2023 Discussion Thread

[Mikey 16,576]

11 minutes ago, Sizzle said:

How have you continued to watch this last decade plus with Alabama winning/competing in the national championship every year?

For one thing, Auburn has competed in the national championship game once, and beaten UAT three times in the past decade. We have been competitive. I have a great deal of doubt as to how competitive AU can be if if the quality of players on the team depends on how high the team payroll can be.

We have some very rich supporters, but we do not have the numbers of doctors, lawyers and bankers that outfit across the state can muster. Any experienced fund raiser knows that numbers of contributors is the prime factor. We'll finish second in bidding wars, if that's what it's going to come to.

[W.E.D 11,070]

On 6/5/2022 at 10:13 AM, Mikey said:

Point one, I don't care a thing about ESPN or Nike, etc. I do care about AU athletics, so that's a false comparison.

Point two: I said, back about a year ago, that I'd give this thing five years. The five years aren't up yet, but I'll tell you my interest is declining. I don't like the bidding war setup and unless some authority changes this I don't know if in four more years I'll be caring about AU football more than I care about ESPN, which is not at all.

Yes, I'm still posting. No, my five years aren't up.

Looking forward to 2026

[Sizzle 3,911]

2 hours ago, Mikey said:

For one thing, Auburn has competed in the national championship game once, and beaten UAT three times in the past decade. We have been competitive. I have a great deal of doubt as to how competitive AU can be if if the quality of players on the team depends on how high the team payroll can be.

We have some very rich supporters, but we do not have the numbers of doctors, lawyers and bankers that outfit across the state can muster. Any experienced fund raiser knows that numbers of contributors is the prime factor. We'll finish second in bidding wars, if that's what it's going to come to.

Yeah but look at your first paragraph. This last decade we’ve only beat them 3 times and that’s seen as “competitive”. Recruiting has been a bidding war for decades, it’s never been clean.
 

Jimbo Fisher was pretty much saying it in his rant a few weeks ago. I’m appreciative of the few good years We’ve had but even with this NIL stuff nothing’s gone look too different. 

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

1 hour ago, Sizzle said:

Yeah but look at your first paragraph. This last decade we’ve only beat them 3 times and that’s seen as “competitive”. Recruiting has been a bidding war for decades, it’s never been clean.
 

Jimbo Fisher was pretty much saying it in his rant a few weeks ago. I’m appreciative of the few good years We’ve had but even with this NIL stuff nothing’s gone look too different. 

Some schools were leery of going to overboard prior to NIL as they didn't have an inside man at NCAA like a certain school that shall not be named.  Now with NIL being more wide open you see some big money schools basically buying players.  I don't think Auburn can compete if there are no regulations as we don't have enough big money people.  I think you will see Alabama impacted by this also as while they probably have more big money people then we do they still don't have as many as some other schools. Schools like Texas and Texas A&M can outbid bama and UGA probably can also.

[Sizzle 3,911]

1 hour ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Some schools were leery of going to overboard prior to NIL as they didn't have an inside man at NCAA like a certain school that shall not be named.  Now with NIL being more wide open you see some big money schools basically buying players.  I don't think Auburn can compete if there are no regulations as we don't have enough big money people.  I think you will see Alabama impacted by this also as while they probably have more big money people then we do they still don't have as many as some other schools. Schools like Texas and Texas A&M can outbid bama and UGA probably can also.

Bama will still alright because of their track record. They’ve put a million guys in the first round this past decade. NIL is important for kids but the NFL is still the ultimate goal. They’ll still bring in 5 stars but maybe won’t get as many though 

[tinman1 485]

45 minutes ago, Sizzle said:

Bama will still alright because of their track record. They’ve put a million guys in the first round this past decade. NIL is important for kids but the NFL is still the ultimate goal. They’ll still bring in 5 stars but maybe won’t get as many though 

Bama will thrive under the new NIL system.  They will contine to spend more than most of their rivals to get the top players.  In the meeting in Birmingham, that was supposed to be about the World games, the talk Saban was giving about NIL and Texas A&M was directed at the many bama donors in the room.  I was told by someone who was there (not a bama guy) that there were 12 - 15 bama heavy hitters in attendance.  Basically Saban was telling them the price of poker has just gone up, and if you want to stay on top you better pony up.

[W.E.D 11,070]

Was predicted to AU by a few insiders....

 

 

[Sizzle 3,911]

1 hour ago, W.E.D said:

Was predicted to AU by a few insiders....

 

 

Which insiders?

[W.E.D 11,070]

43 minutes ago, Sizzle said:

Which insiders?

Jhead and Dukes

[Sizzle 3,911]

35 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

Jhead and Dukes

Dukes is usually pretty tapped in when it comes to recruits in the Atlanta area but it’s pretty easy to tell he was going to pick Clemson. His older brother went there and became a first round pick 

[Zeek 16,649]

On 10/12/2021 at 10:52 AM, Zeek said:

Updated 6/08/2022

Quarterback (Need 1)

3* Brock Glenn

NR Will Prichard

Running Back (Need 2)

4* Jeremiah Cobb

Wide Receiver (Need 2-3)

4* Karmello English

4* Khai Prean

3* Nakai Poole

Tight End (Need 1-2)

4* Jelani Thurman

Offensive Tackle (Need 2)

4* Bo Hughley - currently committed to Geogia

4* Stanton Ramil

3* Gernorris Wilson

3* Vysen Lang

3* Ian Geffrad

Inside Offensive Linemen (Need 3)

