Derek Winter Commits

[tejasjack 0]

Winter Commits

[abrnfanatc 6]

Huh?

It's the "surprise" 5.4 (3*) commitments that make me think there will be no signing day surprises that make the Auburn fans happy.

[Argo 8]

5.4 is a 2 star. I'm guessing you mean 5.5 (3*)

[Argo 8]

If it makes anyone feel any better, Javier Arenas was a 5.3(2*) when he committed to Bama.

[DCWarEagle 0]

Interesting year for us. We keep bringing in guys that seem like solid players (the profile I just read on Winter says he is dependable and has very good hands, but not great speed, so he is a solid contributor, but not a game breaker), but not the top-shelf guys. And our class is pretty large, so I guess we are counting on a lot of them going the sign-and-place route.

As with all recruits, welcome to the Tigers Derek, and War Eagle!

[abrnfanatc 6]

5.4 is a 2 star. I'm guessing you mean 5.5 (3*)

No, 5.4 is what he was rated on the Rivals site. I was thinking that was a 3*. However, in reading more about this guy, it sounds like he was underrated, and he should probably get a bump to 5.6 or 5.7 if the accolades are true.

[Hoopie 6]

That's enough receivers for AU. Fortson is clearly the best based on HS performance. We'll see who has the heart and develops. AU needs to do a better job teaching receiver fundamentals. Out of all of these WR's, we need to find some playmakers. I'm not sold on Slaughter/Hawthorne stepping up until I see It. RSmith and MBillings are acceptable, but have probably maxxed out in physical ability.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

How does Billings max out as a sophomore with limited PT? Talk about pessimism. I've rarely seen players regress with more playing time and experience. Billings is fast enough to get separation, he's shown steady hands... why wouldn't he get better with crisper routes and more coaching? Interesting theory.

[kickinwang 0]

good pickup. maybe this will give us the inside track for aaron murray next year.

[chinook 0]

good pickup. maybe this will give us the inside track for aaron murray next year.

nothing against your political views or obama but your signature is annoying to the structure of the board.

[WAR EAGLE!!! 0]

good pickup. maybe this will give us the inside track for aaron murray next year.

nothing against your political views or obama but your signature is annoying to the structure of the board.

no s***...I thought it was just me. It needs to go...the whole page screws up after all your posts...

[sogaaufan 27]

He doesn't look all that exciting on paper until you look at the other teams that were in the running for him. Underrated would be my guess. BTW, that fro should earn him three stars at least.

Welcome Derek and War Eagle!

[kwagoner 214]

good pickup. maybe this will give us the inside track for aaron murray next year.

From the highlights on the link, it looks like Murray just had to get it close & Winter would make him look good.

[Hoopie 6]

I didn't mean to sound pessimistic. I am extremely proud of and a huge CTT/staff supporter regarding all facets(incl academics and character) of the program except for the WR's. It seems that we have in the past not recruited well, either can't get the guys we want or, and haven't necessarily trained them the fundamentals very well. The receivers(except RSmith and MBillings) consistently fail to extend their hands away from their bodies and wait for the ball (especially underthrown balls) to come to them rather move to the ball, get body position and catch the ball at a point higher than the covering db's. RSmith and MBillings have good hands and fundamentals, they just don't have a speed burst to get seperation. Smith is excellent at coming back to the ball.

I remember the reports during fall practice where Greg Knox was dissastified w/ the WR's and made them do extra work. I don't know if they aren't being taught the fundamentals correctly or if some of the WR's won't commit to the fundamentals or if they just don't have the physical tools. I'm hoping that although these 6 new WR's are all freshmen and won't get to AU until Fall, they turn up the competition and get some guys to step it up.

The new offense typically gets receivers more "open" and requires less precision than CAB's offense, so maybe that will help production until we get better.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

Hoopie, your post might hold more weight if you actually pointed out the counter-arguments ahead of other folks... since you could drive a truck through some of them. Ben Obomanu, Devin Aromashodu, Tim Hawthorne (a freshman), Chris Slaughter (freshman), and Terrell Zachery were some of the biggest WR recruits in America when they choose to come to Auburn. So the whole "Woe is our recruiting" angle is ridiculous.

