Beaker

So did Barfield.

Bowden was always an enigma to me. I loved his respect for Auburn and 'Auburn's place' in college football. I think, and I may be wrong, he just wanted to follow his daddy's blueprint and apply that scheme to his time at Auburn. I know he is infamously known for his comment about Stephen Davis. 47-17...speaks volumes

regarding the Montgomery duo, I suspect this is more about the 'final offer' from the NIL angle. I would not hold my breath on these two. Saban is like 95% effective at landing the 5* kids he wants from in state. HOWEVER, maybe we can break that trend. Our DC is a guy with a rep for attacking and creative defensive schemes and the DL coach did wonders with much less talent at Liberty. With NIL and PLAYING TIME, maybe we have small chance.

I hate this; the man truly loved coaching and competing. I never got the sense he was chasing the dollar. And he was so transparent. He will be sorely missed as God broke the mold after he made Mike Leach.

Someone has to replace Sawyer Pate when he graduates. Not being funny, full time scout QB is a role. Maybe this is the guy. Did Milton HS change their colors? They used to be black and gold... I think Reggie Slack )1980's ) came out of Milton HS.

Elite....this cat is elite.

I have been gone....and just catching up, sorta. Bo H - isn't this likely just part of the NIL negotiating process now? T Love - was he here for Big Cat weekend? If he was, when did he have time to visit or tell USCe that he is moving on? I am not a fan of J Tate and company. The Nolan kid would help us in a big way with that high school. But he could have stood up and committed first. Welcome to the real world.

The equestrian team just got a 5* horse from Kentucky to commit I think I read also. They are jumping over hurdles to keep that program in the top 3.

Remember...these are 17 year olds. Not the most predictable species on planet Earth.

Long term outlook is not good. We are in the bucket of have nots for the most part.

I get your point....I was talking (actually repeating) what a recruiting analyst said about only the QB position. Having Calzada, Ashford and Gariner is enough for us to be fine for a season or two if we don't get a QB in this 2023 that we like. But we have to get a good one in 2024, not just 'get one'. I didn't mention Finley because not sure how he figures into our future unless he can find some consistency. Hope that helps.

And when Gus recruited, we criticized his methodology and some of the results....I think we will always pick apart the coach on the recruiting front now that we have more information and pay sites. I would have probably questioned John Heisman if I could have seen the players he missed on. As for Harsin's staff - some are and some are not. I think if we landed a desired OT and even one that we "just liked" folks like you and me wouldn't be so nervous about recruiting, figuring it would sort itself out. I just don't think we can look at the entire staff and say, they can't recruit well. Caddy, the LB coach from FL, Brumbaugh, Etheridge have all proven they can coach and recruit. We know the WR coach can flat out coach and I've read he seems to making in roads in recruiting. I list each to say this - something is amiss when it seems like every one of them is struggling to gain a commitment. Could it be NIL and effective negative recruiting? I fear it might be. If it is NIL and effective negative recruiting from the 'colostomy we had in Feb' - I doubt any staff can overcome that before we tack up an impressive win or two. I have to go pack for vaca....hold the fort down and go fill a McDonald's bag will ya!

I get your assumptions, but we have no idea how much cash our NIL coffers have compared to our competition. You make a good point, but you are assuming our NIL is halfway competitive and right now, reading the tea leaves, it does not appear to be so. And just because we raked in top 10 money, that money does not go to our NIL bucket. TAMU reportedly paid $30 mil for their class. Did they? I doubt it, but you think Auburn is gonna pay $10 mil for a class? Heck, we argued for yrs over Gus's buyout and it was $7 per year. Until I see something to prove me wrong, it feels like we are miles behind our competition in the NIL game.

Yeah we need a domino to fall our way. And losing the QB is not the end of the world. But we must hit on the kid for the 2024 class that we want so badly.

I said this when NIL was announced: the rich will get richer. I am very concerned for Auburn long term. And for all the mid sized major univ / football programs. I feel it is an arms race we can't compete in long term. When the all the big programs who are decent start hiring the intellectual capital from programs like bama, Texas A&M, thuga, - NIL will help them become elite on the field. It will take only a few years. Who am I talking about? A major univ with lots of money/alumni and who just can't compete for a Natty right now: Michigan, Penn State, USC, Oregon, TAMU (you see how they are turning the tables), Texas, Oklahoma, Tenn, Wisc - basically big, big alumi bases with football pedigrees. Maybe Mich State... - Let me show you what I mean: Texas hires an SEC OC who appears to be quite successful. Pays SEC money... Now Texas hasn't done anything since the 70's or early 80's if you remove the anomaly that was Vince Young. Texas has like one skin on the wall for last 40 yrs... Now they have Quinn Ewers and just landed Arch Manning. Arguably the two best QBs of their respective classes. If they can hire those two kids, they will be successful buying the needed kids to play in the trenches. You think TAMU has money? Texas is saying, "step aside Jethro and hold my beer". Texas has been the butt of a lot of jokes for over a decade, but they are assembling a scary program using NIL mostly. Basically, big money programs will be poaching key people from elite SEC programs who know how to make NIL work above and below the table. And I don't believe Auburn can compete in an arms race once everyone figures out NIL. This is why I am concerned long term. Facilities used to 'wow kids,' now they are just a requisite.

