Players leaving

[alexava 6,974]

You don't be a Mr basketball in the state and you're uncoordinated

Another point.. If you look at last year's games, he definitely was not uncoordinated with his moves, this year, most of that seemingly uncoordinated movement came from being somewhat unsure of himself from what it seemed.

that is a big BINGO!

It was clearly that. He had plays where he ran around bought time and made throws....He fumbled either against jax st or LSU. I don't think it was ruled a fumble but after that he was through.

it was LSU. Totally unforced error. Probably building from two bad games. He was through. I think pulling him sooner was the only way that could have saved him. he didn't appear much different when he came back. But I agree he is not uncoordinated. He is overthinking. In the Uga game he ran a keeper around the left and had a good chance to make a first down and just fell. That is just plain pressing too hard and not trusting yourself to let it happen.

[Tiger 8,833]

I thought he looked scared and uncomfortable. People will disagree but imo contact made him stop playing to win and started thinking about what it would feel like to be hit. He fell short awkwardly multiple times short of the 1st down with contact coming. Whatever the reason was for his timidness thats not what I want in my QB.

Contrast it with the other QB we saw who stayed in the pocket till the last second to deliver a ball or sometimes (not smartly) taking unnecessary contact while running. I'd rather have the latter because it gives you a better chance to keep drives going.

JJ seriously looked like he thought he was Nick Marshall's size when he ran and that any sort of contact would break him. Even on his best run vs LSU he kept looking back instead of just running. How many times could he have just continued running forward and taken a little contact, or even just slid to get the first but he decided to either crumble to the ground before getting to the marker or all of a sudden try to go east/west only to get stopped short? JJ was thinking too much about contact IMO and prioritized that over making winning plays. I know some will disagree but thats fine as its just my opinion and we will never know where his mind was at. No QBs likes to get hit, but good QBs don't allow the prospect of getting affect their ability to get the job done.

[War Knight 514]

Please let him leave. It would really be best for both sides. Too big to play so soft. Too good of an arm to throw straight to LBs.

[Tiger 8,833]

Please let him leave. It would really be best for both sides. Too big to play so soft. Too good of an arm to throw straight to LBs.

Thats bottom line how I feel too lol

[cole256 17,084]

I could agree with that if he had played two hand touch his entire life and this was his first season ever getting tackled...But if it's not that it doesn't make sense to me at all. Also coming to conclusions like that from around 5 plays for each qb doesn't make sense to me

[tiger88 934]

I kind of hope JJ stays. If sw gets hurt again or turns out to not be the guy, and no one else steps up (A freshman, a qb coming off of tommy john surgery with no experience, and a completely wild card 185 lb juco with practically no pt under his belt anywhere are our current options other than JJ.), who the heck else would play qb?

JJ definitely has big flaws, but if he keeps improving, worst case scenario he would be a good emergency backup.

I have little faith in our O without a stud qb in place since we saw how Gus and rl looked this year when caught off guard. Let's just pray someone steps up as a world beater and stays healthy.

[Tiger 8,833]

I could agree with that if he had played two hand touch his entire life and this was his first season ever getting tackled...But if it's not that it doesn't make sense to me at all. Also coming to conclusions like that from around 5 plays for each qb doesn't make sense to me

I know we disagree here, which is fine not trying to change your opinion but I can see how getting hit by SEC defenses feels a little different than HS defenses where he was bigger than 98% of the kids. I don't think its far fetched to say he shied away from contact on multiple different occasions when just taking some contact would have resulted in a positive play for AU. Just curious if you didn't see those plays or you dont think that constitutes him being scared of big boy football contact because its not like we are expecting him to truck MLBs but these were DBs hes physically bigger than that caused him to think twice about getting the extra needed yardage

[AUBehaviorScientist 0]

I don't understand all of this hate on Johnson. How many quarterbacks have we seen improve after an offseason? I can think of 3 in the last 15 years: Campbell (god awful in 03, and a first round pick in 04), Todd (awful in 08, broke records in 09), and Marshall (couldn't hit the side of a barn in 13, and improved dramatically in 14). Johnson's problems are potentially correctable. He primarily just needs to learn how to deal with pressure. That is something that can potentially be worked on in the offseason assuming we hire a competent qb coach.

