2024 Recruiting Thread

[au701948 1,009]

On 10/5/2023 at 9:31 AM, ellitor said:

@tbone4jc No. We really like who we may potentially land.

That would be phenomenal! Hope to see it.

[tinman1 488]

2 hours ago, Tigger1985 said:

So three staffs ago 😂

Actually 4 (Harsin, Gus, Chizik, then Tubs), but seems like only yesterday.  Believe me there have been numerous times over the past 15 years I really miss the duck hunters and the BBQ boys.

[Sizzle 3,920]

17 hours ago, woodford said:

Did any of the staff go to any games last night?

 

16 hours ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

Caddy did. I forget what game it was, but he was def at one. 

He went to watch RB commit Phat Burnette play

[HAPvsOA 339]

Hmmm....can't seem to be able to find a LJ McCray thread. I'll take that as a sign that we are not favored to land him now that he's close to making a decision. 

[AUwent 3,778]

Hate to say it but there seems to be lots of bad vibes in recruiting right now. I’ve had a rough evening (and yes, for non-football reasons) so that may be part of it, but we seem to have all this talk of losing players and not flipping any ourselves. I'm beginning to get nervous that we won't have a cons. top 15 class--which was and still is what I'm asking for this cycle, no goalpost moving.

Edited October 14, 2023 by AUwent

[ellitor 33,114]

37 minutes ago, AUwent said:

we seem to have all this talk of losing players and not flipping any ourselves.

@AUwent Ummm. There's been 1 decommit & rumors of a few more coming. A couple of the rumored to come are said to be a mutual parting of ways. If true, a mutual parting is not losing players.

Also there are lots of rumors of us flipping guys from Bama & Florida FWIW. Long way to go but let's let it play out.

37 minutes ago, AUwent said:

I'm beginning to get nervous that we won't have a cons. top 15 class-

FWIW JLee knows of all the rumored coming decommits & flips & still predicted tonight for us to finish 8th in recruiting rankings in this class so relax please. There's still going to e a lot of movement in the class for us & most teams.

[AUwent 3,778]

17 minutes ago, ellitor said:

@AUwent Ummm. There's been 1 decommit & rumors of a few more coming. A couple of the rumored to come are said to be a mutual parting of ways. If true, a mutual parting is not losing players.

Also there are lots of rumors of us flipping guys from Bama & Florida FWIW. Long way to go but let's let it play out.

FWIW JLee knows of all the rumored coming decommits & flips & still predicted tonight for us to finish 8th in recruiting rankings in this class so relax please. There's still going to e a lot of movement in the class for us & most teams.

Like I said, I've had a rough evening so that was a big factor. Deeply appreciated.

Edited October 14, 2023 by AUwent

[AUINSY 2,228]

To @AUwent’s point:

 

Auburn football losing momentum with urgency on the backburner

Within the Auburn football fanbase, there’s been an accepted resignation to defeat since the opening of SEC play — arguably initiated by Hugh Freeze himself when he tempered expectations for the Tigers ahead of their three-game stretch against Texas A&M, Georgia, and LSU.

It’s good not to get hopes up, but there are evidently consequences to being so open about not having expectations: recruits will lose their confidence that the program can be a winner while they’re there, swayed by the results and scared off after being swayed by a team that is winning more, or at least isn’t accepting defeat as inevitable.

Jalewis Solomon was the first, and it appears that Carter could be next.

https://flywareagle.com/2023/10/13/chipping-away-auburn-football-ol/

[ellitor 33,114]

40 minutes ago, AUINSY said:

recruits will lose their confidence that the program can be a winner while they’re there

Haven't seen evidence of this. If UGa gets Solomon they will have just outrecruited for him & his bro Zayden Walker. If we end up losing Carter to Texas I think it's as simple as we can't match their NIL.

43 minutes ago, AUINSY said:

swayed by the results

On field results rarely plays a factor in the current class's recruits unless it's accompanied by coaching changes.

I could be wrong but I doubt recruits are reading as deeply as you are on how Hugh has carried hinmself this season.

[AUINSY 2,228]

27 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Haven't seen evidence of this. If UGa gets Solomon they will have just outrecruited for him & his bro Zayden Walker. If we end up losing Carter to Texas I think it's as simple as we can't match their NIL.

On field results rarely plays a factor in the current class's recruits unless it's accompanied by coaching changes.

I could be wrong but I doubt recruits are reading as deeply as you are on how Hugh has carried hinmself this season.

For the record, I didn’t write that, it was copied/pasted from the article I linked. But the decommits don’t give warm fuzzies.

[tbone4jc 2,241]

Cannot loose OLine recruits, this class needs them more the any other position without question!

