Olineman in the Portal

[steeleagle 2,945]

12 minutes ago, AuburnNTexas said:

It appears we have struck out so far in the Portal as far as O-line goes unless we get a surprise HN is still a possibility but not till summer. I heard Jackson, Coffee and Council are returning also. 2 years ago Council was our best O-linemen but last year after his injury he was not as solid it really takes 2 years to completely recover from that type injury. If he returns to form we will have two solid Guards not counting any development from younger players and Brahm's at Center. I can see Zierer at RT and I hope Colby Smith has developed enough to play LT.  Not ideal but at least as good as last year and if Colby has developed better than last year.

It’s a bad look when we have to breathe a sigh of relief when we have to have these 5th and 6th year OL come in to try to hold up this offense. 
 

the recruiters are disappointing lol n the offensive side of the ball.  But offense is the premier want these days in the portal. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

28 minutes ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Not ideal but at least as good as last year and if Colby has developed better than last year.

And last year meant poor run blocking and adequate pass pro. 

And if our WRs can get open more and we actually start hitting on >60% of our passes for once, it might open things up for the run game.

And, finally, folks really need to keep reminding themselves of how much staff turnover we had on offense already. 

The OL simply wasn't the bogeyman that folks keep insisting it was. 

[W.E.D 11,070]

44 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

It’s a bad look when we have to breathe a sigh of relief when we have to have these 5th and 6th year OL come in to try to hold up this offense. 

the recruiters are disappointing lol n the offensive side of the ball.  But offense is the premier want these days in the portal. 

7th year, lol.

I think it's been said, but having all these 6/7th year guys would be alot more OKish if we had a plethora of TrFr/Soph/RSSoph type players that could use an extra year development.  That this point I don't think we have that

[AuburnNTexas 7,127]

27 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

And last year meant poor run blocking and adequate pass pro. 

And if our WRs can get open more and we actually start hitting on >60% of our passes for once, it might open things up for the run game.

And, finally, folks really need to keep reminding themselves of how much staff turnover we had on offense already. 

The OL simply wasn't the bogeyman that folks keep insisting it was. 

It is a bogeyman. I am stoked that he has convinced all the people to come back but that is a 1 year patch at best.  We have 1 signee in this class and two in last years class. Even if we hit the jackpot in 2023 class most won't be ready for at least a year and with O-line often 2 years. so by the time Harsin goes into his 3rd year we will be worse off then when he arrived.  So next year the Portal saves us or Harsin is probably gone. Which would be sad as I think Harsin is the coach we need, but since he was brought in against the wishes of some of our largest boosters ($) he needs to produce his 3rd year. To many big boosters are looking for a reason to get rid of Harsin and Greene. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

3 minutes ago, AuburnNTexas said:

It is a bogeyman. I am stoked that he has convinced all the people to come back but that is a 1 year patch at best.  We have 1 signee in this class and two in last years class. Even if we hit the jackpot in 2023 class most won't be ready for at least a year and with O-line often 2 years. so by the time Harsin goes into his 3rd year we will be worse off then when he arrived.  So next year the Portal saves us or Harsin is probably gone. Which would be sad as I think Harsin is the coach we need, but since he was brought in against the wishes of some of our largest boosters ($) he needs to produce his 3rd year. To many big boosters are looking for a reason to get rid of Harsin and Greene. 

You're preaching to the choir about depth. I'm talking about the performance in 2021. It wasn't as bad as people keep saying it was. 

[PoetTiger 1,896]

22 minutes ago, AuburnNTexas said:

It is a bogeyman. I am stoked that he has convinced all the people to come back but that is a 1 year patch at best.  We have 1 signee in this class and two in last years class. Even if we hit the jackpot in 2023 class most won't be ready for at least a year and with O-line often 2 years. so by the time Harsin goes into his 3rd year we will be worse off then when he arrived.  So next year the Portal saves us or Harsin is probably gone. Which would be sad as I think Harsin is the coach we need, but since he was brought in against the wishes of some of our largest boosters ($) he needs to produce his 3rd year. To many big boosters are looking for a reason to get rid of Harsin and Greene. 

Are there any big money boosters who want him to stay? This wash rinse repeat cycle with boosters wanting this and that is tiresome. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

30 minutes ago, AuburnNTexas said:

To many big boosters are looking for a reason to get rid of Harsin and Greene. 

