I am one of those fans

[Justin5 20]

I get too concerned early in the recuiting process every year. Just now have I began to calm down and believe that Tubs will put together a solid group this year.

I've been telling myself all along that because of the size of last years class that wouldnt have the same kind of year like last years class.

Still, Im now coming around. Thanks go out to all of those preaching this all along but I guess I'm still a little green in following this process closely.

[WarTiger 4,092]

Never been a follower of recruiting. Our coaches know best what our needs are and who will best fill those needs. With CTT and the best coaching staff in all of college football, there is NO doubt that Tuberville and company will put together another solid recruiting class just like he's done every year since he's been at Auburn. I don't really care what uat is ranked in recruiting or anything else. Let them pump their chest about winning the in state recruiting battle all they want. It means NOTHING once on the field.

[DyeEraTiger 0]

Never been a follower of recruiting. Our coaches know best what our needs are and who will best fill those needs. With CTT and the best coaching staff in all of college football, there is NO doubt that Tuberville and company will put together another solid recruiting class just like he's done every year since he's been at Auburn. I don't really care what uat is ranked in recruiting or anything else. Let them pump their chest about winning the in state recruiting battle all they want. It means NOTHING once on the field.

I agree with all of the above, EXCEPT--the in state recruiting battle means A LOT when it comes to the one game between AU and UAT. No way a Ga. or FLA kid can understand the importance--unless he grew up in an AU family. The game means more to in state kids from an early age. Thus-when UAT has 11 in state recruits to AU's 1 thus far--I get concerned. Smaller class or not--we need more in state recruits.

[WarTiger 4,092]

Never been a follower of recruiting. Our coaches know best what our needs are and who will best fill those needs. With CTT and the best coaching staff in all of college football, there is NO doubt that Tuberville and company will put together another solid recruiting class just like he's done every year since he's been at Auburn. I don't really care what uat is ranked in recruiting or anything else. Let them pump their chest about winning the in state recruiting battle all they want. It means NOTHING once on the field.

I agree with all of the above, EXCEPT--the in state recruiting battle means A LOT when it comes to the one game between AU and UAT. No way a Ga. or FLA kid can understand the importance--unless he grew up in an AU family. The game means more to in state kids from an early age. Thus-when UAT has 11 in state recruits to AU's 1 thus far--I get concerned. Smaller class or not--we need more in state recruits.

I understand your thought process, but I'd rather have that ONE state recruit and 15-20 from Georgia and Florida and win the game, vs. having 10 from alabama and losing. Bottom line is I want the best players we can get, and it doesn't matter what state they come from.. Before they put on the blue jersey they understand the importance of winning that game in late November. Ben Tate came from Maryland (I think), don't you think he understood very early how important that game vs. uat is?? Of course he did.

[Justin5 20]

whether bama fans want to admit it or not our recent success is slowly creating more Auburn fan households around the state. as long as we continue to have (average) 9-3 seasons we will make the state more orange and less crimson each year.

i think this more than anything (even the losses) is the reason for the $4,000,000 every year.

[GalensGhost 0]

I agree with all of the above, EXCEPT--the in state recruiting battle means A LOT when it comes to the one game between AU and UAT. No way a Ga. or FLA kid can understand the importance--unless he grew up in an AU family. The game means more to in state kids from an early age. Thus-when UAT has 11 in state recruits to AU's 1 thus far--I get concerned. Smaller class or not--we need more in state recruits.

That's really never been the case. Check the rosters for the last 20 years or so. The kids from UGA. UF, etc. want to beat UA just as bad as the kids from Alabama do, but they bring the added perspective that keeps AU focused on bigger goals than JUST beating Alabama.

It's funny how the perspective has shifted in my lifetime. There was a time when beating Alabama meant pretty much everything. I could take whatever other disappointments the season doled out so long as we beat them. That's no longer the case. I'd rather beat LSU, UGA and UF and win the West even if the deal I had to strike included a loss to the Turds. Meanwhile, the only thing Bama fans think about, talk about or concern themselves with is beating Auburn. Oh, they babble about pretend NCs in distant seasons, but their singluar focus is on AU.