On top of that, you'd be hard-pressed to find a person on the planet that would argue that a guy like saaaaay Courtney Taylor didn't learn how to play the position. When he came to Auburn he was an athlete that was used to taking snaps. When he left Auburn, he was one of the best possession receivers to ever put on an Auburn jersey and an NFL caliber player. You really think that happens without proper coaching?

Some of our guys have been inconsistent. Some of them are possession receivers acting the part of a number one because we lack a home run guy. But we've got 4 Greg Knox coached players in the NFL right now, and Rod Smith is an all-SEC caliber pass catcher. You'll have to pardon me if I don't get completely down on our coaches or our players. All we really need is to find a guy to stretch the field (Hawthorne showed great ability to get separation downfield last year... we just didn't or couldn't get him the ball), and the other pieces will fall into place.

[AUesquire 1]

Much of our WR woes were the result of a weenie arm quarterback who couldn't outrun my grandma. Add to that, an offensive scheme that everybody in the SEC had long since figured out (See Reggie Herring) and wound up getting it's architect...fired, and well, you get the idea of why it's hard for any group of receivers to develop.

[auwallace 6]

Much of our WR woes were the result of a weenie arm quarterback who couldn't outrun my grandma. Add to that, an offensive scheme that everybody in the SEC had long since figured out (See Reggie Herring) and wound up getting it's architect...fired, and well, you get the idea of why it's hard for any group of receivers to develop.

nope, we just don't have any talent at WR

[Hoopie 6]

Courtney Taylor and R Smith developed. Was it heart or coaching? Those 4 star receivers didn't. Ronnie Brown was 4 star and developed. Brad LesterKenny Irons were 3 star and developed. We have a good record with Rb's, Lbs, etc., but I think we have not done well at WR. Ben and Devin had their moments, but didn't develop proportionately.

Regardless of how well they improved. Our receivers now have alligator arms and don't adjust to the ball flight and get body position.(check out..DJ Hall at Bama he does this stuff correctly). Selecting WRs with good body control is coaching. Teaching WRs to extend their arms when catching the ball is coaching. WRs willing to commit to do these things is "heart".

[metafour 4,969]

Greg Knox is a below average coach and is one of the main reasons as to why our receivers are so slow to develop. Saying "well Obomanu, Aromashodu, Taylor, etc. all got drafted" actually PROVES that point instead of proving it to be false. All three (plus Mix) had the ability to be much higher NFL picks than they ended up being. None of them developed as they probably should have, and that includes Taylor. Courtney Taylor actually regressed (although he was slowed by injuries) since his sophomore year. At one point he was being looked at as a top receiver prospect in his class but ended up going in the 6th round. Aromashodu had the size and athleticism (ran a 4.3 at the combine at over 6'2) to be a very dangerous receiver, but throughout his AU career he never was able to fix his problems (drops, route running, etc). He ended up being a 7th round pick. I've seen a ton of Seahawks games this year (both preseason and regular season) and Obomanu looks significantly better than he ever did at Auburn after receiving NFL coaching.

Ineptitude at WR has been a combination of poor coaching, a below average QB, and a non-existant passing offense.

[autigeremt 6,685]

I like this kid. He will be a quality player here if he can develope a little more speed. Add some strength, and he can be very helpful. I'm not sold on a lot of these 5 star guys, but I can see why people are so torched about this years class. Media+hype=nonsense some times.

[Hoopie 6]

I have suspected the WR coaching for a couple of seasons now, but have reserved comment until now b/c of the Qb's arm, playcalling, etc. All of these things do tie together and exacerbate each other., however the lack of receiving fundamentals displayed during the game is something that I feel is valid to witness and comment about.

I'm not ready to "call" it a coaching problem yet. I'm saying that now the playcalling and qb arm won't be issues and I'm going to watch the Wr's fundamentals very closely.

Since this thread started, there are reports that Fortson will go to FSU. That's tuff b/c I saw this guy druing 2 games of the GHSA AAA playoffs and he already exhibits the fundamentals that I'm whining about.

[ssgaufan 0]

Welcome to the family Derek. His senior season stats look pretty good to me. He may not have blazing speed, but he's doing something right.

War Eagle!