Latest Chatter On Every Target 1/29/19

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

1 minute ago, Mikey said:

I counted the roster provided by ITAT three times to be certain before posting about us having 20. 15 plus Jackson plus two early signees  plus two expected signees =20 all day long.

Wow. At least 1/2 of those OL's listed are walk-on(not on scholly) and scout team guys. At least 5 are not on scholly.

[ellitor 33,062]

6 minutes ago, Mikey said:

I counted the roster provided by ITAT three times to be certain before posting about us having 20. 15 plus Jackson plus two early signees  plus two expected signees =20 all day long.

I love Mark & Jason but that was a mistake. For anything roster related always use the official Auburn University Athletics website first.

[cole256 17,038]

52 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Actually he's making sense...but not many people want to hear it since his points don't support the preconceived viewpoints.  An old fart like him has seen a lot of AU in his day ..as have I, and opinions based on our observations deserve a bit more respect.   Don't have to agree but also no need to be so arrogant as to suggest that your opinions are more correct. 

Lol.....so you guys are the gurus just for being old? Doesn't matter that he constantly is proven wrong...😂 boy I tell you. The Gus fantastic five knows no bounds

I'm going to listen to the guy who has been consistent with insider knowledge myself

[BJCrawford 1,568]

Havent  been here in a while and wanted updates on targets. Looks like I stumbled on the wwe site instead😬

[Mikey 16,540]

9 minutes ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

Wow. At least 1/2 of those OL's listed are walk-on(not on scholly) and scout team guys. At least 5 are not on scholly.

I counted scholarship players only.

[ellitor 33,062]

5 minutes ago, BJCrawford said:

wanted updates on targets

Trending with

Brothers
MAR
Bell
Cox
Pickens

Toss up

Henry

Recruitment so crazy it's tough to call

Moore

[ellitor 33,062]

6 minutes ago, Mikey said:

I counted scholarship players only.

Rosters on sites like ITAT & Rivals don't get updated much FWIW. That's why I don't use them.

[Leftfield 2,570]

Thinking that a certain phrase about wrestling a pig applies here....

[AubFanCT 180]

7 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Trending with

Brothers
MAR
Bell
Cox
Pickens

Toss up

Henry

Recruitment so crazy it's tough to call

Moore

Trending with Bell- that would be huge since it seems like Henry might be leaning FSU. Any word on the Nigerian kid if he is going to sign on tuesday or schedule visits? I know we were hoping to get him to visit. 

[ellitor 33,062]

21 minutes ago, AubFanCT said:

Any word on the Nigerian kid if he is going to sign on tuesday or schedule visits

Signing Tuesday would be a problem since NSD is Wednesday. Lol

He's signing with UNC Wednesday.

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

The thing with the OL and the perceived "depth" we have, its cool if we have 20 OL on the roster, the problem is its filled with Guards and tweeners. 

We have PLENTY of depth at guard. We are razor thin at depth for offensive tackles. 

Most OGs can't just be plugged into a OT spot... They usually don't have the wingspan. Look at our past recruiting cycles... We have signed guards galore. OTs, not so many... As far as OT depth, we have Tega (recruited as a DE,) Driscoll (from mighty UMass,) and Trox that are anywhere near ready to play. There is also Hamm (who most projected at guard) Sharpe (a SR career backup,) and the other Nigerian Prince (who 99% of his offers were at DT.)

So yeah, while the OL as a whole has plenty of depth, the OTs have razor thin depth, and pretending that isnt an issue is just that...pretending.

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

Do you guys REALLY think we sign MAR? I just don't see it. I hope we do, but its hard to imagine he doesn't end up at the U...

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

3 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

Do you guys REALLY think we sign MAR? I just don't see it. I hope we do, but its hard to imagine he doesn't end up at the U...

Yeah, I think we’ll land him.

[ellitor 33,062]

7 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

Do you guys REALLY think we sign MAR? I just don't see it. I hope we do, but its hard to imagine he doesn't end up at the U...

Miami hasn't been a factor since before Richt retired. If you are reading the fluff from Mike Farrell at Rivals, don't pay attention to it. He's clueless on this one as he is on most.

[The Plainsman 948]

I still feel Moore lands in AU.  Woodson/Garner combo completes the deal.  

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

8 minutes ago, The Plainsman said:

I still feel Moore lands in AU.  Woodson/Garner combo completes the deal.  

Handy as well 

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

2 hours ago, ellitor said:

Miami hasn't been a factor since before Richt retired. If you are reading the fluff from Mike Farrell at Rivals, don't pay attention to it. He's clueless on this one as he is on most.

I don't even know who Mike Farrell is... I rarely even look at Rivals. If I look at recruiting stuff, I'm looking at 247, and their free info at that...

But it seemed to me that Miami wasn't really a factor with Richt. Richt wanted him as a DB. I feel like if Richt would of still been there, we would have a better chance. But with Diaz taking over, MAR became a priority for them, and they now want him at RB. 

Its just hard for me to see him anywhere but Coral Gables. I just said this in his thread, but still...

 

But I hope we can get him. He looks like he could do some amazing things in our offense.

