Big Name Recruits That Busted.

[Hoopie 6]

Well.....I'm glad Hart got the degree and wish him well. If I remember corrrecly, Tony Bell flunked out. I was probably more excited about Bell and Hart than any other recruits in those years. It is really a tuff job for the coaches to evaluate if kids will develop.

[mowegl 4]

I wouldnt say most of those guys are "busts". There are a few that were actually good players that got themselves in trouble and off the team, but for the most part, I think it shows how dumb, pointless, and inaccurate recruiting rankings are.

[Mikey 16,638]

There was a WR named Willie? Northern from Florida. Was supposed to be one of the country's best. I think he touted himself so much that when he got to Auburn, the defensive players made it a point to bear down on him in practice. He never played in a game and went away, to somewhere else.

[auburn97 0]

There was a WR named Willie? Northern from Florida. Was supposed to be one of the country's best. I think he touted himself so much that when he got to Auburn, the defensive players made it a point to bear down on him in practice. He never played in a game and went away, to somewhere else.

yeah he was from Quincy Shanks Fla. I remember him. What ever happened? Anyone remember?

[mcgufcm 4,107]

Cobb was a big time recruit out of high school as well. He went to UGA. He had some crazy injury... nerve damage or something like that. Took time off after major surgery, went JUCO, was a JUCO All-American. We'd recruited him in high school and stayed on him in junior college. Rudi was a nobody.

Although some of the guys on that list aren't on the team, I wouldn't call all of them busts. Alonzo Horton left b/c of family stuff after Katrina if I recall correctly. I have a hard time calling him a bust.

Leon Hart: four years of backing up after more hype than any lineman we've signed (till Ziemba)

Tony Bell: transferred to DI-AA I think

Lemarcus Rowell: multiple off-field problems, dropped out

Mike Harness: never qualified

P-Rod: never settled into the starting lineup and never really got better

Rex Sharpe: never qualified

Greg Smith: failed to qualify initially then ate himself out of any chance to play

Those guys are busts to me, but there are others that appear well on their way. Lee Tilley had a world of hype. Neil Caudle was one of the top 10 QB in America. Bryant Miller never gave us a lot, and I believe he left school. You have almost as many misses at the top as you do at the bottom.

[TexasTiger 12,961]

Cobb was a big time recruit out of high school as well. He went to UGA. He had some crazy injury... nerve damage or something like that. Took time off after major surgery, went JUCO, was a JUCO All-American. We'd recruited him in high school and stayed on him in junior college. Rudi was a nobody.

Rudi was hardly a nobody. We just weren't recruiting him at first.

Prove something, Johnson did. He helped lead Butler County Junior College to two National Titles. He rushed for 375 yards on 40 carries and 7 touchdowns in a 49-35 win over Dixie College in the 1999 Championship game. He was named MVP of both the 1998 and 1999 National Championship games. He rushed for 2224 yards on 306 carries (7.3 avg.) and 31 carries as a sophomore. He rushed for nearly 4000 yards in two seasons and was named the Jayhawk Conference Player of the Year and Jayhawk Conference Back of the Year.

http://rudijohnson.com/index.php?hdnAction=Butler

[mcgufcm 4,107]

In the recruiting world, Rudi was a nobody. Even we thought he would be a fullback.

[TexasTiger 12,961]

In the recruiting world, Rudi was a nobody. Even we thought he would be a fullback.

Your stubborn resistance to facts continues.

[japantiger 4,051]

Alan Evans...was more highly recruited than Bo the same year ... never played a down on offense

[mcgufcm 4,107]

We were the only SEC team that gave Rudi a sideways glance. I remember Tubby explicitly saying that we had no idea what we had in Rudi until after we got him into school. Rudi's measurables are not that good (and never were). He was a great JUCO player, but we weren't exactly beating off the hounds with a stick to sign the guy.

http://rudijohnson.com/index.php?hdnAction=Auburn

That's a pretty solid telling of the story from our side: didn't know who he was, didn't think we'd take him because we thought he'd be a fullback, etc.

[TexasTiger 12,961]

We were the only SEC team that gave Rudi a sideways glance. I remember Tubby explicitly saying that we had no idea what we had in Rudi until after we got him into school. Rudi's measurables are not that good (and never were). He was a great JUCO player, but we weren't exactly beating off the hounds with a stick to sign the guy.

http://rudijohnson.com/index.php?hdnAction=Auburn

That's a pretty solid telling of the story from our side: didn't know who he was, didn't think we'd take him because we thought he'd be a fullback, etc.

