aucom96

Some things change, some things don’t.

Not big. Our current roster reflects our record this year and will be worse next. Without help, we’re going to have a hard time just being competitive.

Who knows how the game has changed. Kiffin may be onto something. You need the top high school talent to compete at a playoff level and only the very best are ready to go year one. Then you have to pay/re-recruit then every year with NIL /portal anyway. So play the portal for your starting talent, signing day becomes more about depth and projects. Might be a smart strategy at a school like Ole Miss. I’m truly impressed with what Freeze and his staff have accomplished in such a short time. It’s a great foundation for the future, but we still need the portal to have a chance at success next season. That is going to still be Freeze’s biggest primary test.

Best news yet!

No, but if we don't pull in those OL and if we don't find a QB who can bridge a gap we have under center and a laundry list of other needs, it may be another year next year similar to this. And then what is the storyline around Auburn? When we hired Hugh Freeze we necessitated speeding up that timeline a bit. He is not a guy who is going to command a wealth of patience from prospective recruits in this free-for-all environment or, ultimately, the fans. He's brought in some depth pieces, but I hope he can fill some primary needs soon.

With our heavy need to bring in talent, this staff definitely places the bulk of recruiting on Hugh Freeze himself, so we'll certainly see just how good he is. How much it effects on the field will just have to be seen. Both of our coordinators can be looked at either as diamonds in the rough or average to mediocre, depending on how you look at it. There's no wow factor, but hopefully Freeze is good enough that we won't need it.

I suspect a proven playmaker at QB will be central to Freeze pulling portal OL and anchoring what's left of recruiting this year into next. This will be a key test of Freeze's recruiting ability and it won't be easy. QBs are the game now, and everyone wants one every single year. If we end up starting Ashford again next year, we missed again. I think the kid is a great competitor, but he's not on this level. And I know he was hurt, but the guy couldn't complete a 5 yard screen pass. Now that we're back into the spread, if he can't make that throw, he's not cut out for the job. If he has to run for his life every play another season, he'll get broken in two. Defenses will be headhunting.

So far, I'm interested to see where he's going. His coaching staff has no wow factor, but looks reasonably solid. We're improving in immediate recruiting and this weekend could be pivotal. I am not looking forward to returning to spread offense. Too well I remember the 3 and short and redzone issues we always had and the way our productivity dropped off a cliff once the scripted plays had run out. Freeze isn't Gus, but he's close enough. Regardless, I look forward to being proven wrong.

Before college football became such a high dollar industry, eclectic guys who just loved the game were part of what made the game so much more enjoyable than the pros. Mike Leach was certainly one of those and the game is less for his loss. RIP.

It depends on the portal. I have to think Freeze and co. are looking hard for a starting QB, better wideouts and all the bodies on the line we can get. If we can replace the entire line, I think we do, but I don't expect us to get that lucky in the portal. I think we'll get a new portal QB, with the understanding it will be an open competition. Ashford has been thrown into the fire about as much as you can be, so I certainly wouldn't rule him out. But he's going to have to make the easy throws. I'm not sure we have a definite threat in our WR corps. I imagine Freeze will put a priority on that. TE, I just don't know. If Freeze uses the TE like Gus did, we may legitimately not have that guy on campus yet. RB, I think Hunter is a capable back, but they'll want to limit his miles, so I do think they'll try and land another starting level back. I don't think any will come in here as a guaranteed starter, though, which may effect what we can pull. Overall, there are very few positions on this team with definite starters. And depth is going to be very thin. Things have been relatively quiet to date, but I hope now that Freeze has just about shored up his staff, he can start signing guys up quickly. We need all we can get.

We’ve committed to small ball when we hired Freeze. We can certainly win that way, but it won’t be flashy. Personally, I wish Auburn would go about things like the top shelf program we are, but if we’re doing Gus the sequel…hopefully we get another 2013.

Been kicking around CFL, Cornell and Liberty in nearly a 20 year coaching career. If he's a top shelf QB coach, he's evaded a lot of notice over the years.

Same opportunity that was at Auburn when Harsin was coach. We are competing in a short window with a lot of other teams who already have their staff in place and just as much, if not more, NIL money... but our needs are far greater. Since we've hired Freeze, we really need to present a picture of stability which means getting the staff hired quickly. The longer this drags out, the more BS can be used against us recruiting wise.

Although hearsay, this is why Freeze wasn't the best hire in the world. He has zero leverage and the boosters know it. The fact we have a bunch of position coaches hired before even hiring coordinators is probably a symptom of this. Other coaches and players see this and can easily use it to paint a chaotic picture before we even get started. We need to get this staff finished out and get it together ASAP.

Also, can't find video, but Brandon Johnson was a monster hitter at fullback.

Let's just cut to the chase. Shut that DJ's tomfoolery up, fire up the marching band and BRING BACK LOUIE LOUIE. Get it done, Freeze.

Ronnie Brown lowering the boom like a proper RB.

As opposed to young men who start and end every sentence with "Sooo..." and interrupt themselves with "right?" every other word? Most of those aren't much better.

I can see OC, but not head coach. I have never heard his name associated with any head coaching search. I'm ready to see what he can do at Auburn, but let's not act like we hired Urban Meyer. Hugh has a lot to prove and I hope he proves all his naysayers - myself included - ultimately wrong.

I hope he succeeds too because he's Auburn's coach, but let's not kid ourselves. The only school remotely interested in this guy was Auburn. The only school remotely interested in this guy now remains Auburn.

It could happen, but we need a line, a QB and some depth. That's some big ifs. Even diminished, Saban still has top 5 talent every year. We need every drop of that NIL.

So who will be Hugh's Lashlee?

3 of those are not going to happen. 8-4 could, if we really kill it in the portal. The schedule is as favorable as we could ask, but the roster is in very bad shape. I'm not a fan of Auburn's small ball mentality when it comes to the football program, but they seemed determined to stay that course. Freeze is going to have to demonstrate every bit of his supposed recruiting prowess, because he has come into as bad a talent scenario as I've seen since Bowden left town.