Stidham's problem was Auburn's offense

[johnnyAU 3,745]

Malzhan's offense should be able to adapt to talent like Stidham's, which doesn't come around very often.  It didn't, other than maybe on the way out against a team like Purdue, but that's too little too late.

Gus has not only the tendency to rely too heavily on a handful of players, but he exacerbates that problem by bringing in certain players in specific situations to run specific plays and only those plays. It doesn't take long for everyone (opposing players, DC's, fans, etc...) to get a good idea of what is about to be run. He's either oblivious, or just plain stubborn and believes he'll be successful despite it. 

[twilli13 600]

13 hours ago, aujeff11 said:

We didn’t use that championship run to our advantage at all. Gus was asked about facilities upgrades after that season and he said the facilities that they had were “fine.” I don’t know if Jacobs would’ve allowed it or not, but with the support around the fanbase so high, we should have struck when the stove was hot. 

Never saw an uptick in recruiting either. We couldn’t sell an elite dual threat QB to be the next Cam or Marshall even though we had both and two championship appearances in a three year span. Should’ve been an easy sell. 

 

Your last sentence says it all! THAT, among anything, is the thing I understood least about our recruiting. You have 2 dual threat QBs that take you to national championships....Nick Marshall was a recording setting Georgia hs QB, but most people didnt realize that. The narrative was Gus turned a career defensive back into an elite dual threat QB. Recruits I think would have bought into that narrative since it's what the national media, who is known to be lazy as s*** and just regurgitate what the other media members say, was pumping at the time. Gus was pretty much known as a dual threat QB whisperer at that point. Yet he didnt put the full court press on getting any elite dual threat QBs when he could have cleaned up. I think he either got complacent thinking his offense was unstoppable with any type of QB (news flash Walter Cronkite, its not) or he just didnt have the infrastructure in place (assistant coaches, his own mental 'killer instinct') to pull them in. Au was behind on Deshaun Watson because Dabo had been working on him for years. Having a QB coach who was a better recruiter or Gus having a more killer instinct could have maybe swayed things. If AU got him, we may be singing Guss praises right now. Even if not, there were guys like Lamar Jackson Gus swung and missed on. 

[I_M4_AU 8,939]

17 hours ago, abw0004 said:

By those in the know Joey right now is not the same as the Joey from last year.  He apparently did a 180 turn in his work ethic, refined skills, etc.  So putting in Joey last year would have been a mistake. 

Thanks for the response.  I think yesterday was my A day so to speak.  I was trying to get into my mid-season form getting ready for the inevitable early season swoon.  How’d I do?  I’m much better now, back to lurking and trying not to get triggered.

[twilli13 600]

15 minutes ago, johnnyAU said:

Malzhan's offense should be able to adapt to talent like Stidham's, which doesn't come around very often.  It didn't, other than maybe on the way out against a team like Purdue, but that's too little too late.

Gus has not only the tendency to rely too heavily on a handful of players, but he exacerbates that problem by bringing in certain players in specific situations to run specific plays and only those plays. It doesn't take long for everyone (opposing players, DC's, fans, etc...) to get a good idea of what is about to be run. He's either oblivious, or just plain stubborn and believes he'll be successful despite it. 

The thing that is so damn frustrating about Gus is if he would hire some coaches to come in as consultants to help expand his offense, specifically the passing game, I think it could be much more flexible  and as a result, consistently dynamic. This would include concepts as well as how to coach the new plays. Gus did this at Tulsa with Herb Hand to expand his running game and I think he did this with Herb Hand again 2016 as an AU assistant. The 2016 running g game was super dynamic at times (much better than 2016),  but the passing game was still s***. I think he MAY have thought he could do this with Chip Lindsey in 2017/2018. The problem with Lindsey is Gus I dont think was willing to fully commit. My theory is Gus spends so much practice time 'going fast', this takes away precious time to develop new offensive components. It takes patience and time to truly modify your offense and I dont think Gus has it. Maybe the worst thing that happened to Gus long term was initial success. It increased the fans and his expectations, so he never had a year or two to do what I am describing above and truly commit to it. 

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

17 hours ago, DAG said:

Auburn gets elite recruits believe it or not . 

I am well aware of this fact. However they have become harder and harder to come by on offense. See our lack of elite OL talent the past few years. Also Gus has an offense that RBs should be breaking down the door for. When was the last 5* RB we signed? Better yet, who is the only 5* RB he has ever signed? Maybe remind me of the last 5* WR we have signed? What about the TE position? We havent used the TE position much but everyones favorite excuse was we needed to have actual talent there to use it. So we clearly havent had the talent there either. 

