Aubie the Tiger

NIL is going to allow mid-level schools with money (Ole Miss, Missouri, etc.) to identify and overpay for a few elite guys each year that would otherwise go to a blue blood program. It's good for college football but sour luck for us today. I agree though that we might, depending on the circumstances, get a second chance to persuade him down the line.

247 made some adjustments a few months back to reduce the number of positions. Off the top of my head, they changed the following DT and Pro-style merged into one QB category Assorted RB types all merged into one RB category OG and OC merged into IOL Shifted defensive front-7 positions from DT, SDE, WDE, OLB, ILB to DL, Edge, LB

As third overall, no less. She's got a good shot at bringing home some hardware. Fellow American (and favorite to win) Simone Biles finished first. A couple other Americans finished #9 and 11, but get left out due to a two-per-country limit.

I have a theory on this. Tell me what you think. Chizik, Malzahn, and Jay Jacobs were all believers in building a culture and image of Auburn as a wholesome family-oriented place. They pushed the 'Auburn Family' idea pretty hard. They did it because it matched their values, fit well in a small southern town, and frankly was a strong sales pitch for recruiting. This resonated well with a lot of the kids we offer, and even more so with their parents. Some of these kids come from rough backgrounds, and need to be somewhere where they won't get in trouble. Some were raised by single moms who look to coaches to be fatherly figures to their sons. Some see Auburn as a good fit with Christian values. Some just think it's warm and comforting. Allen Greene and Bryan Harsin are outsiders with fresh perspectives. Perspectives that are needed in Auburn where things had gotten a little stale. They don't necessarily disagree with the above paragraph, but the vision Harsin is trying to transfer from Boise State to Auburn is first and foremost a blue-collar culture where you pride yourself in working harder than everyone else. He sees that as noticeably deficient in the program he has inherited, and has made it his primary focus. However, from a recruiting perspective, this philosophy does not sell well. It doesn't have the emotional pull. Kids often go to programs with this culture either because they have a chip on their shoulder (Boise State) or they're making a business decision (Bama). Look at the resumes of head coaches at local schools, and several have either national championship credentials (Bama, Clemson, LSU, Texas A&M), or at least major accomplishments at SEC schools (Georgia, Florida, Ole Miss). In contrast, Harsin is 0-0 in the SEC. We used to make a different pitch, and try to recruit kids and parents with a different personality than those who chose Bama or Georgia. Now we're going after the same crowd, but with a similar but weaker pitch. I acknowledge there are other elements (Covid lockdowns, new staff), but we're not the only school managing this situation. The solution? Harsin is not going to be able to build a formidable SEC resume in one season, but that isn't very important if he exceeds expectations this year. Most new coaches who have surprise success build up enormous amounts of hype. The current expectation for Auburn is about 6 or 7 regular season wins. Can he beat that? (Forgive me if this reads as way too obvious.) The second solution is for Harsin to do something that Gus never learned how to do. Evolve. Acknowledge that the California kids that made up the bulk of his previous team are culturally different from Alabama kids. Football is football, but Boise State isn't Auburn. I don't deny that he was hired by Greene out of admiration for Boise State's culture and the opportunity to bring it here, but good translation usually takes a little creative license. The idea of 'Auburn Family' may sound a little cheesy, but it's southern culture in its best form. Lean into it. Take the elements of Gus' culture that worked and synthesize it with Boise's rather than raze it to the ground. I don't know if Harsin is going to succeed or fail at Auburn. But I do know that since the moment he was announced as Auburn's next head coach, the most probable cause of failure was not leadership skills, talent development, or football smarts. It was recruiting. He has to solve this.

I actually like it as a starting point, but I agree that it's a little too busy. I'd say drop the 4 and focus on the TB initials and tank.

This video made me more sympathetic for Bo Nix that I expected. Not only did he constantly have free runners charging at him, but too often he didn't have check down pass options. I don't see what other choice he has on some of these plays other than to have happy feet. The funky throwing footwork is on him, though. Without improvement there he shouldn't remain the starting QB. The blocking schemes make me want to claw my eyes out, but I have no idea how to assess it. Are the players totally unprepared and making mistakes, or is the Malzahn/Morris Frankenstein of an offense so poorly put together that schematic oversights are being discovered on national television? Malzahn has a track record of this (Coxcat at the Clemson game, trying to block Myles Garrett with a RG, etc.) The WR routes left me dumbfounded. In a scenario where it is 3rd and 6 and you know you struggle to pass protect, why is every WR running 20 yards downfield before looking back? How can a coach prepare for a season without some situational 3rd and medium passing plays ready? I don't know how much of this is Chad Morris and how much is Gus Malzahn, but it's easy to see why the former is back to coaching high school, and why the latter might be joining him in a few years.

Congratulations and War Eagle, young man! I notice he is surprisingly tall for a CB, at 6'4". To our more football savvy posters, do you think this is a coincidence and he's just the best player available, or do they have a certain role in mind for him?

