The Portal Giveth and the Portal Taketh Away

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

To be honest initially it looked like the Portal was Auburn's worst enemy this year at one point we had lost 19 Players to the Portal but two Robinson and Johnson have returned to the Fold.

Lost Players:

DL

Dre Butler a solid depth guy

Daniel Foster-Allen - never could get on the filed

Lee Hunter - Potential but never could get on the field

J.J. Pegeus - Provide Depth Inside

Ian Mathews - Never could get on the field 

Caleb Jonson - Edge - Never had any impact

LB 

Romello Height - I think he was about to produce but had trouble adding weight

Nick Curtiss - Never had an impact at Auburn

WR 

Elijah Canion - Never had any real impact but had Potential

Caylin Newton - Never had an major impact

Kobe Hudson - Hurt would have been our best returning WR

S

Ladarius Tennison - Hurts solid safety

Ahmari Harvey - Never quite got there but still had potential

CB

Dreshun Miller - Never lived up to what we thought when he transferred in

RB

Shaun Shivers - Fan Favorite great leader played hard but we have a solid RB backfield without him still hurts to lose him.

OL

Tashawn Manning - adequate back up O-Line 

QB

Box Nix - 3 year starter not elite but it hurt to lose him

Numbers wise losing 17 Players hurt quality wise some players hurt to lose Tennison, Harvey (Maybe), Shivers, Butler, Hudson, Height, Nix, Hunter (On Potential).

Players Gained 

S

McDonald - Either a wash or upgrade over what we lost

CB

DJ Jones Upgrade over Deshun Miller 

LB

Asante - Is an upgrade over Height and Curtiss 

QB 

Calzada similar Numbers to Nix

Ashford potential so between Calzada and Ashford I think an Upgrade because added depth

DL

Jones - Appears to be a stud - Improves D-line over players who left Plus Mba coming in from JUCO and I think we are stronger in Middle of D-Line compared to players leaving

Moore - Solid player probably matched Butler

WR 

Moore - Potential but have been injuries 

Worsham - Potential but have been Injuries

I would say since we can't predict what Moore or Worsham will do this has been a loss in Portal unless one of these two show up and match or beat Hudson's numbers.

OL

No Pickups and we lose Manning so this is a negative as at worst Manning provided depth.

We have lost the numbers game in Portal 17 left 9 coming in but I honestly think we have gained better players. With the quality of some players coming in from 2022 class like Mba, Fair, Brown, Ausberry, Woodyard, Powell, Harris I think we have more pieces with a chance of succeeding then what we have lost. That said they still have to do it on the Field.  

 

Do you think Auburn has lost or gained in this years Portal to this point?

 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by AuburnNTexas

[Gowebb11 9,314]

Time will tell obviously. And I wish all these young men well.  But I like the fact that the majority of the guys we got come in with significant playing experience and have an opportunity to make immediate impact at positions of need. Hated to lose Pegues because I feel like this would have been a strong season for him. Bo is a good man but it was in the mutual best interest for him and the team to move on. Shivers is a great story but he will have more opportunities at Indiana and his role with us was going to be limited. In the end, I prefer players who want to be here rather than those who don’t. Time to move forward.  

[GreenTiger 1,005]

Thanks for sharing! Not as doom and gloom as we might have perceived and still time and space to add more players. Seems to me that the additions reveal where AU football is at right now. Not in the dumpster but not yet in the penthouse. 

[Sizzle 3,912]

I like the additions for the most part, especially if they can stay healthy. McDonald was much needed depth but personally I don’t think he’s that good, I think he’ll be best used in the box. I think it’ll be bad for him if he’s out covering 

[oracle79 3,569]

9 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Do you think Auburn has lost or gained in this years Portal to this point?

I think you covered it well from a physical/talent viewpoint.

I don't think you can underestimate the intangibles of work ethic, toughness, buy in to program philosophy, putting team before self, chemistry with coaches and teammates, etc. From that standpoint, I have a feeling that we are a ton better off. The only player we lost that affected us negatively in those areas was Shivers.

[Hank2020 3,199]

2 hours ago, oracle79 said:

I think you covered it well from a physical/talent viewpoint.

I don't think you can underestimate the intangibles of work ethic, toughness, buy in to program philosophy, putting team before self, chemistry with coaches and teammates, etc. From that standpoint, I have a feeling that we are a ton better off. The only player we lost that affected us negatively in those areas was Shivers.

