Old fan 47

13 minutes ago, meh130 said:

Oklahoma had a horrible year in 2022, and a good year in 2023. 2023 was inconsistent in they beat a #3 Texas, but lost to lesser teams. They had a weak schedule. We do not know how Oklahoma will perform in the SEC.

True enough, but we for sure know even less about how AU will perform in the SEC. Weak or not, HF hasn’t beaten NMSU, in his last two attempts. That does not scream even middle pack in the SEC. We’ve never had a decent track record against any power teams outside of the SEC. Time to change the narrative, or become a bottom 6 team in a 16 team conference. 

16 hours ago, TigerOne said:

The Sec just got better by a large margin with Texas and Oklahoma.

Auburn is in a difficult situation. We were way behind before and possibly even more now. Freeze is up against the wall to perform. Hope he can deliver a team that wins 7 which is not much of an improvement but holding steady. Beat Oklahoma and the season looks promising. If we see the same confusion and garbage as last year , AD Cohen needs to start compiling a list.

I agree. We had at least two losses last year that were unacceptable and one was against Bama. No excuse for giving up a 4th and 31. I see 7/5 and hopefully a better bowl showing to get to 8 wins. I believe PT should be better, but that’s still a big question mark. WR room appears stacked and OL should be at least as good as last year if not better. Schedule appears tougher with OK and Mizzou, but I think if we get one of those and steal another one we aren’t supposed to, we could see 8 wins in regular season. HF will get at least 3 years, but year 2 needs to show vast improvement over last year, otherwise I don’t think he’s the right HC for us, head recruiter maybe, but not HC. 

20 hours ago, TigerOne said:

Better get used to it , oh wait we already are.

this will be the new normal for the majority of teams except the top 15- maybe 20.

I agree with you. I didn’t graduate AU, my father did in ‘67, so I was raised an AU fan. I understand, but can’t stand the NIL. A full ride for these players means nothing anymore. AU will never reach the pinnacle again with this new Super Conference. I find it hard to watch College ball anymore with the portal nut-show and the pay me pay me attitude. Yes, I’m older, but the game for me, my opinion only, has been ruined and I find myself less and less interested with each passing season. It’s quite pathetic in my opinion, but I’m not a wealthy booster or anything more than a long time fan of the sport in general. I’ve always loved the NFL, secondly to College, but there is much less difference now, except for the top contracts. In the end I will always be an AU fan, but Fall Saturdays are no longer at the top of my list. 

53 minutes ago, cbo said:

Even with the portal on top of HS recruiting, retaining players for their post-draft eligible years, when it benefits the team AND the player, is an incredibly important part of recruiting.

Good point, but all AU guys were taken at the bottom end of the draft, which doesn’t scream, come play here. Yes, the NIL is here and will remain, but AU has one of the poorest track records of turning out guys in the top 3 or even 4 rounds. Kids look at that and unfortunately, it’s a very negative indictment on the prior two, maybe three coaching staffs. This year and 25 will tell us whether or not we have the HC in place to string together more than 8 win seasons like his mentor did. I so hope I am wrong, but I need to see a product on the field. Getting great portal guys and even top HS guys means nothing, if they aren’t coached to their true potential. Just my thoughts currently after 1 year of a great recruiter, but questionable HC. 

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

Yeah, I think they are overvalued. UTx is going to be a big problem for the SEC

I don’t have enough faith yet to say we beat OK. Mizzou might be a very tough win and we didn’t play them last year, luckily. I want to see play calling, WR play and OL play improve and look better the first 4 games, before we even worry about OK. To me, those wants will be difficult, but not impossible I hope. 

1 hour ago, Auburn93 said:

Not denying he is in the portal or that he can run and catch the ball. Not denying he would be a good replacement for some of our 2 star players. Yet, how much are they going to pay? Penn State is not paying. He is no Cameron Coleman or Perry Thomas and I don't think we will pay him what we are paying them. Yet, it sounds like he is asking for that. That is what I'm saying. 

Outside of the true freshman WR’s coming in, I believe Robert Lewis?, will end up being a great portal pick up. 

3 hours ago, Zeek said:

If the OL is as good as reported and Cobb is as talented as the staff believes and if Freeze really wasn’t calling/designing the offense last year, then we could see a drastic improvement even with Thorne. We have a better receiving group for sure. Defense looks better.

8-4 is attainable but I’m not convinced of anything more than that 

Not to a point where I have bought into HF as a coach yet. Recruiter, for sure, but skeptical about the rest. 

