First Year Expectations - Harsin

[weagl1 1,782]

Even though we have lost some good players I don’t think the cupboard is bare at all.  Obviously those declaring for the draft will hurt more than the others.  The O line should be better after another year of experience playing together.  Bo should be better.  Tank is Tank the keys will be keeping him healthy and finding a good backup.  I would feel better about the receivers if we could have kept Seth, Flash and Stove but there is some young talent coming on.  The youngsters on the D line were getting better at the end of the year and they should be better.  The two good LB’s will return and the new coaches will have to find two more if we will be going to a 3-4 base defensive scheme.  We lost some in the secondary but have some good ones returning.  Kickers return.  So overall I don’t see this team taking a step back at all I look for a 8-4 or better season in 2021.  Depth will be a concern if we have a lot of injuries and the new coaches really need to hit the ground running on recruiting.  We are losing some good players to the transfer portal but there is no reason we can’t get some good ones back from it too!   If they don’t want to be here wish them well and move on!  

[bigbird 60,498]

1 hour ago, ScotsAU said:

My expectation is that we be playoff contenders. We fired a coach with winning records every year because that wasn’t enough for the fans. Harsin better win at least 10 games in year one. 

So we should win 4 games more next year than last with almost the same players? Was Gus really that bad of a coach?

[cole256 17,043]

20 minutes ago, ScotsAU said:

My expectation is that we be playoff contenders. We fired a coach with winning records every year because that wasn’t enough for the fans. Harsin better win at least 10 games in year one. 

Thanks for the laugh

[triangletiger 1,599]

I’m looking for the same thing in the 2021 football that I’m looking for in this year’s AU men’s basketball team: Some growing pains, but improvement over the course of the season.  Given the schedule next year, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t, at a minimum, have a winning record and go to a bowl game.  While it’s not imperative that we beat Alabama and Georgia in year one (and playing at home), I would hope we would at least look like we belong on the field with them.  We may not be able to quite match up with them personnel-wise, but that’s where the coaching has to come in and level the playing field.

[AUnCullman 601]

Park and Rec coaches never get it....

[cole256 17,043]

We have order. If we just have order and stop looking confused I'll know we're at least headed in the right direction

[bigbird 60,498]

7 minutes ago, cole256 said:

We have order. If we just have order and stop looking confused I'll know we're at least headed in the right direction

Exactly. So many times we just looked lost, ran a play, were surprised it didn't work, never adjusted, then ran the same play for another loss

[cole256 17,043]

5 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Exactly. So many times we just looked lost, ran a play, were surprised it didn't work, never adjusted, then ran the same play for another loss

That's exactly what I was thinking when I posted this. 2nd and 2 we run and if we don't get the first, you were guaranteed to see a circus before seeing us inevitably run the exact same play again......if that type stuff is gone we know we're taking steps forward

[slyinsocal 831]

25 minutes ago, ScotsAU said:

My expectation is that we be playoff contenders. We fired a coach with winning records every year because that wasn’t enough for the fans. Harsin better win at least 10 games in year one. 

Sure thing Gus.

[Sizzle 3,910]

Somewhere around 7-5

[AUsince72 11,084]

I suspect Auburn will be 3-1 out of conference, so even by Gus' standard it won't be a "solid season".

.

.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!  I crack myself up.

I second @DAG & @bigbird 's posts and frankly am not that worried about overall record in year one.  

If CBH, CDM do what I think they're capable of (I'm not as sure about CMB outside if being a really good QB coach) I expect competency, competitiveness & improvement with the abilities to adjust to adversity.

If those things happen in '21 & AU has hired a bunch of recruiting beasts then '22 could be a pleasant surprise w/ '23 being a breakout year.

War Eagle!

[aubiefifty 16,756]

i am really worried about the water boys. no one ever gets them any love but if the team is not hydrated we are toast............grins

[tbone4jc 2,241]

With the schedule I see 7-5. Penn St isn't really good. We beat SC, Miss St and maybe LSU or Ark. 4-0 OOC, 3-5 IC.  I want our toughness back. I want to see our young men play with an edge, us against the world mentality. BE ABLE TO ADJUST DURING THE GAME PLEASE!!

[Zeek 16,649]

2021

Akron W

Georgia State W

Alabama State W

@ Penn State 50/50 let's say L

@ Arkansas 60/40 let's say W

Alabama L

Georgia L

Mississippi State W

Ole Miss 50/50 let's say L

@ LSU let's say L

@ SCar W

@ Texas A&M let's say L

(6-6) isn't too improbable with all things considered. If the losses are competitive and we improve from game to game I could see myself tolerating that for this year.

