Soph Movement.

[The Plainsman 948]

Listed Starters-

QB- White- Soph

RB- Johnson and Pettway- Soph

HB-Cox- Soph

Z Receiver- R.Davis- Soph

Slot- Truitt- Soph  

The future is Now...   

[AUwent 3,753]

I'll say it again, depending on if we can get Stidham (him and Barrett=AWESOME QB depth) and who we start on the OL after this year, things are pointing towards 2018 being a very good year.

[ellitor 33,094]

32 underclassmen on the 2 deep.

[War Knight 514]

6 hours ago, ellitor said:

32 underclassmen on the 2 deep.

Historically isn't that a sign of a rough year but with a promising future? Since the departure of Tre Mason I have felt like Auburn has been missing a true leadership role. I do think, on top of the sophmores mentioned, there are some freshman that will pass them with time.

[abw0004 10,119]

Good reason why I disagree with the whole "Gus is on the hot seat" talk.  A lot of freshmen played last year.  With all of this experience from last year as well as this year means a bright future.  You can't discredit a coach for one year of work with freshmen.  They were still fresh out of high school.

[ellitor 33,094]

7 hours ago, ellitor said:

32 underclassmen on the 2 deep.

correction 36 on O & D

[McLoofus 35,182]

28 minutes ago, War Knight said:

Historically isn't that a sign of a rough year but with a promising future? Since the departure of Tre Mason I have felt like Auburn has been missing a true leadership role. I do think, on top of the sophmores mentioned, there are some freshman that will pass them with time.

 

5 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

Good reason why I disagree with the whole "Gus is on the hot seat" talk.  A lot of freshmen played last year.  With all of this experience from last year as well as this year means a bright future.  You can't discredit a coach for one year of work with freshmen.  They were still fresh out of high school.

Yup. A lot of the sophomores have already contributed. We still skew low on experience but it's better this year than last and the next couple years should only continue that trend.

That is not a "just wait till next year" post, though. Last year was for that.

[ellitor 33,094]

9 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

Good reason why I disagree with the whole "Gus is on the hot seat" talk.  A lot of freshmen played last year.  With all of this experience from last year as well as this year means a bright future.  You can't discredit a coach for one year of work with freshmen.  They were still fresh out of high school.

Of the 16 Sophs on the 2 deep only 8 had quality PT last year. If JJ did not feel the need to stabilize the HC sitch at AU the seat could be pretty warm. As is, it likely is not as hot as national guys think barring a collapse of a season.

[AU64 10,122]

4 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Of the 16 Sophs on the 2 deep only 8 had quality PT last year. If JJ did not feel the need to stabilize the HC sitch at AU the seat could be pretty warm. As is, it likely is not as hot as national guys think barring a collapse of a season.

JMO but it's more a matter of how the team plays and not just W-L.  It is a young team and a tough schedule.  I'm just thinking that what matters most is the team playing hard all season long and playing pretty good fundamental ball.

[AUsince72 11,084]

3 minutes ago, AU64 said:

JMO but it's more a matter of how the team plays and not just W-L.  It is a young team and a tough schedule.  I'm just thinking that what matters most is the team playing hard all season long and playing pretty good fundamental ball.

To piggy-back on your post, I think THAT is what saved Gus from truly having a hot seat this year.  Aside from a couple "marketing" blunders with his letting the JJ for Heisman talk get out of hand and, perhaps, overplaying the Mushamp hand a bit, the team actually responded well to adversity ie: QB who just didn't perform (especially early) and a defense who most obviously lost it's inspiration once CL went down.  Their record wasn't pleasing and they lost to all the wrong teams but, as has been stated on this forum by many posters, the players played their guts out all year *cough* forget LSU *cough*... THAT is a good statement on the head coach....just ask Chizik.

Thus, if his players continue to play just as hard for him this year, they're BOUND to have some better results but even if the record is only marginally better, however we all see the same effort, heart, and desire (and much better play calling offensively) I think Gus is setting things up for a good run.  The key?  He is admittedly OTJT.  So, is he LEARNING from that OTJT?  This year will be very telling.  But I'm optimistic!  Hey, football's meant to be fun afterall....  I hate "hating" football!

[aucanucktiger 1,794]

This thread topic is why, assuming the coaching staff stays intact, NEXT year is our year - notwithstanding a couple impact players leaving early after this season.