[bigbird 60,580]

9 hours ago, AUwent said:

Hate to say it but there seems to be lots of bad vibes in recruiting right now. I’ve had a rough evening (and yes, for non-football reasons) so that may be part of it, but we seem to have all this talk of losing players and not flipping any ourselves. I'm beginning to get nervous that we won't have a cons. top 15 class--which was and still is what I'm asking for this cycle, no goalpost moving.

 

 

[bigbird 60,580]

8 hours ago, ellitor said:

FWIW JLee knows of all the rumored coming decommits & flips & still predicted tonight for us to finish 8th in recruiting rankings

Glad he's catching up.

 

On 7/9/2023 at 6:13 PM, bigbird said:

8-12

I'm still saying 8-12 but much closer to 8

[NCTiger1982 171]

Something to keep in mind. At Auburn every year is a crucial year for recruiting based on our geographic location regardless of how good we are. 
I grew up in AL and lived in FL twice, LA, TX and NC. I’ve NEVER encountered a state media as bias and determined to promote the state school and undermine their in state competition like the Bama press. They are bama’s 12th man. Most sports journalists in AL have no journalistic integrity. The ONLY reason why the Bama press covered the Albert Means story was because a TN paper broke the story so they they had to cover it. While Dubose got nailed he was using the same blueprint he & Stallings used in AL 247/365. Stallings bailed before the hammer came down. If you recall Yeager from the NCAA was quoted saying Bama was the dirtiest program they ever encountered. They had so much dirt he said they got tired of looking and quit. It was like a murderer with 8 life sentences but there are still more bodies. Do we really need more at this point ? Everyone knows how Saban’s house was built. This will always challenge our recruiting but at least with NIL we don’t have to watch Bama buy our recruits out from under us while the NCAA turns a blind eye doing absolutely nothing. It’s the most level playing field we’ve ever had. 
 

Next we go to talent rich GA. Every time they have a decent HC they do a good job at getting the state’s best players. Kirby built that house just like Saban. Had NIL started around Kirby’s first year he would not be sporting 2 NC rings. At least NIL should start chipping away at depth and Freeze needs to start getting his share. Kirby is young so the challenge is going nowhere, but just like Bama , NIL allows us to compete. 
 

Now to FL and mainly FSU. Over the years it’s uncanny how many times we have locked horns with FSU over top recruits, been their top 2 schools of choice and ended up finishing second. We need many more Faulk, Limonier, etc. 

So with AL, GA & FL being our natural recruiting ground it’s loaded with talent , but every year is crucial given the advantages and/or history of our top 3 competitors for talent. We just can’t afford to have a bad year. We have had starters that can go toe to toe with the best, but we seldom have the same quality depth. 
 

[AUwent 3,778]

37 minutes ago, NCTiger1982 said:

Something to keep in mind. At Auburn every year is a crucial year for recruiting based on our geographic location regardless of how good we are. 
I grew up in AL and lived in FL twice, LA, TX and NC. I’ve NEVER encountered a state media as bias and determined to promote the state school and undermine their in state competition like the Bama press. They are bama’s 12th man. Most sports journalists in AL have no journalistic integrity. The ONLY reason why the Bama press covered the Albert Means story was because a TN paper broke the story so they they had to cover it. While Dubose got nailed he was using the same blueprint he & Stallings used in AL 247/365. Stallings bailed before the hammer came down. If you recall Yeager from the NCAA was quoted saying Bama was the dirtiest program they ever encountered. They had so much dirt he said they got tired of looking and quit. It was like a murderer with 8 life sentences but there are still more bodies. Do we really need more at this point ? Everyone knows how Saban’s house was built. This will always challenge our recruiting but at least with NIL we don’t have to watch Bama buy our recruits out from under us while the NCAA turns a blind eye doing absolutely nothing. It’s the most level playing field we’ve ever had. 
 

Next we go to talent rich GA. Every time they have a decent HC they do a good job at getting the state’s best players. Kirby built that house just like Saban. Had NIL started around Kirby’s first year he would not be sporting 2 NC rings. At least NIL should start chipping away at depth and Freeze needs to start getting his share. Kirby is young so the challenge is going nowhere, but just like Bama , NIL allows us to compete. 
 

Now to FL and mainly FSU. Over the years it’s uncanny how many times we have locked horns with FSU over top recruits, been their top 2 schools of choice and ended up finishing second. We need many more Faulk, Limonier, etc. 

So with AL, GA & FL being our natural recruiting ground it’s loaded with talent , but every year is crucial given the advantages and/or history of our top 3 competitors for talent. We just can’t afford to have a bad year. We have had starters that can go toe to toe with the best, but we seldom have the same quality depth. 
 