 

We always get good to great players. Elite ones... Well we havent seen many of those lately on offense...while Bama, UGA, Oklahoma, Miami, and tOSU have them to waste. 

And before anyone says it... The only 5* RB we have signed under Malzahn was Roc Thomas. Neither KJ, Bubba, Worm, nor Boobee were elite RB recruits. KJ was a 5* athlete by some services not not most. Not a single one ranked him as a 5* RB. You have to go ALL THE WAY back to 2002 to find a 5* WR to sign with us. The highest rated TE we have ever signed was 4* Ricky Parks. The one position on offense we have been able to routinely sign 5* elite talent is the OL and that sure aint happening under the current OL coach.  

So we always sign good talent, even great talent,  but we dont sign elite recruits on the offensive side of the ball too often.  Defense is a whole other story. Sure we can sign elite recruits on defense, but signing more defensive elite talent than offense when your head coach is an offensive guy is terrible. 

 

Gus has a completely bipolar offense. So much so, it should be on medication.  When things are clicking, and he actually has the parts to the puzzle lined up correctly, its an offense that cant be stopped by many teams in college. But the problem is he has only had the correct pieces to his puzzle twice. Every other year the offense is so bad it hurts to watch. But when he DOES have everything he needs, its one of the most dangerous offenses in college football. That is a reality. It is a reality that Gus' job is to win games for Auburn, not to prepare them for the next level.

Its also a reality that kids want to play in the NFL and until we get better at player development we will struggle to sign elite talent on the offensive side of the ball.

[Cardin Drake 2,076]

Bill Belichick drafting Stidham is interesting and surprising to me.  I just didn't think Stidham had the talent to be an NFL quarterback. Obviously, the shrewdest judge of talent in the business disagrees.   The first year Stiham was here he infuriated me with his tendency to hold the ball too long. He compounded that problem with an inability to elude the first rusher.  But his arm was golden and his accuracy was off the charts. The first Georgia game and the Alabama game that year almost made me a believer.

But this year it was back to the same old story.  Slow to make a decision, fail to avoid the first rusher, sack. And the accuracy wasn't nearly as good, which we now know was related to his bad shoulder. Granted, our O-line was doing him no favors. So I'm guessing Belichick just sees the arm and figures he can be coached to make quicker decisions. My personal opinion is that's not going to happen. But even I wouldn't bet on my opinion vs. Belichick's.  We will see, and I'll be rooting for him.

Gus's offenses have relied on having a mobile quarterback. I have always felt that the best college quarterbacks are very mobile. Cam, Vince Young, Murray this year--the list is endless. I'm very happy we will have a mobile quarterback again.  Our offense was very effective Stidham's first year. The biggest differences in his 2nd year was his bum shoulder and lesser accuracy, and our slow to gel O-line.  Gus's offense is proven.  We do need a healthy, mobile qb to run it effectively.  Looking forward to next year.

 

[abw0004 10,303]

37 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

I am well aware of this fact. However they have become harder and harder to come by on offense. See our lack of elite OL talent the past few years. Also Gus has an offense that RBs should be breaking down the door for. When was the last 5* RB we signed? Better yet, who is the only 5* RB he has ever signed? Maybe remind me of the last 5* WR we have signed? What about the TE position? We havent used the TE position much but everyones favorite excuse was we needed to have actual talent there to use it. So we clearly havent had the talent there either. 

 

We always get good to great players. Elite ones... Well we havent seen many of those lately on offense...while Bama, UGA, Oklahoma, Miami, and tOSU have them to waste. 

And before anyone says it... The only 5* RB we have signed under Malzahn was Roc Thomas. Neither KJ, Bubba, Worm, nor Boobee were elite RB recruits. KJ was a 5* athlete by some services not not most. Not a single one ranked him as a 5* RB. You have to go ALL THE WAY back to 2002 to find a 5* WR to sign with us. The highest rated TE we have ever signed was 4* Ricky Parks. The one position on offense we have been able to routinely sign 5* elite talent is the OL and that sure aint happening under the current OL coach.  

So we always sign good talent, even great talent,  but we dont sign elite recruits on the offensive side of the ball too often.  Defense is a whole other story. Sure we can sign elite recruits on defense, but signing more defensive elite talent than offense when your head coach is an offensive guy is terrible. 

