auburnphan 6,050 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Mikey, you have earned that right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm_FleX48 1,869 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Whatever the thought process, we are here now and that's really the final fact of the matter. If you would have asked Auburn's personnel dept when I decided to walk on, WR and RB were the positions of need and LB was just fine. Now if that was further from the truth, especially based on what I've seen here, then it would seem to be very tough.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnphan 6,050 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Whatever the thought process, we are here now and that's really the final fact of the matter. If you would have asked Auburn's personnel dept when I decided to walk on, WR and RB were the positions of need and LB was just fine. Now if that was further from the truth, especially based on what I've seen here, then it would seem to be very tough.... wish we had you, your understanding of the game would have been great for the entire LB depth chart and most likely have helped us out on the field. regardless, you are proving to be a person that has a future in coaching and understanding X's and O's. best of luck to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roe4christ 940 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I tend to agree that we signed one LB in this class, will likely add T.J. Neal as a GT, and with the other LB's already on the team (albeit young), we should be fine this year (with the improved DL) unless we are really decimated by the injury bug at this position. 2016 LB class was weaker than in previous years, but 2017 class has a lot of good talent and we are in on a few of them early. I would think, we will look to add at least 3 in next years class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cole256 17,080 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Immediate help is not our main problem at LB. In five of the last six years both our quality and quantity of linebacker recruits has been well into the area of "dismal". If year in and year out the linebacker corps isn't maintained with enough good prospects then the heart and what's normally the leadership of the defense is missing. To have an outstanding defense requires outstanding linebackers and we haven't been getting enough of them. This year, four linebacker prospects listed in Alabama's top twenty players went to out-of-state power-5 schools. One to Florida, two to MSU and one to Louisville. We should have had some open lines of communication with these guys so that when we, predictably, whiffed on the top five in the nation types that we were after we could have brought some of these guys in here and worked with them. I'm not familiar with Louisville's linebacker situation. Both Florida and Mississippi State are better than us at linebacker and they wanted these kids. That tells me these in-state prospects would have helped us as well. Another way to count is that seven of the state's top twenty players were linebackers and we managed to sign one. That's (1). Does anyone think that's just fine and dandy? I often hear the comment (whine) that certain other schools "are loaded at linebacker and they just keep stockpiling them!" Yes "they" do. You'll also notice that the schools that keep on stockpiling linebackers have the outstanding defenses. The two factors are related. Mikey I love you to death but there is a reason AU and uat passed on these kids. AU only signed 1 Lber because 2016 Lber class sucked. I agree with Mikey. Florida and miss st best linebackers are guys we didn't think were too high of a priority. We have to do a better job evaluating. Yeah there will be misses but missing guys two or three classes in a row will get you really in a bad situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keesler 5,924 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 AU needs stability in the coaching staff first and foremost. My dad used to say a rolling stone gathers no moss.......Top shelf LBs will go to a proven commodity before they'll chance going to a program that's seen 5 DCs in 6 years. If my son's a 5* LB getting recruited by the Big 6 powerhouses, I'm helping him narrow down his choices to the programs that have consistantly fielded a top defense and the programs that have proven they know how to develop his skills. Personally I'll never have worry about my son getting any attention - he's a 17 yr old 5'11" ~ 170lb saftey at a tiny private school that demonstrates better bow hunting and fishing skills than football. It is what it is - he's a good kid that's willing to work hard but he isn't a top athlete and he's fine with that, so he gravitates to the outdoors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey 16,602 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 AU needs stability in the coaching staff first and foremost. My dad used to say a rolling stone gathers no moss.......Top shelf LBs will go to a proven commodity before they'll chance going to a program that's seen 5 DCs in 6 years. Last year with a new LB coach and new DC we signed five 4* LB's. Two were later moved to safety but all five were listed and recruited as linebackers. It looks like if there's an emphasis put on the position stability doesn't matter. It was posted that we recently went through a four-year period in which we signed a total of seven linebackers. That can't be blamed on instability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autan 737 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Apparently we passed on some quality guys thinking we would beat UAT out for a couple of 5* guys. Played right into Sabans hands once again. Hope 3* Threat is better than expected. A friend told me he was only third best LB on his HS team. Friend is a Bammer so I'm not putting much stock in that. Have also heard Tre is a very underrated athlete, so I guess we'll see soon enough. I would imagine he'll be red-shirted or play mostly special teams. Hope he surprises a lot of folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey 16,602 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Apparently we passed on some quality guys thinking we would beat UAT out for a couple of 5* guys. Played right into Sabans hands once again. Hope 3* Threat is better than expected. A friend told me he was only third best LB on his HS team. Friend is a Bammer so I'm not putting much stock in that. Have also heard Tre is a very underrated athlete, so I guess we'll see soon enough. I would imagine he'll be red-shirted or play mostly special teams. Hope he surprises a lot of folks. I believe Threat is a solid prospect with a good chance to help the team. The problem is we needed to sign three more just like him and we whiffed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keesler 5,924 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 AU needs stability in the coaching staff first and foremost. My dad used to say a rolling stone gathers no moss.......Top shelf LBs will go to a proven commodity before they'll chance going to a program that's seen 5 DCs in 6 years. Last year with a new LB coach and new DC we signed five 4* LB's. Two were later moved to safety but all five were listed and recruited as linebackers. It looks like if there's an emphasis put on the position stability doesn't matter. It was posted that we recently went through a four-year period in which we signed a total of seven linebackers. That can't be blamed on instability. You're right - I change my opinion on the stability issue then. I hope the recruiting strategy shifts to focus more on LBs and we see an improvement. I've said a hundred times, Gus is still learning on the job - given time and experience he'll see where our deficiencies are and adjust accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayH4AU 1 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Ben Davis . Wish we could've got him but I think we all knew he was Bama all the way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUld fAUx@ 2,584 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 I tend to agree that we signed one LB in this class, will likely add T.J. Neal as a GT, and with the other LB's already on the team (albeit young), we should be fine this year (with the improved DL) unless we are really decimated by the injury bug at this position. 