Shivers left basically bc the freshman pushed him out.

[Mikey 16,578]

@AuburnNTexas  You missed three who left. QB D. Davis, CB Eric Reed and CB Ro Torrence. The total who are gone is 20. Would have been 22 had Robinson and Johnson not returned to Auburn.

Edited June 6, 2022 by Mikey

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

Just now, Mikey said:

You missed three who left. QB D. Davis, CB Eric Reed and CB Ro Torrence. The total who are gone is 20. Would have been 22 had Robinson and Johnson not returned to Auburn.

You are correct I missed those 3 but again I still think what we gained in quality is better then what we lost. That is based on what I had seen so far from the players that left and from the ones that we picked up.  Now if a couple of the ones who left shine upon leaving my assumptions are wrong. I think a lot of the ones who left didn't fit the mentality that Harsin wanted and didn't fit into his system. Some players do well with a hard nosed coach and they excel others need a different type coach. 

It could turn out that some of the players who left are very talented but because of not fitting the new culture would not do well here but will someplace else. Only time will tell. It is kind of like judging how good a recruiting class is.  Initial judgement is on stars but the real test is how well they produced  2-4 years later and if they stayed. I have seen at Auburn and other schools classes that looked good but 3 years later many are gone or did nor work out.

Judging a class is more then just how good players are it is did it fit a teams needs, did the players stay and produce.  So far Gus and Harsin have had some similarity in recruiting classes with Gus's classes being rated higher. Some really good players but didn't fit teams needs at O-Line.  There was also a lot of attrition in Gus classes and time will tell if Harsin has same issue.

Some of the many players that left via Portal were players that did not fit the culture that Harsin was trying to implement and were not his type players which I think accounts for a lot of the large numbers.  Now if next year we have similar type of Portal attrition then Harsin has an issue and will probably gone very soon if however the players he brought help a good bit this year and we have a decent season with minimal Portal loss next year then that will speak well for Harsin and what he is trying to do.

[au302 2,669]

In the spring it was dicey because we were probably practicing with 50 something players due to the losses, several injuries, and no summer enrollees. We had walk-ons in the two deep. Now besides EDGE the team is looking better depth wise. That has been our issue for several years. Still a ways to go. Tbh it's just hard to cry over losing guys from a back to back 6 win team. There's a few that were solid, but in any overhaul you're going to lose guys like that.

But now we're at 79 I think. That's a good spot because we can probably sign 30+ between HS and the portal next year and patch the remaining holes. Hopefully we add a grad transfer EDGE or so this summer. In terms of the guys that came in there's reason to be excited about all but gotta see. A lot of them certainly look the part though 

[Mikey 16,578]

11 hours ago, au302 said:

That's a good spot because we can probably sign 30+ between HS and the portal next year and patch the remaining holes

Aren't the annual signing limits over for the time being? There will be plenty of space under the 85 limit. Average attrition before the portal was 7 to 11 per year, for many years. Since the portal I think average attrition will be closer to, say, 18. That's not just Auburn, those figures are accurate for the rest of the SEC too. Available slots won't be a problem. Filling those vacancies with quality players will be the catch.

[Mikey 16,578]

12 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Some of the many players that left via Portal were players that did not fit the culture that Harsin was trying to implement and were not his type players which I think accounts for a lot of the large numbers.

That's what the story is. I've tracked attrition at AU since Coach Jordan was The Man. Back then it made me curious when highly rated prospects bailed out. Attrition in a normal year was 7 to 11 players. 14 to 15 was normal the year following a coaching change. These numbers have skyrocketed since the advent of the portal and the removal of the "sit out" year.

I'm wondering why Harsin's large number of bailouts came a year later than expected? Guys leaving because of a coaching change normally leave no later than the end of the new guy's first spring practice.

Time will tell, I suppose. It could be that 18 to 20 bailouts will be the new norm for everybody.

[au302 2,669]

3 hours ago, Mikey said:

Aren't the annual signing limits over for the time being? There will be plenty of space under the 85 limit. Average attrition before the portal was 7 to 11 per year, for many years. Since the portal I think average attrition will be closer to, say, 18. That's not just Auburn, those figures are accurate for the rest of the SEC too. Available slots won't be a problem. Filling those vacancies with quality players will be the catch.

