Under Armour All American Game

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

auburn4ever you do realize that when the select their 5 star players they are selected on a basis for a certain type of team. For example a 340 lb DT might be rated as a 5 star based in a 3-4 defense but a team that run a 4-3 0r a 4-2-5 might not want a 340 lb DT nor would he workout. Problem for uat is nick is realizing he will have to transfer to a different defense to continue to win, so a lot of those 5 star, pro style offense and 3-4 defense player are going to get processed. WDE

[aubaseball 2,582]

Everybody wants a 340lb DT that can run. You are fooling yourself if coaches wouldn't want these type of players. When Payne committed today, he said that it was based on being developed for the next level. That is the perception that bama has right now, that is what we need to get to get the 5 stats coming to AU.

[JDUBB4AU 5,100]

I agree. We need draft picks on defense. We have to stop thinking we don't. We need every 5 star we can get. Players matter and for the most part the stars next to their name matter also

[juscAUse 1]

How many 5 stars did TCU have? Or Wisconsin? Every game an SEC team played in, all I heard was AU has more physical talent or UAT has more natural ability, or Miss State has more athletes or FSU is loaded with UAT caliber players. I guess there opponents never had a chance. I say we recruit football players with chips on their shoulders that will work their butts off to be better and love to hit somebody. I could care freaking less how many stars they have. Quentin Riggins would be a huge improvement over the star laden talent we have at linebacker. All the recruiting experts on here need to re- read how excited we were to get most of our defensive players when they committed. Seems a crap shoot at best. After all, how many of bamas dB's are 5 stars? All of them? I don't know the answer, but good football players that will take coaching is what is needed. Wisconsin's O line was not impressed with however many 4 stars we had on defense.

[war eagle6 0]

How many 5 stars did TCU have? Or Wisconsin? Every game an SEC team played in, all I heard was AU has more physical talent or UAT has more natural ability, or Miss State has more athletes or FSU is loaded with UAT caliber players. I guess there opponents never had a chance. I say we recruit football players with chips on their shoulders that will work their butts off to be better and love to hit somebody. I could care freaking less how many stars they have. Quentin Riggins would be a huge improvement over the star laden talent we have at linebacker. All the recruiting experts on here need to re- read how excited we were to get most of our defensive players when they committed. Seems a crap shoot at best. After all, how many of bamas dB's are 5 stars? All of them? I don't know the answer, but good football players that will take coaching is what is needed. Wisconsin's O line was not impressed with however many 4 stars we had on defense.

Indeed, in the end it's all about COACHING

[autan 737]

How many 5 stars did TCU have? Or Wisconsin? Every game an SEC team played in, all I heard was AU has more physical talent or UAT has more natural ability, or Miss State has more athletes or FSU is loaded with UAT caliber players. I guess there opponents never had a chance. I say we recruit football players with chips on their shoulders that will work their butts off to be better and love to hit somebody. I could care freaking less how many stars they have. Quentin Riggins would be a huge improvement over the star laden talent we have at linebacker. All the recruiting experts on here need to re- read how excited we were to get most of our defensive players when they committed. Seems a crap shoot at best. After all, how many of bamas dB's are 5 stars? All of them? I don't know the answer, but good football players that will take coaching is what is needed. Wisconsin's O line was not impressed with however many 4 stars we had on defense.

Amen to that!!

[metafour 4,958]

Everybody wants a 340lb DT that can run. You are fooling yourself if coaches wouldn't want these type of players.

There are barely a handful of 340 DTs "that can run" at the NFL level; let alone collegiality. 340 pounds is almost always too fat, period. That same 340 pound kid would be much more athletic at 315-320 pounds, and just as "strong".

[AURealist 2,185]

How many 5 stars did TCU have? Or Wisconsin? Every game an SEC team played in, all I heard was AU has more physical talent or UAT has more natural ability, or Miss State has more athletes or FSU is loaded with UAT caliber players. I guess there opponents never had a chance. I say we recruit football players with chips on their shoulders that will work their butts off to be better and love to hit somebody. I could care freaking less how many stars they have. Quentin Riggins would be a huge improvement over the star laden talent we have at linebacker. All the recruiting experts on here need to re- read how excited we were to get most of our defensive players when they committed. Seems a crap shoot at best. After all, how many of bamas dB's are 5 stars? All of them? I don't know the answer, but good football players that will take coaching is what is needed. Wisconsin's O line was not impressed with however many 4 stars we had on defense.

And yet, statistically speaking, more stars are better.

[aujeff11 6,243]

How many 5 stars did TCU have? Or Wisconsin? Every game an SEC team played in, all I heard was AU has more physical talent or UAT has more natural ability, or Miss State has more athletes or FSU is loaded with UAT caliber players. I guess there opponents never had a chance. I say we recruit football players with chips on their shoulders that will work their butts off to be better and love to hit somebody. I could care freaking less how many stars they have. Quentin Riggins would be a huge improvement over the star laden talent we have at linebacker. All the recruiting experts on here need to re- read how excited we were to get most of our defensive players when they committed. Seems a crap shoot at best. After all, how many of bamas dB's are 5 stars? All of them? I don't know the answer, but good football players that will take coaching is what is needed. Wisconsin's O line was not impressed with however many 4 stars we had on defense.

