Is it Gus or the athletes he is recruiting?

[mcgufcm 4,096]

Colbert is 100% going to play Safety. He played Safety in the game yesterday too. Rivals is projecting based on frame, but he's going to play Safety. The others are up in the air. I know McBryde wants to play in the defensive backfield.

We're recruiting Holland with hybrid LB/DE in mind (a much needed position in Muschamp's multiple front defense). Like Evans last year. Williams is a true LB. From what I've heard Atkinson and Sullivan are naturally physical guys. Their lack of size doesn't scare me. If they can play like Travis or AT Williams or Karibi Dede, sign me up.

[Mikey 16,550]

Colbert is 100% going to play Safety. He played Safety in the game yesterday too. Rivals is projecting based on frame, but he's going to play Safety. The others are up in the air. I know McBryde wants to play in the defensive backfield.

We're recruiting Holland with hybrid LB/DE in mind (a much needed position in Muschamp's multiple front defense). Like Evans last year. Williams is a true LB. From what I've heard Atkinson and Sullivan are naturally physical guys. Their lack of size doesn't scare me. If they can play like Travis or AT Williams or Karibi Dede, sign me up.

We'll see where they end up. Right now, my statement that they are linebackers has at least some objective basis other than my personal speculation.

[McLoofus 35,182]

They are better this year than last

And I predict they'll be better next year than this. It's a fairly logical progression.

We have under recruited the position in terms of quality and quantity for several years now. That's not predicting, it's observation.

Whether or not some of us are right that a couple of our linebackers are pretty good, that's still not enough. Totally with you on that.

EDIT: And really, that's the thing with Frost and Cass. They didn't get the benefit of being brought along like I imagine the overwhelming majority of the guys on those lists did. We need not speak of their freshman season. Their sophomore season, they were asked to play like seniors in a brand new system. This year, they played with no protection in front of them and under a coach unfit to keep his job. Despite that, they still played very well for big chunks of the season before participating in the weird collapse perpetrated by the entire defense.

[cole256 17,039]

I think both sides have over exaggerated. Linebackers aren't THAT bad but I also seen a poster talk about them and say they were better than Reggie Ragland and a couple of those guys and they aren't

[mcgufcm 4,096]

I compared Frost to Ragland early in the season, and I stand by it. At that point, Kris looked much better. Ragland was not playing particularly well, and Kris was winning game MVP honors in Manhattan, KS. They obviously went in opposite directions from there.

[IronMan70 3,277]

Well I'll tell you one thing, we're going to need plenty of very talented LBs now that we just increased our game day needs by 50%.

[mcgufcm 4,096]

Meh. Garrett started the bowl game. He's a LB. Call him a Star or Hybrid if you want, but he's physically no different than past Auburn LBs (Merrill Johnson, AT Williams, Karibi Dede, Travis Williams, etc.). Assuming everyone comes back, I suspect the LB rotation will include Frost, McKinzy, Swain, Williams, and Garrett with one or two more.

We need guys because we graduate 4 guys in that group, but incoming LBs are unlikely to make a huge impact next year. That's just reality.

[Wrights_Mill_Road 2]

Colbert is 100% going to play Safety. He played Safety in the game yesterday too. Rivals is projecting based on frame, but he's going to play Safety. The others are up in the air. I know McBryde wants to play in the defensive backfield.

We're recruiting Holland with hybrid LB/DE in mind (a much needed position in Muschamp's multiple front defense). Like Evans last year. Williams is a true LB. From what I've heard Atkinson and Sullivan are naturally physical guys. Their lack of size doesn't scare me. If they can play like Travis or AT Williams or Karibi Dede, sign me up.

Sullivan is a monster hitter. Love his film. He will be deadly as an OLB.

[IronMan70 3,277]

Meh. Garrett started the bowl game. He's a LB. Call him a Star or Hybrid if you want, but he's physically no different than past Auburn LBs (Merrill Johnson, AT Williams, Karibi Dede, Travis Williams, etc.). Assuming everyone comes back, I suspect the LB rotation will include Frost, McKinzy, Swain, Williams, and Garrett with one or two more.

We need guys because we graduate 4 guys in that group, but incoming LBs are unlikely to make a huge impact next year. That's just reality.

Actually it's 5 (Srs- Cass, Frost, Garrett, Swain, Flowers) and that's part and parcel of what I was referring to. It goes without saying that you can't rely on a TFr to make a meaningful impact. If you get one it's a bonus. Hopefully this year we can get some meaningful snaps from last year's TFr/RFr, Williams, Davis and Toney.

