Transfer Safety Donovan Kaufman COMMITS TO AUBURN!

[WFE12 9,191]

 

[AUwent 3,756]

Well, glad we got a 4* as ranked by at least one recruiting service...

[GwillMac6 20,689]

4 minutes ago, AUwent said:

Well, glad we got a 4* as ranked by at least one recruiting service...

Dawg what the heck is going on with you?! I've never seen you act like this before. You usually are mr positivity but you have been on a one way ticket to negativity ever since Harsin got hired. This isn't like you. Talk to me. What's wrong? What's going on? The passive aggressive stuff isn't you man.

[oracle79 3,569]

2 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

What's wrong? What's going on?

Gushurt? 🤔

[toddc 13,194]

2 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

Dawg what the heck is going on with you?! I've never seen you act like this before. You usually are mr positivity but you have been on a one way ticket to negativity ever since Harsin got hired. This isn't like you. Talk to me. What's wrong? What's going on? The passive aggressive stuff isn't you man.

AUwent is AUgone these days. I know it’s bad but I don’t care today for some reason. 😝 

Edited May 25, 2021 by toddc

[AUwent 3,756]

^Nah it's cool. Just very nervous about our recruiting and pretty unsure about our staff, especially with the landscape around the SEC. Can't remember who it was but someone made a point that our worst seasons have come a few years after lackluster classes. Which is why two years or beyond of lackluster classes could be very detrimental. 

Edited May 25, 2021 by AUwent

[metafour 4,969]

1 minute ago, AUwent said:

^Nah it's cool. Just very nervous about our recruiting and pretty unsure about our staff, especially with the landscape around the SEC.

What are you nervous about? They are cleaning up in the transfer portal and utilizing actual player evaluation - not "star gazing". Are you actually implying that a transfer's star rating out of HS has some sort of implication in their potential impact here?

Lets play a hypothetical- TJ Finley beats out Bo Nix in the fall and Bo decides to transfer. Would the receiving team be landing a "5-star transfer", or a failed prospect who has played at a 3-star rate? 

[SumterAubie 3,031]

3 hours ago, metafour said:

What are you nervous about? They are cleaning up in the transfer portal and utilizing actual player evaluation - not "star gazing". Are you actually implying that a transfer's star rating out of HS has some sort of implication in their potential impact here?

Lets play a hypothetical- TJ Finley beats out Bo Nix in the fall and Bo decides to transfer. Would the receiving team be landing a "5-star transfer", or a failed prospect who has played at a 3-star rate? 

Not to mention this coaching staff actually seems to be looking 2 or 3 years in advance. They have an eye on this upcoming season, but are looking harder at where they want Auburn to be in 2, 3 years. Gosh,  Harsin may even have a plan.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

10 minutes ago, SumterAubie said:

Not to mention this coaching staff actually seems to be looking 2 or 3 years in advance. They have an eye on this upcoming season, but are looking harder at where they want Auburn to be in 2, 3 years. Gosh,  Harsin may even have a plan.

I hear you but I doubt many fans are going to be patient for 2-3  years while other SEC elites eat  our lunch and we play in 2nd rate bowls.

Edited May 26, 2021 by Proud Tiger

[SumterAubie 3,031]

18 minutes ago, SumterAubie said:

Not to mention this coaching staff actually seems to be looking 2 or 3 years in advance. They have an eye on this upcoming season, but are looking harder at where they want Auburn to be in 2, 3 years. Gosh,  Harsin may even have a plan.

 

8 minutes ago, Proud Tiger said:

I hear you but I doubt many fans are going to be patient for 2-3  years while other SEC elites eat  our lunch and we play in 2nd rate bowls.

I don't see why not. We tolerated a lesser coach for 8 years.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

18 minutes ago, SumterAubie said:

 

I don't see why not. We tolerated a lesser coach for 8 years.

True but he beat bama just often enough to save his job. Don't get me wrong I agree with you but after recent so-so seasons I'm afraid many fans won't be patient for 3 more  years unless he beats bama at least 1 of those 3.

Edited May 26, 2021 by Proud Tiger

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

10 hours ago, Proud Tiger said:

True but he beat bama just often enough to save his job. Don't get me wrong I agree with you but after recent so-so seasons I'm afraid many fans won't be patient for 3 more  years unless he beats bama at least 1 of those 3.

Not losing games that we shouldn't have lost will be the first litmus test. Another welcome departure from the Gus tenure will be if we look like we have an actual plan against our rivals and/or at least show the flexibility to adjust when the game shifts.

[McLoofus 35,182]

41 minutes ago, JBiGGiE said:

Not losing games that we shouldn't have lost will be the first litmus test. Another welcome departure from the Gus tenure will be if we look like we have an actual plan against our rivals and/or at least show the flexibility to adjust when the game shifts.

Yup.

Sensible fans realize that Harsin has to do some ground-up rebuilding of this program. It started with the recent purge and then it will continue through recruiting after we graduate or send to the NFL a *ton* of players next year. It's going to take time and this is a big reason that we didn't want to let Gus keep digging the hole deeper. 

If the team is operating in a manner that makes sense, then most fans will be smart enough to recognize it and be patient. I'd much rather go 6-6, 8-4, and 10-2 with 3 consecutive losses to bama these next 3 years than beat them the first year and then go the opposite direction like Gus did. That LBS mentality of thinking that beating them every 3 years makes an 8-win coach good enough has held us back far too long.  

[AUwent 3,756]

On 5/25/2021 at 6:34 PM, metafour said:

What are you nervous about? They are cleaning up in the transfer portal and utilizing actual player evaluation - not "star gazing". Are you actually implying that a transfer's star rating out of HS has some sort of implication in their potential impact here?

