2023 Discussion Thread

[arein0 950]

On 6/22/2022 at 8:58 AM, Sizzle said:

Parker is the type of guy you still recruit hard and try to bring in and see if the “culture” straightens him out. And if he doesn’t work out then that’s on him but at least we tried. He’s a beast on the field and he’s the type of player we need. 

I think if Harsin has established his culture then he can take more risks on project players. I'm still wondering if we are still establishing our culture and doesnt want to take those risks. Remember he is only going into Year 2 and I dont really count the 1st year with the COVID restrictions.

[Win4AU 4,052]

Not getting Glenn isn’t a big deal as far as the roster as not getting a life long Auburn kid.  If Calzada comes out and looks good this year then I don’t think you’ll see Auburn have a problem getting a quality 24 kid.  Holden I believe is the Qb of the future anyway so there’s no guarantee you’d see Glenn start at Auburn.  
 

If Auburn can get off to a 5-0, 4-1 start with wins over LSU, PSU, and Mizzou at home then you’ll see recruiting pick up.  

[metafour 4,968]

8 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

Not getting Glenn isn’t a big deal as far as the roster as not getting a life long Auburn kid.  If Calzada comes out and looks good this year then I don’t think you’ll see Auburn have a problem getting a quality 24 kid.  Holden I believe is the Qb of the future anyway so there’s no guarantee you’d see Glenn start at Auburn.  
 

If Auburn can get off to a 5-0, 4-1 start with wins over LSU, PSU, and Mizzou at home then you’ll see recruiting pick up.  

 

It's a big deal for the simple fact of perception.

Without a strong QB commitment, you are missing the most important leader for your recruiting class. That is why schools always want to lock down their QB as early as possible in the recruiting cycle. WR recruits want to go somewhere wherein you can sell the QB throwing them the ball. OL recruits want to play in an offense that will allow them to shine - hence they are also attracted to schools that can sell an elite QB recruit. And then RB's want to play in an offense that has OL recruits.

So it's all interconnected. Your QB recruit is the most important because they champion the confidence in the entire offense/HC. If you can convince a 5-star QB to sign with your school, then that coach will be perceived to know what he is doing. When you struggle to land a QB, the perception is bad because it personifies poor confidence....and poor confidence lingers and radiates.  

[CR 2,438]

4 star safety Dakaari Nelson from Selma commits to Penn St. As Bryan Matthews pointed out, that gives Penn St 2 of the top 20 players in the state of Alabama.

[Sizzle 3,909]

1 hour ago, CR said:

4 star safety Dakaari Nelson from Selma commits to Penn St. As Bryan Matthews pointed out, that gives Penn St 2 of the top 20 players in the state of Alabama.

Was Auburn even after this guy? Never seen that name mentioned 

[CR 2,438]

30 minutes ago, Sizzle said:

Was Auburn even after this guy? Never seen that name mentioned 

Yes

[AUght2win 6,828]

On 6/24/2022 at 3:01 PM, metafour said:

The reality is starting to set in on Brock Glenn too, unfortunately.

Like I said, all this noise of perceived "good news coming" and "momentum" was the daintiest breeze imaginable.

Yeah I’ve never heard so much “good news coming” and “big things on the way” as the past year and a half.

I guess it’s how the recruiting pundits survive when their beat school isn’t pulling anyone. Can’t say “no commitments coming” or “Auburn has no shot at this kid” but that’s the reality.

[AUCE05 369]

This staff is a disaster.  

[Win4AU 4,052]

30 minutes ago, AUCE05 said:

This staff is a disaster.  

Not really.  They’ve done a lot to try and improve their standing with recruits.  They have more support staff working recruiting than Gus ever did.  They just finished a pretty extensive tour of high schools to familiarize themselves with coaches.  A lot of damage Was done during Gus’s last couple seasons, covid, the way last season ended, the Harsin is cheating/is an ahole/racist garbage bs, and most importantly another Auburn coach who has to fight with the boosters which has been every coach since Pat Dye.  Most recruits know if Auburn doesn’t have a good year on the field they’ll probably be changing coaches again.  I believe players are enjoying and truly interested in Auburn but until Auburn wins some games and the future looks a little more stable you’re gonna see recruits hold off on Auburn.  You can argue that every other SEC program right now has a more stable outlook than Auburn.

[AUCE05 369]

15 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

Not really.  They’ve done a lot to try and improve their standing with recruits.  They have more support staff working recruiting than Gus ever did.  They just finished a pretty extensive tour of high schools to familiarize themselves with coaches.  A lot of damage Was done during Gus’s last couple seasons, covid, the way last season ended, the Harsin is cheating/is an ahole/racist garbage bs, and most importantly another Auburn coach who has to fight with the boosters which has been every coach since Pat Dye.  Most recruits know if Auburn doesn’t have a good year on the field they’ll probably be changing coaches again.  I believe players are enjoying and truly interested in Auburn but until Auburn wins some games and the future looks a little more stable you’re gonna see recruits hold off on Auburn.  You can argue that every other SEC program right now has a more stable outlook than Auburn.

