The Harsin Experiment

[W.E.D 11,070]

13 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

I would guess that's exactly what happened. We had a top tier of targets and missed on most of them. (Steen and Nourzad are the only names out there that I know of, and they're summer guys.) Our next tier is the guys we've already got. And then the tier after that is guys who aren't believe to be as good but who can provide depth and, of course, anyone who transfers after spring. 

Easy for me to imagine there will be some real talent after spring. If our OL is really as bad as folks want it to be, then the 2s from our rivals and several other schools will look pretty tasty. 

The timing is just too obvious. I think these announcements happened after school started.

Glad the coaches had back-up plans.  I'm not thrilled with our entire OL coming back and no upgrades, but it's better than them all leaving, having no transfers, and being left with nothing.

Need to really focus on guys with 3 years eligibility or guys with 2 years that are OK maybe sitting for a year.  We're probably looking at needing 2 starters next offseason from the portal in addition to a ton of HS kids.  Hopefully they do the +7 again

[casatiger 514]

1 hour ago, AUDevil said:

At this point, it's so bad and how anyone could fail so miserably at recruiting the position is beyond comprehension, that you almost wonder if there is some greater plan that we don;t know about.

It has been going on for a while over two coaching staffs.  I think the last time we had a good OL class(from a ratings perspective) signed was the class where we got Brahms and Troxell. These are the 6 year guys we are discussing now.  That's a long time to go without signing needs at a position.  It reminds me of our inability to get highly rated linebackers a decade or so ago.  All of that changed with a change at coordinator and position coach as I recall.  

[McLoofus 35,182]

10 minutes ago, casatiger said:

All of that changed with a change at coordinator and position coach as I recall.  

Sure did. Muschamp represented a sea change in how business was done here. 

Fortunately we don't need that now. Just need a pitch and a pitch man. 

 

[casatiger 514]

1 minute ago, McLoofus said:

Sure did. Muschamp represented a sea change in how business was done here. 

Fortunately we don't need that now. Just need a pitch and a pitch man. 

 

Yes, not suggesting a coordinator change but wondering about the position coach as are most on here.  If we are all thinking Friend is a short timer, then recruits may be thinking the same thing.  Wonder if our competition is pointing that out?  Nah, they probably don't do things like that.  

[McLoofus 35,182]

2 minutes ago, casatiger said:

Yes, not suggesting a coordinator change but wondering about the position coach as are most on here.  If we are all thinking Friend is a short timer, then recruits may be thinking the same thing.  Wonder if our competition is pointing that out?  Nah, they probably don't do things like that.  

I do wish we'd announced a change there by now. I'm confident we'll be okay but these conversations would be more fun if we had done that part already, lol. 

Maybe we really are waiting to announce an NFL dude after signing day. Who knows. 

[steeleagle 2,945]

10 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

I do wish we'd announced a change there by now. I'm confident we'll be okay but these conversations would be more fun if we had done that part already, lol. 

Maybe we really are waiting to announce an NFL dude after signing day. Who knows. 

That has to be it.

At OL?

I think Harsin has to wait till after the fEb signing date if Friend is still involved in getting ANY HS OL left. 

If not, then Harsin will be cutting Friend loose soon. But it will be like starting all over for those OL, HS/portal, after spring practice ends and he sees who is still leaving from other schools...

[McLoofus 35,182]

7 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

But it will be like starting all over

I just don't know if that's true.

@bigbird made a good point recently. The flip side of hiring a guy with SEC experience is that he recruited directly against us, and recently. Is that necessarily bad? No, but if it's a guy who was able to steal kids from Auburn by talking ish about Auburn, then it might be hard for him to walk that back while working for Auburn. 

At this point, I'm not surprised if other guys on staff aren't already in a better position to sell Auburn at regional high schools than Friend is. Like, if you look at Reed, he's not even a position coach and he's been key to landing several guys in Louisiana and he might help us land Citizen. Or now we're looking at a Vandy kid for the OL, and that's probably more Mason than Friend. (Although I guess Friend's Tennessee network might actually be useful there.) 

Still. I think this could be a true addition by subtraction situation. 

[steeleagle 2,945]

5 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

I just don't know if that's true.

@bigbird made a good point recently. The flip side of hiring a guy with SEC experience is that he recruited directly against us, and recently. Is that necessarily bad? No, but if it's a guy who was able to steal kids from Auburn by talking ish about Auburn, then it might be hard for him to walk that back while working for Auburn. 