3 hours ago, BizEagle said:

He gets his jumper off a lot quicker than does Holloway, lets the ball go above his head and he shoots layups with either hand, left or right for drives and fast breaks.  Offensively, he looks like an upgrade to me, though not as physical as Tre is.  Looks like we can drain a lot of 3 pointers with Pegues, Petttiford and Denver Jones in the lineup.   Good shooters, good ball handlers, basketball IQ, etc.    

Agree. Great pick up. Kid shoots the 3 decently and with some consistency. Haven’t seen that since Harper. Glad DC returned, but who will be our forwards and we will also need another big man. 

13 minutes ago, e808 said:

I don’t think it’s mostly about the money. A key point is he wants to see how Auburn performs.  This thought won’t be exclusive to him. I believe this season will be critical in which direction the program is going. If Auburn does well I believe it would be easy to flip him IMO

I see that point as well. Good thoughts 

On 4/8/2024 at 3:15 PM, ScotsAU said:

To the OP… I think the answer is “it depends who you ask.”

Glass half empty folks saw:

-Thorne didn’t really make any exceptional throws. His deep balls came out rather wobbly. He threw a few balls up for grabs. 

- Brown was inconsistent. He threw one deep pass successfully, but it was slightly over thrown, negating what could’ve been a TD. 
 

-Holden only three to check down receivers, and generated no explosive plays at all. 
 

-White was very inconsistent and seemed to be lost in the offense. 

Glass half full folks saw:

- Thorne did what the coaches have been wanting him to do since he arrived on campus. He operated the RPO system, made the right reads, and generally protected the football well. The few balls he did throw up for grabs went to Coleman, who showed out. It could be argued that Thorne just trusted Coleman enough to come down with those 50-50 balls. One time he did and scored. Another time, he drew a PI. 
 

-Brown may have some room to grow. But he showed flashes of potential for the future. 
 

-Holden took care of the football and managed the game. 
 

-White played reasonably well for his first  college game in front of fans. Like Brown, he has room to grow, but did well considering. 
 

I lean glass half full for everyone except Holden. I have no issue with the guy. I applaud his decision to stay and fight. But I also think Holden is a good example of why we should have the transfer portal. This RPO scheme is not his natural skill set. If he overcomes that disadvantage, he could be a very good QB. But it’s an uphill battle because our scheme relies on the things he’s struggling to do well. I think he should transfer somewhere that runs a pro scheme. 

I can agree with you here. I didn’t see the A day game, but have read about it from those who did see it. I’m not saying PT is a world beater, but let’s also be honest, the play calling and WR play was very sub par last year. I believe in giving PT a legit chance this year with an O he is more comfy with, which seems to be the case so far. Until our O looks a lot better, we aren’t going to attract any high profile QB recruits. Recruiting will only carry us so far, as there has to be development and coaching available, so that’s why I want to see PT this year. 

21 minutes ago, AUY2K said:

I bet he flips to AU if CHF wants him.
 This is all NIL positioning.  We will see if CHF calls his bluff.  No way his family would want to travel to PSU for equal or close to equal NIL.
 

 This will be interesting to see how this plays out.  The kid may end up regretting his commitment to PSU if AU moves on and gets someone else to take his spot.  CHF did not sign a RB in the 2024 class for a reason.

 

 

True enough, but in this day and age, why chase someone who it appears is playing games? As soon as this NIL crap comes under some sort of control, which will need to happen to save the sport, don’t waste time on kids that jerk the University around. If they’re getting paid, time they are treated as such. Live with your choices or suffer potential heartbreaks. I’m so damn sick of the college game now and how it’s been torn apart by money. Good riddance to that diva of a kid, whose position produces numerous talented kids that may still think differently and don’t need a special day to announce. We lost a TB to PSU a few years ago, highly recruited, but he hasn’t ever become one of the most talked about TB’s. I say move on and forget this kid as well. 

2 minutes ago, ScotsAU said:

Thorne: Didn’t make any jaw dropping plays. But did what Freeze has been wanting him to do from the start… play within the system. He made no bad reads and had no turnovers. Went 9-13 I think, but one of the incompletions came on a play that should’ve been called interference where he was probably going to connect with Coleman. 10-13 for 130 yards is pretty good numbers. He also had the lone TD pass. 

 

Brown: Had a few jaw dropping plays, including a bomb to Cam Coleman for like 50 yards. But played a bit inconsistently. Ended like 5-12 for just over 100 yards. 
 