According to this, he had some pretty good offers:

Rudi Johnson (5-10, 220, 4.45) is a JUCO running back from Butler County Community College in Kansas. Johnson was the national junior college player of the year as he rolled up 2,224 yards on 306 rushes. This guy is not too big at 5-10 but has power with 220 pounds and speed at 4.45. He averaged over 7 yards a carry this year. In the JUCO National Championship game Johnson rushed for 373 yards against the number one JUCO defense. He picked Auburn over Colorado, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Johnson signed with Auburn in the early signing period and should be able to participate in Spring ball.

http://www.aurx.net/recruit2000.html

[mcgufcm 4,107]

That's certainly the first time I've ever heard of him getting another SEC offer. But it doesn't change my story: he wasn't a big time recruit on the level of the guys listed in this thread. Tony Bell had offers from every school in the SEC. Leon Hart was listed as the best HS lineman in America by some services. Etc. Etc. Rudi was an unknown for us that we were lucky to land b/c he turned out TONS better than we expected.

[GaCoach 0]

Alan Evans...was more highly recruited than Bo the same year ... never played a down on offense

Although we're mainly focusing on the Tuberville Era, Evans was definitely a 'bust'. He did get some spot time his freshman year and saw some special teams duty his sophomore season, but he then transferred to UT-Chattanooga and I believe, washed out there also.

[penguin149 391]

Yep, that's right about Alan Evans. He left the year Bo got hurt and Brent Fullwood came in as his back-up. I went to elementary through high school with Alan. He was a beast in high school, just couldn't make the transition to college.

I remember the story about Rudi where Tubs was recruiting him hard...telling Rudi "no other college in America needs a running back more than Auburn does". I thought it was a bit of a steal to get Rudi. But that has been 8 years ago and my memory ain't what it used to be!

[Ronin 2]

Yep, that's right about Alan Evans. He left the year Bo got hurt and Brent Fullwood came in as his back-up. I went to elementary through high school with Alan. He was a beast in high school, just couldn't make the transition to college.

I remember the story about Rudi where Tubs was recruiting him hard...telling Rudi "no other college in America needs a running back more than Auburn does". I thought it was a bit of a steal to get Rudi. But that has been 8 years ago and my memory ain't what it used to be!

I've been too lazy to do the homework since Rudi was brought up in this thread but my memory was that he was considered a a big-time recruit that we locked up early. I seem to recall that after the class was signed he was considered one of if not THE best signees of our class that year. Har

<edit> I just read the article at RudiJohnson.com and some of the previous posts. Just because we (AU) didn't know who he was when we started recruiting him doesn't mean he was a nobody by the time recruiting season was done. Expectations often change from Feb of one year to Feb of another.

[SouthLink02 8]

I remember when Leon Hart committed to AU

I was pissed. I really, really wanted him

There a specific reason he has yet to break through? Work ethic?

[TexasTiger 12,961]

I just read the article at RudiJohnson.com and some of the previous posts. Just because we (AU) didn't know who he was when we started recruiting him doesn't mean he was a nobody by the time recruiting season was done.

Bite your tongue. If we weren't on him early, he didn't exist.

[sogaaufan 27]

I remember when Leon Hart committed to AU

I was pissed. I really, really wanted him

There a specific reason he has yet to break through? Work ethic?

Work ethic was part of it. He seemed to have a rash of nagging injuries so he could never get a lot of work. The main knock on him was that he couldn't seem to play at a consistently high level. He would look great for a play or two, then take the next couple of plays off. That kind of thing drives Hugh Nall nuts.

[kt7185 0]

Just read a note that Lee Tilley has left the team and will not return. That probably makes all the mentions of him being a bust completely accurate.

[mattd 3]

I remember when Leon Hart committed to AU

I was pissed. I really, really wanted him

There a specific reason he has yet to break through? Work ethic?

Work ethic was part of it. He seemed to have a rash of nagging injuries so he could never get a lot of work. The main knock on him was that he couldn't seem to play at a consistently high level. He would look great for a play or two, then take the next couple of plays off. That kind of thing drives Hugh Nall nuts.

The other thing about Hart is Nall told him his best bet is at center, but he refused to play the position. He wanted to play tackle even though he wasn't a good fit. Nall tol him he could play a long time in the nfl at center..