AU National Recruiting

[AU64 10,122]

Recruit the TOP GUYS who are interested in Auburn regardless of where they are from. This is partly why we have such a good roster of guys right now.

Absolutely, the idea that we can recruit a few southern states and compete at the top level makes no sense....there is no evidence that any school can do this and consistently. Check the roster of the team out west and despite more or less having the dominant position in the state, they still recruit the entire nation and have players from 14 or 15 states....which make up about 1/2 of their roster.

The point is, if you want to be able to recruit ...say California, Colorado, or wherever, you have to do it every year, build the coaching contacts, etc. and not just drop in when there happens to be a lean year in Alabama...which happens. And further yet, the top talent in our region does not always include top players for all positions. CTT mostly recruited the region and brought in some good classes except that often some of the best recruits never qualified. Chiz and his staff recruited good players,basically went anywhere the players were and I can't think of more than a couple that did not qualify.

[ellitor 33,114]

Here's my philosophy. Do well in the SEC states and you will have top 5 talent every year. This going national stuff is for the birds. Don't forget Chizik tried to go national the year after we won the title but missed on most of the highly recruited ones (Diamond and Westy are the only notable exceptions kickers withstanding), and also missed out on some good regional guys who would have loved to come to Auburn but didn't because we did not recruit them.

Keep winning big like Bama has done the past 5 years and the out of region recruits will come to you.

[TIGGR82 4]

The one thing I will say is when you see the recruits who want to get away from home. There are those you have to deal with.

[ValleyTiger 2,894]

Auburn was great way before the internet and recruiting rankings. We relied heavily on regional recruiting then and it'll remain the lifeblood of this program. Cherry picking here and there is cool, especially for QBs from Texas and Cali. Still, the largest and best recruiting base is in our backyard. That's the brass tracks like it or not.

[jacksrc 4]

I think for QBs they should stick with JUCOs originally from GA with previous SEC experience.

[The Plainsman 948]

Here is the strategy IMO. Recruit the Dlinemen from Georgia. Skill players from Florida, top players from Alabama, and then Cherry pick around for the rest.

[AU64 10,122]

I can't believe the provincial view of some people. Yes, Alabama has good football players but in limited numbers recruited by schools all over the nation. Take a look at the schools being considered by some of our targets...UCLA, Oregon, USCw....local kids are willing to travel and there is no assurance that anyone in the SEC will sign them. And then, define our "region". We have been recruiting south Florida for a while now....and Miami is about the same distance from Auburn as Richmond, Va, Indianapolis, Columbus, OH and St. Louis, MO.. There are a lot of schools in that 500 mile radius in a lot of states and we should not write any of them off. After all, once the distance is over 3 or 400 miles, it's gonna be an air trip anyway.

In the days before the internet and ranking we stayed local because we were not as well known out of the region...but national TV and our success in more recent times has changed that. You can look back over time and JMO but AU got better (and more consistent) when we expanded our recruiting area and AU's recruiting success was not totally dependent on the quality of players coming out of Alabama and Georgia....where if we lost a few highly sought after kids to Bama or UGA our recruiting season was ruined. Now we can get shafted by some kid who flips at the last minute and we fill that gap with a stocky little guy from Lake Worth, FL....about 500 miles from AU. We have come a long way since the days that Shug sent a letter to the HS kids he wanted and offered them a scholarship with little or no romancing. Again JMO but if we are to be consistently good we will need to recruit nationally and bring in the best players we can find at the positions where we have need...such as the kid from Colorado who will probably be our kicker for the next few years.

PS...when you go duck hunting you go where the ducks are: Check this site: http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2013-09-18/nfl-players-state-by-state-breakdown-california-florida-louisiana-texas-south-ca

[The Plainsman 948]

You know, this is not conceding anything, but if Auburn was to have the second best recruits out of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama... We would be set up year over year....

I personally like that we are tapping heavy back into Fla and Georgia.

