Will Latu

[AU64 10,122]

"Auburn..... with a spirit that is unafraid".[/color]....well maybe not so unafraid these days.  AE seems to be the home of the neurotic and the paranoid. 

Good to see DJ trying to pour a little oil on the troubled waters.  Frankly, I worry about the mental health of some of the posters....if football recruiting has them in this much of a frenzy, I can't imagine how they deal with life's real problems.  Hang in there Tiger fans....be patient, be calm...good things are coming.    Just hope y'all recognize it when you see it.

[Elephant Tipper 430]

Latu is not an early enrollee, and he is currently back in CA taking classes. He was in FL over the holidays with his family, where he watched the AU game at a bar and tweeted the entire time about AU and how he "wished he was on the field". He had nothing but good things to say about AU, the coaches, and players (several of whom he's become VERY close with in the past several months since committing). This article (which I've read) comes straight out of left field and doesn't "jive" with anything that Latu has been saying as recently as this week. I do know that he had some work to do in school this semester and needed to finish strong in order have everything in place to come to AU in June, which is what he has been planning to do for awhile now. I'm quite sure that the AU coaches knew everything that he's had going on, and HAVE been in contact with him... which leads to the confusion over the article. The only possibility I that could give truth to this article coulc be that the coaches have learned something "new and unexpected" about Latu's academic situation and have decided to part ways with him. I find that hard to believe though at this point, and am NOT willing to say that is the case until I hear something more substantiated. One good thing is that Latu is not bashful though about giving interviews, so we should know much more about this situation in the next couple of days.

Patience is a VIRTUE, and unfortunately it is one that it seems the LARGE majority of AU fans do not possess much of at the moment.

Back by POPULAR demand.  Many, including me, have hoped to read your posts.  Thanks for your insight.

WDE !!!

[Weegle777 78]

Latu is not an early enrollee, and he is currently back in CA taking classes. He was in FL over the holidays with his family, where he watched the AU game at a bar and tweeted the entire time about AU and how he "wished he was on the field". He had nothing but good things to say about AU, the coaches, and players (several of whom he's become VERY close with in the past several months since committing). This article (which I've read) comes straight out of left field and doesn't "jive" with anything that Latu has been saying as recently as this week. I do know that he had some work to do in school this semester and needed to finish strong in order have everything in place to come to AU in June, which is what he has been planning to do for awhile now. I'm quite sure that the AU coaches knew everything that he's had going on, and HAVE been in contact with him... which leads to the confusion over the article. The only possibility I that could give truth to this article coulc be that the coaches have learned something "new and unexpected" about Latu's academic situation and have decided to part ways with him. I find that hard to believe though at this point, and am NOT willing to say that is the case until I hear something more substantiated. One good thing is that Latu is not bashful though about giving interviews, so we should know much more about this situation in the next couple of days.

Patience is a VIRTUE, and unfortunately it is one that it seems the LARGE majority of AU fans do not possess much of at the moment.

THE HATCHMAN DELIVERETH!  

[msg6367 1]

taken care of.

[aubietiger14 147]

I read that article and apparently the auburn coaches may have backed off since he didn't graduate from juco as planned.  He admire he didn't take care o his classwork like he should have and that probably set him back.   

[bigbird 60,580]

[Elephant Tipper 430]

Where she stops, nobody knows....

[telling tiger 156]

I didn't know chickens were yellow.

[AUSportTalk 4]

It appears that Auburn is in the process of moving on from Latu. He didn't do to well in his classes in the Fall and Auburn isn't taking the chance of him not qualifying.

[AgentOrange 36]

Don't need to take a chance on a non-qualifier.

[Elephant Tipper 430]

It appears that Auburn is in the process of moving on from Latu. He didn't do to well in his classes in the Fall and Auburn isn't taking the chance of him not qualifying.

Wow !  Too bad for Latu.

WDE !!!

[Tpain04567 0]

Well that decision to pass on Rooks since he wasn't an early grad is looking a lot worse now.