 

Gus has a completely bipolar offense. So much so, it should be on medication.  When things are clicking, and he actually has the parts to the puzzle lined up correctly, its an offense that cant be stopped by many teams in college. But the problem is he has only had the correct pieces to his puzzle twice. Every other year the offense is so bad it hurts to watch. But when he DOES have everything he needs, its one of the most dangerous offenses in college football. That is a reality. It is a reality that Gus' job is to win games for Auburn, not to prepare them for the next level.

Its also a reality that kids want to play in the NFL and until we get better at player development we will struggle to sign elite talent on the offensive side of the ball.

Respectfully, I think you are looking at this all wrong, which surprises me because I know I have been you on the recruiting forum.  I remember because you were complaining about this recruiting class on NSD and everyone jumped on you for it.  It’s not all about 5*’s.  Coaches that just go after 5*’s don’t know how to evaluate.  A good example is Butch Jones at Tennessee.  He only went after 5*’s and got the boot at Tennessee for not knowing what he had.

Auburn has done a terrific job of finding gems.  Why would you complain about our WR talent?  It’s one of the best in the country.  For the record Nate Craig-Meyers was a 5* until his injury.  And our TE position, we had a few recruits that just didn’t pan out or got kicked off campus.  This year we landed two really good guys.

And I am not sure why you are going after our RB’s either.  Every single one of our RB’s (with the exception of last year) have been some of the best in the country.  You don’t have 10 + consecutive years of 1,000 yard rushers for nothing.  And Gus was also credited for landing Michael Dyer, a 5* if you are going all the way back to 2002.

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

59 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

Respectfully, I think you are looking at this all wrong, which surprises me because I know I have been you on the recruiting forum.  I remember because you were complaining about this recruiting class on NSD and everyone jumped on you for it.  It’s not all about 5*’s.  Coaches that just go after 5*’s don’t know how to evaluate.  A good example is Butch Jones at Tennessee.  He only went after 5*’s and got the boot at Tennessee for not knowing what he had.

Auburn has done a terrific job of finding gems.  Why would you complain about our WR talent?  It’s one of the best in the country.  For the record Nate Craig-Meyers was a 5* until his injury.  And our TE position, we had a few recruits that just didn’t pan out or got kicked off campus.  This year we landed two really good guys.

And I am not sure why you are going after our RB’s either.  Every single one of our RB’s (with the exception of last year) have been some of the best in the country.  You don’t have 10 + consecutive years of 1,000 yard rushers for nothing.  And Gus was also credited for landing Michael Dyer, a 5* if you are going all the way back to 2002.

You are thinking i am criticizing our talent. I am not. Like i said we always sign great talented kids who make the grades, and after Gus learned his lesson, stay out of trouble. That can NOT be understated. But i look at things objectively. I dont keep my orange and blue shaders on like most on this site. I truly look at both sides independently. Yeah i got knocked on the NSD forum for saying that i was surprised Fromms little brother signed with us, and i really stirred up some feathers when i said there was no way i would let my 5* QB son come to play under Gus and that the only reason he signed with us was because if his love for Auburn, coaching be damned. People didnt like that. Frankly i dont care. I still feel Nix signing with us under this coaching staff was in detriment to his future. I am very pleased with every until of our team besides TE and Joiner could shore that unit up. I am also not sold on our OL yet, and even if this unit comes together this season, it is going to be a complete mess the year after unless we get some big time recruits signed THIS season. Our WRs may be the best unit we have ever fielded. But lets not pretend its filled with NFL talent. 

That is what this is about. 

Like i already said when he has the pieces to run the offense he really wants to run, its one of the best in college football. But this offense does not prepare players for the next level in ANY form or fashion save for RB. We could have the most dominant offense in college football history, but until our player development improves, our players will always have a difficult time transitioning to the next level. 

The worst offense in college football? Not even close. The worst offense in college football at preparing our guys for a career in football, possibly.

 

[aujeff11 6,243]

2 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

and i really stirred up some feathers when i said there was no way i would let my 5* QB son come to play under Gus and that the only reason he signed with us was because if his love for Auburn, coaching be damned

Well he was committed for over half a year. You picking my Christmas Day for football fans to rain on that parade was probably the problem.  I didn’t say anything then because I knew what you were saying but you could’ve chose a different thread. Lot of those recruits may outlast Gus so Gus being there really isn’t a problem. We have to keep the cupboard as full as possible for the next coach if anything. 