Florida is probably going to go 6-6 at best yet they have the #3 recruiting class with possibly their third 5* next week. IDK what you define as a bad year for the coach's first year, but this was certainly always going to be...well, like many other HC's first years. My requirement for this class hasn't changed at all: consensus top 15.

[AUINSY 2,228]

42 minutes ago, NCTiger1982 said:

Most sports journalists in AL have no journalistic integrity.

Fixed that for you, but agree on your point as well. 

[NCTiger1982 171]

3 hours ago, AUwent said:

Florida is probably going to go 6-6 at best yet they have the #3 recruiting class with possibly their third 5* next week. IDK what you define as a bad year for the coach's first year, but this was certainly always going to be...well, like many other HC's first years. My requirement for this class hasn't changed at all: consensus top 15.

I’m not making excuses for anyone. I’m simply pointing out what the challenges are with our job. If you take the job understand it’s a man’s job and we are looking for the next HC to be someone taking us to championships consistently winning our fair share. My expectations for Auburn are consistent top 10 recruiting classes (just to compete) and consistent 10 regular season wins per season. Before the realistic gang attack FSU and UM were home coming opponents at one time. LSU was up and down before Saban & Miles and where was Clemson before Dabo’s run. I think our biggest problem is too many in our fan base are ok with 8 win seasons. We can manage the Creed and consistently win championships. 

[AUwent 3,778]

15 minutes ago, NCTiger1982 said:

I’m not making excuses for anyone. I’m simply pointing out what the challenges are with our job. If you take the job understand it’s a man’s job and we are looking for the next HC to be someone taking us to championships consistently winning our fair share. My expectations for Auburn are consistent top 10 recruiting classes (just to compete) and consistent 10 regular season wins per season. Before the realistic gang attack FSU and UM were home coming opponents at one time. LSU was up and down before Saban & Miles and where was Clemson before Dabo’s run. I think our biggest problem is too many in our fan base are ok with 8 win seasons. We can manage the Creed and consistently win championships. 

Top 15 class this year and top 10 next, with a one game (reg season) improvement each year through year 5. That's what I realistically want.

Edited October 14, 2023 by AUwent

[augolf1716 21,434]

16 minutes ago, AUwent said:

Top 15 class this year and top 10 next, with a one game (reg season) improvement each year through year 5. That's what I realistically want.

We know you keep repeating it over and over

[AUwent 3,778]

14 minutes ago, augolf1716 said:

We know you keep repeating it over and over

Unfortunately, I get the sneaking suspicion that improving the record next year will be difficult (assuming 6 wins this year). Everything is lining up for it to be A&M's year, KY and MO are both doing quite well, and both KJ Jefferson and Rocket could be back for Arky, plus they have a lot of close losses this year.

[Hank2020 3,225]

23 minutes ago, AUwent said:

Unfortunately, I get the sneaking suspicion that improving the record next year will be difficult (assuming 6 wins this year). Everything is lining up for it to be A&M's year, KY and MO are both doing quite well, and both KJ Jefferson and Rocket could be back for Arky, plus they have a lot of close losses this year.

Arky is much better than their record says they are.

[AUwent 3,778]

6 minutes ago, Hank2020 said:

Arky is much better than their record says they are.

Unfortunately yes. I'm hoping next year we can take two of them, Missouri and Kentucky but IDK...

Edited October 14, 2023 by AUwent

[TeamZero77 1,786]

21 hours ago, ellitor said:

@AUwent Ummm. There's been 1 decommit & rumors of a few more coming. A couple of the rumored to come are said to be a mutual parting of ways. If true, a mutual parting is not losing players.

Also there are lots of rumors of us flipping guys from Bama & Florida FWIW. Long way to go but let's let it play out.

FWIW JLee knows of all the rumored coming decommits & flips & still predicted tonight for us to finish 8th in recruiting rankings in this class so relax please. There's still going to e a lot of movement in the class for us & most teams.

So do you still think we were worrying for no reason this year when we said goal is to get to a bowl game? I know you were really confident in 8 or 9 wins this year and a serious playoff push next season. Just asking

[TeamZero77 1,786]

2 hours ago, Hank2020 said:

Arky is much better than their record says they are.

I agree. I think every loss they have this year is by 7 points or less. They're in every ballgame. 

[ellitor 33,114]

9 hours ago, NCTiger1982 said:

I’ve NEVER encountered a state media as bias and determined to promote the state school and undermine their in state competition like the Bama press.

@NCTiger1982 Ok but the media doesn't affect how we recruit or play. Same for Bama.