Questions about current recruiting

[AURex 1,994]

Just wondering -- and this is questions not criticism, because I am no expert on recruiting --

Why is Auburn accepting commitments from so many 3 star athletes so early in the recruiting period, when so many much higher regarded athletes are as yet uncommitted? Is it because the coaches feel these guys are seriously underrated? Is it because the coaches are okay with settling for lower regarded athletes, figuring they can be coached up? Are the coaches pessimistic about their ability to land top prospects? Is it because there just aren't very many top prospects out there in positions of desperate need?

I'm also curious whether it ius typical for Auburn to accept so many 3 star recruits this early in the recruiting period. It does seem that, compared to some of our rivals, Auburn doesn't have so many highly regarded recruits. But I'm not sure this is a concern.

I'm just looking for some insight from those of you who know much more about this aspect of Auburn football than I do. Because frankly, I find it confusing.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

It's because Auburn's coaching staff does their own evaluations and doesn't care what their rating is on a recruiting service.

[bigbird 60,509]

Many of our early offers to lower rated guys have began to blow up.  Our staff does a really good job at finding guys that havent blown up. They typically do though through the cycle

[Gowebb11 9,314]

It's a great question and my answer is that this staff does an above average job on evaluations. I say that because we offer a fair amount of otherwise unheralded recruits who suddenly blow up into highly rated kids later in the process.  I feel a special mojo in recruiting this year and expect to close strong!  

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

Not only does our staff do a great job of evaluating but look at the offer list of a lot of these kids. Most have an awful lot of elite teams that see they are about to blow up and have offered but we beat those teams to the punch. Watch how many will become 4*'s and if they don't will have a positive impact at Auburn in the future.

[gr82be 14,423]

1 hour ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Not only does our staff do a great job of evaluating but look at the offer list of a lot of these kids. Most have an awful lot of elite teams that see they are about to blow up and have offered but we beat those teams to the punch. Watch how many will become 4*'s and if they don't will have a positive impact at Auburn in the future.

And these guys seem to be much more loyal in the end when their stock has risen than the ones that are already rated higher and play the waiting game. Then there are the 5*s that everyone thinks can't miss, that do not live up to expectations for a few years if they do at all. I'll take a 3* who is coachable and is awed by the Auburn staff and experience over the potential of landing a guy who feels entitled to play any day. A good blend of talent and heart is the best recruit you can sign. 

[Timeslider 6 269]

Evaluation, evaluation, evaluation, it is all about the coaches evaluation and what THEY see. The stars are what others see, that is one reason we need to have trust in the head coach, because of his ability to evaluate. This staff seems to do that as good, if not better than most staffs.

[ellitor 33,089]

On 4/11/2017 at 5:51 PM, AURex said:

Why is Auburn accepting commitments from so many 3 star athletes so early in the recruiting period, when so many much higher regarded athletes are as yet uncommitted?

Coaches don't pay attention to sites or their stars. They do their own evaluations.

 

On 4/11/2017 at 5:51 PM, AURex said:

Is it because the coaches feel these guys are seriously underrated? Is it because the coaches are okay with settling for lower regarded athletes, figuring they can be coached up? Are the coaches pessimistic about their ability to land top prospects? Is it because there just aren't very many top prospects out there in positions of desperate need?

No to all these.

 

On 4/11/2017 at 5:51 PM, AURex said:

I'm also curious whether it ius typical for Auburn to accept so many 3 star recruits this early in the recruiting period. It does seem that, compared to some of our rivals, Auburn doesn't have so many highly regarded recruits. But I'm not sure this is a concern.

It's not a concern. When AU takes kids early that means they are high on them regardless what others may think.

[toddc 13,194]

Does this rule under consideration for early signing period help Auburn if it passes. We seem to be one of those teams that swoop in at the last minute for some recruits in the current signing day format. May be a thread on this and I missed it, but wondering what you guys think!

[LKEEL75 2,566]

18 minutes ago, toddc said:

Does this rule under consideration for early signing period help Auburn if it passes. We seem to be one of those teams that swoop in at the last minute for some recruits in the current signing day format. May be a thread on this and I missed it, but wondering what you guys think!

It helps all schools in that what ever kids sign then we don't have to continue to focus on those kids through Feb.  However, that can be a blessing and a curse as you don't have that extra time to sway a kid from another school either.  The way I have heard "the talking heads" talking about this rule it will primarily work for those kids who are going to enroll early.  That way you get their signature before they enroll and you know they are going to be there.

[ellitor 33,089]

37 minutes ago, toddc said:

Does this rule under consideration for early signing period help Auburn if it passes. We seem to be one of those teams that swoop in at the last minute for some recruits in the current signing day format. May be a thread on this and I missed it, but wondering what you guys think!

That's most teams not normally named Texas to be honest.

[ellitor 33,089]

19 minutes ago, lkeel75 said:

It helps all schools in that what ever kids sign then we don't have to continue to focus on those kids through Feb.  However, that can be a blessing and a curse as you don't have that extra time to sway a kid from another school either.  The way I have heard "the talking heads" talking about this rule it will primarily work for those kids who are going to enroll early.  That way you get their signature before they enroll and you know they are going to be there.

Over 90% of EEs have made their decisions in their head by the new early signing period. Doesn't affect them much.

