To those that are disappointed

[Dlewis23 0]

I know alot of people are a little bit disappointed with the lack of big name recruits committing, but I would not worry about it that much. I am not into recruiting like a lot of you, but I do truct CTT and this statement here: "We wanted to save a few for next year because next year's going to be a real good year in the state," he said. But, he added, because of the publicity surrounding the 13-0 record "a lot more doors were open across the country." Gives me confidence. .We filled a lot of needs. Everyone is talking about what a landmark decision Matt Leinart made by coming back, but With Dansby and Thomas, and Cadillac Ronnie and Carlos. That is kind of expected here. And now with Marcus we not only have depth that alot of other schools don't, but the guys coming back offer something that incoming frosh dont. Leadership. Tennessee has a very young team and gets a lot of big name recriuts, but what they lacked this year was leadership( and an adequate secondary ). Everyone around here(TTown) keeps telling me how Auburn's gonna fall off, but I am excited as anyone about the 2005 season.

Recriting question for those in the know: What is the offensive lineman's name from Birmingham who many say could possibly be the top prospect of 2006? What is the probability that he goes to or or leaves the state?

[RollTideRollUA 0]

his name is andre smith i think, and he plays for huffman high. he is the cousing of bama's dominic lee, but nobody knows which school he favors at the moment. my guess is he definitely goes to one of the big two in-state.

[Dlewis23 0]

I recently heard he dominated a camp and his name now carries a buzz

[AuNuma1 1]

Why don't we at least wait until AFTER the kids get their chance to sign their name before we get "disappointed"?

[Dlewis23 0]

Hey Numa, Not disappointed in the class as a whole.Honestly not disappointed in the class at all. I was mainly talking about the lack of 'star' power that some of the recruits carry. They are all apprecaited for choosing the tigers and all are capable of doing big things, but the superficiality(that really is a word) of the star rankings and the expectations following an undefeated season is more of what I'm addressing. Also as Bryan Matthews stated, Many top name recruits have an idea by the end of their Jr. year where they want to go. We were in the midst of a turmoil during their Jr. year so we were behind with alot of top recruits. Now an undefeated season at the end of the class of 2006's Jr. year looks very good and creates optimism when the state is projected to be loaded with talent next year.

[WarDlowe 39]

I think that the problem that we are having with the "lack of star power" as it has been put is the stereotype that many in this state have about us. Most UATers believe that next year they will have Broadway Brodie back and will miraculously go to Atlanta and beyond, while we are losing so many people we will be lucky to come in 3rd in the SEC and that "our year" is now over. I don't buy it because 1) we are obviously better coached than UAT and 2) we still have some depth at positions, have a good O-line, and some promises at other positions that will not make us fall off because they will be well coached. Just look at our "no name defense" from this year. I think that many of these recruits unfortunately might see this BS of a stereotype, but to the outside eye looking in it could be true. I think that WHEN (not if) we have another great year next year, all those raised eyebrows will lower and people will see us as a true upper-tier NCAA team. Just my 2 cents in this narrative of a post. War Eagle!

[GalensGhost 0]

I think that the problem that we are having with the "lack of star power" as it has been put is the stereotype that many in this state have about us.  Most UATers believe that next year they will have Broadway Brodie back and will miraculously go to Atlanta and beyond, while we are losing so many people we will be lucky to come in 3rd in the SEC and that "our year" is now over.  I don't buy it because 1) we are obviously better coached than UAT and 2) we still have some depth at positions, have a good O-line, and some promises at other positions that will not make us fall off because they will be well coached.  Just look at our "no name defense" from this year.  I think that many of these recruits unfortunately might see this BS of a stereotype, but to the outside eye looking in it could be true.  I think that WHEN (not if)  we have another great year next year, all those raised eyebrows will lower and people will see us as a true upper-tier NCAA team.  Just my 2 cents in this narrative of a post.  War Eagle!

143533[/snapback]

"Our year" What IDIOTS they are. Pick any span over the last 25 years and Auburn has won more games than UA. Five years? Absolutely. Ten? Yep. Fifteen? No doubt. Twenty? Without question. Twenty-five? Yes again.

FORGET our year! This has been our quarter-century. And we're even still on the upswing while they spiral downward. We've been an upper-tier team for most of my life. It's time we started acting like one.

WAR EAGLE!

[mugz 0]

I been saying this every since I joined the forums. Next year will be a good season but 2006 is going to be our dominant season again.

Just look at the superstar Freshman and Sophmores. Defense will be unstoppable again. I see Auburn in Atlanta 2006. As for next year I think it is a toss up between us and LSU.

[AUHansel 0]

I been saying this every since I joined the forums. Next year will be a good season but 2006 is going to be our dominant season again.

Just look at the superstar Freshman and Sophmores.  Defense will be unstoppable again. I see Auburn in Atlanta 2006. As for next year I think it is a toss up between us and LSU.

143542[/snapback]

i hate to say it but bama looks pretty promising for next season. if they can stay healthy i think they have a chance to be pretty damn good. LSU is the obvious choice right now to win the west. it really depends on how cox or booker does for us. also, if our running game can step it up and take some of the pressure off the qb's we can be very good. it sucks to open up with ga tech because they are a good team that didn't lose all their stars like we did(even though ours were a lot better).

