JerryAU

Thanks '50. 

3 minutes ago, bishoptf said:

Agree, our receivers dropped a lot of balls, I stated that earlier that maybe things may have been different if they caught some of them, maybe changed the momentum of some of the games etc...Hoping for the best.

WR's were poor, but the day Auburn gets back the old "AUBURN" rushing attack is the day the offense starts clicking.  Auburn was always known as a team that could pound the ball and we could always depend on the run game.  Sadly, that hasn't been the case for a few years which places a heavier load on the QB and the WR's.  I don't mind seeing an RB catch a few passes out of the backfield and take off plowing through for 6-8 yrds. 😄

1 minute ago, bishoptf said:

Agree that is what I am concerned about also, sometimes I wonder is he sees it as his failure since he brought him in, like acknowledging that he was wrong. I dunno, maybe Thorne has a better year, I guess we will see.

A better line, a more effective run game and sure-handed receivers provide him with weapons to improve. Whether that translates to wins, who knows? 

1 minute ago, bishoptf said:

Yeah thats what I don't get, maybe it's just me but he seems to be pretty stubborn when it comes to that kind of stuff, kind of reminds me of Gus. Maybe most of the coaches are like that I dunno but he didnt want to make a change at all...

He is very similar to Gus in many ways and stubbornness is one of them.  But I've seen him as a better innovator than Gus and he has a willingness to evolve some of his philosophies.  

6 minutes ago, cbo said:

I feel the same way. Still surprised we didn't bring in a transfer QB. Thorne will improve with the new surrounding cast, but he needs to be MUCH better than last season. And I don't see it happening. If he's struggling mid season, you have to try someone else. 

If he comes out of the UGA having shown little to no improvement over '23, give the open weekend to groom another QB.  See what the new guy can do against Mizzou & UK, and if that doesn't pan out put Thorne back in for Vandy/ULM and roll the dice to finish out with aTm/Bama.   I don't see Hugh swapping out mid-season, he's all-in on Thorne and he may sink or swim with him.  

Auburn returns 66% of its '23 production - I don't know it that's good or bad?

Our SEC opponents return the following:

OleMiss 70% - UGA 68% - UAT 53% - OK 65% - Mizzou 71% - UK 72% - aTm 67% - Vandy 64%

Ole Miss/UGA/Mizzou/UAT will be tough.   OK/Vandy/aTm/Arkansas we should be able to handle.  

There's absolutely no excuse for even one OOC loss this year.  I've got 8-4 at worst and get a dang bowl WIN for 9-4. 

On 5/11/2024 at 1:23 PM, Old fan 47 said:

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. 

IMO, better in-game decision making, play-calling and an ability to adjust during the game needs to be visibly improved. 

Perhaps Hugh has found a way to recruit and focus on game planning & scheming. I hope I never hear him claim that he didn't have the time to game-prep or draw up schemes for the opponent.  

22 hours ago, AUght2win said:

Freeze is a big advocate for teams playing other schools in spring games and I think it’s only a matter of time before it happens. 

 

I haven't paid much attention, what other head coaches are advocating for this?    There would have to be a pretty large contingent of HC's lobbying for this before the conference ever put it on the agenda for discussion. 

I'll not be fooled again!  I've let my heart override my head relative to AU football and I've gotten wrapped with pre-season hype for a decade only to be let down by the actual results.  I did lay $100 on the over 6.5 wins, fingers crossed Hugh can get it done. 

On 5/2/2024 at 8:23 AM, Auburn93 said:

Yep. It is also in response to the thought that we are going to lose a lot of seniors/experienced players next year. I don't think that is a problem because we will not be losing high end talent when that happens. We will be ever strengthening some positions like the QB and OL talent. Give me young and good over old and bad any day of the week. 

As long as our young and good show some patience & will stay long enough to gain experience and develop at their positions.  LOL

4-5*'s have expectation$ and demand$ these days with little patience or the maturity to wait for a Coach that takes years to build a contender. 

58 minutes ago, AU9377 said:

I have no doubt that they are working on it.  These are the same people that have been leading us into this mess to begin with. The former athletes received a lot from the schools.  They certainly are not owed some sort of windfall simply because they chose to play a sport in school.

My point was that Congress needs to get off its desire to focus on nonsense and actually do something that is needed, like this exemption.

A contingent of representatives have sent numerous individuals to DC to press upon lawmakers the need for assistance.  Conference commissioners, the NCAA president, college presidents, chancellors and influential coaches have asked for help.  Senator Tuberville presented draft plans to help lawmakers understand the situation and emphasize the importance of congressional action, apparently none if it even gets out of committee because nothing has moved the needle.  

31 minutes ago, CoffeeTiger said:

 

😭

🤮

Seriously guys, this is just nauseating.  

On 4/27/2024 at 2:02 PM, Swamp Eagle said:

Hell, man, the official Auburn sports site won’t even post losses on the front page, you have to dig to find a score, though you know by the absence it’s a loss. 
 

