What will the effect of this season be on recruiting?

[bikeriderga 134]

Although this season is not over, the chances of Auburn having a 9 win season looks all but impossible! Even 8 wins seems highly unlikely.

In fact, getting to a bowl game is going to be a major win with the way our Tigers have been playing overall.

What will the effect be on our recruiting, when we are in major needs of athletes, especially at Wide Receiver and on Defense across the board?

Early playing time will be all but guaranteed for gifted athletes and hard workers, but that may not be enough to sway the top recruits.

What do you guys think? I believe that many of the 4 and 5 stars that we were in contention for, will not be on our radar for very much longer.

Thoughts?

[thaitopher 807]

I think it will have some effect, but not detrimental. See Tennessee and Ole Miss who had great classes but with poor performances on the field. We already had one player decommit, but I think our current commits are all solid with the exception of Davidson, which I believe he will ultimately stick with us since his brother is on our staff.

[aujeff11 6,243]

Well we know for a fact that Stove is frustrated with our offense. And some thinks he is wavering to Florida.

[bikeriderga 134]

Well we know for a fact that Stove is frustrated with our offense. And some thinks he is wavering to Florida.

That's a shame. One of the few bright spots on this team is our QB.

[thaitopher 807]

Well we know for a fact that Stove is frustrated with our offense. And some thinks he is wavering to Florida.

didn't realize that. Of all the things to be frustrated at as a recruit, the WRs should be optimistic.

[Never2Yield 1,005]

Recruiting has not been the problem ...

But it want be as good as in the recent past.

[Mikey 16,565]

Any WR prospect that watched today's game and can catch a football should be begging to come to Auburn. Our QB is putting it right on the money and he'll be here for some years to come.

[plainsman04 0]

I think what we need is a little defensive recruiting and we will be just fine next year.

[CR 2,438]

If I'm a WR, I would be concerned about AU's overall passing philosophy. We have games like San Jose St where only 10 passes are thrown and then games like today that are much more receiver friendly plans. AU has a good passing QB it appears now, but we are supposedly looking at several dual-threat QB recruits. Will that mean going back to the 60-65 percent running offense we have done(quiet successfully) previously or try to be a more balanced offense it appeared AU was trying to be earlier in the season? I'm not trying to argue against AU, but most receivers want to be in an offense where the ball is thrown around.

[TitanTiger 20,472]

Well we know for a fact that Stove is frustrated with our offense. And some thinks he is wavering to Florida.

I haven't heard anything about that. Where are you hearing that?

I will say also, if you're a WR you have to like what Sean White is doing. And Lord, if you're an elite front seven guy on defense you have to be seeing early playing time and impact.

[diretiger 0]

If I'm a WR, I would be concerned about AU's overall passing philosophy. We have games like San Jose St where only 10 passes are thrown and then games like today that are much more receiver friendly plans. AU has a good passing QB it appears now, but we are supposedly looking at several dual-threat QB recruits. Will that mean going back to the 60-65 percent running offense we have done(quiet successfully) previously or try to be a more balanced offense it appeared AU was trying to be earlier in the season? I'm not trying to argue against AU, but most receivers want to be in an offense where the ball is thrown around.

Just playing devils's advocate here. We passed a lot more today, but I believe seeing stat say that we passed 2 out of 23 times on first down. That, to me at least, shows a coach who still doesn't want to use the pass unless he has to, even when we have a dynamite QB. Sure, when Wr are dropping passes as often as we were today you get a bit nervous, but running on 1st wasn't there until overtime, yet we kept trying to force it

[Potatooooooes!! 1,370]

If I'm a WR, I would be concerned about AU's overall passing philosophy. We have games like San Jose St where only 10 passes are thrown and then games like today that are much more receiver friendly plans. AU has a good passing QB it appears now, but we are supposedly looking at several dual-threat QB recruits. Will that mean going back to the 60-65 percent running offense we have done(quiet successfully) previously or try to be a more balanced offense it appeared AU was trying to be earlier in the season? I'm not trying to argue against AU, but most receivers want to be in an offense where the ball is thrown around.