[TitanTiger 22,006]

Never been a follower of recruiting. Our coaches know best what our needs are and who will best fill those needs. With CTT and the best coaching staff in all of college football, there is NO doubt that Tuberville and company will put together another solid recruiting class just like he's done every year since he's been at Auburn. I don't really care what uat is ranked in recruiting or anything else. Let them pump their chest about winning the in state recruiting battle all they want. It means NOTHING once on the field.

I agree with all of the above, EXCEPT--the in state recruiting battle means A LOT when it comes to the one game between AU and UAT. No way a Ga. or FLA kid can understand the importance--unless he grew up in an AU family. The game means more to in state kids from an early age. Thus-when UAT has 11 in state recruits to AU's 1 thus far--I get concerned. Smaller class or not--we need more in state recruits.

See, I disagree. Auburn people teach these guys anything they lack as far as the importance that's placed on the Iron Bowl. And we've done just fine with Bama getting more in-state kids than us. Since the 2002 recruiting class, here is how each team's class broke down in terms of how many AL kids were signed:

AUBURN

2002: 31 total, 10 from AL (32%)

2003: 27 / 6 (22%)

2004: 29 / 6 (21%)

2005: 22 / 7 (32%)

2006: 25 / 10 (40%)

2007: 30 / 8 (27%)

Total: 164 / 47 (29%)

ALABAMA

2002: 20 / 13 (65%)

2003: 19 / 15 (79%)

2004: 29 / 20 (69%)

2005: 32 / 13 (41%)

2006: 23 / 10 (43%)

2007: 25 / 12 (48%)

Total: 148 / 83 (56%)

We've won five straight from 2002 thru 2006, so evidently the kids we have thought it was pretty important and only once in the last 6 recruiting classes did Rivals rank Bama's class ahead of ours (2004). Overall, our average ranking from Rivals in this span is 11th and Bama's is 22nd.

I'd prefer for CTT to stick with his strategy of finding the best players regardless of where they are from.

[AUesquire 1]

Don't think for a second that beating Bama is not priority 1. I went to a dinner/talk with CTT last week and he flat out said they already have stuff up in the locker room about the Iron Bowl. He said that's the number 1 game on their schedule every year. He even joked a few times about how winning the Iron Bowl will get you a few more years around here.

The thing is, kids are no longer caught up in tradition or loyalty to a school or State. They're more concerned about playing time, TV time, exposure etc. Besides, if you prepare for that game, go through Tiger Walk, walk through that tunnel and hear that noise from the crowd....and you're not ready to play that game....someone better check your pulse, cause' you're dead as a doornail.

[80Tiger 909]

Never been a follower of recruiting. Our coaches know best what our needs are and who will best fill those needs. With CTT and the best coaching staff in all of college football, there is NO doubt that Tuberville and company will put together another solid recruiting class just like he's done every year since he's been at Auburn. I don't really care what uat is ranked in recruiting or anything else. Let them pump their chest about winning the in state recruiting battle all they want. It means NOTHING once on the field.

I agree with all of the above, EXCEPT--the in state recruiting battle means A LOT when it comes to the one game between AU and UAT. No way a Ga. or FLA kid can understand the importance--unless he grew up in an AU family. The game means more to in state kids from an early age. Thus-when UAT has 11 in state recruits to AU's 1 thus far--I get concerned. Smaller class or not--we need more in state recruits.

Cannot agree with this. Population and statistics alone say that there are more players and more better (sorry about grammar) in GA and FL that the state of AL. A top 50 kid in FL could be the equivelant of a top 10 kid in AL. As far as kids understanding the AU/UA game and importance, it could mean more to an in-state kid, but it doesn't translate to playing better or winning more often. Talent dictates that.

[DyeEraTiger 0]

I agree with all of the above, EXCEPT--the in state recruiting battle means A LOT when it comes to the one game between AU and UAT. No way a Ga. or FLA kid can understand the importance--unless he grew up in an AU family. The game means more to in state kids from an early age. Thus-when UAT has 11 in state recruits to AU's 1 thus far--I get concerned. Smaller class or not--we need more in state recruits.