When the university caters to supporters who can only handle the good news…that’s a problem. Whoever is making those decisions needs a knot jerked in their…

AMEN!

The Administration is scared to shine light on anything negative, like they choose to shield the Family from just how crappy some of the athletic teams have become.  

On 4/27/2024 at 6:37 PM, CameronCrazy said:

Some of us aren’t in a position to donate anything “significant”. But I promise you that if I was… you better believe I would be pouring my money into OTV! And I would expect any hardcore Auburn fan to do the same. 

And that’s what I don’t understand. Your money goes further now more than ever! We are supposedly funded by 4-5 different billionaires (according to WDE). It’s now LEGAL to pay for players. If we truly have the money, we should be competitive in EVERY sport. 

There are sports that we’ve never been truly competitive in, but we should have an opportunity to change that now. I don’t expect the NIL “Wild West” to last forever…. But while it’s here, we should be getting the talent we need in EVERY sport. 

My response to your above post is in no way negatively directed at you Cameron. 

I informed my kids early on that I would pay 100% of their education but I would NOT subsidize stupidity.  I feel exactly the same way about Auburn Athletics. 

We've all watched the Auburn Administration make one stupid decision after another and they've systematically wasted well over $100million in just 3 yrs buying out football staffers year after year after year.  Firing head coaches, coordinators, position coaches, support staff while we alum and fans all watched the 3-peat losing seasons circle the drain.   Auburn Athletics are not good stewards of the finances and the BOT have been enablers to the administrators who have made one poor choice after another.    

We as a family, choose to financially support AU Academics and it will stay that way.  

If anyone has read into the particulars of the class-action lawsuit House vs NCAA, it is estimated that a settlement will be worked out between both parties, a judge has already hinted that the NCAA (and its member institutions) will be slapped in the face with a +$4Billion lawsuit for backpay to former athletes.  That's a pretty sizeable chunk of money that will be coming out of every NCAA program's pocket to pay former athletes who never got the NIL windfall who want their share of the pie. 

This class-action lawsuit is what has suddenly spurred the NCAA & school presidents to clamor around in Dallas trying to come up with a settlement figure for the backpay to former athletes AND devise a workable plan for the future of college athletics.  

The stubborn old jackasses kicked the can down the road and acted greedy for far too long, then the lawsuits and courts took control and the whole shebang has blown up in their faces. 

6 minutes ago, CoffeeTiger said:

Interesting part of the story is how it seems like their head coach, Trent Dilfer, seemed to be a leading force in introducing the players and encouraging them to participate in this association. 

 

There was a time not too long ago where 65% of UAB's athletic department revenue came from subsidies.  They had never been a self-sustaining operation up there.  Unless they've experienced and complete reversal of fortune once they joined the AAC, I doubt very much has changed in their revenue streams.  

9 minutes ago, TexasTiger said:

And it makes sense, but I suspect it will come down to the haves and have nots— which schools have the lucrative media deals? Right not it’s the recently reduced Power 4. Very little for the group of 5. Zeno overestimates his worth at a school like UAB. If he shared their revenue he’d owe a ton of money.

Truth bomb!

Those UAB players feel cheated out of the revenue, but truth be told, very few programs operate in the black. 

On 4/26/2024 at 10:15 AM, TitanTiger said:

He came to Auburn because he decided based on his heart rather than his head.  Our offense line was crap and Gus's game plans were just as bad.  Then he got delivered into the shitshow that was Mr. Potato Head and rightly decided to make a business move rather than watch Harsin relegate him to an NFL free agent signee at best.

He got placed with a team that had actual weapons and protection on offense and a coherent philosophy, worked on his mistakes and got better in 2 years' time.  NFL scouts aren't dumb.  They know the difference in a Pac-12 defense vs what Bo faced in the SEC.  But they also know facing an SEC defense with one arm tied behind your back while forced to wear a blindfold isn't something you can hang around the QBs neck either.

I'm very happy for Bo.  

Great post Titan!

Yes, Oregon provided him with protection, but Kenny Dillingham was the reason Bo went to Oregon.  He knew Bo and had faith in him, and Bo trusted Dillingham to develop his skills and put him in a position that could bring out the best in him. 

Oregon offered the weapons and an established offensive system that worked, which allowed Bo to showcase his talents, the kid nearly won the freaking Heisman for crying out loud.  🤩

I admit that I couldn't see Bo's talent or potential here at Auburn, but I never blamed him.  I 100% blamed the piss poor coaching/schemes + the sub-par oline talent for the main reason Bo became frustrated and couldn't improve at Auburn. 

I'm happy he found a team and a coaching staff that helped him be successful at Oregon.  I'll pull for him in the pro's, just like I pull for all SEC players in the pro's.  

51 minutes ago, aubaseball said:

I wouldn’t put any stock into that tomfoolery.    That’s all internet nonsense, unless you know directly what he was offered.  

Who really knows though?