Just playing devils's advocate here. We passed a lot more today, but I believe seeing stat say that we passed 2 out of 23 times on first down. That, to me at least, shows a coach who still doesn't want to use the pass unless he has to, even when we have a dynamite QB. Sure, when Wr are dropping passes as often as we were today you get a bit nervous, but running on 1st wasn't there until overtime, yet we kept trying to force it

I think Gus does that because, at heart, he is always going to be a run first guy who believes establishing the run is the most important thing you can do next to staying hydrated. I don't believe he's come to terms with the fact that, with our personnel, we should probably be more of a pass-oriented team this year. I keep getting frustrated because I feel like every first down play should be a pass play (for the most part). Not only are we more productive when we pass on first down (vs getting negative plays when we run on first down) but it opens up the run game in the long haul as well. I'm not saying Gus should abandon his philosophy, but he should tweak it a bit; you know, around the strengths of his team?

[SouthGATiger 64]

Any WR prospect that watched today's game and can catch a football should be begging to come to Auburn. Our QB is putting it right on the money and he'll be here for some years to come.

I agree Mikey but I'm not a recruit. Certainly appears to be the land of opportunity. The questions I ask ...if I were a recruit..."why would I want to go to Auburn even with the immediate playing time attraction"? "Why would I want to go to Auburn with the W-L record they've had the last few seasons and this years results"? "Hasn't AU had top classes the last 5-6 years and still playing this way'? " Will this change?"

Tough questions for the coaches to address and explain. To me, IMO, winning counts. Immediate playing time is not always the attraction some think.

[cole256 17,042]

It's not the end of the world, but it's not a positive effect either. I don't see this year being an awesome recruiting year...But that's just an opinion

[aujeff11 6,243]

Well we know for a fact that Stove is frustrated with our offense. And some thinks he is wavering to Florida.

I haven't heard anything about that. Where are you hearing that?

I will say also, if you're a WR you have to like what Sean White is doing. And Lord, if you're an elite front seven guy on defense you have to be seeing early playing time and impact.

it's hard to keep paywall and free information separate and I thought this was already known so I almost goofed up. Here is a free link that pretty much confirms it. He is not on flip watch yet but he is frustrated or atleast was frustrated. Who knows, he might like Sean now.

http://auburn.247sports.com/Board/42/Contents/Eli-Stove--40462075

[AU64 10,122]

Guess it depends on the attitude of the recruit....does he want to go somewhere that allows him to make an impact...of just ride the success of other players who have already done the hard work ? Just from my observation there are only a handful of teams that are really good every year and yet the better players get pretty well scattered across the country. There are generally plenty to go around and one year does not usually define the quality of a program....either way.

My only concern is that I don't know that Gus is very good recruiter....we seem to be relying on the position coaches to do the work and secure the commitments ....and of course they also get the blame when a good prospect gets away. I find that troubling.

[Mikey 16,565]

Guess it depends on the attitude of the recruit....does he want to go somewhere that allows him to make an impact...of just ride the success of other players who have already done the hard work ? Just from my observation there are only a handful of teams that are really good every year and yet the better players get pretty well scattered across the country. There are generally plenty to go around and one year does not usually define the quality of a program....either way.

My only concern is that I don't know that Gus is very good recruiter....we seem to be relying on the position coaches to do the work and secure the commitments ....and of course they also get the blame when a good prospect gets away. I find that troubling.

That's been pretty much the way recruiting is done since forever. The head coach is only allowed one in-home visit per recruit so it's pretty much up to the assistants to do the heavy lifting. That's at all schools, Auburn is in the same boat as everybody else. It seems like Gus is at one or more high school games every Friday night so I don't think he's sitting recruiting out.

[AUbritt 611]

If I'm a WR, I would be concerned about AU's overall passing philosophy. We have games like San Jose St where only 10 passes are thrown and then games like today that are much more receiver friendly plans. AU has a good passing QB it appears now, but we are supposedly looking at several dual-threat QB recruits. Will that mean going back to the 60-65 percent running offense we have done(quiet successfully) previously or try to be a more balanced offense it appeared AU was trying to be earlier in the season? I'm not trying to argue against AU, but most receivers want to be in an offense where the ball is thrown around.

