Still the best returning freshman class in the country

[TigerFanAU 586]

 

I get it, rumors, coaches, etc.. it happens every year... but I can't remember the last time so many freshman were this involved. Auburn has the best freshman class, soon to be sophomores in the country: Shivers, Schwartz, Seth Williams, Smoke Monday, Whitlow. Championship caliber potential, all coming back. 

 

War Damn Eagle!

[weagl1 1,782]

If only we had about 5 of that caliber for the Oline.  That is where the problem is.  

[autigeremt 6,600]

5 minutes ago, weagl1 said:

If only we had about 5 of that caliber for the Oline.  That is where the problem is.  

To be somewhat “fair” they played pretty well against uat. The play calling was horrible in the second half. 

[AUwarrior 26]

2 hours ago, TigerFanAU said:

 

I get it, rumors, coaches, etc.. it happens every year... but I can't remember the last time so many freshman were this involved. Auburn has the best freshman class, soon to be sophomores in the country: Shivers, Schwartz, Seth Williams, Smoke Monday, Whitlow. Championship caliber potential, all coming back. 

 

War Damn Eagle!

What makes you so sure they're all coming back? The obvious lack of an offensive philosophy make me worry that some of our freshmen on offense might decide to jump ship.

[AUpreacherman22 3,885]

9 hours ago, TigerFanAU said:

 

I get it, rumors, coaches, etc.. it happens every year... but I can't remember the last time so many freshman were this involved. Auburn has the best freshman class, soon to be sophomores in the country: Shivers, Schwartz, Seth Williams, Smoke Monday, Whitlow. Championship caliber potential, all coming back. 

 

War Damn Eagle!

0 OL or DL mentioned there.   That’s the huge problem!!!   I’m very concerned about the quality of team we are going to field next year because of the clown show we’ve endured the last 6 years.  Games are won in the trenches.  With the current state of our OL and with no help in sight, and the mass exodus that is about to occur on our DL, which will still have some talent but nowhere close to the depth we’ve enjoyed the last couple of years, I’m afraid next year is going to be bad, very bad!

[bigbird 60,512]

2 hours ago, AUpreacherman22 said:

0 OL or DL mentioned there.   That’s the huge problem!!!   

Miller, Newkirk, Jibunor, and Truesdell will all be just fine.

[auol72 188]

Bigbird, please dont try to provide facts or reason with these folks it will never work. As to the OL they will all be back. I admit i missed it when the season started but we only had something like 20 starts between all 5 starting OL guys. If you look at history of good teams that number is generally over 60 if not higher. I missed it. They played like a team with only 20 starts on the OL. Go back and look at the number of starts for the 2010 OL even the 2013 OL. They will be better next year, i think we saw that start in the UAT game. As to the DL if we can keep Coe, big if, we will be fine there as well. Miller, Newkirk and Truesdell will be formidable on the inside, really need one more to step up there, and with Coe and Bryant and Moultry and Jibunor will actually be better rushing the passer from the edge there. We saw Britt play LB against UAT he did pretty good so he will be one inside to replace D. Davis and we started and played all those freshman DB's. If you actually take the time and break things down like this you can see the sky is not falling, but that does not fit the agenda so no one does it. Oh, by the way the kicking game returns completely intac from snapper to kicker to punter so that will be better next year as well.

[80Tiger 899]

2 hours ago, bigbird said:

Miller, Newkirk, Jibunor, and Truesdell will all be just fine.

No doubt. I thought Miller had a really nice 2nd half of the season.

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

12 hours ago, TigerFanAU said:

 

I get it, rumors, coaches, etc.. it happens every year... but I can't remember the last time so many freshman were this involved. Auburn has the best freshman class, soon to be sophomores in the country: Shivers, Schwartz, Seth Williams, Smoke Monday, Whitlow. Championship caliber potential, all coming back. 

 

War Damn Eagle!

While these players are great, both uga and bama are younger than AU. Don't see the first elite OL on that list and uga and bama are loaded with youngsters there. 

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

2 hours ago, bigbird said:

Miller, Newkirk, Jibunor, and Truesdell will all be just fine.

OL? 

[aucanucktiger 1,791]

Agree w/ returning youngster talent and maybe stating the obvious but Grimes-watch & Spring OL grad transfer results are huge windows into how next season will play out.

[bigbird 60,512]

45 minutes ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

OL? 

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

Remember that time LSU started 3 freshmen O-Linemen against Auburn and came back from a 20-point deficit? Why can't Auburn do something like that?

[alexava 6,973]

53 minutes ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

OL? 

Absolute #1 concern. We just don’t get enough. This must change whoever is in charge. 

[abw0004 10,110]

I feel like we do a good job of rotating young players in and out to where they get good quality reps.  Especially on defense.  This is helpful as we will not have years where a wave of seniors leave and we have to "rebuild."  We had this problem in 2011, and 2015 on defense especially.  The exception for us was the OL this past year where 4 starters left.