[pologuy24 0]

It appears that Auburn is in the process of moving on from Latu. He didn't do to well in his classes in the Fall and Auburn isn't taking the chance of him not qualifying.

Latu admitted this himself. He stated that since he didn't graduate in December that the coaches have really slowed down their contact & recruiting of him. He said that he is focusing on his academics now so he can enroll "some where" come June. He pretty much admitted that it was his fault.

[thacheetah11 18]

When it rains it pours....... 

[Elephant Tipper 430]

"WarBlogle WarBlogle.com

Read the article. WE @JohnnyHometeam: Will Latu, the top JUCO OT, is no longer committed to Auburn and will visit FSU."

[TheTigerWalk 0]

http://www.tampabay.com/hometeam/blog/gibbs-will-latu-re-opens-recruiting-plans-visit-fs/12280/

Dang....  Very disappointing, he was one of the guys I was most looking forward to..  Wish he could have passed those classes.

[Vandelay 5]

Wow. We could have really used a JUCO O-lineman in this class to provide an immediate impact. Stating the obvious of course. Hopefully Grimes can finish out recruiting strong for some of the top O-line still on Auburn's board.

[Elephant Tipper 430]

"It's just a whole bunch of hassle,'' he said. "I'm not saying I can't do it, but with another school I can graduate in May and be there in June,'' said Latu. "If I were to stay with Auburn I wouldn't graduate until the summer and not get there until August, and everything would be rushed.''

Latu said he is disappointed and isn't backing away from Auburn for any other reason.

But he developed into the best offensive lineman in the junior college ranks, and had his pick of major BCS schools. Latu said he was devastated to learn he would not qualify academically at Auburn.

He confesses to looking ahead to finishing a tough two-year run at College of the Canyons, to the point where he stopped paying attention in class."

Who knows ? 

WDE !!!

[WarEagle10 77]

Well crap!

[bird36 5]

I don't see why we would not continue to recruit him even if he does not qualify.  I do not see Auburn signing 25 on NSD anyway so it would not be a wasted spot if he did not qualify.  

[jjustjoe 0]

When is the good news coming? None too good so far.

[DJ_Hatch 0]

It appears that Auburn is in the process of moving on from Latu. He didn't do to well in his classes in the Fall and Auburn isn't taking the chance of him not qualifying.

As difficult as it is for me to believe that someone with their ENTIRE FUTURE riding on a scenario that would take them from a 4-5 JUCO team to having the chance to come in and start for one of the TOP teams in the SEC, and ALL that person has to do is GO TO CLASS and pass for 2 semesters, and they're done... but instead....

"At the beginning of it, I was pretty upset. I was back at square one,'' he said. "I pretty much hit rock bottom. I talked to my parents, and they just encouraged me to keep going. I guess I was caught up in the anticipation of getting out here, instead of using it more like motivation to keep pushing. But everybody makes mistakes. I'm just trying to learn from them now.''

Latu is taking five classes in the spring, and insists he will pass them all.

"I know I gotta stop messing around,'' he said.

:banghead: This has TRULY been one of the more unique recruiting years that I can remember, but it ain't over yet, and AU will be fine.

[msg6367 1]

If DJ says we'll be fine, I believe him..... 

[Nashville War Eagle 0]

So the other day I noticed Latu was posting on Twitter about some hard decisions and whatnot.  Today I just realized that he has removed Auburn commit 2012 from his information section.  Anyone know whats up?  Did we lose Latu too??

If you'll recall.  To which more sunshine was pumped.  And now it appears to be true.  :banghead: :banghead:

I give up on recruiting this year. 

[AU64 10,122]

Too bad he did not get his act together but nice for AU to learn about this on someone else's dime.  If he doesn't have the discipline to step up the academic requirements of a JC for gosh sakes, seems to me that he would be a constant concern at AU.  We gotta have some standards...Auburn is a serious university after all.  In the real world, not everyone has the maturity and discipline that it takes to play a high level sport AND take care of academics.