[Tiger 8,833]

I agree in that its fixable. We also saw Ben Leard play very poorly after Dameyune Craig's eligibility ran out only for Leatd to become a very solid QB for AU

[AUwent 3,778]

I don't understand all of this hate on Johnson. How many quarterbacks have we seen improve after an offseason? I can think of 3 in the last 15 years: Campbell (god awful in 03, and a first round pick in 04), Todd (awful in 08, broke records in 09), and Marshall (couldn't hit the side of a barn in 13, and improved dramatically in 14). Johnson's problems are potentially correctable. He primarily just needs to learn how to deal with pressure. That is something that can potentially be worked on in the offseason assuming we hire a competent qb coach.

Marshall may not have passed much in '13, but he was absolutely clutch.

[tiger88 934]

I don't understand all of this hate on Johnson. How many quarterbacks have we seen improve after an offseason? I can think of 3 in the last 15 years: Campbell (god awful in 03, and a first round pick in 04), Todd (awful in 08, broke records in 09), and Marshall (couldn't hit the side of a barn in 13, and improved dramatically in 14). Johnson's problems are potentially correctable. He primarily just needs to learn how to deal with pressure. That is something that can potentially be worked on in the offseason assuming we hire a competent qb coach.

Marshall may not have passed much in '13, but he was absolutely clutch.

Passing was far from his strong suit either year at AU, but the above reference to the side of a barn is ridiculous. He improved noticeably in 2014, but yo say "dramatically" is over the top as well. For the record, I am a big NM fan, ghen and now.

[Wareagle1092 0]

The Birmingham Bowl will be the last game for Auburn's 17 seniors but several other players could also be making their final appearances for the Tigers before declaring for this year's NFL Draft.

Offensive tackles Shon Coleman and Avery Young, defensive end Carl Lawson, defensive tackle Montravius Adams and safety Rudy Ford are among Auburn's top draft-eligible underclassmen.

Earlier this month, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn "a few" players submitted their paperwork to the NFL's College Advisory Committee but refused to provide names.

Coleman, a junior, confirmed on Monday that he was among those to submit paperwork for his evaluation. He was a second-team All-SEC selection by league's coaches and recently completed his graduate degree.

The 6-foot-6, 313-pound left tackle is ranked the No. 5 offensive tackle in the 2017 draft class by NFLDraftScout.com, which has all four of the players rated ahead of him projected as first or second-round picks in this year's Draft.

Coleman is over five years removed from being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The Memphis native beat the disease and recovered his strength before debuting against Arkansas State in 2013 and is in line to make his 32nd career appearance with his 25th start on Wednesday.

Young is ranked No. 15 among offensive tackles in the 2017 draft class by NFLDraftScout.com. The fourth-year junior sought his evaluation from the NFL last year, though it's unclear whether he has done so again.

Last month, Young said he had "not at all" considered his plans for next season.

"Anything can happen," Young said following the Idaho game on Nov. 21. "I don't want to say I'm going to do this and do that, and then something happens to me and then everything goes downhill."

Young, who has started 11 games at right tackle this season, was injured during the first half of the Iron Bowl but was practicing with the first-team offensive line on Sunday. He started all 13 games in 2014, making appearances at both guard positions and right tackle, where he also started the final nine games in 2013.

Both Coleman and Young were ranked among the top four tackles in the SEC this season by Pro Football Focus.

Neither has discussed future plans much with their teammates.

"This game will determine if they stay or go and how well they do," center Devonte Danzey said. "When that time comes, it'll come."

NFLDraftScout.com ranks Lawson, a third-year sophomore, as the No. 2 defensive end in the 2018 draft class.

Lawson has 14 tackles with one sack and 10 hurries in six games this season, which saw the former five-star recruit miss six and a half games with a hip injury suffered in the first half of the season opener. The 6-foot-2, 257-pound Lawson missed the 2014 season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Adams is ranked the No. 15 defensive tackle and projected as fifth-round pick in this year's Draft by NFLDraftScout.com, which has the 6-foot-4, 296-pound junior as the No. 6 DT in the 2017 draft class. He has 42 tackles with two sacks and two forced fumbles this season.