Buddy.   This is their third cycle.   That first one I'll give them a pass.   If they haven't beat the doors down on high schools yet, then that is enough to fire them.   

[Win4AU 4,052]

3 hours ago, AUCE05 said:

Buddy.   This is their third cycle.   That first one I'll give them a pass.   If they haven't beat the doors down on high schools yet, then that is enough to fire them.   

This is their 2nd true cycle.  They came in December 2020 and their first cycle was preserving Gus’s guys they wanted and trying to get whoever else they could get.  I wasn’t overly impressed with cycle 1 but I think the guys coming in are > than guys going out.  I think there was very fair criticism of what they were doing and I think a lot of that was addressed.  As I said going forward depends 100% on what happens on the field.  A good year will result in a good recruiting class.  A bad season will probably end up resulting in a change.  Personally I think a change, even in an era of NILs and transfer portals, would be devastating.  

[AUwent 3,747]

9 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

This is their 2nd true cycle.  They came in December 2020 and their first cycle was preserving Gus’s guys they wanted and trying to get whoever else they could get.  I wasn’t overly impressed with cycle 1 but I think the guys coming in are > than guys going out.  I think there was very fair criticism of what they were doing and I think a lot of that was addressed.  As I said going forward depends 100% on what happens on the field.  A good year will result in a good recruiting class.  A bad season will probably end up resulting in a change.  Personally I think a change, even in an era of NILs and transfer portals, would be devastating.  

After this year? You might be right. After next year? If recruiting keeps going like this, we will look completely justified.

Edited June 27, 2022 by AUwent

[Win4AU 4,052]

Just now, AUwent said:

After this year? You might be right. After next year? If recruiting keeps going like this, we will look completely justified.

I’ll tell you right now that 2023 looks better than 2024.  It’s going to take 2-3 years of high level recruiting and transfer portal guys to get this team anywhere close to where Auburn folks want to be.  Stage 1 is rebuilding the lines of scrimmage and WRs. After that is building quality depth so you’re reloading and not rebuilding.  Bama, UGA, and TaMu are there.  Ole Miss is getting there.  LSU is sitting on a gold mine.  Auburn, Tennessee, Miss State, USCe, and Kentucky are in an arms race to get to where the tops teams are.  It took UGA 6 seasons with top classes to win it all.  2004 is the type of year we should be hoping for not 2013 or 1993.

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

4 hours ago, AUCE05 said:

Buddy.   This is their third cycle.   That first one I'll give them a pass.   If they haven't beat the doors down on high schools yet, then that is enough to fire them.   

Bruh. What do you want them to do? Hold the kids hostage at gun point and make them commit? It's only June...

Right now all the coaches can do is pitch the vision. These recruits are going on other official and unofficial visits being told that Harsin ain't got it and won't be around for next year. Until these recruits can see that plan in action on the field we're not going to see very much movement during the off-season. It doesn't matter if the coaches set up satellite offices in any of the highschools they visit, we need results on the field.

THEN we can have a productive conversation about whether or not this staff is a dumpster fire.

[AUApostle 7,651]

6 minutes ago, JBiGGiE said:

Bruh. What do you want them to do? Hold the kids hostage at gun point and make them commit? It's only June...

Right now all the coaches can do is pitch the vision. These recruits are going on other official and unofficial visits being told that Harsin ain't got it and won't be around for next year. Until these recruits can see that plan in action on the field we're not going to see very much movement during the off-season. It doesn't matter if the coaches set up satellite offices in any of the highschools they visit, we need results on the field.

THEN we can have a productive conversation about whether or not this staff is a dumpster fire.

A coach’s 2nd/3rd recruiting classes at a top tier SEC school should almost always be top 10 or better classes.  Coaches have hopium and vision to sell without being tied down by a negative track record.  It typically doesn’t get easier.  If you’re  waiting on a dynamic 2022 season to save Harsin’s recruiting then you’ll be very disappointed.  Whiffing as badly as we’ve done on a deep and talented state class is troubling.  It’s almost like no matter what he does the kids refuse to commit.  I think he’s a dead man walking already.

[keesler 5,924]

34 minutes ago, AUDevil said:

A coach’s 2nd/3rd recruiting classes at a top tier SEC school should almost always be top 10 or better classes.  Coaches have hopium and vision to sell without being tied down by a negative track record.  It typically doesn’t get easier.  If you’re  waiting on a dynamic 2022 season to save Harsin’s recruiting then you’ll be very disappointed.  Whiffing as badly as we’ve done on a deep and talented state class is troubling.  It’s almost like no matter what he does the kids refuse to commit.  I think he’s a dead man walking already.

I feel the same way Devil, the State is loaded and we’re sitting here watching Penn State come down here taking top 20 talent? 

[Sizzle 3,909]

1 hour ago, AUDevil said:

A coach’s 2nd/3rd recruiting classes at a top tier SEC school should almost always be top 10 or better classes.  Coaches have hopium and vision to sell without being tied down by a negative track record.  It typically doesn’t get easier.  If you’re  waiting on a dynamic 2022 season to save Harsin’s recruiting then you’ll be very disappointed.  Whiffing as badly as we’ve done on a deep and talented state class is troubling.  It’s almost like no matter what he does the kids refuse to commit.  I think he’s a dead man walking already.