At this point, I'm not surprised if other guys on staff aren't already in a better position to sell Auburn at regional high schools than Friend is. Like, if you look at Reed, he's not even a position coach and he's been key to landing several guys in Louisiana and he might help us land Citizen. Or now we're looking at a Vandy kid for the OL, and that's probably more Mason than Friend. (Although I guess Friend's Tennessee network might actually be useful there.) 

Still. I think this could be a true addition by subtraction situation. 

CAn you imagine how we would be feeling if most of these 5-6-7 year OL didn't come back?

It is shocking so many want to go at it so long in a position that isn't going to get them in the NFL. They must be getting a little NIL money, and free Master's tuition paid for...

 

[McLoofus 35,182]

9 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

CAn you imagine how we would be feeling if most of these 5-6-7 year OL didn't come back?

It is shocking so many want to go at it so long in a position that isn't going to get them in the NFL. They must be getting a little NIL money, and free Master's tuition paid for...

Certainly makes me curious. I know there's a lot of appeal just to being in that environment, but that appeal is on a sliding scale as you point out. Some of the more obvious BMOC-type benefits don't seem to apply here. 

But it suggests one thing to me. Whether or not Harsin has a plan, I feel like he convinced at least a couple of these guys that he does. 

[nurbis 577]

26 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

CAn you imagine how we would be feeling if most of these 5-6-7 year OL didn't come back?

They must be getting a little NIL money, and free Master's tuition paid for...

 

I think the NIL is the key to it. These players can probably make a good bit more money through NIL playing one more year than if they moved on and jumped into a career beyond football. And probably another year of college life isn't so bad either. 

[Didba 5,256]

7 hours ago, AUght2win said:

You literally offer nothing to discussions on this board. In every thread you just list the best case scenario for the future as the probability and spin every single development as a positive.

You just tried to spin our staff missing on OL with the theory that our returning guys, the crew that's been here since Barfield, are "scaring off" portal talent. 

Seriously, you need to adopt some nuance or variety into your POV.

Right back at ya bud on the nuance and variety points.

Further, I am not trying to spin anything, nor was I claiming that was my POV, I was just offering an alternative reason for the recruiting struggles besides this coaching staff sucks and the sky is falling.  I even clarified in the last sentence of my post that I was just stating a possible reason.

 Also nice straw man worked in their about Barfield.  

I have enough stressful and depressing things going on in my life so when I come on here I try and look at the bright side of most things.  Two sides to every coin ya know.

Of course, you conveniently forget the many posts I made during the season breaking down defensive fronts we were running, breaking down defensive statistics and and breaking down what defensive fronts were showing our offense which influenced play-calls. Many would agree I have offered many things to discussions on this site, scheme-wise and breaking down stats and film.

My posts have shown nuance when I have actually changed my mind during discussions on here and there are many examples of that, even in this thread where another poster pointed something out and I agreed with them, stating "I had not thought of that angle."  Even further, I made numerous negative posts throughout the season trashing Bobo's play-calling and calling for him to be fired after several games. So your point "In every thread you just list the best case scenario for the future as the probability and spin every single development as a positive." is demonstrably false.

 

Have a great day!

Edited January 18, 2022 by Didba

[Didba 5,256]

2 hours ago, Mikey said:

Facing reality is part of growing up. Are you age 13? Trying to put a positive spin on the current recruiting failures is putting lipstick on a pig. No matter how you try, it's ugly.

No Auburn fan wants Harsin to fail. If he fails, Auburn fails. That being said, an honest appraisal of where we are at the moment is not being a "negabarner".

yes, but your posts are not an unbiased honest appraisal.  And my post was meant to be tongue in cheek, no need for the "are you 13?" comment. You just show your 70+ age, old man.  Am I a young man at 26? Certainly. Does that mean I don't know how to face reality? Definitely not.  After all the successes in my life regarding my tough road to attaining licensed status in my profession while getting married, during covid, amongst other things. I have had plenty of doses of "facing reality"

[Didba 5,256]

7 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

We are whiffing equally bad on HS and portal linemen. 1 high school lineman in 12 months. Friend has extensive SEC recruiting experience and Bedell in the northwest and in our biggest position of need for the future we have 1 HS lineman signed. I’m on record as being a strong supporter of CBH, buts that’s very concerning no matter how you look at it. 

I was just offering an alternative reason.

