The Freeze Four!

[ScotsAU 1,333]

It sucks a little that we didn’t land Williams (assuming he stands by his recommitment when he signs). 
 

But we still have a lot to be happy about in this recruiting class, especially at receiver. Given the Freeze Four, which you receiver:

a) do you think has the biggest year one impact?

b) do you think finishes their career with the biggest impact overall?

Edited January 24 by ScotsAU

[GoAU 1,600]

Did he re-commit?   All I saw was that he cancelled his trip to Texas.   Did he cancel his visit to Auburn?

[Gowebb11 9,328]

1 minute ago, GoAU said:

Did he re-commit?   All I saw was that he cancelled his trip to Texas.   Did he cancel his visit to Auburn?

Re-committed per On3 and AL.com

[TuscaloosaTiger 284]

If so, then glad it is over so we can appreciate the outstanding receivers who want to be at AU. WDE!

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,302]

58 minutes ago, ScotsAU said:

Given the Freeze Four (Cain Simmons , Thompson, Coleman) which you receiver:

a) do you think has the biggest year one impact?

b) do you think finishes their career with the biggest impact overall?

a) Thompson. I get big time Megatron vibes from him

b) Thompson, again

[HAYinthemiddleoftheBARN 204]

I like the four. RW not being at AU allows the "Freeze Four" to rack up more catches. 

[TeamZero77 1,784]

With all the negative publicity surrounding Alabama's football program since Saban retired, I'm sure they felt like they had to win this RW recruitment over Auburn. They probably overspent (no source but just a hunch) and felt it was well worth overspending on RW then to have him sign with us and take another huge hit to their programs image. 

We will be just fine with this WR class we have. I hope we use this NIL money we had for RW and go get us some help in the trenches or at QB or an edge rusher. 

[AUwent 3,754]

2 hours ago, TeamZero77 said:

With all the negative publicity surrounding Alabama's football program since Saban retired, I'm sure they felt like they had to win this RW recruitment over Auburn. They probably overspent (no source but just a hunch) and felt it was well worth overspending on RW then to have him sign with us and take another huge hit to their programs image. 

We will be just fine with this WR class we have. I hope we use this NIL money we had for RW and go get us some help in the trenches or at QB or an edge rusher. 

At least for this year, feels like the offensive line is shaping up to be a strength for us? But yeah defensive line needs help.

Edited January 25 by AUwent

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

a-Coleman ... only because Perry isn't an EE

b-Bryce Cain.... he is going to make us forget all about the RW saga. kid is a legit stud in the slot and I think he will have 4 years of production vs cam and Perry having 3 and likely hitting the league 

[Barnacle 9,064]

13 hours ago, TeamZero77 said:

With all the negative publicity surrounding Alabama's football program since Saban retired, I'm sure they felt like they had to win this RW recruitment over Auburn. They probably overspent (no source but just a hunch) and felt it was well worth overspending on RW then to have him sign with us and take another huge hit to their programs image. 

I think this is probably the case, and I think Auburn fans need to understand that Ryan Williams also genuinely appears to love Alabama. Although he may not have strong relationships with the current staff, he has strong relationships within their 2024 class, and it was always going to be a tough pull. The thing about RW's recruitment, as well as many others, is that it's clear that our staff will not simply lay down and move on from kids they want. They are going to fight to the end. It nearly paid off here, but we will reap the rewards of that strategy more and more often moving forward. 

[HAYinthemiddleoftheBARN 204]

1 hour ago, Barnacle said:

I think this is probably the case, and I think Auburn fans need to understand that Ryan Williams also genuinely appears to love Alabama. Although he may not have strong relationships with the current staff, he has strong relationships within their 2024 class, and it was always going to be a tough pull. The thing about RW's recruitment, as well as many others, is that it's clear that our staff will not simply lay down and move on from kids they want. They are going to fight to the end. It nearly paid off here, but we will reap the rewards of that strategy more and more often moving forward. 

Well spoken Barn, well spoken

[Hank2020 3,204]

14 hours ago, AUwent said:

At least for this year, feels like the offensive line is shaping up to be a strength for us? But yeah defensive line needs help.

We look like we have better OL players, but gotta see how they gel.

[Hank2020 3,204]

4 hours ago, Tigerpro2a said:

a-Coleman ... only because Perry isn't an EE

b-Bryce Cain.... he is going to make us forget all about the RW saga. kid is a legit stud in the slot and I think he will have 4 years of production vs cam and Perry having 3 and likely hitting the league 

If anyone is as effective as you describe, they will probably not be around 4 years.

[BustemBigBlue 176]

18 hours ago, WDE_OxPx_2010 said:

a) Thompson. I get big time Megatron vibes from him

b) Thompson, again

Agree with this. After watching the documentary on this kid there’s just something about his demeanor that makes me believe he’s going to be special. 

[Swamp Eagle 5,140]

5 hours ago, Tigerpro2a said:

a-Coleman ... only because Perry isn't an EE

b-Bryce Cain.... he is going to make us forget all about the RW saga. kid is a legit stud in the slot and I think he will have 4 years of production vs cam and Perry having 3 and likely hitting the league 

I’ve heard not to sleep on Malcolm Simmons…

[au701948 999]

20 hours ago, TuscaloosaTiger said:

If so, then glad it is over so we can appreciate the outstanding receivers who want to be at AU. WDE!