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 hour ago, AUsince72 said:

To piggy-back on your post, I think THAT is what saved Gus from truly having a hot seat this year.  Aside from a couple "marketing" blunders with his letting the JJ for Heisman talk get out of hand and, perhaps, overplaying the Mushamp hand a bit, the team actually responded well to adversity ie: QB who just didn't perform (especially early) and a defense who most obviously lost it's inspiration once CL went down.  Their record wasn't pleasing and they lost to all the wrong teams but, as has been stated on this forum by many posters, the players played their guts out all year *cough* forget LSU *cough*... THAT is a good statement on the head coach....just ask Chizik.

Thus, if his players continue to play just as hard for him this year, they're BOUND to have some better results but even if the record is only marginally better, however we all see the same effort, heart, and desire (and much better play calling offensively) I think Gus is setting things up for a good run.  The key?  He is admittedly OTJT.  So, is he LEARNING from that OTJT?  This year will be very telling.  But I'm optimistic!  Hey, football's meant to be fun afterall....  I hate "hating" football!

I like these thoughts very hard. 

[Budapesttiger 2]

Some of those sophomores are RS. So, this is their third year on campus. I think a team can do better these days with underclassmen than they could 20 years ago. We also have experience spread into each position group - D line and O line especially. As long as the upperclassmen stay vocal and lead, we'll be ok.

 

These days the progression is sort of like:

First year on campus - red shirt or play sparingly

Second year on campus  - play a lot, get good reps

Third year - break out, be dependable

fourth year - be a star or be replaced by a second year guy

[AUsince72 11,084]

25 minutes ago, Budapesttiger said:

Some of those sophomores are RS. So, this is their third year on campus. I think a team can do better these days with underclassmen than they could 20 years ago. We also have experience spread into each position group - D line and O line especially. As long as the upperclassmen stay vocal and lead, we'll be ok.

 

These days the progression is sort of like:

First year on campus - red shirt or play sparingly

Second year on campus  - play a lot, get good reps

Third year - break out (and leave early) , be dependable

fourth year - be a star or be replaced by a second year guy

This is very true indeed.  Part of that is because so many who "break out" in their 3rd year aren't around in the 4th year.  30 or so years ago, underclassmen leaving wasn't so prevalent as it is today.  ...and the ones who DID leave early were Legendary players.  Not meant as a knock but now you have guys like Peyton Barber or Darvin Adams (did he even get drafted?) leaving early etc.  Teams just cannot count on getting 4-5 years out of a player and now they're getting blind-sided by players leaving who probably SHOULDN'T be leaving early....so you're seeing less and less red-shirting and more and more underclassmen making an impact.  10 years from now, if a player is a senior it probably means he sucks and is on the bench anyway....  J/K...well, maybe...

Heck...it wasn't THAT long ago that freshmen hardly played at all, if any.  Do they even HAVE JV teams anymore??

[Tiger 8,827]

It will go a looonnnggg way in helping these guys that the OP listed play older than they are if the defense can live up to what we think they can be.

 

It has been almost a decade, but this could be the year where we finally have our defense assist us in winning games again. I may cry nostalgic tears if the D is our strength. Gus + helpful defense = scary potential. Shoot, if we just get into the top 7 in SEC scoring defense that will massive.

[steeleagle 2,945]

I think this year's success totally hinges on the QB play, solid D, and no key injuries.

The QB play would also help if the WRs are in sync and the FR produce. If we see mistakes in the passing game it may not just be the fault of the QB, but inexperience in the WRs making the QB look bad...

If they get Stidham, and our QB play never helps us win some games, or is the cause for losing some key games, then NEXT year will be a much better year for the offense with these SOPHs being more experienced as well as the WRs...

[ellitor 33,094]

44 minutes ago, Tiger said:

It has been almost a decade, but this could be the year where we finally have our defense assist us in winning games again. I may cry nostalgic tears if the D is our strength. Gus + helpful defense = scary potential. Shoot, if we just get into the top 7 in SEC scoring defense that will massive.

They will almost have to this season.

[IronMan70 3,277]

It's good we have a lot of young talent hitting the field because it shows our excellent recruiting is bearing fruit. It bodes well for the future. But we also need to take advantage of the talent we have on the OL and DL  this year, as in right now, before we will lose them next year.