How do you know it didn't? Couldn't a Texas booster have just paid off an OSU booster / NIL dealmaker? That seems more likely to have happened. Also, there can escalator clauses and such in these NIL agreements. There is protection for the NIL booster.

Super insightful and thanks!. I also recall hearing that we don't have an comparable degree program that aligns with a lot of universities where players are getting some kind sports management degree. I am not saying that is the name, just similar. Then when they try to transfer in - they don't have enough credits or similar hurdles. This is what happened with the guard from U of Ark that was going to transfer, but couldn't. This is a major stinking hurdle that Auburn has to fix! So.....we need to establish a similar degree program to receive transfers because the portal is critical, but if they can't transfer most of their credits, they are not coming.

I hear you and I wasn't trying to make the point Auburn has been paying players for years and years. I am not sure how or to what degree Auburn kids were paid, but you're right - Cam Newton rode a moped around campus. I was referring to Emmit Smith when his mom got a new, well paying job and new car while working for a law office owned by a UF alum. No his mom wasn't a lawyer and I don't think she was a para either. Emmit didn't want to play at UF because they still had artificial turf and Auburn was definitely trending up by beating bama and winning the SEC .....and yeah the Cam thing has always been a head scratcher: if he got paid, where did the money go? He didn't have it and his dad or dad's church did have it.

It's been going on a long, long time - it's just on the table now. It's not transparent, but it's on the table. I am at the point, take a million and buy two. Heck - would a million land one OT we want and then start a small wave of momentum?

Yeah, that is a kick in the crotch. I hear it's b/c he knew the Memphis coach real well before he went to FSU. With them losing Dillingham to Oregon, I am incredibly surprised. This kid seems very 'cagey'. I know - it has shades of Gus written all over this chapter of our recruiting acumen. I know the 'chicken or the egg' conundrum is a factor, but something is amiss on the OL recruiting side of things. As I get older, it's harder for me to relate to kids these days. I wonder if W Friend is truly a liability. "And winning cures all that ails you." If we can upset Penn State, I think we land a couple of key linemen (if they aren't committed). I am not pumping sunshine, but when you are rebuilding, there are no easy 'wins' out there (recruiting, games, staff, etc). Maybe NIL will help - wouldn't it be nice to have a million dollars to buy 3 or 4 OTs. How can TAMU allegedly drop $30 mil on one class while we struggle buying 3 OTs?

True, but we all realize we had a losing record last year right? Auburn is not 'keeping up' with bama and thuga. Look at us since 2017. We are in a full bore rebuild. We all know an OL takes 2 years to develop before they will see the field. TWO YEARS - Yes there is an exception here or there, but out of 30 recruits, ONE will emerge as a sophomore stud. Those OL are playing against future NFL D linemen most Saturdays in the SEC. That is the reason you can't run kids out there. I want Auburn to contend every year also and I know recruiting is our lifeblood, but we aren't landing elite talent until we get a handful of wins. And most elite kids commit before October -and therein lies the problem.

That was his track record before he got to Auburn. Just sayin' And last off season was hampered by the SEC and univ regarding covid restrictions. So, he had them, but in a limited capacity. I am hoping that piece of his reputation takes a step fwd this season. But don't expect the likes of All SEC player to emerge from the bench - that is just plain dumb.

Does Sawyer Pate have a kid brother?

"a "little" known RB.... " I see how you slipped in a 'little' humor in that 'train' of thought. Ooops. Wrong little RB who made it big in the NFL. My bad. I was all excited because I recall seeing Little Train where his own jersey one summer going into Haley, as he finished his degree. I kinda laughed and thought," yeah, why not?. "

Dag gum right they would balk in a heartbeat. They want none of it. They would prevent it. We should not say, "ok" to the bama and thuga pairing "if we get vandy as a consolation". That makes it easy for the conference because that sells to the TV folks! Why in the world do we want to help the TV folks?!?!?!?! So they can trash Auburn with annual chatter about our coach being on the hotseat (regardless of who it is...) as we play the #1 schedule in America like every third year.... Auburn has been carrying the water for the conference (had the most entertaining games) for 20 yrs....considering the Ironbowls from 2002 - 2008 ( chk me on that) and the IB drama, the 2010 season, the last four games of the 2013 season, then beating #1 in back to back games - never been done before (2017). Oh and Auburn has beaten Saban more than any other program, ever. Tons of TV drama - and all for what? So we could help the conference get richer! It's payback time - give us bama or thuga and two others, but not both. Time for things to be on a level playing field for a change.