[Didba 5,256]

8 hours ago, AUght2win said:

You literally offer nothing to discussions on this board. In every thread you just list the best case scenario for the future as the probability and spin every single development as a positive.

You just tried to spin our staff missing on OL with the theory that our returning guys, the crew that's been here since Barfield, are "scaring off" portal talent. 

Seriously, you need to adopt some nuance or variety into your POV.

Also, this was clearly a tongue in cheek comment, where I clearly highlighted and even used /s to show it was meant to be taken in jest. Don't take everything so seriously.

[DyeCampAlum 335]

None of us knows for sure. Lots of people coming back who seem to love what Harsin's doing. Lots of people leaving, which leaves us confused. Maybe there's a culture change that's weeding out some in the short run but will bring great results in the long run. Maybe those last few losses show us the future.

For my part, I'm seeing enough that makes me want to ride it out. I'm not seeing enough to draw a negative conclusion. And I have no interest in this personalized bickering, which just clogs up the board.

[Didba 5,256]

5 hours ago, DyeCampAlum said:

None of us knows for sure. Lots of people coming back who seem to love what Harsin's doing. Lots of people leaving, which leaves us confused. Maybe there's a culture change that's weeding out some in the short run but will bring great results in the long run. Maybe those last few losses show us the future.

For my part, I'm seeing enough that makes me want to ride it out. I'm not seeing enough to draw a negative conclusion. And I have no interest in this personalized bickering, which just clogs up the board.

I agree, I am beginning to understand how @cole256 felt when earlier this year he had several posters following him around dredging up previous disagreements every time he posted.

[Carnell 592]

22 hours ago, W.E.D said:

I don't really understand how this point of view. 

Jaquez Hunter was our #2 ball carrier.
Marquis Robinson played on defense
Landon King played a good bit
 

"Harsin doesn't play TrFr" doesn't seem to fully fit the narrative.  Maybe these guys just aren't ready?

I am just saying Lee Hunter our best defensive recruit in the 2021 class is leaving without playing a down and if we Harsin is not careful DD is also going to leave without playing down.  He was our top recruit in the class of 2021.  After seeing some of the play of our QBs this year the excuse that this guy is not ready does not hold water.  I've continue to lose our top recruits from these recruiting classes is a problem.

[TexasTiger 13,053]

5 minutes ago, Carnell said:

I am just saying Lee Hunter our best defensive recruit in the 2021 class is leaving without playing a down and if we Harsin is not careful DD is also going to leave without playing down.  He was our top recruit in the class of 2021.  After seeing some of the play of our QBs this year the excuse that this guy is not ready does not hold water.  I've continue to lose our top recruits from these recruiting classes is a problem.

Carnell, don’t bad mouth your boss on social media. You know better.

[W.E.D 11,070]

22 minutes ago, Carnell said:

I am just saying Lee Hunter our best defensive recruit in the 2021 class is leaving without playing a down and if we Harsin is not careful DD is also going to leave without playing down.  He was our top recruit in the class of 2021.  After seeing some of the play of our QBs this year the excuse that this guy is not ready does not hold water.  I've continue to lose our top recruits from these recruiting classes is a problem.

Meh, if he goes he goes.  DD is a TrFr who from all accounts has looked bad in practice.  I don't think he'll ever play meaningful snaps for Auburn.

[SumterAubie 3,031]

17 hours ago, AUght2win said:

You literally offer nothing to discussions on this board. In every thread you just list the best case scenario for the future as the probability and spin every single development as a positive.

You just tried to spin our staff missing on OL with the theory that our returning guys, the crew that's been here since Barfield, are "scaring off" portal talent. 

Seriously, you need to adopt some nuance or variety into your POV.

Really.? You browbeat this poster because he attempts to be positive about Auburn football. When so many threads reek of negativity. I find it a bit refreshing to read some optimism, especially while other posters continue to carp about every little development. Its like some here aren't happy unless they are pointing out what is wrong with the program.

Do you ridicule optimistic people in person? 

[AUght2win 6,873]

28 minutes ago, SumterAubie said:

Really.? You browbeat this poster because he attempts to be positive about Auburn football. When so many threads reek of negativity. I find it a bit refreshing to read some optimism, especially while other posters continue to carp about every little development. Its like some here aren't happy unless they are pointing out what is wrong with the program.

Do you ridicule optimistic people in person? 