We need some good LBs in here this year to even have a chance to get them ready for '16. Not only will we lose a lot of LBs but now we are going to need 50% more than we did before. Williams, Davis, Toney and Mitchell are the only LBs coming back in '16...... now for 3 positions. Some of these '15 Fresh are going to have to be ready in '16.

[Mikey 16,550]

Meh. Garrett started the bowl game. He's a LB. Call him a Star or Hybrid if you want, but he's physically no different than past Auburn LBs (Merrill Johnson, AT Williams, Karibi Dede, Travis Williams, etc.). Assuming everyone comes back, I suspect the LB rotation will include Frost, McKinzy, Swain, Williams, and Garrett with one or two more.

We need guys because we graduate 4 guys in that group, but incoming LBs are unlikely to make a huge impact next year. That's just reality.

Actually it's 5 (Srs- Cass, Frost, Garrett, Swain, Flowers) and that's part and parcel of what I was referring to. It goes without saying that you can't rely on a TFr to make a meaningful impact. If you get one it's a bonus. Hopefully this year we can get some meaningful snaps from last year's TFr/RFr, Williams, Davis and Toney.

We need some good LBs in here this year to even have a chance to get them ready for '16. Not only will we lose a lot of LBs but now we are going to need 50% more than we did before. Williams, Davis, Toney and Mitchell are the only LBs coming back in '16...... now for 3 positions. Some of these '15 Fresh are going to have to be ready in '16.

Toney was moved to H-back on offense mid-season. Everybody concerned that will comment thinks this move is permanent. So, you are even more correct. If we're to have linebackers with even a smidgen of experience in 2015, we need to load up this year. We certainly need to hang on to the five we have committed and adding Holland would put icing on the cake.

[mcgufcm 4,096]

I'd say that's what JUCO is for, but yeah, obviously it's a need.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

Gus needs to sign true defensive guys instead of a bunch of offensive guys and later move some to the defense during fall workouts.

[IronMan70 3,277]

Meh. Garrett started the bowl game. He's a LB. Call him a Star or Hybrid if you want, but he's physically no different than past Auburn LBs (Merrill Johnson, AT Williams, Karibi Dede, Travis Williams, etc.). Assuming everyone comes back, I suspect the LB rotation will include Frost, McKinzy, Swain, Williams, and Garrett with one or two more.

We need guys because we graduate 4 guys in that group, but incoming LBs are unlikely to make a huge impact next year. That's just reality.

Actually it's 5 (Srs- Cass, Frost, Garrett, Swain, Flowers) and that's part and parcel of what I was referring to. It goes without saying that you can't rely on a TFr to make a meaningful impact. If you get one it's a bonus. Hopefully this year we can get some meaningful snaps from last year's TFr/RFr, Williams, Davis and Toney.

We need some good LBs in here this year to even have a chance to get them ready for '16. Not only will we lose a lot of LBs but now we are going to need 50% more than we did before. Williams, Davis, Toney and Mitchell are the only LBs coming back in '16...... now for 3 positions. Some of these '15 Fresh are going to have to be ready in '16.

Toney was moved to H-back on offense mid-season. Everybody concerned that will comment thinks this move is permanent. So, you are even more correct. If we're to have linebackers with even a smidgen of experience in 2015, we need to load up this year. We certainly need to hang on to the five we have committed and adding Holland would put icing on the cake.

Yep and back then they changed him from LB to a HB on the site. But just before I made the post I checked their site and now they have him listed as a LB again. Considering everything, they probably think they are going to need him there. The JUCO route hasn't seemed to work as well for LBs as it has for the DL.

[Mikey 16,550]

We may have had a successful JUCO linebacker sometime in the past 50 years but I certainly can't think of one.

[AuburnNTexas 7,127]

LB takes time to learn the system as there are so many different responsibilities and reads from one coaches system to the next coaches system even when supposedly playing the same D system. A Juco coming in may have the physical skills and already have put on the muscle mass but is still learning a new system with different vocabulary then what he played in Juco. That means at best he probably won't help you until end of Junior year or Senior year. That is one of the reasons you often don't get a lot of help from Juco linebackers.

[IronMan70 3,277]

LB takes time to learn the system as there are so many different responsibilities and reads from one coaches system to the next coaches system even when supposedly playing the same D system. A Juco coming in may have the physical skills and already have put on the muscle mass but is still learning a new system with different vocabulary then what he played in Juco. That means at best he probably won't help you until end of Junior year or Senior year. That is one of the reasons you often don't get a lot of help from Juco linebackers.

Yep