[aujeff11 6,243]

17 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

The worst offense in college football? Not even close. The worst offense in college football at preparing our guys for a career in football, possibly.

Agreed. 

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

2 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

Well he was committed for over half a year. You picking my Christmas Day for football fans to rain on that parade was probably the problem.  I didn’t say anything then because I knew what you were saying but you could’ve chose a different thread. Lot of those recruits may outlast Gus so Gus being there really isn’t a problem. We have to keep the cupboard as full as possible for the next coach if anything. 

I agree the NSD thread probably wasnt the best time to say that. That however does not invalidate the fact as it was. If my son was a hot shot 5* QB there is zero chance i would let him sign with Auburn under Malzahn. I just wouldn't. But that isnt what this thread is about and i dont want to derail it anymore than this already has. 

But then again, it is on topic because it boils down to our player development. We are awful on offensive player development. Defense is another story. Anyone who would criticize our defensive development needs their heads examined. Garners record speaks for itself. TWill molded a slow undersized MLB into one of the best MLBs in the country (at the college level.) We have had DBs get good draft position two years in a row and have converted a WR into something that no one expected. No one expected Noah to become one of the best DBs in the nation so quickly, and he has. Our defensive player progression is not an issue in the slightest, and like i said anyone who questions it needs their heads examined. Its remarkable really. Our offensive minded coach has no issue getting his defensive players ready for the next level...but struggles mightily preparing his offensive players for the next level...

[aujeff11 6,243]

13 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

. If my son was a hot shot 5* QB there is zero chance i would let him sign with Auburn under Malzahn. I just wouldn't. 

I think you’re probably more bullish toward Malzahn than DT QB dads tbh.

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

12 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

I think you’re probably more bullish toward Malzahn than DT QB dads tbh.

But the thing is, Gus doesn't limit himself to DT QBs. JJ6, Sean White, and frankly Nix prove just that. Nix has some mobility, but he isnt in the same DT QB mold as Newton, Marshall, and our boy Gatewood. Nix is the same level DT QB as Stidham. Nix is a little quicker but once Nix has 3 years of college level S&D he will most likely be around the same speed as Stidham. Nix and Stidham are much more prostyle QBs than DT QBs. 

Now IF Gus started just recruiting true DT QBs and started running an offense that suits a DT, then if my son was a 5* DT QB i would have no issue letting him sign with Auburn. But the last few years show that he is wanting to run an offense a DT woukd thrive in, yet he keeps recruiting pro style passers. Thats why i wouldnt let my 5* QB sign with Gus. He needs to figure out what type of offense he wants to run and recruit that type of player. I just dont get it. I dont understand recruiting pocket passers for an offense that thrives with a DT. 

If gus makes up his mind about what type of offense he wants and recruits that type of player than id not have any issue letting my son play for him. By all accounts he us a good man and runs a clean program. No one should ever criticize the character of Gus. I think he is as good as it gets in that regard. But being a good man and running a clean program doesnt get players ready for the NFL and thats what its about. 

[DAG 34,763]

11 hours ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

I am well aware of this fact. However they have become harder and harder to come by on offense. See our lack of elite OL talent the past few years. Also Gus has an offense that RBs should be breaking down the door for. When was the last 5* RB we signed? Better yet, who is the only 5* RB he has ever signed? Maybe remind me of the last 5* WR we have signed? What about the TE position? We havent used the TE position much but everyones favorite excuse was we needed to have actual talent there to use it. So we clearly havent had the talent there either. 

 

We always get good to great players. Elite ones... Well we havent seen many of those lately on offense...while Bama, UGA, Oklahoma, Miami, and tOSU have them to waste. 

And before anyone says it... The only 5* RB we have signed under Malzahn was Roc Thomas. Neither KJ, Bubba, Worm, nor Boobee were elite RB recruits. KJ was a 5* athlete by some services not not most. Not a single one ranked him as a 5* RB. You have to go ALL THE WAY back to 2002 to find a 5* WR to sign with us. The highest rated TE we have ever signed was 4* Ricky Parks. The one position on offense we have been able to routinely sign 5* elite talent is the OL and that sure aint happening under the current OL coach.  

So we always sign good talent, even great talent,  but we dont sign elite recruits on the offensive side of the ball too often.  Defense is a whole other story. Sure we can sign elite recruits on defense, but signing more defensive elite talent than offense when your head coach is an offensive guy is terrible. 

