Jalen Harris to redshirt then transfer

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

I am amazed at some of these responses. Jalen plays a lot. Is a starter. Lack of production has never been an issue. Go back and check this guy is one of the best blockers we have had on the team for the last few years. He has caught just about everything throwed at him. Also score TDS when doing so. This is about not getting enough opportunities in the pass reception side to make his ultimate dream of making the NFL. The fault is in the coaches and I promise you without our a doubt that it will cost us this year.

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 minute ago, aucom96 said:

And this trend may not be unusual, I don't know...but it worries me to have so many upperclassmen consistently be outperformed by players just entering the program. It seems to reflect a notable lack of player development. If these rumors turn out to be true, we may not lose much in immediate numbers but we'll lose depth and have more difficulty recruiting skill positions. We have a lot of coaches on our staff who are known primarily for recruiting. It's hugely important - no doubt - but we need to grow as a team or a couple of off recruiting years will kill us eventually. 

Is this really a consistent thing? I feel like, if anything, just this time last year we were complaining about Gus leaning on his older guys too much at the expense of more talented young guys. I could be wrong, though. 

Personally, I feel like the staff's ability to evaluate and properly utilize talent is still very much up for debate; however, I feel like Gus is showing this season that he is genuinely looking for the guys he feels are best and playing them. 

Also, seeing these young guys go nuts gives me hope for the future. 

[bigbird 60,498]

6 minutes ago, Eagle Eye 7 said:

He has caught just about everything throwed at him.

All 4 times...

[BigWhiskey91 632]

2 minutes ago, bigbird said:

All 4 times...

The way we are using Seth Williams is the way I thought we would use NCM tbh.

[musicitytiger 281]

Too late to recruit him back?  He could be lethal if chip makes some adjustments.  Not a fun guy to tackle in space 

[auburnphan 6,050]

14 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Is this really a consistent thing? I feel like, if anything, just this time last year we were complaining about Gus leaning on his older guys too much at the expense of more talented young guys. I could be wrong, though. 

Personally, I feel like the staff's ability to evaluate and properly utilize talent is still very much up for debate; however, I feel like Gus is showing this season that he is genuinely looking for the guys he feels are best and playing them. 

Also, seeing these young guys go nuts gives me hope for the future. 

What I like about Williams and Schwartz the most is that they catch a ball with their hands and they make nice breaks in their routes.  We do not see too many natural catchers of the ball come through Auburn for several reasons, but we won't re-open that can of worms.

[AU64 10,122]

8 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Is this really a consistent thing? I feel like, if anything, just this time last year we were complaining about Gus leaning on his older guys too much at the expense of more talented young guys. I could be wrong, though. 

Personally, I feel like the staff's ability to evaluate and properly utilize talent is still very much up for debate; however, I feel like Gus is showing this season that he is genuinely looking for the guys he feels are best and playing them. 

Also, seeing these young guys go nuts gives me hope for the future. 

Last season was a senior heavy team and we knew there would be some fall off in the OL especially and in the backfield.   JMO but I put a lot of player development on the players.....depending on their commitment to the program.  Some of the older guys are just out-talented by income freshmen/redshirts and that's pretty much a fact. And wondering what JS learned over the summer from his QB coaches.   I don't know the limits but AU coaches have restrictions on how much and when they work with players off season and to a great extent the players have to be self motivated.

As for the coaches, we do seem to put an uncommon stress on recruiting ability and maybe less on teaching ability....trying to match up with the tide in talent perhaps, rather than figuring out how to do more with less. 

Meanwhile Jalen was an academic all-star and apparently did not waste the opportunity his scholarship afforded him. 

[BigWhiskey91 632]

1 hour ago, DAG said:

Yep, this is where I am getting at.

A little bit of Andy Dalton leadership? xD

[aubiefifty 16,755]

it seems maybe jalen might not be the only one leaving. but of course it is behind a pay site. we pay lots of money over the years for all things auburn and when a small piece of news comes out it should be regular news and people should not have to pay for every day news. it hacks my lily. news is different than say putting in the time to evaluate recruits or where they are going.i am sure someone will tell me how wrong it is to be upset but i stand firm in my belief. now i am thinking maybe some folks on the team are not happy . does this mean we implode? is the team together as a unit? small things like this deserve to be out in the light instead of maybe finding out  days or a week later. rant over.........