With all the insiders we have on this tiny fan board with people that sit in on OTV/NIL meetings and know the in's & out's of the $$ levels for OTV in football/baseball/basketball, etc.  3 yrs after the NIL's inception has anyone physically seen a fully executed NIL contract? 

I read where OTV probably had to pay Broome $1.2 million to come back this season.  And it's been said Thorne could be pulling +/-$700,000.  

On 4/11/2024 at 2:09 PM, AU9377 said:

They haven’t been paid in the amounts that they are being paid today. There were players getting things and that includes cash, but this is a different animal today.

I don't know what players were paid before NIL and for some odd reason no one knows exactly what they're paid with NIL now.  

I did see where Jaden Rashada is in the portal.  This is a 5* QB that Miami offered $9.5mm NIL package and Florida counter-offered $11mm NIL in last year's recruiting cycle.  The kid ended up at Arizona State, couldn't earn the starting QB position at Ariz State and is now in the portal.  WTH?

What did an NIL collective see in this kid that made them think he was worth that kind of NIL package?  $9-$11million is more than twice what offensive coordinator & QB coach at a DI level school was making in salary.  

15 hours ago, Chaotic_zx said:

Nothing stopping Barkley from doing it now. He could absolutely go out and pay players to enroll at Auburn. As a matter of fact, Jerry Jones has stated the he is willing to pay double that of Kentucky for freshmen. I see no reason Barkley couldn't be more involved if he chose to.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the Chad Morris experiment at Arkansas at Jerry Jones behest? 

Chad's 2-year stint leading the Hogs to a 4-18 record would've been enough to make me want him disbanded from Arkansas Athletics for life. 🤬

On 4/11/2024 at 11:58 PM, TeamZero77 said:

Most of the Kentucky fanbase wanted Calipari fired the past couple years. I've seen some of them say "Calipari should do what's right and just step down as our HC." 

So now he has stepped down at Kentucky and taken the Arkansas job, while Kentucky has gone out and hired Mark Pope to replace him. And guess what........Big Blue Nation seems to be losing their minds over Mark Pope being their new HC and now the fans are pissed off at Calipari for leaving!!!😂 They're blaming Calipari for not giving the Kentucky AD and BOT a notice that he was leaving. They think it blindsided the Kentucky AD and BOT and that they weren't in a position to find a top tier coach to replace Calipari.

I think alot of Big Blue Nation's anger (and their pride won't let them admit it) is that they were publically turned down by Hurley, Oats, Wright, Drew and Donovan. The PTB at Kentucky seem to have settled on Mark Pope because they knew he is an alum and former player on the 1996 Kentucky team that won a Natty and he wouldn't turn them down. Pope's average win/loss record over 5 years at BYU is 22-10 and he's made the NCAA Tourney twice but has never made it past the 1st round. 

Knowing how arrogant Calipari is, you know he is loving this Mark Pope hire because it's a "Be careful what you wish for" moment directed straight at Big Blue Nation.

Fans are fickle.  

UK fans packed out Rupp and left hundreds standing outside who couldn't get in to attend Pope's introduction speech as UK HC.  They had more rabid fans attend Pope's inauguration than we had on a beautiful spring A-Day game in JHS. 

I see where Goodman mentions, "The day basketball coach Bruce Pearl and football coach Hugh Freeze lose their abilities to raise money for those collectives is the day they lose their jobs."  which made me recall Calipari celebrating in the last week his NOT having to raise NIL funds at Arkansas, so that he can now 100% focus on his HC responsibilities. 

Calipari had to get on his soapbox, glad hand Kentucky boosters and pass the offering plate at UK alumni functions to raise NIL $$.  Apparently, the Arkansas Administration knew he despised do that and they assured him they already had $10million in NIL for Hog Basketball and he wouldn't have to raise a dime for their NIL.  

I'm wondering how many head coaches actually like not only selling their program to prospective athletes, but also selling it to boosters, donors, and begging a fan base to pony up $$ to pay the players?  

1 hour ago, AuburnNTexas said:

I hope fifty is still reading even if not writing. Know you are missed and wish you would come back. If some were giving you grief just block them.

It's been 3 weeks since he said he was threatened and basically crickets.  Maybe he's waiting on an apology and acknowledgement from the Mods?   

I'll be honest, if '50 is gonna have his ass on his shoulders, I'm glad it's during a slow time for sports.  I've become dependent on his daily articles.  But enough is enough, it's high time the old fart to gets back to work!

1 hour ago, DAG said:

For sure Cam is getting the major money. I am talking life changing money. I think those players are few and far between tbh. 

I don't know what kind of money the current roster gets paid.  

But I've seen mentioned on numerous occasions that OTV needs +/-$10MM a year for football alone.  That's a chunk for such an underperforming squad IMO.  

18 hours ago, DAG said:

I highly doubt he is getting that. In fact, I bet most numbers are exaggerated, and a selected few are making the big money.

Who on the AU team are getting the big money though?   I'm seriously having a tough time finding which select few have earned the big NIL money.