 

Gus has a completely bipolar offense. So much so, it should be on medication.  When things are clicking, and he actually has the parts to the puzzle lined up correctly, its an offense that cant be stopped by many teams in college. But the problem is he has only had the correct pieces to his puzzle twice. Every other year the offense is so bad it hurts to watch. But when he DOES have everything he needs, its one of the most dangerous offenses in college football. That is a reality. It is a reality that Gus' job is to win games for Auburn, not to prepare them for the next level.

Its also a reality that kids want to play in the NFL and until we get better at player development we will struggle to sign elite talent on the offensive side of the ball.

My God you know how damn hard it is to sign a five freaking star guy! We legitimately just had a 5-star guy get drafted by the lions. They don't grow on trees, and every single school in the nation wants them. I can say since Gus has been associated with Auburn, we have had 3 5 star guys in the backfield for his offense.  Gus doesn't utilize TEs as much as other schools. Why in God’s name would a 5 star TE come to AU? Same thing with a 5 star WR. They don't grow on trees. Majority of them are going to the schools who Consistently win or who are household names. Guess what? This won't change until we get to the next step as Clemson did. With that being said, if we did a composite of the average amount of star recruits we have in four years, I bet we are in the top ten or at the very least top 15. When I get home, I will be sure to research this. We have more than enough talented guys who should be able to get drafted in the first three rounds. Inconsistency and development are what is lacking. If you want to critique then, that should be the course. KJ is a 5-star athlete, who the heck cares if he was rated a 5 star RB?! Did he play like a 5 star at his position?

[DAG 34,763]

Here are some interesting 4-year recruiting ranking articles

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2019/2/7/18215228/college-football-recruiting-rankings-2019-class

https://247sports.com/Season/2017-Football/CollegeTeamTalentComposite/

247 which might be more accurate

[Tigger1985 865]

Did our offense cause Stidham to miss wide open recievers? Did it cause him to throw behind our recievers on crossing routes? No it was on him. He looked a lot better last year but it may be because of injury or bad habits that weren't corrected.

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

14 hours ago, DAG said:

My God you know how damn hard it is to sign a five freaking star guy! We legitimately just had a 5-star guy get drafted by the lions. They don't grow on trees, and every single school in the nation wants them. I can say since Gus has been associated with Auburn, we have had 3 5 star guys in the backfield for his offense.  Gus doesn't utilize TEs as much as other schools. Why in God’s name would a 5 star TE come to AU? Same thing with a 5 star WR. They don't grow on trees. Majority of them are going to the schools who Consistently win or who are household names. Guess what? This won't change until we get to the next step as Clemson did. With that being said, if we did a composite of the average amount of star recruits we have in four years, I bet we are in the top ten or at the very least top 15. When I get home, I will be sure to research this. We have more than enough talented guys who should be able to get drafted in the first three rounds. Inconsistency and development are what is lacking. If you want to critique then, that should be the course. KJ is a 5-star athlete, who the heck cares if he was rated a 5 star RB?! Did he play like a 5 star at his position?

I am pretty sure that player development has been the main sticking point to the majority of my posts in this thread. And again, LIKE I SAID we have had some very good even great talents. 

It seems like you are just wanting to argue DAG which is strange. I dont think ive ever seen you take this route. But i guess lets do this... 

KJ was a 4* athlete. Not 5*. The only service that rated him a 5* is the service generally considered the worst, ESPN. However we always go off of composite ratings. As far as the composite goes, KJ was a 4*. I absolutely will give you that by his junior year, he had lived up to that ESPN 5* rating.

And you are right 5*s dont grow on trees, and every school in the country wants them... And while our main rivals +A&M stockpile them, we argue about how recruiting rankings dont matter, and how there isnt much difference in a 4* and a 5*. 

And 3 5* RBs? LoL no Gus has signed 1 (ONE) 5* RB, Roc Thomas. Sure he got 5* results out of KJ, CAP, Tre, and Bubba but that doesn't magically boost their potential which is what the whole star rating system is based on...their potential.