Just playing devils's advocate here. We passed a lot more today, but I believe seeing stat say that we passed 2 out of 23 times on first down. That, to me at least, shows a coach who still doesn't want to use the pass unless he has to, even when we have a dynamite QB. Sure, when Wr are dropping passes as often as we were today you get a bit nervous, but running on 1st wasn't there until overtime, yet we kept trying to force it

I think Gus does that because, at heart, he is always going to be a run first guy who believes establishing the run is the most important thing you can do next to staying hydrated. I don't believe he's come to terms with the fact that, with our personnel, we should probably be more of a pass-oriented team this year. I keep getting frustrated because I feel like every first down play should be a pass play (for the most part). Not only are we more productive when we pass on first down (vs getting negative plays when we run on first down) but it opens up the run game in the long haul as well. I'm not saying Gus should abandon his philosophy, but he should tweak it a bit; you know, around the strengths of his team?

Ideally, we should make it so that the other team is guessing what we're going to do on first down. That's the situation Arky had us in early in the game; and they could do whatever they wanted on O. We shouldn't throw it on every first down; nor should we run it all the time. Other than the drops, the ratio Stat mentioned (only 2 throws on first down) is the most disappointing aspect of the O performance against Arky.

[AUbritt 611]

Any WR prospect that watched today's game and can catch a football should be begging to come to Auburn. Our QB is putting it right on the money and he'll be here for some years to come.

Well we know for a fact that Stove is frustrated with our offense. And some thinks he is wavering to Florida.

I haven't heard anything about that. Where are you hearing that?

I will say also, if you're a WR you have to like what Sean White is doing. And Lord, if you're an elite front seven guy on defense you have to be seeing early playing time and impact.

Agree with Mikey and Titan here -- I could actually see it helping recruiting. That's especially true on D, where CWM has proven he will play freshmen.

[AU64 10,122]

Guess it depends on the attitude of the recruit....does he want to go somewhere that allows him to make an impact...of just ride the success of other players who have already done the hard work ? Just from my observation there are only a handful of teams that are really good every year and yet the better players get pretty well scattered across the country. There are generally plenty to go around and one year does not usually define the quality of a program....either way.

My only concern is that I don't know that Gus is very good recruiter....we seem to be relying on the position coaches to do the work and secure the commitments ....and of course they also get the blame when a good prospect gets away. I find that troubling.

That's been pretty much the way recruiting is done since forever. The head coach is only allowed one in-home visit per recruit so it's pretty much up to the assistants to do the heavy lifting. That's at all schools, Auburn is in the same boat as everybody else. It seems like Gus is at one or more high school games every Friday night so I don't think he's sitting recruiting out.

I know he is out there talking to people......I'm just wondering if he can "seal the deal"... The Gus we see in press conferences just does not do much to inspire me....wonder how the recruits take to his approach?

Meanwhile isn't Thompson supposed to be a recruiting dynamo? is he doing anything to help our defensive recruiting? Never hear his name?

[Potatooooooes!! 1,370]

If I'm a WR, I would be concerned about AU's overall passing philosophy. We have games like San Jose St where only 10 passes are thrown and then games like today that are much more receiver friendly plans. AU has a good passing QB it appears now, but we are supposedly looking at several dual-threat QB recruits. Will that mean going back to the 60-65 percent running offense we have done(quiet successfully) previously or try to be a more balanced offense it appeared AU was trying to be earlier in the season? I'm not trying to argue against AU, but most receivers want to be in an offense where the ball is thrown around.

Just playing devils's advocate here. We passed a lot more today, but I believe seeing stat say that we passed 2 out of 23 times on first down. That, to me at least, shows a coach who still doesn't want to use the pass unless he has to, even when we have a dynamite QB. Sure, when Wr are dropping passes as often as we were today you get a bit nervous, but running on 1st wasn't there until overtime, yet we kept trying to force it

I think Gus does that because, at heart, he is always going to be a run first guy who believes establishing the run is the most important thing you can do next to staying hydrated. I don't believe he's come to terms with the fact that, with our personnel, we should probably be more of a pass-oriented team this year. I keep getting frustrated because I feel like every first down play should be a pass play (for the most part). Not only are we more productive when we pass on first down (vs getting negative plays when we run on first down) but it opens up the run game in the long haul as well. I'm not saying Gus should abandon his philosophy, but he should tweak it a bit; you know, around the strengths of his team?