Steve Sarkisian didn’t have a good first year at Texas and not only did he land Arch Manning earlier this week he just got 5 commitments TODAY, 4 of them were OL. We don’t have enough good recruiters on staff and it’s killing us. 

[AuburnNTexas 7,134]

23 minutes ago, Sizzle said:

Steve Sarkisian didn’t have a good first year at Texas and not only did he land Arch Manning earlier this week he just got 5 commitments TODAY, 4 of them were OL. We don’t have enough good recruiters on staff and it’s killing us. 

Texas buys their recruits.

[Mikey 16,566]

27 minutes ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Texas buys their recruits.

Everybody who gets top recruits is buying them these days. If we are unable or unwilling to make the purchases it's going to be a long trip to the bottom of the SEC.

Edited June 27, 2022 by Mikey

[au302 2,669]

Guys Harsin himself may not be a good recruiter but we have good recruiters on staff who are struggling. Y'all think Zac and CRob forgot how to recruit suddenly? Does Zac suck so bad that he can't even get 0 star Hart from Loachapoka on board immediately? Why can't Caddy seem to close on Cobb yet? Ike's sure been quiet, is he awkward around recruits too?

Nope. These are good recruiters. It's that we are in a holding pattern because the staff has been put at gunpoint to win now or else. It's not an excuse, they've made mistakes and had their share of misses, but negative recruiting is a b**** and kids want to see if they'll be around before they commit. It sucks, no excuse, but it's reality right now.

[Mikey 16,566]

8 minutes ago, au302 said:

Nope. These are good recruiters. It's that we are in a holding pattern because the staff has been put at gunpoint to win now or else. It's not an excuse, they've made mistakes and had their share of misses, but negative recruiting is a b**** and kids want to see if they'll be around before they commit. It sucks, no excuse, but it's reality right now.

This negative recruiting has been used against AU for at least the last seven years. In the past we've been able to recruit competitively in spite of the negative stuff. Something has changed. Maybe we don't have the NIL money available to compete?

[au302 2,669]

2 minutes ago, Mikey said:

This negative recruiting has been used against AU for at least the last seven years. In the past we've been able to recruit competitively in spite of the negative stuff. Something has changed. Maybe we don't have the NIL money available to compete?

Certainly possible. But we set off a self-imposed nuclear bomb on ourselves in February. No way around it. If I'm putting myself in a recruits shoes, do I risk committing to Harsin and losing my spot elsewhere after that? Guys commit like crazy to Norvell despite two terrible years. Like worse than Harsin bad. They probably got NIL, and they didn't publicly neuter their staff

[AUght2win 6,828]

3 hours ago, JBiGGiE said:

Bruh. What do you want them to do? Hold the kids hostage at gun point and make them commit? It's only June...

Right now all the coaches can do is pitch the vision. These recruits are going on other official and unofficial visits being told that Harsin ain't got it and won't be around for next year. Until these recruits can see that plan in action on the field we're not going to see very much movement during the off-season. It doesn't matter if the coaches set up satellite offices in any of the highschools they visit, we need results on the field.

THEN we can have a productive conversation about whether or not this staff is a dumpster fire.

Not really. Auburn has historically sold itself. And our brand is bigger than ever. Tons of other teams without results are doing better than us.

Good recruiters make the kids believe it’s going to be great experience for them and they are going to win championships, even if every person outside the building believes otherwise.

This staff just doesn’t have it. And it starts at the top. I don’t think it can be overstated how much that Smoke Monday instagram video damaged Harsin.

Kids are not currently attracted to Auburn football. Period. They aren’t connecting with CBH. Period.

I’m not sure there’s any version of Harsin at Auburn that will succeed. Hopefully I’m wrong.

[AUCE05 369]

3 hours ago, JBiGGiE said:

Bruh. What do you want them to do? Hold the kids hostage at gun point and make them commit? It's only June...

Right now all the coaches can do is pitch the vision. These recruits are going on other official and unofficial visits being told that Harsin ain't got it and won't be around for next year. Until these recruits can see that plan in action on the field we're not going to see very much movement during the off-season. It doesn't matter if the coaches set up satellite offices in any of the highschools they visit, we need results on the field.

THEN we can have a productive conversation about whether or not this staff is a dumpster fire.

All of you can continue making excuses for this clown.  Meanwhile AU is currently ranked 79th on 247 with our own state loaded with talent.   We don't have to beat out UGA or UA to have a great class.  But we are getting crushed by PSU, Clemson and UT for our in state kids.   Unacceptable.  

[Hank2020 3,198]

6 hours ago, Mikey said:

Everybody who gets top recruits is buying them these days. If we are unable or unwilling to make the purchases it's going to be a long trip to the bottom of the SEC.

Yes, but that is on auburn not existing coaching staff.