And yes our recruiting classes have been ranked very high under Gus. Top 10 almost every season. But initially getting their signature and keeping them on campus have been two very different ball games now hasnt it? Along with player development, Gus isnt exactly the best at player retention...and im not talking about players going in the draft. Anyway back to your comment... As i had said earlier, the go to company line about the lack of TE production has been that you need talent to use it. We havent had a talent at TE since Lutz. So thats why we havent used the TE position. But i get what you are saying, and fully agree with you. However im just stating the comany line. And i have no complaint at all about our WRs. I said that yesterday. I also said that lets not pretend its filled with elite NFL talent. Seth Williams may very well become that elite college WR, but so were Charles Rodgers and Mike Williams. Heck so was Sammie Coates. But they didnt transition into the NFL. 

Which is what this entire conversation is about... Our offense is possibly the worst offense in college football as far as preparing players for the next level. As this gets known more and more and is continually talked about by people in sports, our offensive recruiting is going to get harder and harder. Yes we are Auburn, and that name alone will bring some even elite talents regardless of coaching or scheme, look no further than Bo Nix. Bo was coming to Auburn. He was raised with Auburn in his blood. And bringing in talent like Nix, no matter how it gets on campus will attract other talent. However, and this goes back to my first sentence, our offensive player development needs to vastly improve. Because player development is just one more log in the raging inferno that is negatively recruiting against us.

 

[DAG 34,763]

51 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

I am pretty sure that player development has been the main sticking point to the majority of my posts in this thread. And again, LIKE I SAID we have had some very good even great talents. 

It seems like you are just wanting to argue DAG which is strange. I dont think ive ever seen you take this route. But i guess lets do this... 

KJ was a 4* athlete. Not 5*. The only service that rated him a 5* is the service generally considered the worst, ESPN. However we always go off of composite ratings. As far as the composite goes, KJ was a 4*. I absolutely will give you that by his junior year, he had lived up to that ESPN 5* rating.

And you are right 5*s dont grow on trees, and every school in the country wants them... And while our main rivals +A&M stockpile them, we argue about how recruiting rankings dont matter, and how there isnt much difference in a 4* and a 5*. 

And 3 5* RBs? LoL no Gus has signed 1 (ONE) 5* RB, Roc Thomas. Sure he got 5* results out of KJ, CAP, Tre, and Bubba but that doesn't magically boost their potential which is what the whole star rating system is based on...their potential.

And yes our recruiting classes have been ranked very high under Gus. Top 10 almost every season. But initially getting their signature and keeping them on campus have been two very different ball games now hasnt it? Along with player development, Gus isnt exactly the best at player retention...and im not talking about players going in the draft. Anyway back to your comment... As i had said earlier, the go to company line about the lack of TE production has been that you need talent to use it. We havent had a talent at TE since Lutz. So thats why we havent used the TE position. But i get what you are saying, and fully agree with you. However im just stating the comany line. And i have no complaint at all about our WRs. I said that yesterday. I also said that lets not pretend its filled with elite NFL talent. Seth Williams may very well become that elite college WR, but so were Charles Rodgers and Mike Williams. Heck so was Sammie Coates. But they didnt transition into the NFL. 

Which is what this entire conversation is about... Our offense is possibly the worst offense in college football as far as preparing players for the next level. As this gets known more and more and is continually talked about by people in sports, our offensive recruiting is going to get harder and harder. Yes we are Auburn, and that name alone will bring some even elite talents regardless of coaching or scheme, look no further than Bo Nix. Bo was coming to Auburn. He was raised with Auburn in his blood. And bringing in talent like Nix, no matter how it gets on campus will attract other talent. However, and this goes back to my first sentence, our offensive player development needs to vastly improve. Because player development is just one more log in the raging inferno that is negatively recruiting against us.

 

I never once in my post said Gus SIGNED 5-star players. I said he had 3 5 star players play in his backfield ( Dyer, Thomas, Johnson). I guess Johnson is a 4-star player, so technically two. However, at the end of the day, he is still ELITE.  I am not arguing for the sake of argument. I am debating your positioning on critiquing Gus for not signing 5-star guys like that is just something so easy to do. Auburn is the Clemson of the SEC before Clemson made the leap with the big boys. You keep bringing up our rivals. LSU/UGA have fertile ground for recruiting. They are the main pipeline for their state, so they are already going to have an advantage right there. We have one of the greatest dynasties within our proximity. You mention Texas A&M. They are in arguably the best state for high school football (It also help that they got away from Texas, who has been down). So, yes they will recruit at a high level, but if you don't produce at the college level,  it will affect your draft status at the next level (Most of the time). Kyle Allen was a 5-star recruit at Texas A&M. Didn't even get drafted. But he is in the NFL because he was an ELITE recruit and now that he is in the NFL, It is HIS job to become an elite NFL player. Same thing with Daylon Mack (Drafted in the 5th round). Christian Kirk (5-star player), he is not setting the NFL on fire. Speedy Noil? Where the heck is he? Nick Saban has had some of the best COLLEGIATE RUNNING backs and how many of them are ELITE NFL RBs?

