Former Auburn DL claims players treated 'like dogs' under Bryan Harsin

[aubiefifty 17,073]

Former Auburn DL claims players treated 'like dogs' under Bryan Harsin

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

3-4 minutes

Auburn freshman defensive tackle Lee Hunter (44) goes head-to-head with offensive guard Tashawn Manning (56) during practice on Monday, March 22, 2021 in Auburn, Ala. Todd Van Emst/AU AthleticsTodd Van Emst/AU Athletics

A former Auburn player took to social media Friday morning to address the reason for his decision to transfer from the program amid speculation about the job status of head coach Bryan Harsin.

Lee Hunter, a former four-star defensive tackle out of Mobile, is one of 18 players to enter the transfer portal from Auburn since the end of the regular season. He since transferred to UCF, reuniting with former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, who first recruited him to the Plains.

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“Auburn is a special place and always will be,” Hunter began in his post. “…The reason I chose to leave Auburn (is) because we got treated like we wasn’t good enough and like dogs. I love you, Auburn nation, war eagle forever. Coach Harsin has the true mindset for a winner but has a terrible mindset as a person.”

Hunter’s post was liked by several current and former Auburn teammates after being posted shortly before 9 a.m. CT, including defensive back Donovan Kaufman, edge defender Romello Height (now at USC), defensive lineman Ian Mathews, among others.

Hunter was the second-highest rated player in Auburn’s 2021 signing class and a top-100 overall prospect coming out of Blount. He signed with the program during the early signing period in 2020, prior to the school’s hiring of Harsin. Hunter did not see the field last fall.

Harsin was hired as Auburn’s 28th head coach on Dec. 22, 2020, taking over the program following eight up-and-down seasons under Malzahn. Harsin went 6-7 in his first season with the program and finished sixth in the SEC West. The Tigers started the season 6-2 but after the calendar flipped to November, they lost five straight games to close the year and finish with the program’s first losing record since 2012.

Since the end of the regular season, Auburn has seen 18 players transfer from the program, the coaching staff has experienced an inordinate amount of turnover—with change at both coordinator spots—and the 2022 signing period ended with no additional signees on National Signing Day.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

[autiger88 3,777]

Edited February 4, 2022 by autiger88

[DAG 34,034]

Truth is in the eye of the beholder.

[autiger88 3,777]

[aubiefifty 17,073]

for the record i have no idea who is right and who is not. i did post opposing views. but some are saying he slept with an intern.............so take it for what it is worth.

[AidiAU 1,270]

Well, some damage has been done regardless of what the truth is. 

[fasttimes 356]

what does that mean? "treated like dogs"?

[Hopsing 585]

4 hours ago, fasttimes said:

what does that mean? "treated like dogs"?

My wife’s dog is treated better than me! If … never mind.

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

6 hours ago, AidiAU said:

Well, some damage has been done regardless of what the truth is. 

THATS what makes me so mad and upset. This has been a PR disaster and Auburn once again looks like fool.

 

[aubaseball 2,670]

23 minutes ago, Tigerbelle said:

THATS what makes me so mad and upset. This has been a PR disaster and Auburn once again looks like fool.

 

Welcome to AU PR 101, 201, 301 and 401.  

[cole256 17,084]

Hilarious that if you leave Auburn you're supposedly not credible

[Farmer Brown 2,391]

6 minutes ago, cole256 said:

Hilarious that if you leave Auburn you're supposedly not credible

You could be a little biased,  don't you think?

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

1 hour ago, cole256 said:

Hilarious that if you leave Auburn you're supposedly not credible

Yep....except that I find it very sad

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

1 hour ago, aubaseball said:

Welcome to AU PR 101, 201, 301 and 401.  

I remember the days of my dislike for Sunny Golloway and how he treated his players.....and guess what happened there? 

Sometimes it is what it is even if you don't want it to be that way. 

[Didba 5,275]

2 minutes ago, Tigerbelle said:

I remember the days of my dislike for Sunny Golloway and how he treated his players.....and guess what happened there? 

Sometimes it is what it is even if you don't want it to be that way. 

Just letting you know they cannot fire him for cause due to him being an jerk to players. Just saying I breakdown the contract in one of the threads last night.

Edited February 5, 2022 by Didba

[Taco 617]

6 minutes ago, Didba said:

Just letting you know they cannot fire him for cause due to him being an jerk to players. Just saying I breakdown the contract in one of the threads last night.

They can. They just have to fork up $13 million as well.

[AidiAU 1,270]

2 hours ago, Tigerbelle said:

THATS what makes me so mad and upset. This has been a PR disaster and Auburn once again looks like fool.

 

My profession is PR, and I am MAJORLY struggling with all of this. There are so many different layers, and I would love to just sit in their war room and listen to the discussions. 

[aubaseball 2,670]

6 minutes ago, Tigerbelle said:

I remember the days of my dislike for Sunny Golloway and how he treated his players.....and guess what happened there? 

Sometimes it is what it is even if you don't want it to be that way. 

I’m not pretending to know exactly what took  place in the Auburn football world but I’ve played sports from HS through college and beyond.    Just from listening to a little of that conversation, that’s natural stuff that takes place in sports.   Some are going to be disgruntled no matter what.    As far as Sunny, he was a total A hole to everyone.   That’s why he was shown the door.   

[Didba 5,275]

8 minutes ago, Taco said:

They can. They just have to fork up $13 million as well.

Probably more then that in a wrong termination lawsuit.

[russnagel1 26]

This situation is like many other situations in life. People believe what they want to believe.

[Hank2020 3,223]

4 minutes ago, russnagel1 said:

This situation is like many other situations in life. People believe what they want to believe.

I think you are correct but there are clearly two opposing stories being shared openly by those that know the real story. Real question it would seem will be if there are actual incidents that have race or actual abuse as the root cause. I also believe that clearly Harsin needs to modify his personal interaction approach.

[tigerman1186 537]

I stated it earlier on another entry....treated like 'dogs'????....if you went through winter workout during Coach Jordan's era in the 70's, going to the boiler room for mat drills and hand-to-hand combat, you came out like a dog, with your tongue dragging....