Lets play a hypothetical- TJ Finley beats out Bo Nix in the fall and Bo decides to transfer. Would the receiving team be landing a "5-star transfer", or a failed prospect who has played at a 3-star rate? 

So we're now in the "stars don't matter" phase? Great.

Edited May 29, 2021 by AUwent

[metafour 4,969]

12 hours ago, AUwent said:

So we're now in the "stars don't matter" phase? Great.

They absolutely don't matter once the kid hits the field - what part of that is confusing? Do you think Brian Harsin came in here and looked at the QB situation and said to himself "oh we have a 5-star there, no need to worry about it"...or do you think he looked at the film and saw Bo Nix playing at the level of a 3-star? The actual performance on the field at a D1 school washes away how hyped or not hyped a player was out of HS.

The mistake you're making is placing higher value on a perceived "star rating" over the actual SHOWN ABILITY of these players that they are bringing in through the portal. Why would you do that? 3-star players get passed up all the time and then play like 4-stars or better at smaller schools. Unlike HS recruits, the portal allows you to evaluate players who already have a collegiate RESUME. The "3-star" DL from Kansas that we're bringing in would have been an easy 4-star out of HS had he been reevaluated based off of what we know today. The fact that he was "only a 3-star" is irrelevant to the fact that he's a redshirt Sophomore who has already performed on the field against Big 12 teams. The NFL literally drafts kids like him from "non-power" schools every single year - it's called a recruiting miss. 

The star rating system works fairly well for HIGH SCHOOL recruits. Just like in the NFL, a 1st round pick is "likely" better than a 4th round pick. But if you have a 4th round pick on your roster who is playing at a Pro Bowl level, does the fact that he was a 4th round pick matter anymore? Why would it? 

[AUwent 3,756]

2 hours ago, metafour said:

They absolutely don't matter once the kid hits the field - what part of that is confusing? Do you think Brian Harsin came in here and looked at the QB situation and said to himself "oh we have a 5-star there, no need to worry about it"...or do you think he looked at the film and saw Bo Nix playing at the level of a 3-star? The actual performance on the field at a D1 school washes away how hyped or not hyped a player was out of HS.

The mistake you're making is placing higher value on a perceived "star rating" over the actual SHOWN ABILITY of these players that they are bringing in through the portal. Why would you do that? 3-star players get passed up all the time and then play like 4-stars or better at smaller schools. Unlike HS recruits, the portal allows you to evaluate players who already have a collegiate RESUME. The "3-star" DL from Kansas that we're bringing in would have been an easy 4-star out of HS had he been reevaluated based off of what we know today. The fact that he was "only a 3-star" is irrelevant to the fact that he's a redshirt Sophomore who has already performed on the field against Big 12 teams. The NFL literally drafts kids like him from "non-power" schools every single year - it's called a recruiting miss. 

The star rating system works fairly well for HIGH SCHOOL recruits. Just like in the NFL, a 1st round pick is "likely" better than a 4th round pick. But if you have a 4th round pick on your roster who is playing at a Pro Bowl level, does the fact that he was a 4th round pick matter anymore? Why would it? 

Oh I thought the stars were evaluating after the collegiate experience, like how JUCO recruits are rated. This transfer portal system is so confusing.

Point remains about recruits we get from HS.

 

 

Edited May 29, 2021 by AUwent

[Sizzle 3,917]

 

[JDUBB4AU 5,121]

On 5/31/2021 at 7:42 AM, Sizzle said:

 

Thank you for posting . This kid fires me up . He will be a monster at AU

[Paladin 3,305]

Donovan Kaufman: 'I just love playing football'

by Jason Caldwell

11 minutes ago

Needing help at the safety position following the losses of Jamien Sherwood, Jordyn Peters and Chris Thompson Jr., Auburn got a huge addition when Vanderbilt transfer Donovan Kaufman chose the Tigers over plenty of other options from around the country. A native of New Orleans, the 5-8, 200 Kaufman said he’s anxious to get back on the field and excited that it’s going to be at Auburn. Starting officially on Wednesday, he said it's time to get to work.

“I’m just ready to get started,” he said. “I’m ready to play football. I’m definitely anxious, but I went through the spring at Vandy and that definitely got me back in my rhythm. I was happy to do that.”

Already very familiar with Auburn defensive coordinator Derek Mason after being recruited by him and playing for the veteran coach at Vanderbilt, Kaufman said “everything checked off” when he got a look at the Tigers, the campus, coaching staff and more. Having Mason just added to the list, he said.

“That made it even a bigger plus for me,” Kaufman said. “For one, he is going to put the best players on the field. Really I would describe him as someone who wants to win at the end of the day. He is going to do what it takes to win.”

Something else that is big for Kaufman is being able to play alongside upcoming senior Smoke Monday. A veteran who has seen it all in the Southeastern Conference, Monday was someone Kaufman sought out to learn more about Auburn and the bond grew from there.

“It feels great to know you have somebody on the other side that you know you can trust,” Kaufman said. “I just have to build that trust with him so he can trust me. It’s great to play next to somebody like that and a guy who has that experience.”

Trust is the name of the game for Kaufman now with his workouts beginning on Wednesday. With just a few months to learn his teammates and coaches while getting a feel for their games, the defense and everything to do with the program, he said there is not a minute to waste.

“You can’t win without trust,” Kaufman said. “I have got to get to know my teammates and they have got to get to know me. We have just got to build that bond and trust each other.”

What will Auburn fans see when Kaufman gets on the field this fall? The defensive back said it’s hard for him to describe other than just keeping it simple.

“All I can say is that I play football,” Kaufman said. “I don’t know if there is a part of my game that’s different, I just love playing football.”