2016 LB class was weaker than in previous years, but 2017 class has a lot of good talent and we are in on a few of them early. I would think, we will look to add at least 3 in next years class. Looks like tentative decision date from Mr. Neal @ 20 Feb. http://www.bluegolds...ouncement-date/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Eye 7 2,535 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 I really think the reason that the coaches put in the time with Davis is that he really wanted to play hear but his mom had other ideas. While I think his dad wanted him to play at uat, I think he was willing to give him a chance to play where he wanted to . You could tell his mom was uat all the way at the presser. I think the coaches made good efforts even though the deck was stacked against us to begin with. I don't think we are that bad off. If we do go to a 3-4 then those OLB will probably be more like Stand up DE's at least on one side. You may see some DE's in those positions.May even move a DE to the ILB position. Just my thoughts. WDE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuburnSpider 2 Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 We have STUNK so long at LB the cream ain't interested. AND I DONT BLAME THEM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburn4ever 1,266 Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 Strategy? was 2015 a season full of strategy? if so, then Gus needs to change his strategy for 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURex 1,998 Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 So, just out of curiosity -- Frost and McKinzy are both invited to the NFL combine. If Auburn sux so bad at LB, why were they invited? Has the problem been talent and ability? Or is it scheme and teamwork? Or are we blaming it all on defensive coaching turnover? Or is this all about CGM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm_FleX48 1,869 Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 So, just out of curiosity -- Frost and McKinzy are both invited to the NFL combine. If Auburn sux so bad at LB, why were they invited? Has the problem been talent and ability? Or is it scheme and teamwork? Or are we blaming it all on defensive coaching turnover? Or is this all about CGM? Frost and McKinzy, regardless of how Auburn was in terms of their LB play, were a very good tandem at the position. Not the best, though they were good. Frost benefited from McKinzy's play and McKinzy thrived by Frost covering his weaknesses in coverage. Also the combine is typically a place for either "Really good prospects" that scouts want to see more of just to validate their thoughts, or "Possibly intriguing prospects" that the scouts want to see to figure out whether they missed something or possibly want to write them off of the list completely. Several athletes, good and not so good get invited. If your name sticks out even slightly and you attend a major school, or your name sticks out because you dominated, you get a combine invite. The problem is that outside of Frost and McKinzy, LB play and prospects are very sparse in quality from the general view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey 16,602 Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 So, just out of curiosity -- Frost and McKinzy are both invited to the NFL combine. If Auburn sux so bad at LB, why were they invited? Has the problem been talent and ability? Or is it scheme and teamwork? Or are we blaming it all on defensive coaching turnover? Or is this all about CGM? My guess is they were invited because of their measurables. They both have good size and run well. They played the position poorly while at Auburn but their physical stats earned them a fast look. Neither has the instinct to get to the ball but whether or not that becomes obvious at the combine is a good question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyAU 3,630 Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 These guys also had to play under 3-4 DC's during their time at Auburn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meh130 1,043 Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 I am concerned by the lack of depth at LB, but the AL.com article is flawed for two reasons. One, if we go to a 3-4 style front out of a hybrid 4-3/4-3 defense, that means the weakside defensive end plays standing up (i.e., Muschamp's "Buck" role). The weakside OLB in the 3-4 front comes from the weakside defensive end depth, not the linebacker depth. The second thing is, all teams play so much nickel now, the starting strong side LB has essentially become a situational or second string player. Your third best LB in a 4-3 is likely to be on the field as a backup inside LB, rather than playing Sam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meh130 1,043 Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 So, just out of curiosity -- Frost and McKinzy are both invited to the NFL combine. If Auburn sux so bad at LB, why were they invited? Has the problem been talent and ability? Or is it scheme and teamwork? Or are we blaming it all on defensive coaching turnover? Or is this all about CGM? Best comment I heard from a sports reporter: "The NFL is a developmental league." The comment was meant to point out not every player comes out of college NFL-ready. There is no minor league in football, like baseball, with the demise of NFL Europe, However the 53-player roster limit and 10-player practice squad means each NFL team has 17 players who are not on the game day roster. This means 27% of the paid players on the combined 63-player payroll are players the team is developing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keesler 5,924 Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Some college programs act like they're NFL far teams. Not us....... but some look and play like they're NFL ready and jump to the pro's after their Jr year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VipersStrike1 230 Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 While we all would have liked to have signed more LB's this class, the odds of any of the them having significant contributions to the 2016 season was slim. So if you give it your best and can't get the ones you want there is no point in signing a LB or 2 just to have them. We'll see how you feel going into 2018/2019. You'll be that guy complaining why we didn't sign a LB or 2 back in 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMassie11 1,610 Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 Remember the name bc I think Paul James will have a monster year at LB....honestly think about it....a front 4 of Lawson, Adams,Russell,Cowart....then add James on the edge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randman5000 4,228 Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 Remember the name bc I think Paul James will have a monster year at LB....honestly think about it....a front 4 of Lawson, Adams,Russell,Cowart....then add James on the edge I think Jeff Holland is going to have a monster year..the guy has range and can rush the passer. Our answer to not getting Evans. Just need a few more like him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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