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Harsin On Recruiting


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Bryan Harsin embraces recruiting-never-ends mentality

ByKEITH NIEBUHR 59 minutes ago 

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Recruiting through a coaching change is a monumental challenge to every school that faces the scenario. First, a new leader has to be hired, then he has to fill his staff. Along the way, introductions are made as are attempts to build new relationships with recruits, some of whom may never have heard the coach’s name before first contact is made.

But with recruiting being the lifeblood of every college program, it’s a priority no matter who’s in charge.

So even though Auburn’s football program has gone through a seismic shift in the past month, recruiting has been at the forefront for new coach Bryan Harsineach and every day, he said Thursday. That said, he was quick to note success on that front doesn’t happen with the snap of one’s fingers.

“I think we’ve made a lot of connections, No. 1,” Harsin said. “We’ve had to make those connections, had to build those relationships. That’s really what recruiting is. Making sure that guys understand who we are, what our expectations are, the vision for where we want to go with this program and then how they’d fit in. That’s been the biggest part, and that takes time. It’s not only the players, but there’s family members and people that are involved that we have to make connections with. I think our staff has done a tremendous job with that. These guys understand the importance of recruiting, but they also understand the importance of recruiting the right people to fit with what we’re trying to accomplish here. Just like the hiring process, that takes some time. But we’ve made a lot of progress.”

The Tigers landed 12 players during the early signing period in December -- one week before Harsin was hired and just days after Gus Malzahn was fired -- though one of them (Oklahoma transfer tight end Grant Calcaterra) has since enrolled at SMU. That leaves roughly 13 or 14 spots left to fill, though the exact number isn’t yet known.

All along, the expectation has been the Tigers would use some of the remaining available spots on high school or junior college signees and the remainder on transfers. What the exact split will be is anyone’s guess, though it seems likely given Auburn’s need for experienced players at multiple positions we see the final number of newcomers include a handful of transfers.

The Tigers not only are working on 2021 prospects such as athlete Tar'varish Dawson (a commit who didn’t sign in December) but uncommitted targets that include cornerback Dontae Balfour,running back Byron Cardwell, safety Juwon Gaston, offensive tackle Colby Smith and linebacker Trevin Wallace. At the same time, they're keeping close tabs on the transfer portal (one player of note there is offensive guard/center Eric Wilson).

With the portal, several new potential targets (grad transfers and not) seemingly come available each week.

Additionally, there’s also the case of 4-star Tennessee defensive end signee Dylan Brooks, who signed with the Vols in December but asked for his National Letter of Intent release earlier this week. If that release is granted, Auburn will be free to contact him and probably is best-positioned to land him.

Also, don’t forget the staff is making contact with class-of-2022 recruits across the country.

As for Harsin’s philosophy regarding the transfer portal?

“First of all, identify your need,” the coach said. “What are you looking for? If you’re using the portal as an opportunity to bring players in, well, there’s going to be players more developed. There’s going to be players that probably played, players that have experience. It also goes back to what kind of person are we looking for to be part of this program. That matters as well so you’ve got to do the research on these guys. The portal, the rules still haven’t been finalized, so there’s still some of that gray that the NCAA has to give us some answers on. We need to know as coaches, not just me -- we all need to know what exactly it is, as far as the transfer portal, the rules and how this is going to look. We just have to make a decision because there are guys out there, there are guys that want to be a part of different programs. We are going to recruit. We’re going to make sure we’re getting the right fit. We’re going to make sure that we’re filling needs and we’re bringing guys in that can play for us.”

According to Harsin, reaching into the portal isn’t as simplistic or cut-and-dry as one might initially think. Much thought must be given into who should be and shouldn’t be targeted, he said.

“One of the things about the portal that we all have to pay attention to, how does that affect the high school players that are ready to come in here and ready to develop and grow and be a part of this program and start from day one as an Auburn Tiger -- and learn the culture and the way we do things and create those habits right when they get on campus,” Harsin said. “Because there’s gonna be guys that are older players that have habits built and we’ve got to find out how those habits fit into what we’re doing. What do we have to do to help these guys within our program. It’s a challenge because what we’re doing now, we’re giving the coaches so many options. Before it was, hey, you might get a grad transfer, you might get a junior college player. You’re going to go after high school players. Now you add in the transfer portal, and not knowing all the rules, you’re just adding in another layer of players that you can go and sign. You’ve got to be very specific on what it is you’re looking for.

“That’s what we’re trying to do. I feel like we’ve got that down very close, but every day there might be a new name that creates another conversation on maybe this, maybe that. I think our staff, we’ve been patient but we’re also charging hard on guys we feel like we’ve made connections with that first here and that we want to sign and get in this program and really become the foundation of what we’re building moving forward.”

National Signing Day now is just two weeks away (Feb. 3), but transfers don’t have to be added at that time. In fact, in recent years some of Auburn’s biggest transfer additions didn’t even become available until late spring or early summer, notably offensive linemen Jack Driscoll and Casey Dunn, who ended up being valuable starters with the Tigers.

The bottom line: It’s unlikely all of Auburn’s spots will be filled the first week of February.

“Yeah, there'll be some holds certainly,” Harsin said. “I think that will naturally happen. I don't think that's something that ... if we can sign the best guys and fill the class we want to with all the guys we want to get, then that doesn't' necessarily mean we hold anybody. But there are going to naturally be a few spots that we do hold just based off how the process has gone. Offensive line. Running back. Corner. Safety. Defensive backfield. Linebacker. D-line … You can go down and there are needs really at every position. … What are the most important things we have to get done? Is it a younger tackle? Is it an older tackle? Is it a position at running back that we need to fill? What does that look like? Those are the conversations we've had. But I feel very good about what our coaches have done with their evaluation and knowing, alright, here's where we need to go.”

Thursday, Harsin finalized his on-field coaching staff with the addition of Bert Watts, who will coach outside linebackers and are Auburn's special teams coordinator. Behind the scenes, much on the recruiting front already has been done. Three weeks ago, one of Harsin’s most important and trusted employees at his previous stop followed him to Auburn. While the school has yet to make an official announcement, Darren Uscher, who served as Boise State's Director of Recruiting and Player Personnel, is the Tigers' new Director of Recruiting. Meantime, Ryan Trichel is expected to be retained as Director of Player Personnel.

While there are many responsibilities between Uscher and Trichel, evaluating prospects, making first contact with recruits and building out a strong recruiting database are some of the things they’ve been working on and will continue to do non-stop through the course of a recruiting cycle.

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“I think we’re doing really well with our (2021) class,” Harsin said. “If you look at it, the second signing period, that will be the first opportunity for us to sign guys on that day. But that’s going to continue on all the way through the spring. There’s going to be more recruiting. There’s going to be things that happen. There’s going to be NCAA rule changes that will go into affect. So there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

As Harsin noted Thursday, “Recruiting never ends.”

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