Ideally, we should make it so that the other team is guessing what we're going to do on first down. That's the situation Arky had us in early in the game; and they could do whatever they wanted on O. We shouldn't throw it on every first down; nor should we run it all the time. Other than the drops, the ratio Stat mentioned (only 2 throws on first down) is the most disappointing aspect of the O performance against Arky.

Yeah. Didn't mean literally throw it on every 1st down, but we need to do it a heck of a lot more than we did and do, at least until, as you say, we become unpredictable again.

[Randman5000 4,226]

Any WR prospect that watched today's game and can catch a football should be begging to come to Auburn. Our QB is putting it right on the money and he'll be here for some years to come.

No kidding. Just show the kids the tape of the drops and say, we need you. You are the piece that's missing. They can contribute.

I'm not sure why they are waivering other than they don't want to go to a team with a poor record and who's last in the SEC. I guess I answered my own question

[AURandy56 148]

Here is my take on all this, and take it for what it's worth. These are my opinions and not facts or anything of that nature.

I know a lot of you don't like the comparison to anything with that program across the state, but it's inevitable. If you want to slam me, go ahead--I'm a big boy and can take it. After watching the heartbreaking loss yesterday, I turned over to watch the Turds and TN go at it, hoping upon hope that the Vols would pull the upset. I watched as this true freshman--Calvin Ridley--seemingly caught everything thrown his way, even having to leap to make catches. That coming after watching a senior---A SENIOR---drop balls that were basically handed to him by the QB. I watched as their Tight End--whom so many on here were just waiting for him to flip his commitment to AU from the Turds a few years ago--make catches and helping keep drives alive. Does AU even have a Tight End on it's roster? If I were a hot-shot high school Tight End recruit, the last place I would want to consider would be Auburn. We all watch game after game when AU has starts an offensive series, it's RB on a dive play. EVERY GAME, EVERY OFFENSIVE SERIES. So, AU usually starts 2nd and 9, or 10, maybe even 11 or worse. That puts the offense in a hole. Every opponent knows what AU is going to run on the first offensive play of it's offensive series.

We all watched a senior Linebacker get juked by a slow, white-boy pocket passer on crucial 3rd down play that was converted to first and 10. What the HELL? I am sure Kris Frost is a good person, but why is he in the game at all? Yes, he made that one interception, but he also cost AU a lot of ground by Arkansas by either whiffing on tackles or being out of position to make a tackle. Arkansas is not the only team he's been a negative factor on for AU. Practically every game, he's missed some tackles that could have helped the defense. Are the back-up Linebackers so much worse than that? There are posters on the different threads who are down on Muschamp, but for God's sake---look at what he's having to deal with?

Could this reflect on recruiting? Possibly, and most likely it will, maybe not on the recruits who are now committed, but those who may have had AU on their short-lists may be having 2nd thoughts. We all want to talk about Nick Saban being an a-hole, and he most likely is. I bet even most of his players think he's an a-hole. But, you know what---those guys put out for him. This brings up the point that has been posed by posters in other threads---is Gus too soft on these players? Recruits, whether realistically or not, have dreams of going to the NFL, even if it's for a year, maybe 2. They see that possibility at that other school across the state more than they see it at AU. I think we all thought when Chizik was fired and Gus came on, it would change. It doesn't appear that it has. Gus has been head coach for 3 years now, and how many AU players are being hyped for the NFL right now? Hell, I bet pro teams are already licking their chops to get ahold of Calvin Ridley and Minkah Fitzpatrick, and they're only freshmen. We have to deal with them at least 2 more years after this year. Remember last year's Iron Bowl when Roc Thomas failed to cover that lateral and Bama recovered? We never saw Roc the rest of the game. Why is it that when the AU senior receiver drops, what---5 easy catches--yet he's still in the game? Is the AU receiving corps that bad? Is it time to move these seniors out of the way and let the Freshmen and Sophomores start getting significant playing time and be ready for 2016?

Well, that's it. Go ahead and slam away at me. Like I stated earlier, I'm a big boy and can handle it. BTW, I am an AU sidewalk fan (yes, AU has sidewalk fans and a lot of them). I am not privy to any inside information or whatever. These are just my thoughts, and some are based on posts I've read in other threads.

[AuburnNTexas 7,133]

If record was only thing Tenn would never have a good class OLE Miss and Miss. State a few years ago were loosing consistently but turned it around recruiting. I am not naïve I recognize record will have an affect on some recruits, but PT on other recruits, Favorite school, Parents, coach, academics, type of offense, type of defense, etc.