[jAUSon 2,836]

4 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Last season was a senior heavy team and we knew there would be some fall off in the OL especially and in the backfield.   JMO but I put a lot of player development on the players.....depending on their commitment to the program.  Some of the older guys are just out-talented by income freshmen/redshirts and that's pretty much a fact. And wondering what JS learned over the summer from his QB coaches.   I don't know the limits but AU coaches have restrictions on how much and when they work with players off season and to a great extent the players have to be self motivated.

As for the coaches, we do seem to put an uncommon stress on recruiting ability and maybe less on teaching ability....trying to match up with the tide in talent perhaps, rather than figuring out how to do more with less. 

Meanwhile Jalen was an academic all-star and apparently did not waste the opportunity his scholarship afforded him. 

So five or six classes couldn't develop themselves and we just have bad luck?

[DAG 33,977]

1 minute ago, BigWhiskey91 said:

A little bit of Andy Dalton leadership? xD

Dalton was a pretty dang good leader at TCU and performed at the highest level for that school. Can't speak to how he is is as an NFL leader, but I like to think he is doing something right to be able to become a pro bowler in his rookie season and to have helped lead the Bengals to one of their few playoff appearances.

[AU64 10,122]

Just now, jAUSon said:

So five or six classes couldn't develop themselves and we just have bad luck?

This is a top  ten football team.....or did you miss the news earlier this week?    Lots of good stuff happening with AU football.....hope some folks take a bit of time to enjoy it....

[Zeek 16,649]

3 minutes ago, AU64 said:

This is a top  ten football team.....or did you miss the news earlier this week?    Lots of good stuff happening with AU football.....hope some folks take a bit of time to enjoy it....

When we win the next 5 games the pendulum will swing back towards the sunshine. Then when we lose to Texas A&M it'll be back to dumpster fire. Then we'll beat Georgia and Liberty gaining guarded optimism heading into Alabama. Then when we lose to Alabama we'll be down in the dumps again as we head into a bowl game likely to underperform lol.

[SumterAubie 3,031]

I'm confused, easily so, with this Craig-Myers talk on how underutilized he is. Seems I recall seeing comments stating he is not getting open when on the field. So what is it? Is he open and Stidham is not getting him the ball? Or is he not being targeted because he is not open?

[McLoofus 35,182]

18 minutes ago, AU64 said:

JMO but I put a lot of player development on the players.....

Sure. But when you have entire position groups play below the level of your rivals for consecutive seasons, then you have to ask why. And the answer is that the coaches either need to recruit or coach better. 

Quote

And wondering what JS learned over the summer from his QB coaches.  

Are you suggesting that coaching he received from someone other than Gus Malzahn or a Gus Malzahn designate might be hampering him? I sure hope not. 

Quote

I don't know the limits but AU coaches have restrictions on how much and when they work with players off season

The exact same restrictions that every other coaching staff has.

Quote

As for the coaches, we do seem to put an uncommon stress on recruiting ability and maybe less on teaching ability....

Uncommon? Compared to who? And how does recruiting interfere with teaching, specifically? Particularly given the aforementioned restrictions on how much time they can spend with the players?

Quote

trying to match up with the tide in talent perhaps, rather than figuring out how to do more with less. 

The tide is doing both. For $7 million a year, so should Gus.

Quote

Meanwhile Jalen was an academic all-star and apparently did not waste the opportunity his scholarship afforded him. 

Thank goodness for that. Gus has done a great job of bringing decent human beings to the program and for that I am very grateful. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 minute ago, SumterAubie said:

I'm confused, easily so, with this Craig-Myers talk on how underutilized he is. Seems I recall seeing comments stating he is not getting open when on the field. So what is it? Is he open and Stidham is not getting him the ball? Or is he not being targeted because he is not open?

Could be both. Also, consider why it might be that he isn't getting open. He's one of many very talented high school WRs who have suddenly become less talented at Auburn the last 5 years. 