[Dlewis23 0]

i hate to say it but bama looks pretty promising for next season. if they can stay healthy i think they have a chance to be pretty damn good. LSU is the obvious choice right now to win the west. it really depends on how cox or booker does for us. also, if our running game can step it up and take some of the pressure off the qb's we can be very good. it sucks to open up with ga tech because they are a good team that didn't lose all their stars like we did(even though ours were a lot better).

143546[/snapback]

Oh I think that there is no doubt that Alabama will be more competitive next year, IF they can stay healthy. They go into the season with a lot of question marks health wise. Croyle, Darby, Castille, not to mention that there already depleted depth honestly got worse unless you(Bama Fans included)consider Johns or one of the Freshman backing up Darby a better backup option than Darby as Hudson's back up this year. Also if/when Brodie Croyle hurts himself there backup will have had no game experience or be Marc Guillon(not sure which I'd prefer). Their defense will be pretty good, but like this year it can only do so much. I think the SEC plays out like this Next year:

SEC WEST SEC EAST

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

4. 4.

5. 5.

6. 6.

vs.

Fourth times the the charm for ...............um.................Not so much.

Title

Oh and I tried to put this in a better format.

[quietfan 233]

Back to the original theme of this thread, recruiting--this article sums it up pretty well I think:

http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/birmingha...39968177880.xml

Despite missing some, Tigers will have solid class

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

AUBURN - The telephone rang in the Auburn athletic department. A high school football coach from another state wanted to know if the Tigers would sign one of his players.

Sorry, he was told, it was too late.

Auburn indeed spent Tuesday committed to a plan to sign a rather small but talented recruiting class today as part of a master plan designed to ensure plenty of scholarships for next year when the state figures to have an abundance of high school talent.

The Tigers may sign only 20 players today, though they would be more than happy to make a couple of last-minute additions with running back Antone Smith of Pahokee, Fla., and defensive back Walter McFadden of Pompano Beach, Fla.

The Tigers worked on both players Monday, for both would add flavor to a recruiting class that rounded into shape weeks ago.

Making the most of their 13-0 record, the Tigers locked up high-profile players early. That took much of the drama out of recruiting in the final days, but allowed Auburn to be more selective.

The entire recruiting class is on track to be academically qualified. The class also figures to feature the No. 1-rated player in Alabama in tight end Tommy Trott and the No. 1-rated player in Georgia in linebacker Tray Blackmon.

Auburn has commitments from five of the top seven players on The Birmingham News' Super Seniors list.

Auburn's overall class has more substance than fancy stats. There are no quarterbacks. Smith would be the only running back. But head coach Tommy Tuberville had targeted other areas, anyway.

He wanted to sign tight ends, defensive backs and linemen. He is set to sign 14 of those.

Heading the tight end list is Trott, the No. 1-rated player; Gabe McKenzie, the state's No. 3-rated player; and Andrew McCain of Briarwood Christian, who was a top defensive player and could play in the line.

Auburn has commitments from three defensive backs, five defensive linemen and three offensive linemen to round out Tuberville's wish list.

Additionally, Auburn has a commitment from the state's No. 2 prospect, wide receiver Montez Billings of Pelham.

Fairfield's Rex Sharpe, the News' No. 6-rated player, joins Blackmon and Patrick Trahan of New Orleans to complete the linebacker commitments.

There's also built-in wiggle room for next year when the state figures to produce a bumper crop of players when more scholarships will be needed.

"We weren't looking for numbers this year. We were looking for quality because next year will be a great year in the state," Tuberville said. "We feel like having scholarships next year will be very important."

Doesn't sound disappointing to me. If Tubbs is turning away prospects, we must be just fine--I trust his appraisal of talent, as it fits into Auburn's needs & creed, a lot more than any recruiting "experts". Saving scholarships for next year if the talent/need isn't there this year makes perfect sense. Getting the top three, and 5 of the top 7, in Alabama, plus #1 in Georgia, doesn't sound disappointing either. This hasn't been a big year for high school talent anyway.

.............

As for next season, I don't expect a huge drop off. 13-0 (undefeated) this year was exceptional for any team. (Out of 117 1-A schools, how many have posted undefeated marks in the last 2, 3, or even 4 years? How many SEC schools have been undefeated in that time?) Even if we drop off to three losses, we'll still be 9-3 or 10-3, which could mean a SECCG berth again depending on the losses.

If we get a DC that comes close to Chizik's output, I feel comfortable that Borges can turn out a 9-10 win offense even with new QB's and RB's--we'll have a great, experienced O-line and receiving corps. On defense, we're still solid even without Carlos and Junior. We'll miss those two, but we have good talent behind them, and return real winners at linebacker and D-line.

Bama's weaknesses will be O-line (due to graduation) and coaching. If they miraculously turn it around in those two areas, they can be good. I just don't see those two areas doing much. They lost franchise players on the line, and Shula is still going to call three straight running plays up the middle for no gain in key games. [Yes, I know we lost franchise players at QB & RB--I think our replacements will perform better than Bama's new O-line.] They will still have depth problems at most every position, at least talent- and experience-wise, if not in pure numbers.

So my picks: West--winner of AU-LSU. East-winner of TN-FL.

..and my guess: TN beats the West in Atlanta if they go, FL loses to the West if they go.