Holden: He actually had a good completion percentage. But it’s because he kept hitting check downs. He also had the least yards of any of the QBs today. I’m going to guess he’s probably about to transfer. 7-10 for 46 yards. 
 

White: Showed some similarity to brown in that he was inconsistent, and had similar numbers. He had some pretty passes and then some that were not so good. I think he was like 5-13 for 85 yards. 
 

Thorne is clearly QB 1. He’s got a lower ceiling than some of the other guys. But Hugh has said that he’s taken steps forward this spring. It showed today. He was hands down the most consistent guy. Brown and White both have potential, but need to find more comfort/ consistency. Holden should transfer. I think he’s just not suited for this offensive system. He’d be better off somewhere that runs something more pro style.

Thanks for the assessment. I have drawn an early conclusion on WW, unfortunately, because I simply don’t believe in small school QB’s from Arky and I have zero faith in HF coaching anybody up at this point. No, I didn’t get to watch today, but sounds like I saved myself some putrid time spent watching another HF team. Yes, I never wanted or believed in HF and until he is able to produce, I’ll stand by it. Secondly, I have serious questions about our AD, whom was about to be fired/released from Miss St. 

11 minutes ago, passthebiscuits said:

This team is still so bad on offense. 

Didn’t get to watch, but judging by comments, our O must look really bad. If the O turns out to be as bad as it has the last four years, how long does leadership continue to stick with our third supposed elite O guy as HC? I’ve seen nothing or better yet heard nothing from HF to make me believe he is any better than BH, outside of recruiting, which the studs here now, will be one and done. Maybe our D is very good, but that’s been the case under our last two coaches as well. As I stated, I wasn’t able to watch, but nothing on O sounds very promising. Of course HF will blame his new OC and just about everyone else. 

32 minutes ago, JerryAU said:

Is it really Auburn mediocrity, or is it just Auburn? 

Historically Auburn is middle of the pack, it's kinda always been that way. 

Unfortunately, I have to agree. Even the good football years were more of a one and done and not sustained year over year. Only BP has brought consistency to AU since Dye was running the show. Tubby had some very good years, but they weren’t a run of them, they were usually separated by a mediocre or poor year. We will see about HF this year. He blamed everyone but himself last year and per him, now has the O staff he wanted. I wish for the best, but it’s very difficult to accept it, especially with OK and TX coming in. The new eventual super conference, when formed in the next year or two, will definitely place AU in the middle at best. That’s just where AU is now. Sucks, but until consistency begins, how does one argue with it? I’m afraid AU is going to be begging and loving 8 win seasons, in the future, but it’s been quite some time since we have even seen that, which in this day and age is mediocre. We have been below mediocre for the last 4 years, so getting back there would be nice. 

37 minutes ago, Abbygpaw said:

According to this, and given the huge dollars they receive and spend on athletics, Auburn and TAM yield a very poor return on investment. The question for both is “why.” 

My immediate guess is poor leadership. It’s a business. Investors tend to pull their money or replace those that are in charge of it, if a company is performing poorly. Appears to me AU has not gotten the leadership part correct in quite some time and now with NIL, it’s very possible, if those currently in charge are not wise, that we will be begging for mediocre seasons with 7 and 8 wins. The game has changed, the question remains, are those in charge able to adapt to it successfully? So far, they haven’t. 

2 hours ago, AUwent said:

While it seems like he won’t be ready this year, is Walker at least showing potential? I had heard (seemingly) bad things about him on the subreddit, unsure how reliable.

I wonder that too. I hear of talented QB’s coming out of AR, but once they hit college ball, I tend to hear less and less about them. Would love if we signed JuJu Lewis. Believe that’s his name. 

4 hours ago, Auburn93 said:

 I don't see any stats/highlights/skillsets/scholarship/NIL offers that make the RB room any more than average. We need a DL to show them how average they are.

Have to agree with you. JH is proven, but as good as Alston and Cobb have looked in limited time, I’m far from convinced either are built for more than 10-12 carries a game in this league. To me,  just as last year, I am already hearing HF being negative about PT. He brought him to AU, didn’t  go after another, even partially proven QB in the portal, but still, unless it’s all smoke and mirrors, continues to be using and treating PT as more of an excuse for failure, instead of building him up any. I mean damn, the kid played QB in the second best conference in the land and put up decent numbers. My point is, I want HF to put up or shut his damn mouth, because he’s proven nothing in the SEC. 