That's really never been the case. Check the rosters for the last 20 years or so. The kids from UGA. UF, etc. want to beat UA just as bad as the kids from Alabama do, but they bring the added perspective that keeps AU focused on bigger goals than JUST beating Alabama.

It's funny how the perspective has shifted in my lifetime. There was a time when beating Alabama meant pretty much everything. I could take whatever other disappointments the season doled out so long as we beat them. That's no longer the case. I'd rather beat LSU, UGA and UF and win the West even if the deal I had to strike included a loss to the Turds. Meanwhile, the only thing Bama fans think about, talk about or concern themselves with is beating Auburn. Oh, they babble about pretend NCs in distant seasons, but their singluar focus is on AU.

I don't guess that there is an instrument to measure how much this game means to a recruit. Not that I'm aware of, anyway. While you are saying it's "never" been the case and I say that it is and always has been the case. It naturally makes sense to me that more often than not: a kid from Alabama circles the UAT game on his calendar. The kid from Fla. circles the Gators, etc. Not only am I saying it, I've seen it more than once. Sure, they know the importance of any win--especially the SEC games. At the same time, they have their special games in mind.

As far as us picking up the best that we can, I think we do that based on talent rather than home state. And certainly talent is one of the most important factors. With all things being equal, I would hope that we go after an in state or border state kid over one from Wala Wala Washington. I believe that we do that.

This particular year, we are so far being beat on in state recruits. Alabama is loaded with H.S. talent this year. There is no sense in denying it or hiding. Also, there is no sense in being overly concerned at this time. Saban has created a lot of attention and excitement for UAT.

[DyeEraTiger 0]

Never been a follower of recruiting. Our coaches know best what our needs are and who will best fill those needs. With CTT and the best coaching staff in all of college football, there is NO doubt that Tuberville and company will put together another solid recruiting class just like he's done every year since he's been at Auburn. I don't really care what uat is ranked in recruiting or anything else. Let them pump their chest about winning the in state recruiting battle all they want. It means NOTHING once on the field.

I agree with all of the above, EXCEPT--the in state recruiting battle means A LOT when it comes to the one game between AU and UAT. No way a Ga. or FLA kid can understand the importance--unless he grew up in an AU family. The game means more to in state kids from an early age. Thus-when UAT has 11 in state recruits to AU's 1 thus far--I get concerned. Smaller class or not--we need more in state recruits.

See, I disagree. Auburn people teach these guys anything they lack as far as the importance that's placed on the Iron Bowl. And we've done just fine with Bama getting more in-state kids than us. Since the 2002 recruiting class, here is how each team's class broke down in terms of how many AL kids were signed:

AUBURN

2002: 31 total, 10 from AL (32%)

2003: 27 / 6 (22%)

2004: 29 / 6 (21%)

2005: 22 / 7 (32%)

2006: 25 / 10 (40%)

2007: 30 / 8 (27%)

Total: 164 / 47 (29%)

ALABAMA

2002: 20 / 13 (65%)

2003: 19 / 15 (79%)

2004: 29 / 20 (69%)

2005: 32 / 13 (41%)

2006: 23 / 10 (43%)

2007: 25 / 12 (48%)

Total: 148 / 83 (56%)

We've won five straight from 2002 thru 2006, so evidently the kids we have thought it was pretty important and only once in the last 6 recruiting classes did Rivals rank Bama's class ahead of ours (2004). Overall, our average ranking from Rivals in this span is 11th and Bama's is 22nd.

I'd prefer for CTT to stick with his strategy of finding the best players regardless of where they are from.

I love your stats. My response is that we have had success in that particular game imo partially because we have maintained an in state avg. of 29% QUALITY players over those years. We're a little bit behind on that this year but will hopefully surpass it with so much H.S. talent avail. this yr. but fewer schollies to offer. We certainly wouldn't sign a guy only because of where he is from. He needs to be able to play ball too. I don't know that CTT has the strategy of "finding the best players regardless of where they are from". I was unaware of it if he does. If that's the case, maybe we need to recruit Texas and California more heavily. If we do, maybe the UAT game will mean as much to them as it did to Bo Jackson, Cadillac, Tommy Powell, etc. Tennesse and Notre Dame certainly do well with the majority of out of state recruits. They are forced to. They also don't have an in state rival the quality of UAT or AU.