Go read what I'm replying to. He (unprompted) called out me, Mikey, and several others as "negabarners" and has absolutely done what you're accusing me of - browbeat people - in nearly every thread where people are sharing criticisms of CBH these past couple months.

Context is key. Get the whole picture. 

[Taco 617]

29 minutes ago, AUght2win said:

Go read what I'm replying to. He (unprompted) called out me, Mikey, and several others as "negabarners" and has absolutely done what you're accusing me of - browbeat people - in nearly every thread where people are sharing criticisms of CBH these past couple months.

Context is key. Get the whole picture. 

Why can’t we all just hold hands and be friends? 
 

/s 

 

But yeah, he did low blow you and then called foul. And he does definitely browbeat people on the forums but when you call him out in it he does usually apologize. 
 

Mikey and a couple of posters are really pessimistic to where it’s just hard to read. But there are merits to it. I don’t think anybody should be thinking next year or the next couples of years will be rainbows and butterflies with CBH, and there’s definitely been some red flags; however, we’re not gonna turn into Vandy. 
 

Move on and you do you. 

[SumterAubie 3,031]

19 hours ago, AUght2win said:

You literally offer nothing to discussions on this board. In every thread you just list the best case scenario for the future as the probability and spin every single development as a positive.

You just tried to spin our staff missing on OL with the theory that our returning guys, the crew that's been here since Barfield, are "scaring off" portal talent. 

Seriously, you need to adopt some nuance or variety into your POV.

 

40 minutes ago, AUght2win said:

Go read what I'm replying to. He (unprompted) called out me, Mikey, and several others as "negabarners" and has absolutely done what you're accusing me of - browbeat people - in nearly every thread where people are sharing criticisms of CBH these past couple months.

Context is key. Get the whole picture. 

I did read it. He offered up an alternative idea to Auburn's lack of offensive lineman recruiting,  And you practically quoted it in your response to that post. You admit he lists best case scenarios in every thread, And yet you belittle him for posting such.. When actually It is a nice contrast to to all the woe is Auburn tripe posted in most threads. Yet you belittle the man for posting such.

I find it odd to call someone out for having a positive attitude.

[Didba 5,256]

1 hour ago, AUght2win said:

Go read what I'm replying to. He (unprompted) called out me, Mikey, and several others as "negabarners" and has absolutely done what you're accusing me of - browbeat people - in nearly every thread where people are sharing criticisms of CBH these past couple months.

Context is key. Get the whole picture. 

I was clearly saying all of that in jest, trying to lighten up the mood, I even put /s and put yellow font to show that I was joking.  If you interpreted it as being rude or offensive then I apologize I that wasn't my intent.  I was just trying to have a bit of fun as you guys do have to admit y'all are fairly consistently negative.

In all honesty I thought you'd jokingly tell me to screw off and we'd all have a laugh.  It really wasn't meant to be insulting.  If it was then this was a good learning experience and I will try to be funny in a different way in the future. I really didn't expect that type of response from you, maybe Mikey but you and I get along pretty okay even with our heated discussions at times. So my bad.

[Didba 5,256]

54 minutes ago, Taco said:

Why can’t we all just hold hands and be friends? 
 

/s 

 

But yeah, he did low blow you and then called foul. And he does definitely browbeat people on the forums but when you call him out in it he does usually apologize. 
 

Mikey and a couple of posters are really pessimistic to where it’s just hard to read. But there are merits to it. I don’t think anybody should be thinking next year or the next couples of years will be rainbows and butterflies with CBH, and there’s definitely been some red flags; however, we’re not gonna turn into Vandy. 
 

Move on and you do you. 

I honestly tried to make it clear I was joking around, I didn't think it was a low blow, just a way to point out their negativity in jest.  I clearly didn't do it effectively or maybe I took it too far.  That's my bad.  It really wasn't meant to be malicious.  And I have brow beaten other posters in the past but I am trying to get better at it. 

I'll admit I take breaks from drafting documents at work to come on here and chat or read stuff.  Its hard for me to turn off the adversarial aspect of my brain when I switch from writing an aggressive legal argument in a motion or a petition to conversing with you guys on the forums especially when some of the things people say on here stick in my craw so viciously. 

I am trying to work on it and I am aware it's an issue.  I don't want to be known around here as the smart defensive scheme guy, who writes up solid takes on things but is also known as a massive pr*ck like metafour can be at times.

Edited January 19, 2022 by Didba