FWTIGER 0 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Leon was the pride of our recruiting class 2 or 3 years ago. He was a rivals 5 star out of South Carolina, I do believe. Why is he not a starter on the o line? Do we have way better talent in front of him, or has he really not played like eveyone had expected. I know he is in the rotation, but Leon is now a junior and running out of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURainman 6 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Little of both. He'll probably play now that Cope is out. He played "Tight End" against South Carolina as a 3rd TE option (blocking only). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tigrinum Major Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Yet another example of the imperfect science of recruiting. Why was William Andrews (sorry to go all old school on some of your youngsters) relegated to a blocking back while at Auburn, yet he flourished as one of the premeir running backs in the NFL a couple years later? Alas, I have no answer for your question or mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saniflush 0 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Yet another example of the imperfect science of recruiting. Why was William Andrews (sorry to go all old school on some of your youngsters) relegated to a blocking back while at Auburn, yet he flourished as one of the premeir running backs in the NFL a couple years later? Alas, I have no answer for your question or mine. I can answer yours in two words..... Doug Barfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tigrinum Major Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Then explain James Brooks and Joe Cribbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saniflush 0 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Then explain James Brooks and Joe Cribbs. Two many cooks in the kitchen and a resturaunt owner that had no sense as to how to utilize the third cook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin149 391 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Even a blind mule can find some oats every once in a while!! Barfield was a blind mule!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWTIGER 0 Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 Even a blind mule can find some oats every once in a while!! Barfield was a blind mule!!!!! I love our Tommy, I can"t wait to see what the D looks like. You know our coaches have felt a lot of heat about that sorry prevent D and it will be fun to see how we adjust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigermike 3,039 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Then explain James Brooks and Joe Cribbs. Two many cooks in the kitchen and a resturaunt owner that had no sense as to how to utilize the third cook. Gorgeous Borges might very well have had all three over 1,000 yards per year. With receiving yards as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCWarEagle 0 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 As noted above, recruiting is definitely an inexact science. I like it when Auburn does well in recruiting, but you just can't always tell what will happen. Sometimes the big name recruits pan out, sometimes they don't. Sometimes walk-ons go on to be great players. I always think of Lectron Williams, who was going to be the next Bo Jackson. For those of you who don't know who I'm talking about, that just proves my point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumbo 0 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 As noted above, recruiting is definitely an inexact science. I like it when Auburn does well in recruiting, but you just can't always tell what will happen. Sometimes the big name recruits pan out, sometimes they don't. Sometimes walk-ons go on to be great players. I always think of Lectron Williams, who was going to be the next Bo Jackson. For those of you who don't know who I'm talking about, that just proves my point. I think Lh and Lecton are totally different! Lecton played and showed some flashes of being a star but injuries cut his career short at Auburn, Lh has been pulled out of blowout games for missing assignments. 5 stars recruits are never 100% all americans! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUesquire 1 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Another prime example would be recently would be Brandon Jacobs. Dude's making a living in the NFL but there just weren't enough balls to go around at Auburn with Caddy and Ronnie in the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sogaaufan 27 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 The thing is, its hard for some to make the adjustment from high school to college. We all know of highly touted recruits who were either slow to adjust or don't adjust at all. The same thing happens from college to the NFL. Some first round picks just never can step their game up to the next level while som lower round picks or free agents turn into stars. Think about Terrell Davis from UGA. He never made any All-SEC teams, but went on to become the best RB in the game for a few years. Who would have thought that Kevin Greene would have been such a dominant player in the NFL. He had to quit football for a year at AU to beef up because he got knocked all over the field in practice. Then you have players like Aundray Bruce, Brent Fullwood, Lawyer Tillman, James Bostic, Tracy Rocker, ect. that you would think should DOMINATE in the NFL, but they never pan out. I think that's why this staff is more interested in a kid's attitude than they are how many stars they have beside their name. A three star kid with a great attitude is much better than a five star that thinks he deserves special treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUChizad 0 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 The thing is, its hard for some to make the adjustment from high school to college. We all know of highly touted recruits who were either slow to adjust or don't adjust at all. The same thing happens from college to the NFL. Some first round picks just never can step their game up to the next level while som lower round picks or free agents turn into stars. Think about Terrell Davis from UGA. He never made any All-SEC teams, but went on to become the best RB in the game for a few years. Who would have thought that Kevin Greene would have been such a dominant player in the NFL. He had to quit football for a year at AU to beef up because he got knocked all over the field in practice. Then you have players like Aundray Bruce, Brent Fullwood, Lawyer Tillman, James Bostic, Tracy Rocker, ect. that you would think should DOMINATE in the NFL, but they never pan out. I think that's why this staff is more interested in a kid's attitude than they are how many stars they have beside their name. A three star kid with a great attitude is much better than a five star that thinks he deserves special treatment. Or it could be the case that they were overrated in college due to never really facing many tough opponents, so they get to the NFL and suddenly don't look so hot *cough*ReggieBush*cough*cough*. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB33 1 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Leon was the pride of our recruiting class 2 or 3 years ago. He was a rivals 5 star out of South Carolina, I do believe. Why is he not a starter on the o line? Do we have way better talent in front of him, or has he really not played like eveyone had expected. I know he is in the rotation, but Leon is now a junior and running out of time. He panned out better than Tony Bell, the next most highly rated recruit in the '04 signee class, don't you think? Just goes to show the supposed recruiting gurus are a bunch of bozos. That said, I haven't given up on Leon Hart, and I don't think the coaches have, either. (Remember, in his only (I think) career start last year vs. , he was voted SEC lineman of the week!) Plus, it's tough to crack the lineup when you've got two more experienced All-America types (Grubbs and Duck) ahead of you . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sntemp 0 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 "Then explain James Brooks and Joe Cribbs." also could you explain Stephen Davis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saniflush 0 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 "Then explain James Brooks and Joe Cribbs." also could you explain Stephen Davis. Here's Two MORE words for you.... Tater Tot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autiger518 1 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 "Then explain James Brooks and Joe Cribbs." also could you explain Stephen Davis. Here's Two MORE words for you.... Tater Tot! ooooooooooooooo.....no more explanation needed there....nuff said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aumd03 2 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 I agree, I've been disappointed with Leon Hart as well. I think some people don't understand recruiting that well. Recruiting takes a lot of insight into your team and what you will need in two to three years. I think thats one thing Tubberville has done well. You don't see a lot of true freshman playing because we are creating depth and allowing players to bulk up and learn the system. I think Bowden was a great example of how not to recruit. We had great athletes, but not many role players. I think he ran around grabbing the top ranked athletes he could. But he never got a solid physical running back and we were stuck with Clifton Robinson in the backfield. I view recruiting like grocery shopping. You make a list of what you need and you go get it. You don't go to the store and just buy everything thats on sale cause you'll end up with some odd ingredients coming together for some pretty crappy dishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgufcm 4,107 Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 i'm not so sure that leon has really disappointed. he came in here as "the best true freshman lineman i've ever seen" as hugh nall put it, but there was just no where to contribute. then he moved to a position he couldn't handle (center) and got left behind by king dunlap as the top tackle backup. now? he's been bumped by jonothan palmer, who i think is going to have the best nfl career of any lineman we've produced since the anderson/gandy days. in the end, i think he'll be better than mcneill if he avoids injury. he's a jack of all trades. he may or may not be the best center on the team. he was the primary backup at guard for two years. now, he's the best tackle on the team. palmer's just a guy that took a little while to find his niche but turned out to be great. remember palmer and mcneill came in together (both highly recruited) but had very different career paths. both are going to end up as staples in the nfl. i think leon's just on the palmer plan. he's the first backup at tackle and guard this year. he'll start next year when grubbs, duck, and jp leave. he'll do a great job. then he'll go get drafted. just b/c the guys doesn't make an immediate impact doesn't make him a bust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCWarEagle 0 Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 I agree, I've been disappointed with Leon Hart as well. I think some people don't understand recruiting that well. Recruiting takes a lot of insight into your team and what you will need in two to three years. I think thats one thing Tubberville has done well. You don't see a lot of true freshman playing because we are creating depth and allowing players to bulk up and learn the system. I think Bowden was a great example of how not to recruit. We had great athletes, but not many role players. I think he ran around grabbing the top ranked athletes he could. But he never got a solid physical running back and we were stuck with Clifton Robinson in the backfield. I view recruiting like grocery shopping. You make a list of what you need and you go get it. You don't go to the store and just buy everything thats on sale cause you'll end up with some odd ingredients coming together for some pretty crappy dishes. That's an excellent point. The objective shouldn't be getting the most highly ranked players available, it should be to get young men that will fit in and make our team great. And Tubs has done very well with that. Seems like these days when we lose someone, we have a great player just waiting for their chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proud Tiger 4,261 Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Hang in there guys. Hart is a great talent waiting who will make his mark. He's been steady if not great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metafour 4,969 Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Hang in there guys. Hart is a great talent waiting who will make his mark. He's been steady if not great. I agree. Hart hasn't been a bust, he just came into a situation where his natural position (Guard) was occupied by two All-SEC/All-American starters who will both be drafted in this upcoming draft. We tried to get him on the field at C and RT, but he flatout doesn't translate to those positions for whatever reason...this is where I think people starting giving up hope on him, because he couldn't stick at other positions on the o-line. I think people saw guys like Palmer who could sub in and fill a starting role anywhere on the o-line and they started believing that everyone should be able to do that. Believe it or not, some players are just BUILT for a certain position. I think Hart is that type of player. He seems to have done rather well whenever he has played his natural position, remember that he won an SEC O-Lineman of the Week award last year when he started a game at Guard. As long as Hart keeps his head up and puts forth the effort (and doesn't sulk about the fact that he hasn't gotten on the field yet) I can see him realistically coming in next year and being a force replacing one of Grubbs/Duck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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