are already on the roster, including 4 true freshmen. Of those players, two were consensus 5 star guys, another was borderline 5 star, and five more were consensus 4 star players out of high school.

Thus, is it really any wonder that we have focused more elsewhere in recruiting?

Now, I sincerely doubt that we are going to go the next four and a half months without picking up even a single DL recruit, and if we add even just one solid 4 star and maybe a project-type 3 star, I'd say we're looking mighty solid along the defensive front...but the bottom line is that we signed 6 defensive linemen last year to be prepared for the 5 who are leaving after this year, so barring a rash of injuries, we will not be hurting for depth anytime soon on defensive line.

[AU_Tiger_88 417]

Using your business analogy...say you were in IT sales but got a new job in Medical sales....it is still sales but you have to make all new contacts because your former clients and prospects were all in the IT arena ... yeah there are a few cross overs but not many...you have to make new contacts for the medical arena....same thing CRG had to do...first he had to shore up his current area and then make those new contacts with folks that fit in the 4-3 vice the 3-4 and with D-line it takes a while to cultivate those kids...most aren't ready as freshmen but some are and they are few and far between...we will be fine even though we are losing so many seniors...

Apparently you didn't read IronMan70's post, above. What disadvantage are we working under that Tennessee doesn't also have? I can't find one, yet so far they are outclassing us in defensive recruiting.

And....if we graduate four DL guys and have a sub-par year recruiting on the DL, we won't be nearly as fine as we should be. 2016, whatever it is, will NOT make up for failure to recruit defensive players in 2015.

Apparently you have chosen to blatantly ignore the information I've provided regarding the numbers along the defensive line. Even with 5 players graduating, we still have 12 more who are already on the roster, including 4 true freshmen. Of those players, two were consensus 5 star guys, another was borderline 5 star, and five more were consensus 4 star players out of high school.

Thus, is it really any wonder that we have focused more elsewhere in recruiting?

Now, I sincerely doubt that we are going to go the next four and a half months without picking up even a single DL recruit, and if we add even just one solid 4 star and maybe a project-type 3 star, I'd say we're looking mighty solid along the defensive front...but the bottom line is that we signed 6 defensive linemen last year to be prepared for the 5 who are leaving after this year, so barring a rash of injuries, we will not be hurting for depth anytime soon on defensive line.

Folks on this board love to ignore the facts...I didn't mention the numbers because it was already out there, I think we will be alright for 2015 and need to set our sights on 2016.

[IronMan70 3,277]

Well folks, both of our starting LBs are out with injuries in the La Tech game now. I guess we'll see where we stand with our LBers soon enough, not only for the rest of this game, but also the next 7 SEC games.

[Randman5000 4,224]

Well folks, both of our starting LBs are out with injuries in the La Tech game now. I guess we'll see where we stand with our LBers, not only for the rest of this game and the next 7 SEC games.

Still early and I think frost was pulled as a precaution but I'm totally with you. Williams needs work too and he's a five star

[JFDTiger80 790]

But I am curious if there is something hurting us this year. In business when we lose a deal we do due diligence and try to find out what happened so we can do better the next time. I know Pruitt is the new shiny toy but is there a reason we not getting our share of targets?

This has been answered countless times. Garner does not have as long or as deep a relationship with the current class for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the most important thing to him was to fix the then current problem of repairing broken psychies and coaching horrible habits of of the 2013 season's D Line. That took time and energy away from recruiting. The other big reason is Garner went from a 3-4 D at UGA to a 4-3 D at AU. Other than the 3-4 Nose Guard being similar to the 4-3 0 technique DTs there are no similarities in the 2 sets of D Linemen.so Garner had to start relationships with a new set of prospects when he arrived at AU. For example, when Garner was at UGA he was not recruiting one of our current top targets in D'Andre Walker because UGA was and is recruiting him as an OLB. Somebody's going to now say well Pruitt is new at UGA and is doing well. Well Pruitt did not and is not changing base schemes. He been in a 3-4 D his whole career and is installing that at UGA so he has a very long relationship with the kids he wants to get. That's going to give him a year or so major advantage in this case. If the 2016 class, which has a lot of momentum right now on the DL, is subpar then we can start to worry about DL recruiting in the long run.

I think I would rather believe that CRG has something up his sleeve which I actually think is the case. Honestly, to think otherwise isn't very comforting. The notion that there hasn't been enough time to work the 2015 class doesn't stand up when you compare us to another program in a similar situation, Tennessee.