And yet, statistically speaking, more stars are better.

Coaches have to develop recruits, I don't care how many stars come beside their name. Our previous coaching staff did not develop our players very well and that should not be a secret. The jury is still out on the development of our players under the current coaches, particularly at a few positions such as the DL. Daron Payne pretty much said yesterday that we are not developing defensive lineman for the next level so take that FWIW. However, you cannot ignore the fact that most NC teams since the 90's atleast had one or two good recruiting classes before they won the NC. In short, recruiting rankings matter but development is needed as well.

[AU64 10,122]

Read that AU commit, K Johnson is "excelling at safety" in the UA practices but wants to play offense at AU. JMO but another example where the superior athletes want/expect to play on offense.

With those attitudes, it's no surprise that even the most highly regarded defenses are regularly lit up by good offenses. Hoping that Muschamp makes a big difference but he is going to need some better talent too.

[JFDTiger80 790]

We would certainly prefer 5 star kids that we coach up to be excellent players. Crazy the comments on our boards about Payne all year, comments were all over the place. I watched the game yesterday and Payne is a flat out STUD. He is going to be a nightmare to play against.

[around4ever 4,139]

We would certainly prefer 5 star kids that we coach up to be excellent players. Crazy the comments on our boards about Payne all year, comments were all over the place. I watched the game yesterday and Payne is a flat out STUD. He is going to be a nightmare to play against.

I've seen three of his games this year. Yesterday was the best game he has had and that was against the best O Linemen in the country. He started slow yesterday. I honestly think Daylon Mack showing out made Daron pick his game up. He will be a good one if he keeps that attitude and doesn't get lazy.

[Randman5000 4,223]

How many 5 stars did TCU have? Or Wisconsin? Every game an SEC team played in, all I heard was AU has more physical talent or UAT has more natural ability, or Miss State has more athletes or FSU is loaded with UAT caliber players. I guess there opponents never had a chance. I say we recruit football players with chips on their shoulders that will work their butts off to be better and love to hit somebody. I could care freaking less how many stars they have. Quentin Riggins would be a huge improvement over the star laden talent we have at linebacker. All the recruiting experts on here need to re- read how excited we were to get most of our defensive players when they committed. Seems a crap shoot at best. After all, how many of bamas dB's are 5 stars? All of them? I don't know the answer, but good football players that will take coaching is what is needed. Wisconsin's O line was not impressed with however many 4 stars we had on defense.

Not that I don't totally disagree with you, but are they consistently a top five program? To be a top five program, you need the best players. Hands. Down. We need to keep developing them as well but to be consistently the best, you need the best

[McLoofus 35,182]

Read that AU commit, K Johnson is "excelling at safety" in the UA practices but wants to play offense at AU. JMO but another example where the superior athletes want/expect to play on offense.

With those attitudes, it's no surprise that even the most highly regarded defenses are regularly lit up by good offenses. Hoping that Muschamp makes a big difference but he is going to need some better talent too.

4 of 247's top 5 recruits play defense. It's been that way for years.

Kerryon Johnson also had 178 yards and 4 touchdowns on 8 carries in the state championship game. He's an extremely talented running back.

Defenses are getting lit up by offenses because offenses are getting more creative and rules have been put in place to protect offensive players.

[cole256 17,038]

When you don't get the five stars that's when you make cases and talk about the one in a million 2 and 3 stars

[AuburnGrad97 37]

Must be nice landing those 5+ guys like UAT and other teams are doing.

Didn't help them much this year. =p

Look, I hate Uat just as much as anybody else, but the comments about all those 5-stars "not helping them much this year" aren't really accurate. They were the #1 ranked team in the country, and played in the semi-final game for the NC. Granted, they lost, but they were there and had a chance. If we continue to miss out on these top-ranked defensive players, we are going to have a hard time getting over that hump. Bama is a top 5 team EVERY year. We seem to be a top 5 team overy 3rd or 4th year, with some mid-teens/low 20's mixed inbetween. I am ready to see Auburn in the top 5 every year, and for that, you need elite talent. I'm not bashing on the players/recruits we have currently for next season, but we need to bring in some elite Dline and DB recruits that can contribute immediately. Not necessarily start, but contribute. In order for that to happen, they need to be in D1 college shape, D1 college ready in athleticism, and D1 college strong. Those are the key ingredients to being a "5-star" recruit. Look at Monty and Lawson, they are perfect examples. We need more of them!!!! Bring 'em home, Muschamp!!!

[juscAUse 1]

Once again, the optimum would be to get your pick of the 5 star athletes in the nation with a great work ethic and attitude. But if you don't get that, you can still coach your team to play disciplined, hard nosed defense on both sides of the ball. TCU and Kansas State do it consistently with much fewer athletes than play in the SEC west. The national college guys on xm say there isn't much difference in the talent between AU and UAT. And good coaches in the past could ' take yours and beat theirs '.