[GalensGhost 0]

Never been a follower of recruiting. Our coaches know best what our needs are and who will best fill those needs. With CTT and the best coaching staff in all of college football, there is NO doubt that Tuberville and company will put together another solid recruiting class just like he's done every year since he's been at Auburn. I don't really care what uat is ranked in recruiting or anything else. Let them pump their chest about winning the in state recruiting battle all they want. It means NOTHING once on the field.

I agree with all of the above, EXCEPT--the in state recruiting battle means A LOT when it comes to the one game between AU and UAT. No way a Ga. or FLA kid can understand the importance--unless he grew up in an AU family. The game means more to in state kids from an early age. Thus-when UAT has 11 in state recruits to AU's 1 thus far--I get concerned. Smaller class or not--we need more in state recruits.

See, I disagree. Auburn people teach these guys anything they lack as far as the importance that's placed on the Iron Bowl. And we've done just fine with Bama getting more in-state kids than us. Since the 2002 recruiting class, here is how each team's class broke down in terms of how many AL kids were signed:

AUBURN

2002: 31 total, 10 from AL (32%)

2003: 27 / 6 (22%)

2004: 29 / 6 (21%)

2005: 22 / 7 (32%)

2006: 25 / 10 (40%)

2007: 30 / 8 (27%)

Total: 164 / 47 (29%)

ALABAMA

2002: 20 / 13 (65%)

2003: 19 / 15 (79%)

2004: 29 / 20 (69%)

2005: 32 / 13 (41%)

2006: 23 / 10 (43%)

2007: 25 / 12 (48%)

Total: 148 / 83 (56%)

We've won five straight from 2002 thru 2006, so evidently the kids we have thought it was pretty important and only once in the last 6 recruiting classes did Rivals rank Bama's class ahead of ours (2004). Overall, our average ranking from Rivals in this span is 11th and Bama's is 22nd.

I'd prefer for CTT to stick with his strategy of finding the best players regardless of where they are from.

I love your stats. My response is that we have had success in that particular game imo partially because we have maintained an in state avg. of 29% QUALITY players over those years. We're a little bit behind on that this year but will hopefully surpass it with so much H.S. talent avail. this yr. but fewer schollies to offer. We certainly wouldn't sign a guy only because of where he is from. He needs to be able to play ball too. I don't know that CTT has the strategy of "finding the best players regardless of where they are from". I was unaware of it if he does. If that's the case, maybe we need to recruit Texas and California more heavily. If we do, maybe the UAT game will mean as much to them as it did to Bo Jackson, Cadillac, Tommy Powell, etc. Tennesse and Notre Dame certainly do well with the majority of out of state recruits. They are forced to. They also don't have an in state rival the quality of UAT or AU.

Dude, I couldn't disagree more if I tried. The number of in-state kids we sign has zero, zilch, nothing, nada to do with their passion for the Iron Bowl. You think beating Alabama (or any team for that matter) was more important to Cadillac than it was to Jason who was from Mississippi? Or Ronnie who was from Georgia? I call balderdash on that one.

Truth be told, the game probably more to us than it does to them. A lot of those guys are friends off the field. Yeah, they want to win, but it's not life and death like it appears to be to some of the fans.

You've GOT to let go of the thinking that Alabama is the alpha and omega of anything. We have more out-of-state players than in-state and have had that for as long as I can remember. Traditionally AU's had more kids from Georgia than Alabama on the roster. Beating Alabama used to matter a lot -- back in the 70s. Now? It's just another part of the season, a step on the road to a bigger goal. That game no longer defines us -- unless you allow it to.

[TitanTiger 22,006]

I love your stats. My response is that we have had success in that particular game imo partially because we have maintained an in state avg. of 29% QUALITY players over those years.

Actually, no. Generally less than half of our state haul ends up being big stars or major contributors. 2002 was the only exception when we grabbed Brandon, Ben Grubbs, Herring, Tommy Jackson, Obomanu and Courtney Taylor. Other years most of the main guys come from elsewhere.