[oldaufeller 367]

There's plenty of talent nearby - however sometimes you need a particular skill set or you want something extrodinary. You know Bo's official 40 time is 4.12 (before electronic timer so there has to be some margin of error - just has to be!) Anyway, if we have a position that can showcase that talent in an extrodinary way, then sure. But cherry pick the few you want nationally rather than some sort of broadband fetch. Take kickers for instance - it's a position worth looking nationally because we value special teams, obviously have good coaching here, and we'll make you look good while you're making us look good. Plus SEC exposure is greater.

[aushrink 22]

I think for QBs they should stick with JUCOs originally from GA with previous SEC experience.

++++++11111111!

[tsande07 271]

I think for QBs they should stick with JUCOs originally from GA with previous SEC experience.

Or Florida.

[TIGGR82 4]

I think for QBs they should stick with JUCOs originally from GA with previous SEC experience.

c

Or Florida. :jossun:/>

Cam is from Georgia originally. That is why he said it the way he did.

[benjazz 0]

I think about 80 percent will come from Alabama and the contiguous states. The rest will come from judo and from recruits from non traditional recruiting areas. How did we get Daniel? He's from friggin Indiana. Who knew they had football there. Some players we find coming to an Auburn camp from a distance. I don't think anyone is wrong other than someone who says we take the espn 150 and recruit the top 50 of those like we recruit Rashaan Evans. That's not going to work for obvious reasons.

[Mikey 16,777]

We got Daniel because his brother played at UGA and Garner knew the family.

"If you go duck hunting, go where the ducks are" is a good idea. The ducks are within 300 miles of the Auburn campus, with a little jog out to South Florida. Cherry picking a star prospect from far off every now and then does not constitute national recruiting. Cherry picking a few is a great idea while going national is not. Others have already posted why "going national" would be very, very stupid in our case.

[ValleyTiger 2,894]

Some people, just can't tell em water is wet....

[IndianTiger 95]

Good question..I think if there are recruits who are interested in Auburn from all over the country, that is great, we can pick and chose. I am sure the Iron Bowl was reintroduced on the national radar, by the historical play. The key would be to evaluate them and recruit those who fit our team and the SEC. Our coaches are smart enough to do that, they are also smart enough to care of the recruiting base around Auburn.

Most schools would love to be located where we are..

[TheBlueVue 177]

There is a reason kids in the south east are recruit by programs from all over the country. There is more than enough top talent, year after year, in Ala, Geo, Fla, La,and Miss to put Auburn in a position to consistently compete for SEC CS and more. Call it provincial if you must..I call it fishing where the fish are.

[johnjacob 44]

AU focus will be in our own region, but there is no doubt coaches will probe the interest of studs outside the region and pursue those that are truly interested ala Kozan.

[tsande07 271]

I think for QBs they should stick with JUCOs originally from GA with previous SEC experience.

c

Or Florida. :jossun:/>

Cam is from Georgia originally. That is why he said it the way he did.

Gotcha.

[McLoofus 35,182]

This thread is super duper redundant. Everybody is saying the same (correct) thing.

[Dixie1860 27]

This thread is super duper redundant. Everybody is saying the same (correct) thing.

This is becoming repetitious. Each poster is communicating the same (sensible) ideas.

[AUbritt 611]

This thread is super duper redundant. Everybody is saying the same (correct) thing.

This is becoming repetitious. Each poster is communicating the same (sensible) ideas.

You can say that again!

[Tivo48 32]

This thread is super duper redundant. Everybody is saying the same (correct) thing.

This is becoming repetitious. Each poster is communicating the same (sensible) ideas.

You can say that again!

It's just the same thing over and over again. It's like deja vu

[McLoofus 35,182]

This thread is super duper redundant. Everybody is saying the same (correct) thing.

This is becoming repetitious. Each poster is communicating the same (sensible) ideas.

Hah! Well played.

[Dixie1860 27]

I just wanted to keep the theme of the thread going.