On 3/27/2024 at 8:57 PM, GreenTiger said:

Freeze himself said he isn’t good at working the transfer portal and so far he’s accurate with his own self assessment. Why would anyone think other than what he’s shown and said? 

Good point. HF says he would rather recruit and develop HS kids. Problem with that is, most don’t stick around long enough to be developed anymore. My biggest fear is, HF will continue to try the old way and develop, versus going after more experienced players in the portal. HF is the 3rd HC in a row with a “supposed offensive background pedigree”, but we have not seen our O look very capable in the last 4-5 years. As I’ve stated in many various topics, the game is being ruined and currently, the top programs can maintain, but AU, is not a top program in the last 15 years, minus our NC, which was obviously not sustained year over year. Yes GM made it to the Championship, his first year, but outside of that, was an 8, maybe 9 win coach. And, all of this was before the game became Semi Pro. Hell, I listened to Kirby Smart on a sports station today and he even thinks it’s become really bad. To me, that opinion carries some weight with it.  

9 hours ago, Sizzle said:

I was thinking the same thing. I’ve never seen it this quiet during spring practices 

Agree. I would love the reason to be that we are hiding tons of progress, but after the last four years or so, I honestly just don’t see it that way. I believe, maybe we go from 6/6 to 7/5 at best. Outside of great recruiting, which a lot of teams do, I’m no more convinced with the ability of HF, than I was with Harsin. 

9 hours ago, Mikey said:

 

Both of these posts are accurate and that's a shame. My excitement over getting a talented player isn't what it used to be. The current situation doesn't warrant much excitement.

That’s how I feel. I still enjoy the game, but in my feelings, my enjoyment is at an all time low and I’ve been a fan a long time. I’m speaking of college football in its totality. 

On 3/24/2024 at 11:08 PM, cbo said:

Hope that's right. I fully expect Cam to be a superstar but I'm bearish on the Thorne side of that equation.

White could be great one day but I think this season is too early. Nobody knows for sure. 

I honestly believe if Cam Coleman has a lackluster year, through no fault of his own, he’s gone. That’s the game now. 

On 3/21/2024 at 7:54 PM, TigerOne said:

All good points but you left out the biggest monkey wrench in the box…,

Freeze. Can he coach? Can he develop players? Can he make game day decisions? 
He is working hard to purge the locker room of the “me” sickness.

I doubt any coach in the conference has much respect or fear of Freeze.

And now uat has two head coaches so  his recruiting skills are gonna be tested.

I have had and still have huge doubts about HF’s coaching ability or his player development ability. Yes, he can recruit well, but, Saban walked away and seems to me DeBoer has not lost much ground in recruiting at all. He came from a bigger school, yes, but who did AU try, Harsin! I honestly do not see AU competing for anything in football anymore, other than attempting what was accepted by Gus, which is 8 wins a season as the ceiling. Trust me, not 1 single coach in the SEC fears Hugh Freeze. For the love of crap, we hired an AD, Miss State was about to get rid of. 

37 minutes ago, TAYLORKEETON said:

Embarrassing 

AU is spending so much more money on Mens BB, with the same results. BP is in top ten highest coaches paid in BB, yet with the exception of one season, which appears to be nothing more than luck and a complete anomaly, it’s been a fun ride, but nothing game changing. This is a completely pathetic loss and in my opinion, seems to be our ceiling. Maybe win the regular season or the tourney and that’s it. He’s being paid an exorbitant amount of money for being a cheerleader and bringing the program back from the cellar, but eventually, results have to back up pay. 

Just now, CCTAU said:

Tackled him!

I just tuned in as well. The games like these worry me much more than against the upper tier opponents. I am still trying to understand why many believe we have a possible final four team. We are a good team, but very inconsistent at important times, hence our losses this year. We also will have to go thru Uconn the defending champ. I’ll be happy to come out w a win today, unlike KY did against Oakland. 

28 minutes ago, Tigger1985 said:

Great win.Let’s get it tomorrow.

Agreed. If I’m not mistaken, it’s AU’s first SEC tourney win since 19. Somehow, MSU beat TN and now we get them. I’ll give MSU credit, they split with us home and home and play a smothering D, which always affects AU. Plus, I think they just punched their ticket to the Dance with their two wins. I’m less concerned about our Big tourney seed than I am, seeing if we can put another good run together. We played very good on a neutral site, which is the whole tourney. Would be great to get to SEC championship game, but I’m very impressed with this win today.