Auburn has some decent bench bigs, so this may not end up being a huge blow, but I'm really disappointed. He was a guy I wanted to watch more at Auburn. I still think he's making it harder on himself to make the NBA. He's going to be a journeyman in low level leagues, hoping to get noticed. I previously predicted that reality would steer him to come back to Auburn, and I was wrong. I hope he proves me wrong again and kills it.

If you don't mind my asking, what's your source?

Off-seasons are notorious for breeding out-of-control hype and optimism. There are endless possibilities for the upcoming season, fans are hungry, and journalists are more than happy to feed them hope and fantasy in exchange for clicks and subscriptions. But then football returns, and many a spring hero turn out to be a fall zero. JGT is telling me what I don't want to hear, which turns out to be what I actually want to hear. Tony Fair is way overweight, and needs to fix it ASAP or he will be a bust Jordon Ingram probably doesn't move the needle for this upcoming season We don't have a legit LT, and probably won't get one before the season Getting an experienced 6'4" WR in the portal is also more a hope than a plan Issues with Bo Nix leaving the pocket go beyond OL issues The good half is that JGT is impressed with the way Harsin is running the program. All in all, I feel more pessimistic about 2021, but more optimistic about 2022 and beyond.

I decided to look this post up on instagram. Sills has deleted his comments. I don't know what to make of this.

How did it take this long for this issue to arise? I suspect somebody screwed up.

Thanks for the link. I am a little surprised so many teams offer guaranteed money when they have no obligation. However, at this point I'm still skeptical that Thor will be drafted in the early second round. I just checked five mock drafts that have been updated in the last few days, and none of them have him listed at all. He has potential, but he is just too unproven. Per NBA rules, minimum contracts can only be up to two years in length (whether guaranteed or unguaranteed), and Thor is going to need at least that much time to develop into an NBA rotation player. So why should you draft and develop a guy who will be a free agent before he becomes useful? A realistic path for Thor would be to land in a similar situation that Jared Harper is in now. Miss being drafted (or be a late pick) and get sent to the G-league on a two way contract. Get paid about $150 per year. After one or two years, hopefully get a full-time roster spot. I want what is best for the kid, even if it's not at Auburn. If he really needs the money, then I understand him leaving and hope he lands on his feet. But if it isn't desperate, he needs to stay, and I hope NBA scouts are frank with him about the reality of his situation.

There isn't any guaranteed money in the second round. It would be a risky move of Thor to go professional, and he shouldn't unless he is either very unhappy in college or in great need of cash.

This feels like a hire that could go really poorly (first head coaching role) or really well (many years experience at successful programs). Given where Auburn's program is at currently, this is the right type of hire.

I recognize that you spend substantially more time than I scouring Twitter and Auburn forums for information, but I'm skeptical. There is a going to be a stark contrast between Thor's perspective (communicated through Auburn insiders) and the perspective of NBA scouts. Demand for bigs, even stretch bigs, has plummeted in the last five years. They're getting drafted lower and earning less money in free agency. SFs are increasingly playing minutes at PF and PFs are increasingly playing minutes at C. Thor has enough potential to get picked up in the second round (where there is no guaranteed money), but is too unproven to be picked in the first. I believe that he wants to go pro, but he will be strongly cautioned against it. Thor needs to return to school.

It was expected that he would declare and get input from NBA scouts. It is also expected that he will be back. Don't freak out.

I'm still undecided on if it's best for Cooper to leave. He has undeveloped parts of his game, but Auburn basketball fans have never understood that you can still be drafted high if NBA teams think that you have potential. Mid to late first round picks usually don't contribute their first year anyway, so it gives the team some time to develop the player in the manner they see best. So does Cooper have enough potential to still be drafted pretty high after only one year? He certainly shows it in his court vision, but he lacks it in physical measurables (height, wingspan, leaping ability, etc.). I'm currently not optimistic about him developing into a starting-caliber PG; if NBA teams agree with me, I don't think they'll want to use a high pick on an undeveloped player with his ceiling. I guess he should stay, but if he goes, I hope he proves me a fool.

Spurs fan here. The issue in this case was that KL was diagnosed with a chronic injury to his knee tendon that causes him pain whenever he plays. The Spurs' position was that it would never heal, and the medical plan should be around managing the injury and his playing time over completely curing it. KL sought a second opinion who told him if he feels pain, he should take his time and not play. The situation escalated to the point that KL left San Antonio and refused to speak to any Spurs coaches or medical staff. It has now been about three years since he was traded and KL still has the injury and sits about 25% of games for load management. There are several differences between KL and Powell's cases, but I think the most pertinent is that one injury is acute and the other chronic, which require different approaches.

We don't know why he's made this decision, but if it's a dispute over him being medically cleared, Auburn did the right thing regardless of the consequences.

Assuming all this information is accurate (partial release first, then full release hours later after a backlash), Tennessee continues to look like one of the most incompetent programs in the country.

I have zero inside knowledge, but I would think Javon Franklin would be the most likely odd man out. He got virtually no playing time last season and we will have plenty of depth at his position. He has two years of eligibility remaining due to taking a redshirt in junior college, but he's in his fourth year of college and I can see Bruce letting him go after he graduates in the spring.