4* Kelton Smith

4* DJ Chester

3* Bradyn Joiner - committed to Auburn

3* Clay Wedin

3* Connor Lew

Edge Rusher (Need 2)

5* Qua Russaw

4* Keldric Faulk

4* Tausili Akana

Defensive Linemen (Need 2)

4* Rueben Bain

4* Anthony James

4* Hunter Osborne

4* Jamarious Brown

3* Joshua Horton

Linebacker (Need 2-3)

4* Dee Crayton

4* CJ Allen

4* Lewis Carter

4* Jaiden Ausberry

4* Stanquan Clark

4* Troy Bowles

3* Marcellius Pulliam

3* Eric Muse

Corner Back (Need 1-2)

4* Ethan Nation

3* Ja'Keem Jackson

3* Dale Miller

Safeties (Need 1-2)

4* Terrance Love - committed to Auburn

4* DaKaari Nelson

4* Jordan Castell

Kicker (Need 0)

Punter (Need 0)

 

Zeek's thoughts:

• QB - Brock Glenn is THE guy to the staff with who is available. Ohio State just entered the picture to make things interesting. He is set to announce his decision at the end of the month.
• RB - Jeremiah Cobb is the only name I have seen with much traction and Clemson is surging hard. It'll be interesting to watch how this recruitment develops. With Tank leaving early it's likely the staff will want two more backs in this class.
• WR - with three freshmen in last year's class and two transfers (all with lots of years of eligibility left) I don't expect to see too many signed in this class. Two would be solid.
• TE - either this season or next season will end with huge turnover at the TE position. Adding two if possible isn't a horrendous idea.
• OL - Finally seeing some momentum here. Just waiting on results. I would like to see five taken minimum.
• DL/Edge - this is looking really promising in a class loaded with talent at the positions. Luckily M'ba/Jones and others all have a lot of eligibility left as well. Edge is vital for Auburn to reload.
• LB - lots of names and for good reason. Owen Pappoe's departure is going to be hard to replace. Ausberry might want to play with his older brother we just signed and that would help but we still need at least one more at the position.
• CB - we are loaded with youth in the secondary right now after coach ZE had a solid class and transfers. I think we will look for two guys that are highly rated here. Quality over quantity in this class.
• S - with one committed already we are likely looking for one more to add depth at the position moving forward.

The staff is being praised by some of its biggest critics for how they have been recruiting lately. Let's see if it pays dividends in the end. 

 

Big update on the OP

[Randman5000 4,226]

Keith Niebuhr switched from 247 to On3. What is this the PGA? Must have got a NIL gig? Jokes abound. 

[Sizzle 3,911]

9 hours ago, Zeek said:

Big update on the OP

Don’t forget the other in state interior OL UGA commit that Auburn is after 

[Randman5000 4,226]

9 hours ago, Zeek said:

Big update on the OP

Check out Lewis Carter's coach in Tampa...  Dontarious Thomas.

[Rednilla 5,389]

Just got a heads up that we might be getting some good news on the 26th. Stay tuned. I'll let you know what I can when I can.

[au302 2,669]

28 minutes ago, Rednilla said:

Just got a heads up that we might be getting some good news on the 26th. Stay tuned. I'll let you know what I can when I can.

Well this is certainly interesting timing with ole Keith just reporting that James Smith and Qua Russaw will be visiting that weekend...

[Randman5000 4,226]

14 minutes ago, au302 said:

Well this is certainly interesting timing with ole Keith just reporting that James Smith and Qua Russaw will be visiting that weekend...

YES!!!!

 

[au302 2,669]

28 minutes ago, Randman5000 said:

YES!!!!

 

Lol, I hope. I truly do. More likely about Brock Glenn or something, which is still awesome. Need him in the boat

[toddc 13,194]

13 minutes ago, au302 said:

Lol, I hope. I truly do. More likely about Brock Glenn or something, which is still awesome. Need him in the boat

Ohio State is on his radar now 😯

[au302 2,669]

25 minutes ago, toddc said:

Ohio State is on his radar now 😯

Yup. Probably not good, but in turn would also turn into a more impressive pull if we get him I guess. At least we were on him early. Hopefully that pays off 

[AUght2win 6,833]

Should we be worried if June come and goes without any commitments? 

[Randman5000 4,226]

58 minutes ago, AUght2win said:

Should we be worried if June come and goes without any commitments? 

It's only June 8

[Rednilla 5,389]

On 6/8/2022 at 11:07 PM, AUght2win said:

Should we be worried if June come and goes without any commitments? 

Pretty sure that's going to be a question that doesn't have to be answered.

But yes.

Truthfully, we should be worried right now. Harsin made some mistakes with the way he was handling things his first year on the job (which I attribute to the fact that most of his coaching career was spent at his alma mater, where he is a favored son and somewhat immune to the politics of dealing with boosters), but I've heard from multiple sources that he remedied that pretty quickly. During that same conversation in which I got the tidbit about the 26th, I was informed that the NIL money is there, but compliance is holding us up while the rest of the SEC is racing past us.

I may or may not have said a few choice words about Rich McGlynn at that point.

None of that changes my opinion that we'll finish in the top 15, however.

[oracle79 3,569]

10 hours ago, toddc said:

Ohio State is on his radar now 😯

Does that mean Ryan Day just upped his value to $2 million NIL?

[Sizzle 3,911]