Also, I'm not sure I agree with this. We just paid Gus over $10 million to leave and we're still paying him roughly $2.5 million a year through 2024. Harsin's buyout would be over $3 million a year through 2026. They might want to get rid of Greene. And they might not love Harsin. But I can't imagine anyone wanting to pay that buyout after all the money they've already paid and are continuing to pay guys to not work here. 

[metafour 4,958]

1 hour ago, McLoofus said:

You're preaching to the choir about depth. I'm talking about the performance in 2021. It wasn't as bad as people keep saying it was. 

Pass blocking was decent, the run-blocking was horrible. Overall it's a below-average group and they've landed nothing to indicate that there is any reason to expect drastically different results. That's the unfortunate reality.

[AuCivilEng1 10,995]

12 minutes ago, metafour said:

Pass blocking was decent, the run-blocking was horrible. Overall it's a below-average group and they've landed nothing to indicate that there is any reason to expect drastically different results. That's the unfortunate reality.

Makes me nervous about Tank. He saw the writing on the wall with the Oline. That’s probably why he toyed with the idea of leaving. Why would he want to come back if our Oline is just the same guys that couldn’t block for him last year?

[steeleagle 2,945]

13 minutes ago, metafour said:

Pass blocking was decent, the run-blocking was horrible. Overall it's a below-average group and they've landed nothing to indicate that there is any reason to expect drastically different results. That's the unfortunate reality.

Yep. IF you needed 2 yards or more, if Tank doesn't get it bouncing outside, we don't get it.

Hunter started off strong between the tackles but towards the end of the year, teams knew how to defend him, to not let him use any power.

Against ANY of the top SEC DLs, we will struggle in the run game, unless ZC and our coaches can use a controlled passing game, w TEs and better accuracy from ZC. 

[steeleagle 2,945]

2 minutes ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

Makes me nervous about Tank. He saw the writing on the wall with the Oline. That’s probably why he toyed with the idea of leaving. Why would he want to come back if our Oline is just the same guys that couldn’t block for him last year?

I think Tank wanted more touches AND he also want's to get NIL recog.

I had heard that Bo tried to get Tank as a package deal to Oregon through some so called NIL packages, and that is what got the ball rolling for Harsin and our NIL to counter offer. Our NIL I think is well organized while Oregon's with them losing a whole coaching staff, couldn't guarantee Tank what they were floating out there.

[Hank2020 3,195]

7 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

Yep. IF you needed 2 yards or more, if Tank doesn't get it bouncing outside, we don't get it.

Hunter started off strong between the tackles but towards the end of the year, teams knew how to defend him, to not let him use any power.

Against ANY of the top SEC DLs, we will struggle in the run game, unless ZC and our coaches can use a controlled passing game, w TEs and better accuracy from ZC. 

That would be a novel idea (open up the run by success in passing game). I wonder if any other successful teams use that strategy.

Edited January 17, 2022 by Hank2020

[McLoofus 35,182]

9 minutes ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

Why would he want to come back if our Oline is just the same guys that couldn’t block for him last year?

Because it's one more year and he's gone. He's the man, no questions asked, and he'll get drafted from here, and he'll go high. And he got some nice NIL money to stay. 

Also, we have a new OC and he'll likely get a lot more help from the passing game.

And, I mean, he did go for over 1,000 yards last year. Also, fun fact, he was immediately below Brian Robinson and less than half a yard behind Zamir White in average yards per rush. And Hunter was 2nd in the conference in yards per rush. 

It's not as bad a people keep saying it was. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

6 minutes ago, Hank2020 said:

That would be a novel idea (open up the run by success in passing game). I wonder if any other successful teams use that strategy.

I've been saying this since early last year. We need better run blocking to have the offense we want, but in 2022- just like 2021- we'll need the passing game to be able to bail us out sometimes. It wasn't able to in 2021, so we'll see if it can in 2022. I think it can, at least to a greater degree than it did this past season. 

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

4 hours ago, McLoofus said:

And last year meant poor run blocking and adequate pass pro. 

And if our WRs can get open more and we actually start hitting on >60% of our passes for once, it might open things up for the run game.

And, finally, folks really need to keep reminding themselves of how much staff turnover we had on offense already. 

The OL simply wasn't the bogeyman that folks keep insisting it was. 