A good recruiter will try and use the bad to look like a plus in recruiting.

[aujeff11 6,243]

Here is my take on all this, and take it for what it's worth. These are my opinions and not facts or anything of that nature.

I know a lot of you don't like the comparison to anything with that program across the state, but it's inevitable. If you want to slam me, go ahead--I'm a big boy and can take it. After watching the heartbreaking loss yesterday, I turned over to watch the Turds and TN go at it, hoping upon hope that the Vols would pull the upset. I watched as this true freshman--Calvin Ridley--seemingly caught everything thrown his way, even having to leap to make catches. That coming after watching a senior---A SENIOR---drop balls that were basically handed to him by the QB. I watched as their Tight End--whom so many on here were just waiting for him to flip his commitment to AU from the Turds a few years ago--make catches and helping keep drives alive. Does AU even have a Tight End on it's roster? If I were a hot-shot high school Tight End recruit, the last place I would want to consider would be Auburn. We all watch game after game when AU has starts an offensive series, it's RB on a dive play. EVERY GAME, EVERY OFFENSIVE SERIES. So, AU usually starts 2nd and 9, or 10, maybe even 11 or worse. That puts the offense in a hole. Every opponent knows what AU is going to run on the first offensive play of it's offensive series.

We all watched a senior Linebacker get juked by a slow, white-boy pocket passer on crucial 3rd down play that was converted to first and 10. What the HELL? I am sure Kris Frost is a good person, but why is he in the game at all? Yes, he made that one interception, but he also cost AU a lot of ground by Arkansas by either whiffing on tackles or being out of position to make a tackle. Arkansas is not the only team he's been a negative factor on for AU. Practically every game, he's missed some tackles that could have helped the defense. Are the back-up Linebackers so much worse than that? There are posters on the different threads who are down on Muschamp, but for God's sake---look at what he's having to deal with?

Could this reflect on recruiting? Possibly, and most likely it will, maybe not on the recruits who are now committed, but those who may have had AU on their short-lists may be having 2nd thoughts. We all want to talk about Nick Saban being an a-hole, and he most likely is. I bet even most of his players think he's an a-hole. But, you know what---those guys put out for him. This brings up the point that has been posed by posters in other threads---is Gus too soft on these players? Recruits, whether realistically or not, have dreams of going to the NFL, even if it's for a year, maybe 2. They see that possibility at that other school across the state more than they see it at AU. I think we all thought when Chizik was fired and Gus came on, it would change. It doesn't appear that it has. Gus has been head coach for 3 years now, and how many AU players are being hyped for the NFL right now? Hell, I bet pro teams are already licking their chops to get ahold of Calvin Ridley and Minkah Fitzpatrick, and they're only freshmen. We have to deal with them at least 2 more years after this year. Remember last year's Iron Bowl when Roc Thomas failed to cover that lateral and Bama recovered? We never saw Roc the rest of the game. Why is it that when the AU senior receiver drops, what---5 easy catches--yet he's still in the game? Is the AU receiving corps that bad? Is it time to move these seniors out of the way and let the Freshmen and Sophomores start getting significant playing time and be ready for 2016?

Well, that's it. Go ahead and slam away at me. Like I stated earlier, I'm a big boy and can handle it. BTW, I am an AU sidewalk fan (yes, AU has sidewalk fans and a lot of them). I am not privy to any inside information or whatever. These are just my thoughts, and some are based on posts I've read in other threads.

Anybody with any sense recognizes Saban has set the standard nation wide. How else do you think he has achieved the prolonged success he has experienced? Notwithstanding the success, Saban is still willing to fine tune his game. Just from my own collection, he has shared notes with Tom Herman, Kiffin, and Peyton Manning, all in exchange for info on the no huddle/ spread offenses. That is something that we desperately need Malzahn to do. Put the pride aside.

And yes, Saban is an a hole. But the players know that he will put them in the league. He doesn't have to put up with prima donna players because there are players just as good sitting on the bench. I used to think that once we get a depth chart, that then Gus could toughen up the players a bit. But now I don't even know if we will get there with all the jucos we sign every year, and with the lack of development that equates to no depth at all.