[IronMan70 3,277]

players.....coaches.....players......coaches.......

[McLoofus 35,182]

players.....coaches.....players......coaches.......

No kidding. The either/or nature these conversations always take on really makes me question how limited the real estate is in some folks' craniums.

[Randman5000 4,223]

Must be nice landing those 5+ guys like UAT and other teams are doing.

Didn't help them much this year. =p

Look, I hate Uat just as much as anybody else, but the comments about all those 5-stars "not helping them much this year" aren't really accurate. They were the #1 ranked team in the country, and played in the semi-final game for the NC. Granted, they lost, but they were there and had a chance. If we continue to miss out on these top-ranked defensive players, we are going to have a hard time getting over that hump. Bama is a top 5 team EVERY year. We seem to be a top 5 team overy 3rd or 4th year, with some mid-teens/low 20's mixed inbetween. I am ready to see Auburn in the top 5 every year, and for that, you need elite talent. I'm not bashing on the players/recruits we have currently for next season, but we need to bring in some elite Dline and DB recruits that can contribute immediately. Not necessarily start, but contribute. In order for that to happen, they need to be in D1 college shape, D1 college ready in athleticism, and D1 college strong. Those are the key ingredients to being a "5-star" recruit. Look at Monty and Lawson, they are perfect examples. We need more of them!!!! Bring 'em home, Muschamp!!!

^^^^This!

[mcgufcm 4,096]

cole, I always laugh at that approach. We don't need the one in a million 2 star player. We need the type of guys we traditionally got every season. Here's the depth chart from Muschamp's last defense at Auburn, with star ratings in parenthesis:

DE - Q Groves (4), Sen'Derrick Marks (2) - he played DE and DT that year, Antonio Coleman (3), Antoine Carter (3), Michael Goggans (4)

DT - Pat Sims (4), Josh Thompson (3), Mike Blanc (3), Jake Ricks (4)

LB - Merrill Johnson (2), Chris Evans (2), Courtney Harden (3), Tray Blackmon (5), Craig Stevens (4), Bo Harris (3)

CB - Pat Lee (3), Jae Wilhite (3), Jerraud Powers (3), Zach Gilbert (walk-on), Walt McFadden (3)

S - Eric Brock (3), Aairon Savage (3), Zac Etheridge (3), Mike McNeil (4)

That was the last time we played really solid defense at all levels. Blackmon played only 9 games (due to injuries); Q had his worst season. What you see is that each unit was built on 2 and 3 star players with one or two 4 star aces or contributors. The starters included only three 4 or 5 star players (Q, Sims, and Blackmon), and they weren't the stars of the defense. We don't need one in a million guys. We need physical football players that have attitude and accountability and aggressiveness. I'd take guys like Eric Brock and Chris Evans in a New York minute.

[juscAUse 1]

cole, I always laugh at that approach. We don't need the one in a million 2 star player. We need the type of guys we traditionally got every season. Here's the depth chart from Muschamp's last defense at Auburn, with star ratings in parenthesis:

DE - Q Groves (4), Sen'Derrick Marks (2) - he played DE and DT that year, Antonio Coleman (3), Antoine Carter (3), Michael Goggans (4)

DT - Pat Sims (4), Josh Thompson (3), Mike Blanc (3), Jake Ricks (4)

LB - Merrill Johnson (2), Chris Evans (2), Courtney Harden (3), Tray Blackmon (5), Craig Stevens (4), Bo Harris (3)

CB - Pat Lee (3), Jae Wilhite (3), Jerraud Powers (3), Zach Gilbert (walk-on), Walt McFadden (3)

S - Eric Brock (3), Aairon Savage (3), Zac Etheridge (3), Mike McNeil (4)

That was the last time we played really solid defense at all levels. Blackmon played only 9 games (due to injuries); Q had his worst season. What you see is that each unit was built on 2 and 3 star players with one or two 4 star aces or contributors. The starters included only three 4 or 5 star players (Q, Sims, and Blackmon), and they weren't the stars of the defense. We don't need one in a million guys. We need physical football players that have attitude and accountability and aggressiveness. I'd take guys like Eric Brock and Chris Evans in a New York minute.

I didn't have the time or inclination to do the research like you did, but I believe you could go back to the Dye years and find the same pattern. Seems like Van Hoose of the Bham News wrote an article about Dyes' first recruiting class ' Country boy won't survive with classes like this '. I think many of these guys played in the NFL.

[AUTiger25 29]

@RivalsKroogCity

It's good AND bad news fro #WDE commits coming out of #UAAllAmerica week... ($): http://t.co/Rv9g7mWh4l | http://t.co/uavZSJ9XGl

Saw this. Not subscribed but curious on what bad AND good news he is referring to.

[cole256 17,038]

Maybe that Payne chose Alabama?