[aujeff11 6,243]

I think we land:

Bell

Brothers

Cox

MAR

Pickens

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

4 hours ago, Mikey said:

Lets give it time and see. It's often been claimed that OL player development takes a longer time than any other position. The talent is good enough to have 20 scholarship players available. Maybe they'll turn out to be winning SEC players, maybe not but I don't see any justification for the panic about this position.

Because Gus has to win now.  He's squarely on the hot seat and should be considering he's entering his 7th season.  The time for "wait and see" is over.  There's zero excuse not to have quality depth at each position given that he's been here this long now.  And by quality, I mean players that can step in and be more than just serviceable.  You need guys who, in a pinch, can line up and physically play with UA, UGA, and LSU.  The drop-off we currently have on the OL from a talent standpoint with our 1s to 2s is pretty extreme.  That's not the case with our biggest rivals, who by the way, we need to beat in order to win championships.

[mcgufcm 4,096]

I don't think you'll see a major drop-off next year. Troxell, Hamm, and Sharp can spell our starters. That's not a major concern for 2019. The Center position is a concern but not because of drop-off between Kim and Brahms (or Irvin). It's a concern because neither Kim nor Brahms looked like physical, SEC players this year.

Again, the issue/question mark for the offense next year is really QB, not OL. If we have major issues, it's going to be at QB/Center. 

After next season, we're likely replacing all five starters on the OL, which is bordering on unheard of. As we sit here today, you'd say Trox, Hamm, and Brahms are going to be in good position to win starting jobs, but after that, total guessing game. Regardless of who wins those positions, we'll have zero experience and few (if any) players that are considered plug-and-play linemen. We have to hope Ashley comes back and turns a corner. We have to hope Manning continues to develop at Guard. We have to hope there are good options on the transfer market. We have to hope the younger guys really develop (that's Stutts, Irvin, and all the guys from this class).

It's going to be a motley crew, moreso than what we had at the start of 2018, which was a mess. If Grimes can sign four guys in this class, put out a competent-to-good OL in 2019, sign another 5-6 in 2020, and patch something even in the vicinity of decent in 2020... that guy will have earned his money. He inherited a complete mess.

[mcgufcm 4,096]

On the OL, Mikey is roughly correct. We have 17 scholarship OL on the roster right now, including Alec Jackson and the two early signees (Jones and Osborne). We are fishing for Bell and Henry. Assuming we sign both (not a sure thing at all), that would be 19 scholarships next season.

The problem is the age breakdown:

6 Seniors - LT Wanogho, LG Harrell, C Kim, RG Horton, RT Driscoll, and LT Sharp
1 Junior - G/T Sammons
6 Sophomores - T Troxell, T Jackson, G/T Ashley, G Hamm, G Manning, and C Brahms
2 Redshirt Freshmen - G/T Stutts and C Irvin
4 Freshmen - T Henry, G/T Osborne, G Jones, and C Bell

Notably, that group of six Sophomores has (I believe) a total of six combined starts, and they are unlikely to take jobs away from Seniors (with the possible exception of Kim). We absolutely need a 5-6 OL signing class next year to have even close to the ideal numbers. You'd like to have 20, but we'd have to land Bell and Henry and sign seven guys next year. That's not going to happen.

[ellitor 33,062]

54 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

But with Diaz taking over, MAR became a priority for them, and they now want him at RB. 

Its just hard for me to see him anywhere but Coral Gables. I just said this in his thread, but still...

Miami could not gain traction in the short run with Diaz. Gus has a relationship with MAR & the Richards family going back to when his brother was a recruit AU tried hard for. That relationship will win this battle.

57 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

I don't even know who Mike Farrell is... I rarely even look at Rivals. If I look at recruiting stuff, I'm looking at 247, and their free info at that...

Ok well Farrell was the only explanation in my mind for you being so gung ho on Miami getting him. Literally no team reporter for any of the teams involved in MAR's recruitment are picks Miami & that includes all of the Miami reporters. Just trust me when I say we are in a real good spot with MAR.

[ellitor 33,062]

29 minutes ago, mcgufcm said:

Again, the issue/question mark for the offense next year is really QB, not OL. If we have major issues, it's going to be at QB/Center. 

The OL is a concern. They should improve but it's not a given. They were mediocre at their best last season. Even that can't be repeated.

 

[AU64 10,122]

2 minutes ago, ellitor said:

The OL is a concern. They should improve but it's not a given.

Good point....but it's not a given that anyone will improve.....and can't see any reason to isolate on the OL when there is room for improvement at about every position.    Just take a look at the change in our QB situation from 2017 to 2018...certainly did not improve as expected either.  

By and large, if the players and coaches are doing the work, they should get better at every position but as you note, there are no guarantees.  Just saying,  those OLs we signed all came pretty highly regarded and we've noted over and over what a year in the weight room and training table can do to help freshmen and sophs adjust to Div 1 football.

[bigbird 60,359]

3 hours ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

So yeah, while the OL as a whole has plenty of depth, the OTs have razor thin depth, and pretending that isnt an issue is just that...pretending.

Who are our tackles next year?