[DyeEraTiger 0]

Never been a follower of recruiting. Our coaches know best what our needs are and who will best fill those needs. With CTT and the best coaching staff in all of college football, there is NO doubt that Tuberville and company will put together another solid recruiting class just like he's done every year since he's been at Auburn. I don't really care what uat is ranked in recruiting or anything else. Let them pump their chest about winning the in state recruiting battle all they want. It means NOTHING once on the field.

I agree with all of the above, EXCEPT--the in state recruiting battle means A LOT when it comes to the one game between AU and UAT. No way a Ga. or FLA kid can understand the importance--unless he grew up in an AU family. The game means more to in state kids from an early age. Thus-when UAT has 11 in state recruits to AU's 1 thus far--I get concerned. Smaller class or not--we need more in state recruits.

See, I disagree. Auburn people teach these guys anything they lack as far as the importance that's placed on the Iron Bowl. And we've done just fine with Bama getting more in-state kids than us. Since the 2002 recruiting class, here is how each team's class broke down in terms of how many AL kids were signed:

AUBURN

2002: 31 total, 10 from AL (32%)

2003: 27 / 6 (22%)

2004: 29 / 6 (21%)

2005: 22 / 7 (32%)

2006: 25 / 10 (40%)

2007: 30 / 8 (27%)

Total: 164 / 47 (29%)

ALABAMA

2002: 20 / 13 (65%)

2003: 19 / 15 (79%)

2004: 29 / 20 (69%)

2005: 32 / 13 (41%)

2006: 23 / 10 (43%)

2007: 25 / 12 (48%)

Total: 148 / 83 (56%)

We've won five straight from 2002 thru 2006, so evidently the kids we have thought it was pretty important and only once in the last 6 recruiting classes did Rivals rank Bama's class ahead of ours (2004). Overall, our average ranking from Rivals in this span is 11th and Bama's is 22nd.

I'd prefer for CTT to stick with his strategy of finding the best players regardless of where they are from.

I love your stats. My response is that we have had success in that particular game imo partially because we have maintained an in state avg. of 29% QUALITY players over those years. We're a little bit behind on that this year but will hopefully surpass it with so much H.S. talent avail. this yr. but fewer schollies to offer. We certainly wouldn't sign a guy only because of where he is from. He needs to be able to play ball too. I don't know that CTT has the strategy of "finding the best players regardless of where they are from". I was unaware of it if he does. If that's the case, maybe we need to recruit Texas and California more heavily. If we do, maybe the UAT game will mean as much to them as it did to Bo Jackson, Cadillac, Tommy Powell, etc. Tennesse and Notre Dame certainly do well with the majority of out of state recruits. They are forced to. They also don't have an in state rival the quality of UAT or AU.

Dude, I couldn't disagree more if I tried. The number of in-state kids we sign has zero, zilch, nothing, nada to do with their passion for the Iron Bowl. You think beating Alabama (or any team for that matter) was more important to Cadillac than it was to Jason who was from Mississippi? Or Ronnie who was from Georgia? I call balderdash on that one.

Truth be told, the game probably more to us than it does to them. A lot of those guys are friends off the field. Yeah, they want to win, but it's not life and death like it appears to be to some of the fans.

You've GOT to let go of the thinking that Alabama is the alpha and omega of anything. We have more out-of-state players than in-state and have had that for as long as I can remember. Traditionally AU's had more kids from Georgia than Alabama on the roster. Beating Alabama used to matter a lot -- back in the 70s. Now? It's just another part of the season, a step on the road to a bigger goal. That game no longer defines us -- unless you allow it to.

I really don't care if you agree or not. I don't understand how anyone could ascertain Alabama as being the alpha and omega of anything based upon my writing--unless their reasoning abilities weren't up to par or they are under the influence of drugs.

One game definitely doesn't define a team but anyone who thinks that the UAT game isn't more special than others for MOST fans and players--well I think they are wrong (and most in this category would fit in one of the following categories: a. Not born in the state of Alabama b. Didn't grow up an AU or UA fan c. Are pretending--IMO. Again, it's hard to prove any of this. It's purely speculation and observation over many years.