Preach!!!!

The OL was solid in pass pro. Run blocking could definitely get A LOT better, but pass pro was adequate. I for one, and maybe only one, believe we have a QB on roster now that can be a pass first guy and open up for the run. 

[shabby 1,956]

I heard it stated often that a 5 and 8 season was understandable because of the poor state of the offensive line left by Malzahn. It looks like it will continue for at least another couple of years and Harsin now shares in that responsibility. Recruiting has been abysmal on the offensive side of the ball. Harsin and Mason deserve a lot of props for what they have done on the defensive side in regards to recruiting. However if the offensive line isn't recruited better and coached better then Harsin will be gone 

[selias 2,398]

4 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

To many big boosters are looking for a reason to get rid of Harsin and Greene. 

I've heard the Greene stuff but this is the first I've heard about the big $ boosters already looking to dump Harsin. Is that a personal opinion?

[AUBwins 10,064]

19 hours ago, Sizzle said:

 

This hurts. 

[gman87 398]

5 hours ago, McLoofus said:

. The OL simply wasn't the bogeyman that folks keep insisting it was. 

I disagree. While the other things compound the problem, our OL has been horrendous for several years and if they can't run block or protect the QB long enough, everything else falls apart.

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 minute ago, gman87 said:

I disagree. While the other things compound the problem, our OL has been horrendous for several years and if they can't run block or protect the QB long enough, everything else falls apart.

They're not very good at run blocking but they're adequate in pass pro.

It's just become acceptable and easy to blame all our problems on them. It's way overblown. They were plenty good to whip Houston's ass in the bowl game. We lost that game for other reasons. And we would've won some other games this season, too, with adequate play from other position groups. 

Don't ask me, though. Ask this LSU blog what they thought going into the 2021 season:

Quote

1 AUBURN. Something I harp on nearly every year when I do these ratings is this: NO ONE KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT LINE PLAY. It’s the hardest position group to evaluate, and I find the narratives do not match up well to actual performance. A common refrain in preseason previews so far has been that Auburn needs to improve their line play and… that’s crazy. It is one of the best lines in the SEC already. The Tigers average 2.95 ALY and 5.53 sacks/100 att, both in the top quartile of the conference. Additionally, they return four starters and 89 career starters. They are near the top of literally every metric, and almost everyone is coming back, including star center Nick Brahms.

 

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

 

I've been willing to give Friend a pass on new OL recruiting considering the nature of having to get in early on guys' recruitment...

But the transfer portal is one way he could've built a little good will while we wait for things to pan out. But he is seriously building a case for his dismissal right now. Post-Spring transfers are a possibility, but those guys tend to be the ones who can't crack starting lineups, and let's be real, that would've exactly be the kind of upgrade we need to elevate the program.

Better hope he develop the guys we have already because otherwise he's dead weight.

 

 

[CameronCrazy 1,057]

Fire Will Friend today! How much more evidence do you need?

[Paladin 3,305]

 

[nurbis 571]

36 minutes ago, JBiGGiE said:

Better hope he develop the guys we have already because otherwise he's dead weight.

This is the only reason I can figure Harsin has not made a change. He must see Friend as a very solid developer and on field coach. Either that or Harsin plans to make a change to somebody that is still coaching on Sundays right now. Almost certainly not the case but one can dream I guess. Maybe Harsin is trying to instill some continuity for the position.  

The thing that doesn't make sense to me is why we can put together a supposedly huge NIL deal to try and get Caleb Williams but we can't get deals together for any of these OLine players that we desperately need. 

 

[JerryAU 1,650]

1 minute ago, nurbis said:

This is the only reason I can figure Harsin has not made a change. He must see Friend as a very solid developer and on field coach. Either that or Harsin plans to make a change to somebody that is still coaching on Sundays right now. Almost certainly not the case but one can dream I guess. Maybe Harsin is trying to instill some continuity for the position.  

The thing that doesn't make sense to me is why we can put together a supposedly huge NIL deal to try and get Caleb Williams but we can't get deals together for any of these OLine players that we desperately need. 

 

How do we know that we can't pull together enough NIL $$ for Oline players?

I agree we need to pony up big money for olinemen as it's a position of huge need, but who knows if that's taking place right now or not?  Also, what kind of NIL package did we offer CW?