I could also just as easily see 9 wins

[aucom96 1,618]

Thin, breaking in a very new mentality across the board I would presume, fairly tough schedule...

I'm thinking 6-6, 7-5 but as others have said, I will be very interested to see how we progress from start to finish. The A&M game could be a toss-up if we grow as a team. 

[TigerHorn 1,351]

If no Spring practices, 6-6 at best, maybe worse. Full Spring & Fall camps, 7-5 to 8-4 range. 

If there is no Spring, this will be our 2nd new O and blocking scheme in two years with no camps to teach it in. You can't overcome that with talent. Our peers are just doing the same thing they were already doing. No Spring was worse for us than it was for most of the SEC last year, it will be an even bigger hurdle this year. 

[JTFazz 386]

It won't surprise me that some will have completely unrealistic expectations and will expect nothing short of a New Year's Six Bowl victory without starting a #FireHarsin campaign. To me, a New Year's Six bowl appearance would be a huge step forward, but I certainly don't expect it when the rebuilding is going to be an even heavier lift than many anticipated. Right now I won't even put a number to it because we don't know if it will be another SEC 10 schedule or a regular schedule.

[AU_Tiger_88 417]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

So we should win 4 wins more next year than last with almost the same players? Was Gus really that bad of a coach?

Bird,  I think you know the answer to that one.  Running the same play over and over, the many throws behind the line of scrimmage.  The personnel groupings telling you whether it was a run or pass play.  The non-dev of QBs.  WRs not getting open.  Lack of adjustment by the O.  D not adjusting until half...I could go on but you already know.

[keesler 5,924]

1 hour ago, ScotsAU said:

My expectation is that we be playoff contenders. We fired a coach with winning records every year because that wasn’t enough for the fans. Harsin better win at least 10 games in year one. 

Auburn fired a coach because he and his staff were consistently pulling top 5 salaries and couldn't find a way to put a top 10 team on the field at year-end.  They failed to even string together back-to-back 9 (NINE) win season's in their tenure.  We saw little to no improvement on the roster this season, the recruiting class had tanked to depth's we have seen on over a decade and there where no signs that the staff had a plan in place to do any better than what we've seen for years.

Harsin isn't exactly inheriting a stacked roster, and there are many holes to fill.  He's got a long road ahead and I believe the fans will cut him some slack as long as he can put a product on the field that looks prepared, ready to play and shows they know how to do their job.

 

[aub4life 33]

1 hour ago, RunInRed said:

Here's next year's opponents (schedule not released yet) ...

RunInRed, understand that not all dates are set.  Are we certain that scheduling changes made for the 2020 season won’t affect which games are home and away?  TIA

[Tiger4life25 74]

2 hours ago, bigbird said:

Like other have stated, I want competitiveness, toughness, and an obvious direction.  I've never said we should win them all, but each game should be competitive.  I want to see logical player utilization and diverseness in roles. I want to see a winning attitude from all and nastiness from our boys in the trenches.

This is exactly what I want to see for the next couple of years, with where we are at I believe the coaches need a few years as long as we are seeing the above. After sitting through the games past few years I would be trilled to see competitiveness, toughness, and an obvious direction.

[JTFazz 386]

6 minutes ago, keesler said:

Auburn fired a coach because he and his staff were consistently pulling top 5 salaries and couldn't find a way to put a top 10 team on the field at year-end.  They failed to even string together back-to-back 9 (NINE) win season's in their tenure.  We saw little to no improvement on the roster this season, the recruiting class had tanked to depth's we have seen on over a decade and there where no signs that the staff had any plan in to do any better than what we've seen for years.

Harsin isn't exactly inheriting a stacked roster, and there are many holes to fill.  He's got a long road ahead and I believe the fans will cut him some slack as long as he can put a product on the field that looks prepared, ready to play and shows they know how to do their job.

 

I agree that some or most fans will cut him some slack and all should, but at least one post in this thread has an expectation to vie for a playoff berth. I don't think that is realistic.

[caleb1633 1,418]

If I don't see 5 QBs in game one I will be PISSED

[keesler 5,924]

10 minutes ago, JTFazz said:

I agree that some or most fans will cut him some slack and all should, but at least one post in this thread has an expectation to vie for a playoff berth. I don't think that is realistic.

That poster sounds irked that Auburn fired a HC with "winning records every year", like our fanbase shouldn't have expected better than the consistent 4-5 loss seasons from a staff that was pulling one of the nation's top 5 salaries. 

[CameronCrazy 1,059]

I’m looking for 10 wins