Oh yea not worried about space. I was just figuring that that's how much room we'll have if Harsin doesn't want to run anymore guys off to create space. You're right doubt space is an issue at all

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,297]

12 hours ago, Mikey said:

I'm wondering why Harsin's large number of bailouts came a year later than expected? Guys leaving because of a coaching change normally leave no later than the end of the new guy's first spring practice

Coming off COVID and all of the unknowns (COVID, NIL, transfer waivers) probably delayed the initial bailout, if you ask me.

12 hours ago, Mikey said:

could be that 18 to 20 bailouts will be the new norm for everybody.

My thoughts as well. Until the NIL rules and oversight are ironed out.

[Mikey 16,578]

On 6/6/2022 at 11:23 AM, au302 said:

how much room we'll have if Harsin doesn't want to run anymore guys off to create space.

I doubt that Harsin ran anybody off. It sounds good in the telling, but with the depth numbers he was left with, a head coach would have to be a fool to run that many  guys off.

Edited June 8, 2022 by Mikey

[au302 2,669]

9 minutes ago, Mikey said:

I doubt that Harsin ran anybody off. It sounds good in the telling, but with the depth numbers he was left with, a head coach would have to be a fool to run that many  guys off.

Kobe Hudson literally said he got ran off, lol. Also, go check the depth chart. Yes it was horrendous in spring. We were probably practicing with 55 players, but it's a lot better now. Besides EDGE, it is scary bad there

[Mikey 16,578]

4 minutes ago, au302 said:

Kobe Hudson literally said he got ran off, lol. Also, go check the depth chart. Yes it was horrendous in spring. We were probably practicing with 55 players, but it's a lot better now. Besides EDGE, it is scary bad there

I'm not nearly as impressed with the quality of depth as some are. Recalling the Hudson fiasco, I don't think he was run off, per se. He may have got the feeling that he was told "my way or the highway". I think it surprised Harsin when Hudson entered the portal.

[au302 2,669]

13 minutes ago, Mikey said:

I'm not nearly as impressed with the quality of depth as some are. Recalling the Hudson fiasco, I don't think he was run off, per se. He may have got the feeling that he was told "my way or the highway". I think it surprised Harsin when Hudson entered the portal.

I agree with you that the quality is not impressive. No arguments there. That's been our issue for years now. But the whole "omg 20 left how are we going to field a team" ended up being way overblown, as we are still at 79. And I recall reading an article where Hudson said that Kiesau told him that Harsin didn't like him and would not be renewing his scholarship. Harsin got a ton of criticism for that, but may be wrong 

[Mikey 16,578]

6 minutes ago, au302 said:

, as we are still at 79.

I question that number.  We signed 17 high school/JUCO guys and 9 through the portal to total 26. Lost 20 through the portal plus normal graduations and so forth. All that and we didn't start with 85 anyway.

The 79 number might be correct but I don't see how.

[metafour 4,969]

10 hours ago, Mikey said:

Recalling the Hudson fiasco, I don't think he was run off, per se. He may have got the feeling that he was told "my way or the highway". I think it surprised Harsin when Hudson entered the portal.

It was reported that Kiesau had a meeting with Kobe and told him that his scholarship would not be renewed (ie: you're off the team). He was kicked off.

[Mikey 16,578]

13 hours ago, metafour said:

It was reported that Kiesau had a meeting with Kobe and told him that his scholarship would not be renewed (ie: you're off the team). He was kicked off.

That's one story. There are other versions.

[Rednilla 5,390]

18 hours ago, metafour said:

It was reported that Kiesau had a meeting with Kobe and told him that his scholarship would not be renewed (ie: you're off the team). He was kicked off.

I never heard that report, but it rings true based upon some of the things I was told last winter, provided that he's the player my friend was talking about. He didn't name any names, and he didn't talk about what the staff was going to do about it, but it was pretty obvious when the word "cancer" was used to describe the player's impact on the locker room.

[IronMan70 3,277]

On 6/8/2022 at 12:02 AM, Mikey said:

I question that number.  We signed 17 high school/JUCO guys and 9 through the portal to total 26. Lost 20 through the portal plus normal graduations and so forth. All that and we didn't start with 85 anyway.

The 79 number might be correct but I don't see how.

@MikeyOne of the lists that Jones updates on SecRant is the schollys. He lists 78 without Moore added at WR. I haven't double checked it but here is his list with names and positions. 