Neither Adams nor Lawson has been available for interviews, which Auburn cancelled on Monday.

Senior linebacker Justin Garrett said he has spoken with Lawson and Adams about their futures.

"I told them just keep praying about it and talk to your family and do what's best for you," Garrett said. "It's a great feeling to come back your senior year and you have a chance to be a captain, have a chance to experience a lot of things. ... You can go out on a high note and have a better season, have a chance to play for an SEC Championship and all those dreams and goals that you dreamed about."

Ford, who had led Auburn in tackles each of the last two years, is the top-ranked free safety in the 2017 draft class by NFLDraftScout.com.

However, historically the NFL has a lesser value of the position and it leads to fewer players being drafted. NFLDraftScout.com currently projects just 14 free safeties to be selected or end up as undrafted free agents this year, with just two projected as high as the second round.

The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the 2016 NFL Draft is Jan. 18 and schools are limited to five players who can seek draft evaluations from the NFL, which changed its ratings system last year to assess underclassmen as either potential first-round picks, potential second-round picks or neither.

According to the NFL, the College Advisory Committee evaluated 149 underclassmen and 53 declared for last year's draft.

[AUpreacherman22 3,899]

Great Info Wareagle1092, thanks for sharing!

I would love to see all 5 of those guys come back for one more round. I honestly think that a solid year for AU in 2016 will help their draft stock. And obviously, all of them staying would help make 2016 a solid year. I'm sure the DC hire will be a factor for those 3 defensive guys.

[C'viewTiger 242]

I think if we could get the majority of those guys back, we would see enough continuity to allow for player development prior to being thrown in the fire. I think some of our problems this year was due to youth regardless of if we want to believe it or not. Keeping these guys around for an additional year will enable the younger guys to develop and build depth.

[Maverick.AU 13,281]

From draftinsiders.net: Told Carl Lawson/DL/Auburn will enter the draft. Father vetting agents and telling people son is leaving for the NFL.

[AUwent 3,778]

^As he probably should. Why anyone would want to stay for next year's train wreck is beyond me.

[Maverick.AU 13,281]

Also from draft insiders: Also told Montravius Adams/Auburn considering entering the draft but most of the feedback thus far recommends he returns for senior season.

[cole256 17,084]

Well damn

[AUwent 3,778]

So that (probably) gives us Adams returning. Hopefully one of Young and Coleman returns, along with the others.

[aujeff11 6,243]

Carl Lawson just tweeted this:

"whoever said I'm declaring has really bad sources and was just anxious for a story. Like what? I'm going to say that at halftime of a game"

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

Lawson just tweeted this:

whoever said I'm declaring has really bad sources and was just anxious for a story. Like what? I'm going to say that at halftime of a game

https://twitter.com/...591210398179329

Sounds like a guy who hasn't decided anything yet.

[AuburnNTexas 7,211]

Lawson has a tough decision go now and not be drafted high because of injury concerns but still make good money or comeback have a great year and get drafted high but also could get hurt again and maybe not even get drafted. I aam leaning toward him leaving but would not be surprised if he returns.

Coleman has both a BS and MS degree and will probably go at least third Round or better I think he will go.

Adams is only projected as 5th Round I think he will come back to improve his status.

Young is hard to predict he will be a late rounder if he comes out this year or if he comes out next year. It will be a purely personal decision.

My predictions based on my personal opinion and no inside knowledge:

Lawson goes

Coleman goes

Young stays ( not sure why I feel this way)

Adams returns

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

Coleman is gone.

Adams stays.

Young stays.

Lawson stays.

[TexasTiger 13,278]

^As he probably should. Why anyone would want to stay for next year's train wreck is beyond me.

Then why are you staying around here?

[AuburnNTexas 7,211]

^As he probably should. Why anyone would want to stay for next year's train wreck is beyond me.

Then why are you staying around here?

Thank you