Gus Malzahn job is not to prepare people for the NFL. His job is to win games at Auburn at the highest level. By doing that, this should expose people to NFL teams and get them to be drafted at a higher rate.  Once, they get that look, it is their job to become ELITE at the next level. The problem is Gus Malzhan's offense is inconsistent at best and we don't win enough. When we won our NC, did you think this offense made Cam Newton into an NFL QB? No, It allowed him to showcase his freakish abilities by utilizing his skillset and promoted him in a manner to be the #1 pick. Once he got there, he worked his ass off to become an NFL MVP QB and to grow in his QB acumen. Now, in terms of 5-star players, we have to consistent win to get those guys. No 5-star recruit is going to be lining up at a program where one season, we are lighting up the field and the next we are losing to Tennessee. Not to mention, every other year, our coach is on the "hot seat." And please don't compare us to the USC and Michigan of the worlds, who are bluebloods and will always recruit at a high level. If we win CONSISTENTLY and produce at a high level, players are going to want to come. 

[aujeff11 6,243]

3 minutes ago, DAG said:

Gus Malzahn job is not to prepare people for the NFL. His job is to win games at Auburn at the highest level. By doing that, this should expose people to NFL teams and get them to be drafted at a higher rate

At the end of the day,  this right here. Not getting our players drafted early is more of a nuisance when we aren’t winning.

[DAG 34,763]

Another thing I find funny is the author's counterargument. If he would've stayed at Baylor he would be a 1st or second-round draft pick lol. Based on what? Art Briles isn't running the show their anymore. Even so, Art Briles offense, as productive as it might have been, is hardly indicative of an NFL offense. Even Stidham said the Baylor offense is much simpler than the Auburn offense, yet some of the people here are critiquing Gus's offense for this reason. 

[AuburnEagle79 2,188]

Last year's offense was bad, but his offense as a whole seems to work for us. Who cares how well the NFL can evaluate it. Stidham's issue last year was our offensive line and lack of offensive identity (which probably points back to the OL). 

[McLoofus 35,182]

51 minutes ago, AuburnEagle79 said:

Last year's offense was bad, but his offense as a whole seems to work for us. Who cares how well the NFL can evaluate it. Stidham's issue last year was our offensive line and lack of offensive identity (which probably points back to the OL). 

His offense works against teams that we can out-talent like Purdue, and very occasionally against better teams (exactly twice since 2014; the other times it has not only failed, but failed spectacularly). In games where a team takes away Plan A, there is no Plan B.

As for the offensive line being our main problem last year, I wonder if it's because it didn't have enough NFL-caliber talent on it?

 

[Tiger 8,854]

3 hours ago, AuburnEagle79 said:

Who cares how well the NFL can evaluate it.

The very kids we are trying to get to play for AU care about it

[AU64 10,122]

Just our of curiosity , I wish StatTiger would spend an afternoon pulling together the numbers that show how many times each WR or RB was targeted by our QBs on a pass play and what the completion rate was for each one of them.    We see how many receptions each player has but I've not seen the numbers on how many times the ball was thrown to each one of them. 

I have seen some stats on pass completion percentage relative to yardage or spots on the field which is interesting also. 

I think NFL keeps stuff like that for internal use perhaps but don't know that I've seen any team or NCAA stats on the matter.     Just about every aspect of the game is subject to statistical analysis now and this seems useful. 

[abw0004 10,303]

On Monday, Tuberville took exception.

“How many championships has that guy won?” Tuberville said. “Gus is a good football coach. It all goes back to the assistants coaching their positions. Gus had a problem at coaching quarterback simply because he lost his quarterbacks coach a couple of years ago and bringing in a new quarterbacks coach sometimes doesn’t work.”

“That’s unfair to say about Gus. He’s had very potent offenses over the year,” Tuberville said. “Jarrett Stidham didn’t improve. Someone has to take the blame for that. Could’ve been Jarrett Stidham. Could’ve been coaching. Could’ve been scheme, but that’s water underneath the bridge. It is important everyone get on the same page for the season.”