aucom96

Watching the teams in the tourney so far, it’s really obvious how much we need to significantly upgrade at both guard positions.

Nearly all portal QBs are gambles to some degree, but that's the game, now. Thorne is an example of this. But if the Thorne of last season shows up again this season, those WR freshman are going to cost a fortune to keep on the roster, regardless of how well they play. It's a year to year game now, and QB play is crucial, but we still appear to be taking the 4 year approach. With NIL, that's a bigger gamble than overpaying for a higher percentage QB in my opinion.

I said NIL, but was primarily referring to the portal. QB and receivers last season alone and lackluster movement towards addressing those needs going forward to date are enough to concern me, but we have a lot of holes to fill and Freeze seems content to rely on high school recruiting. It's a big gamble and could be an expensive one.

Freeze is a good recruiter. NIL is about money, period. To date, Freeze's NIL record is not what I'd consider stellar. However, someone at Auburn understands we need a staff of professional scouts and evaluators off the field for this purpose, so that's a positive. Freeze has often said he wants to build through high school, but this is now a year to year game. Saban didn't have anything left to prove and NIL sucks, so he got out. Freeze still has a lot to prove. Hopefully, he does.

I think the likely cost to NIL plus need for playing time makes this a difficult guy to handle as a project. He isn't physically at the level to play PG here and that's too important to take a risk on his shot coming back. Maybe move him to SG, but between the two, I think Donaldson is a better option today and Jones better at the other guard position. If we go out and get a solid PG in the portal, hard to see Holloway wanting to stick around or us shell out the NIL bucks to keep him.

Good defender, but I won't miss the turnovers and kamikaze runs in the paint. Good luck to him. He was certainly responsible for some fun moments and always good with the energy.

The ball handling has been suspect. KD is a human turnover. Holloway just seems to small and non-physical to be in that position and Donaldson is very inconsistent. What I saw against Yale was a team not used to playing a tight game ahead. We just completely came apart from a fundamentals standpoint. We had little awareness, made sloppy passes, missed open looks, couldn't make free-throws, it's clearly a team that needs a leader and doesn't have it yet.

BP should retire here if he wants to. All this rumor talk about his son having to take his place to keep him here, no. Bruce made Auburn a fun place to watch basketball. He got us a Final Four banner. He turned our new and at the time controversial arena into an envied home advantage. In terms of pure basketball, I suspect he's peaked. Without better guard play, I just don't see us making another 2019 type run and Bruce doesn't seem to see it that way. I think NIL is going to ruin college football, but may be workable in college basketball with NBA developmental leagues and the like, so I hope someone can come along and build on what Bruce built to one day truly make Auburn a basketball school.

Are we just looking for a nearly full portal rebuild next season? Can't see Broome returning. I'd be surprised if CBM did. We desperately need to upgrade our guard play. I just don't see it with Holloway and Tre is very inconsistent, to say the least.

That four year layout is a thing of the past, now. That's no comment on whatever leash Freeze is getting from the PTB, of course, but I doubt Auburn fans are going to love another year of .500 or below football.

1-4 have been in a playoff, 5 & 7 put up good numbers at a school not known for them, 8 built a basketball school football program up to annual respectability, 9 hasn't proven anything yet. 10 is overrated, but I can't complain about Freeze. His biggest achievements are nearly a decade old and he got his clock cleaned at home by a conference USA also-ran. Overall, it's meaningless filler. Half this conference's coaches have a lot to prove.

Saban protests too much, but it's a problem any college coach is now going to face. How do you coach a guy you're paying close to or more than a million that can cut and run at any time? How do you install an offense, defense when the change could take a big gouge out of your roster if the players don't want to adjust? How do you continue to keep rich boosters handing over more and more cash only to start over again every single season? It's unsustainable. It's not parity. Already, we're seeing the same names excelling in recruiting because they always had more booster money dedicated maniacally to football success. The other teams are just going to invest less and not only will the level of competition drop the level of football is going to as well because players can leave at any time and will continue to do so. The only solution is to try and impose some kind of professional structure onto college football with contracts, agents, trade agreements, etc. and that means B-grade pro ball. And B-grade pro ball has never been very successful.

I love Auburn, but I think my interest in football has more to do with habit at this point than any real interest. I hate NIL and what it is making this game. I don't enjoy pro sports in general, I'm not going to enjoy pro sports under a college banner. And with Auburn's struggles of late, it's easier to find something else to do. The college game had better hope I'm an outlier.

7-5 if we can improve QB play by mid-season.

That was a different Auburn.

Maybe, but since Harper left town, we've struggled to get offensive production from that position. I hope Pettiford is a change.

And stop recruiting under-sized guards. If we aren’t hitting from outside, they’re a non-factor offensively.

Same issue every year… no consistent shooters anywhere on this team.

We needed to make a hire before spring and keep current talent out of the portal. The ra-ra will love it, gloomers hate it, but it's basically a circumstances hire that has about as much a chance of being great as terrible. This is where the experience of Durkin and Kelly pays off, I hope.

If it doesn't change, it's going to a bad product and a bad product isn't going to make even the best 5 star QB recruit rich anywhere.

Same here. I guess I've been fooling myself for better football for a long time, but what's the point in b-level pros? If I want that, I can go watch the Birmingham Stallions for a LOT cheaper.

Well, at least we can say both corners of the stadium will now need sunglasses.

A bit dramatic, but there is a change in the dynamic so far. Saban quickly dominated national recruiting and turned his defensive knowledge into a feared weapon. Freeze has unquestionably made quick strides in recruiting, but on the field, he still seems very wishy-washy and out of sorts. Hopefully his taking responsibility for playcalling will pay dividends and shape up a more cohesive staff. People have questioned Saban's actual in game coaching at times, but one thing he always excelled at was rolling with the changes in the game and making the most out of his talent. Freeze will have to improve on that level quite a bit before we can start comparing.

He sounds very much a bend don't break, heavy DB philosophy kind of like Mason. Apparently we like that sort of defensive approach, because that's where we tend to land. Until our secondary grows up a bit, it might be messy to watch.

Glad they got a hire before spring, but I just don’t want to hear about “building a culture” anymore.