My sentiments too.

[TitanTiger 20,488]

Under normal circumstances, not getting RW and him going to Turdistan would really sting.  But when you sign 4 WRs of the caliber we did, it's hard to be all that bothered by it.  It's already an embarrassment of riches at that position in this signing class.

My guess is, Cam Coleman is gonna be a menace, but Bryce Cain is gonna leave a vapor trail or two.

[Swamp Eagle 5,140]

21 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

Under normal circumstances, not getting RW and him going to Turdistan would really sting.  But when you sign 4 WRs of the caliber we did, it's hard to be all that bothered by it.  It's already an embarrassment of riches at that position in this signing class.

My guess is, Cam Coleman is gonna be a menace, but Bryce Cain is gonna leave a vapor trail or two.

I liked what I saw from Dylan Gentry in the HS championship. If that guy can avoid jail time (😉), he could be sneaky good…

Edited January 25 by Swamp Eagle

[russnagel1 26]

I think us having the 'Freeze Four' is a big reason we could not get the 'Freeze Five'.

 

[au701948 999]

56 minutes ago, russnagel1 said:

I think us having the 'Freeze Four' is a big reason we could not get the 'Freeze Five'.

 

There is some degree of validity to your thinking.

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

10 hours ago, Hank2020 said:

If anyone is as effective as you describe, they will probably not be around 4 years.

possibly....i didn't say he would make us forget year 1 or even year 2 or 3... but by the time it's said and find I think he could. I hope You're riding. all three of them are gone after 3 years

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

3 hours ago, au701948 said:

There is some degree of validity to your thinking.

8 hours ago, Swamp Eagle said:

I’ve heard not to sleep on Malcolm Simmons…

I was thinking this in a conversation with an Alabama fan last night. why go where there's already potentially one of the best receiver classes of the year when you can go and be the stood of the class by miles?....

 

as for Malcolm Simmons, I agree, I don't think we should be sleeping on any of these guys

[TeamZero77 1,784]

On 1/24/2024 at 9:35 PM, AUwent said:

At least for this year, feels like the offensive line is shaping up to be a strength for us? But yeah defensive line needs help.

Just D-Line. 

You're right, our O-Line should be pretty good for this year. Bryan Matthews article I read today said Freeze only had 9 scholarship O-Linemen when he took this job and then 4 of those transferred out leaving us with 5. He and Jake Thornton hit the portal hard and got that number up. The article said we now have 14 scholarship O-Linemen entering this years spring practice and a 15th will be here in late May. Hugh has always said he likes to keep 16 scholarship O-Linemen on the roster at all-times. So we are pretty close. 

[Mims44 1,871]

On 1/24/2024 at 6:26 PM, ScotsAU said:

It sucks a little that we didn’t land Williams (assuming he stands by his recommitment when he signs). 
 

But we still have a lot to be happy about in this recruiting class, especially at receiver. Given the Freeze Four, which you receiver:

a) do you think has the biggest year one impact?

b) do you think finishes their career with the biggest impact overall?

Hoping Cam makes as big an impact as our last couple Cams

On 1/24/2024 at 10:35 PM, AUwent said:

At least for this year, feels like the offensive line is shaping up to be a strength for us? But yeah defensive line needs help.

7 hours ago, TeamZero77 said:

Just D-Line. 

You're right, our O-Line should be pretty good for this year. Bryan Matthews article I read today said Freeze only had 9 scholarship O-Linemen when he took this job and then 4 of those transferred out leaving us with 5. He and Jake Thornton hit the portal hard and got that number up. The article said we now have 14 scholarship O-Linemen entering this years spring practice and a 15th will be here in late May. Hugh has always said he likes to keep 16 scholarship O-Linemen on the roster at all-times. So we are pretty close. 

Seen this posted a bit, what's the thought behind this?

The HS recruits? a 4star and two 3 stars are gonna shape up the line? Or the 1 4star OT we got in portal? The majority of the line is gonna be guys from last years roster.... and people were not happy about last years O line play.

And if it's looking farther into the future than that, why sleep on the D line? Our D line recruiting was MUCH better than our O line recruiting.

[Gowebb11 9,328]

33 minutes ago, Mims44 said:

The HS recruits? a 4star and two 3 stars are gonna shape up the line? Or the 1 4star OT we got in portal? The majority of the line is gonna be guys from last years roster.... and people were not happy about last years O line play.

 

I think the oline was a mixed bag. We run blocked pretty well based on our rushing stats. Pass blocking wasn’t very good but hard to know if that was lack of ability or incompetence in our playcalling and QB play. 

I agree with you a the future of the d line. We signed some exceptional talent. That said, it is rare for true freshmen to make a huge contribution up front on the defensive side. I’m disappointed in our two portal tackles. I don’t believe either one of them will be big impact guys like Marcus Harris was. 

Edited January 26 by Gowebb11