The Auburn and Tennessee coaching staffs are both in their 2nd year. Both had the same amount of time with 2015 recruits, except our bowl prep. Both run a 4 man front. Both can offer early playing time on the DL in 2015. Auburn has the advantage of being much more successful on the field last year. The DL commits as of today are,

Auburn:

DE- 0

DT- 3* Johnson

Tennessee:

DE- 4* Taylor, 4* Butcher, 3* Ford, 3* Jackson

DT- 5* McKenzie, 4* Tuttle, 3* Picou

I have to believe that CRG is working on something.

No offense meant but the suggestion that RG has not had time to recruit because he's been busy coaching is disconcerting. Every coach has to do both. We are seriously lacking in Dline recruiting and to some degree in high ranked receivers. With our running attack I can understand that receivers want to see more of a throwing offense but on the defense side I don't understand the issue. I for one would like to know from the recruits what their concern with AU was. We have missed out on just about all the top targets

Yep, I agree.

Impressive by TN. They are going to get in the mix soon. Almost beat UGA today. JMO, I do not think Garner has anything up his sleeve, that is why we are seeing JUCO guys on our list now. It is disappointing.

Our Dline is playing pretty well this year, except they cannot Rush the QB. We miss Lawson a lot. Good HS players could get early PT at AU next year.

[Randman5000 4,224]

Was any big recruits in auburn thus weekend for the game? Or most coming in for Lsu...

[Mikey 16,550]

Apparently you have chosen to blatantly ignore the information I've provided regarding the numbers along the defensive line. Even with 5 players graduating, we still have 12 more who are already on the roster, including 4 true freshmen. Of those players, two were consensus 5 star guys, another was borderline 5 star, and five more were consensus 4 star players out of high school.

I'm not blatantly ignoring your numbers. I'm not even plain ol' ignoring them. They simply have no relevance to the current state of our defensive recruiting. Unless, of course, you have clairvoyant knowledge that none of the 12 will get injured, transfer out or fall prey to some legal misfortune. Our staff must not be too comfortable with those numbers. Until the recent media flareup they were counting on signing the UGA DL guy with tons of baggage. That pretty much smacks of desperation.

[mattarcara 0]

Was any big recruits in auburn thus weekend for the game? Or most coming in for Lsu...

Darrell Williams who is already committed was here.

[gman87 398]

Rochester, the big '16 DT also.

[Rednilla 5,383]

Apparently you have chosen to blatantly ignore the information I've provided regarding the numbers along the defensive line. Even with 5 players graduating, we still have 12 more who are already on the roster, including 4 true freshmen. Of those players, two were consensus 5 star guys, another was borderline 5 star, and five more were consensus 4 star players out of high school.

I'm not blatantly ignoring your numbers. I'm not even plain ol' ignoring them. They simply have no relevance to the current state of our defensive recruiting. Unless, of course, you have clairvoyant knowledge that none of the 12 will get injured, transfer out or fall prey to some legal misfortune. Our staff must not be too comfortable with those numbers. Until the recent media flareup they were counting on signing the UGA DL guy with tons of baggage. That pretty much smacks of desperation.

So you have clairvoyant knowledge of what the coaches were counting on, then? And that the baggage is something beyond that which Cam Newton, Nick Marshall, or Tray Matthews arrived with? Also, if it's just one guy they were counting on, wouldn't that suggest something more akin to their belief that he is a game changing type of talent than a concern that there isn't enough talent/depth already present?

No, you have been flat out ignoring the points I've made. When we were going back and forth earlier in this thread, your argument about the defensive line stopped when I pointed the numbers out, and rather focused on linebackers. When I pointed to the way the defense had been playing, and the comments from our defensive coordinator specifically addressing linebacker play, as evidence that the LBs we have must not be so horrible as you have been shouting from the rooftops that they are, you stopped responding to me altogether.

Now, I have at no point suggested that we are not looking to sign more than just the one DT currently committed, nor have I stated that it would be wise to be satisfied with such. Ideally, I believe the coaches would like to get pretty close to one player for every position on the field (save punter and kicker) in every class, and that includes DL. I think they are less concerned with the D-line this year because of how many players we signed on the defensive front in February, and thus the focus was more on other positions (which would explain why we are all but done recruiting except for DL and a few blue chippers).

In any case, however, this 'sky is falling' mentality you've been portraying is both misguided and quite unbecoming.