[LKEEL75 2,566]

1 hour ago, ellitor said:

Over 90% of EEs have made their decisions in their head by the new early signing period. Doesn't affect them much.

Agreed.  I guess I wasn't clear.  That was really just point 2.  

[ellitor 33,089]

Just now, lkeel75 said:

Agreed.  I guess I wasn't clear.  That was really just point 2.  

That wasn't knocking you FTR, just the opinions of the talking heads.

[AURex 1,994]

7 hours ago, ellitor said:

On 4/11/2017 at 6:51 PM, AURex said:

Why is Auburn accepting commitments from so many 3 star athletes so early in the recruiting period, when so many much higher regarded athletes are as yet uncommitted?

Coaches don't pay attention to sites or their stars. They do their own evaluations.

I'm sure that true for players in close proximity, but isn't it true that scouting services provide info to coaches/teams, proving leads on prospects? And are you saying the scouting services don't pay any attention to the recruiting info from Scout, Rivals, 247?

[ellitor 33,089]

15 minutes ago, AURex said:

I'm sure that true for players in close proximity, but isn't it true that scouting services provide info to coaches/teams, proving leads on prospects?

Not really. Coaches have so many contacts within their own ranks all over the country.

 

16 minutes ago, AURex said:

And are you saying the scouting services don't pay any attention to the recruiting info from Scout, Rivals, 247?

Those sites are the Scouting Services.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

I hope coaches, AD's or whoecer agrees that we need another date for signing. One in June and one in Feb.

[ellitor 33,089]

1 hour ago, auburn4ever said:

I hope coaches, AD's or whoecer agrees that we need another date for signing. One in June and one in Feb.

It's December & June.

[AURex 1,994]

21 hours ago, ellitor said:

Not really. Coaches have so many contacts within their own ranks all over the country.

 

Those sites are the Scouting Services.

I was referring to the recruiting services like got Oregon put on probation, except that one was iffy. Seems I remember Auburn was dealing with him too. That was about a RB out if Texas, I think. Aren't there some scouting services like that which provide recruiting info to teams, alerting them to the best players in their region?

[ellitor 33,089]

15 minutes ago, AURex said:

I was referring to the recruiting services like got Oregon put on probation, except that one was iffy. Seems I remember Auburn was dealing with him too. That was about a RB out if Texas, I think.

I never heard of a recruiting service involved with Lache Seastrunk. He's the RB from Texas you are referring to.

18 minutes ago, AURex said:

Aren't there some scouting services like that which provide recruiting info to teams, alerting them to the best players in their region?

Maybe for smaller schools but I have never heard of services like that doing stuff for big P5 programs. FWIW Bird liked my earlier post. He is a coach & would know more & better than I.

[AURex 1,994]

I Googled -- the articles refer to a Houston-based recruiting service run by Willie Lyles. Auburn was also dealing with him. I seem to remember that Auburn had a contract with him. The implication was that there are recruiting services like that (except more legitimate that Lyles) that contract with schools to give them recruiting info on players, I presume in their region.

Schools must get their leads on players from somewhere. The coaches can't just go to every highschool in surrounding states, looking at every guy that suits up.

I'm not an insider. I don't know how things work. But I gotta believe there is more to it than the big national scouting services. And if -- as you say -- Auburn and other P5 schools ignore those big national scouting services and don't giver a hoot about stars, that leaves a mighty big vacuum for identifying potential players.

I'm curious how it works. Somebody has feet on the ground, watching kids play in those thousands of middle and high schools, evaluating them.

 

[bigbird 60,509]

As a coach, a lot of the times if you have a kid with talent you will start the process of getting his name out there. That can be a multitude of things. Calls to coaches, emails to recruiting coordinators, putting together and submitting highlight videos, information gathering on camps, recruiting questionnaires, and many other things.  E was correct in his assessment that a lot of a coaches network helps out. Some times it can be a player that isn't on your team, but one you have played and you call and give a heads up about to one of your contacts. Coaching is all about relationships and networking.

[ellitor 33,089]

3 hours ago, AURex said:

I'm not an insider. I don't know how things work. But I gotta believe there is more to it than the big national scouting services. And if -- as you say -- Auburn and other P5 schools ignore those big national scouting services and don't giver a hoot about stars, that leaves a mighty big vacuum for identifying potential players.

Coaches most often know about kids before the recruiting sites do or any potential scouting service would because of how vast the coaching network is. Don't forget high school coaches have state, regional, & national organizations where they meet other coaches & enhance their network. Also any high school coach worth his weight in salt will get the word out on his own about talented kids he has to the colleges through his contacts, going to camps, & what not. Also college coaches have evaluation days where they go see the kids at the high schools in both the Spring as well as Fall. They aren't just looking at SRs. They are looking at kids at all high school grades.

[toddc 13,194]

I'm sure we have off the field coaches /graduate assistants whose job it is to search databases, relationships with high school coaches, and networking with other college coaches , checking out summer camps etc... looking for kids to narrow in on what the team needs that year/years later! That's why you see under the radar kids blow up out of the blue seemingly every year, then other schools start noticing them! What say you guys?

[ellitor 33,089]

2 minutes ago, toddc said:

What say you guys?

Answered by liking FWIW.