[Zeek 16,649]

Just now, McLoofus said:

Could be both. Also, consider why it might be that he isn't getting open. He's one of many very talented high school WRs who have suddenly become less talented at Auburn the last 5 years. 

1. Poor routes and scheming

2. Not on the field often

3. Open but not being targeted

I'll be at the Arkansas game and I'll dedicate my focus to NCM and see how things go. Even the slowest most unathletic receiver gets open every now and then just from blown coverage and intelligent route plans. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

37 minutes ago, BigWhiskey91 said:

The way we are using Seth Williams is the way I thought we would use NCM tbh.

 

29 minutes ago, auburnphan said:

What I like about Williams and Schwartz the most is that they catch a ball with their hands and they make nice breaks in their routes.  We do not see too many natural catchers of the ball come through Auburn for several reasons, but we won't re-open that can of worms.

Those dudes are legit for sure. Let's hope we build on it and not regress towards old tendencies. 

[atl-tiger 655]

24 minutes ago, AU64 said:

This is a top  ten football team.....or did you miss the news earlier this week?    Lots of good stuff happening with AU football.....hope some folks take a bit of time to enjoy it....

Can you honestly say we look like a top 10 football team?  I don't think we could hang with anybody in the top 5 right now even with a 14 point spread.  The talent is there, but thats about it. 

[AU64 10,122]

7 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Are you suggesting that coaching he received from someone other than Gus Malzahn or a Gus Malzahn designate might be hampering him? I sure hope not. 

nope...but you tell me if he looks better this year than last season?  

 

10 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

The tide is doing both. For $7 million a year, so should Gus.

8 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Sure. But when you have entire position groups play below the level of your rivals for consecutive seasons, then you have to ask why. And the answer is that the coaches either need to recruit or coach better

OK....so how do we recruit better in the current HS market we are recruiting?    

[McLoofus 35,182]

Just now, AU64 said:

nope...but you tell me if he looks better this year than last season?  

No, he doesn't, which means that our coaching staff didn't do a very good job in August. 

Quote

OK....so how do we recruit better in the current HS market we are recruiting?    

Hire talented, energetic recruiters at every position group. 

[BigWhiskey91 632]

45 minutes ago, DAG said:

Dalton was a pretty dang good leader at TCU and performed at the highest level for that school. Can't speak to how he is is as an NFL leader, but I like to think he is doing something right to be able to become a pro bowler in his rookie season and to have helped lead the Bengals to one of their few playoff appearances.

I was making light of a video of Dalton’s pregame speech a few years back. He seems soft spoken and not alpha male type like you and loofus mentioned. 

I always felt Stidham was more of a soft spoken locker room guy. Not that it is a bad thing, but I was excited over the last few games to see him actively talking with the rest of the offense between drives. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

9 minutes ago, BigWhiskey91 said:

I was making light of a video of Dalton’s pregame speech a few years back. He seems soft spoken and not alpha male type like you and loofus mentioned. 

I always felt Stidham was more of a soft spoken locker room guy. Not that it is a bad thing, but I was excited over the last few games to see him actively talking with the rest of the offense between drives. 

That's great to hear. I'd love to owe the man an apology. 

[BigWhiskey91 632]

3 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

That's great to hear. I'd love to owe the man an apology. 

There were reports over the summer of some players not respecting JS as a leader due to his lack of involvement over summer. O’Donnell how much of that is true. But if he’s talking and trying to be a leader, and no one is listening, he probably dropped the ball awhile ago in terms of gaining that respect. 

 

All I know is that I don’t like the optics of all the transfer talk and the players only meetings. You would think we were 1-2. Maybe it’s an emotional reaction to a tough loss in a game we could’ve won. I don’t have any insight on that. Hopefully we can get to Arkansas and score a needed big win and hopefully get the ship back on course. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

6 minutes ago, BigWhiskey91 said:

But if he’s talking and trying to be a leader, and no one is listening, he probably dropped the ball awhile ago in terms of gaining that respect. 

Yup. 

Quote

All I know is that I don’t like the optics of all the transfer talk and the players only meetings. 

Honestly, I don't mind some shake-up. I haven't seen a mentally tough team except for a few notable exceptions, young and old. The coaches haven't gotten through. But you might be right. A solid beatdown of Arky might be the prescription.