 

 Scholarship Roster 

Offense:
Quarterback (4) - Calzada, Finley, Ashford, Geriner
Runningback (5) - Bigsby, Hunter, Jackson*, Ingram, Alston
Receiver (11) - Jackson, Johnson Jr., Capers, Worsham, Johnson, King, Evans, Dawson, Fair, Kelly, Brown, (add Moore)
Tight End (5) - Shenker, Deal, Fromm, Frazier, Riley-Ducker
Offensive Line (14) - Brahms, Jackson, Council, Troxell, Irvin, Coffey, Stutts, Zerier, Johnson, Jones, Jernigan, Langlo, Smith, Harris
Total: 39 (+1, Moore=40)

Defense:
Defensive Line (11) - Burks, Joesph, Wooden, Harris, Walker, Wright, Okoli, Jones, M'ba, Sledge, Robinson
Edge (3) - Hall, Leota, Brooks
Linebacker (9) - Pappoe, Asante, Tisdol, Steiner, Riley, Brown, Willis, Gordon, Woodyard
Cornerback (6) - Pritchett, Simpson, James, Diamond, Scott, Ausberry
Safety (7) - Puckett, Kaufman, McDonald, Gilbert, Bridges, Wooden, Rhym
Total: 36

Special Teams:
Kicker (2) - Carlson, McPherson
Punter (1) - Chapman
Total: 3

Combined Total: 78 (+1, Moore=79)

Notes:
*I have King listed at WR

2023 Recruiting:Auburn Sports (secrant.com)

 

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

10 hours ago, IronMan70 said:

@MikeyOne of the lists that Jones updates on SecRant is the schollys. He lists 78 without Moore added at WR. I haven't double checked it but here is his list with names and positions. 

 

 Scholarship Roster 

Offense:
Quarterback (4) - Calzada, Finley, Ashford, Geriner
Runningback (5) - Bigsby, Hunter, Jackson*, Ingram, Alston
Receiver (11) - Jackson, Johnson Jr., Capers, Worsham, Johnson, King, Evans, Dawson, Fair, Kelly, Brown, (add Moore)
Tight End (5) - Shenker, Deal, Fromm, Frazier, Riley-Ducker
Offensive Line (14) - Brahms, Jackson, Council, Troxell, Irvin, Coffey, Stutts, Zerier, Johnson, Jones, Jernigan, Langlo, Smith, Harris
Total: 39 (+1, Moore=40)

Defense:
Defensive Line (11) - Burks, Joesph, Wooden, Harris, Walker, Wright, Okoli, Jones, M'ba, Sledge, Robinson
Edge (3) - Hall, Leota, Brooks
Linebacker (9) - Pappoe, Asante, Tisdol, Steiner, Riley, Brown, Willis, Gordon, Woodyard
Cornerback (6) - Pritchett, Simpson, James, Diamond, Scott, Ausberry
Safety (7) - Puckett, Kaufman, McDonald, Gilbert, Bridges, Wooden, Rhym
Total: 36

Special Teams:
Kicker (2) - Carlson, McPherson
Punter (1) - Chapman
Total: 3

Combined Total: 78 (+1, Moore=79)

Notes:
*I have King listed at WR

2023 Recruiting:Auburn Sports (secrant.com)

 

That seems about right to me so we can still pick up 6 more to get to 85.  While there has been talk of getting rid of the 85 Limit I don't think that is official so 85 is still the limit. We have been working really hard on the 2023 class so while we can still get 6 more players via portal this year I would rather try and get more players in next years class with a combination of HS and Portal.  I am not saying save all 6 of those if we could find the right Edge rusher in Portal then use it this year.  I just don't think there is that much talent left in the Portal of the type we need.

[Mikey 16,578]

Currently, Auburn is ranked 22nd nationally in portal "recruiting", 8th in the SEC. That's very much in line with our high school/Juco rankings.

https://247sports.com/Season/2022-Football/TransferTeamRankings/

[au302 2,669]

4 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

That seems about right to me so we can still pick up 6 more to get to 85.  While there has been talk of getting rid of the 85 Limit I don't think that is official so 85 is still the limit. We have been working really hard on the 2023 class so while we can still get 6 more players via portal this year I would rather try and get more players in next years class with a combination of HS and Portal.  I am not saying save all 6 of those if we could find the right Edge rusher in Portal then use it this year.  I just don't think there is that much talent left in the Portal of the type we need.

We could always get grad transfers and get those spots back for next year. One and done rentals