It would be interesting to see a scientific poll to see just how right I am

[DyeEraTiger 0]

I love your stats. My response is that we have had success in that particular game imo partially because we have maintained an in state avg. of 29% QUALITY players over those years.

Actually, no. Generally less than half of our state haul ends up being big stars or major contributors. 2002 was the only exception when we grabbed Brandon, Ben Grubbs, Herring, Tommy Jackson, Obomanu and Courtney Taylor. Other years most of the main guys come from elsewhere.

I don't know what the no is to in your response. I don't care if they only carried jock straps--I'm saying it's important to have them on the team. I don't have the time or resources to delve into the particulars of years past. Just saying that's imo, in state recruits are an important part of the UAT series in particular but overall as a foundation for a good class. It's always been important to try to win your home state. We generally consider Ga. as being as close to our home state--pretty much extended recruiting grounds thru the yrs.

I've heard numerous coaches comment on the importance of keeping kids at home. But obviously there are a lot of people on here who know a lot more about recruiting than I and again it's just an opinion.

[GalensGhost 0]

I love your stats. My response is that we have had success in that particular game imo partially because we have maintained an in state avg. of 29% QUALITY players over those years.

Actually, no. Generally less than half of our state haul ends up being big stars or major contributors. 2002 was the only exception when we grabbed Brandon, Ben Grubbs, Herring, Tommy Jackson, Obomanu and Courtney Taylor. Other years most of the main guys come from elsewhere.

I don't know what the no is too in your response. I don't care if they only carried jock straps--I'm saying it's important to have them on the team. I don't have the time or resources to delve into the particulars of years past. Just saying that's imo, in state recruits are an important part of the UAT series in particular but overall as a foundation for a good class. It's always been important to try to win your home state. We generally consider Ga. as being as close to our home state--pretty much extended recruiting grounds thru the yrs.

I've heard numerous coaches comment on the importance of keeping kids at home. But obviously there are a lot of people on here who know a lot more about recruiting than I and again it's just an opinion.

Don't think it's so much a question of recruiting as it is the reality of what's transpired. I can't remember a single class of players where there was a majority from in-state. The foundation of Auburn's recruiting classes are generally built outside the borders. It's just a fact. We've had a few great in-state players (Bo, Carnell) but a great many more from out of state (S.Davis, Fullwood, Dontarrious, etc.).

Nobody's saying we don't need in-state players. It's always good to have a few. But the feeling that in-state players make the difference when it comes to beating Bama isn't based in what's really happened over the last decade.

[townhallsavoy 2]

Something to add:

Did Arkansas message boards freak out when we stole their Number 1 and Number 2 recruits?

Did Florida message boards freak out when we stole their Number 1 running back?

Did Georgia message boards freak out when we stole Tray Blackmon?

Brad Lester? Georgia.

Tristan Davis? Georgia.

King Dunlap? Tennessee.

Mario Fannin? Georgia.

Quentin Groves? Mississippi.

Patrick Lee? Florida.

Rod Smith? Georgia.

Carl Stewert? Tennessee.

Ben Tate? Maryland.

Josh Thompson? Georgia.

Jonathon Wilhite? Louisiana.

Bammers don't realize that the reason why their July recruiting class doesn't scare us is because a large number of our big name players and a rather large number of our big time recruits aren't from Alabama.

Need I bring up that we have Mr. Football's from four states? Ben Tate - Maryland. Carl Stewert - Tennessee. Robert Dunn - Georgia. Brandon Cox - Alabama. And Lee Ziemba was Arkansas's Gatorade Player of the Year.

Hope this helps.

[AUmattyD 0]

I agree with a number of you--it doesn't matter what state you're from... everyone wants to beat the mighty tawd. They have made such jackasses of themselves for so many decades, you don't have to be an AU fan to want to shut them up.

[SouthLink02 8]

Did Georgia message boards freak out when we stole Tray Blackmon?

Yes, it doesnt take much to put UGASports on meltdown

Kind of funny to be honest