[cole256 17,050]

I feel like we get good at something and people immediately think it's the best ever. Best class in the country is a very big pat on the back when just talking potential.....that's part of why we end up in these situations I feel

[NorthGATiger 1,801]

46 minutes ago, cole256 said:

I feel like we get good at something and people immediately think it's the best ever. Best class in the country is a very big pat on the back when just talking potential.....that's part of why we end up in these situations I feel

Yes.  As some other anonymous coaches have mentioned, there is no coaching up the talent on this staff at all hardly.  Kids succeed under Gus because they are damn good but they could be so much more and used so much more effectively than they are.  

[toddc 13,194]

Seems like I remember most people on here saying jbg was the coach we needed at the beginning of the season. I still think he’s the one we need for next season to coach these youngsters and have some continuance in coaching them a second year.

    I also don’t think coaches have to yell and scream at kids coming off the field to be coaching them up. To make blanket statements that they aren’t coaching these kids up isn’t fair. I love what we have coming back next year and if we find a qb(kB) then we can be really good. We also have uat and the dogs at home. 

[mom2kid 216]

With all due respect to Bird, this we will be fine attitude is why some fans have been shocked and disappointed this yr.  I posted last yr about the ongoing lack of recruiting top talent at qb, rd, and oline and that because of that, our team would not have the winning season do many of you thought.  We continue to have the same recruiting problems (no way we get Bo Nix if he wasn’t an AU legacy) and now I add that the dline recruiting is off.  RG has normally been able to clise the deal and surprise at the end but we are now in the 2nd yr of not getting it done on dline recruiting in terms of number and quality.  

[McLoofus 35,182]

15 hours ago, TigerFanAU said:

I get it, rumors, coaches, etc.. it happens every year... but I can't remember the last time so many freshman were this involved. Auburn has the best freshman class, soon to be sophomores in the country: Shivers, Schwartz, Seth Williams, Smoke Monday, Whitlow. Championship caliber potential, all coming back. 

War Damn Eagle!

Hate to be that guy, but these kids didn't unseat a bunch of talented, experienced upperclassmen. They were forced into action by holes in the roster. That handful of names you mention are great players and there is some serious potential there, but don't forget that there are some other teams whose rosters are peppered by 5* freshmen who barely even saw the field this year because of all the older, more experienced, more developed talent they're sitting behind. 

Pump the brakes and wait until the 2021-22 NFL drafts. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

28 minutes ago, toddc said:

Seems like I remember most people on here saying jbg was the coach we needed at the beginning of the season. I still think he’s the one we need for next season to coach these youngsters and have some continuance in coaching them a second year.

[AUApostle 7,651]

40 minutes ago, toddc said:

Seems like I remember most people on here saying jbg was the coach we needed at the beginning of the season. I still think he’s the one we need for next season to coach these youngsters and have some continuance in coaching them a second year.

    I also don’t think coaches have to yell and scream at kids coming off the field to be coaching them up. To make blanket statements that they aren’t coaching these kids up isn’t fair. I love what we have coming back next year and if we find a qb(kB) then we can be really good. We also have uat and the dogs at home. 

The reason people are saying this O staff isn't coaching kids up, is because they don't improve as we expect they should, and often (QB especially) they get worse.  For every Ryan Davis, there is a Nate Craig Meyers and a Darius Slayton...young talents that come in, work hard, look to break out in a big way, but just don't achieve what we think they're capable of.  That's the perception. Meanwhile, you have a recruits on the west side of the state that come in, improve, win, and go to the NFL...consistently.

[CullmanTiger 52]

I think we don’t use our talent on the O side of the ball, you can’t just look at touches. We have the fastest guy in football, let’s use him where he doesn’t have to slow down to read blocks.

[Scotty2Hotty 520]

6 hours ago, AUpreacherman22 said:

0 OL or DL mentioned there.   That’s the huge problem!!!   I’m very concerned about the quality of team we are going to field next year because of the clown show we’ve endured the last 6 years.  Games are won in the trenches.  With the current state of our OL and with no help in sight, and the mass exodus that is about to occur on our DL, which will still have some talent but nowhere close to the depth we’ve enjoyed the last couple of years, I’m afraid next year is going to be bad, very bad!

[McLoofus 35,182]

2 minutes ago, CullmanTiger said:

I think we don’t use our talent on the O side of the ball, you can’t just look at touches. We have the fastest guy in football, let’s use him where he doesn’t have to slow down to read blocks.

And the 2nd-fastest. It's scary how believable it is that Gus might've seen the big Shivers run that got called back and said, "I think we might have hit on something there, Tim. What say we try to get Worm out on the edge a little more? Kids got some wheels."