Recruiting Report Card?

[ChuckTownTiger 0]

I'm not able to keep up with recruiting as much as I would like.

Just curious how everyone thinks this years recruiting class is shaping up compared to where we were this time last year.

[wadechristopher 0]

Man, probably a C-. I am scared we won't sign a full class this year. Oh no the walls are coming in on me. Just joking, we are 2 recruits ahead of last year's schedule. Don't believe the sky is falling like a lot of posters on here do.

[Holland's Fro 0]

We are basically in the same situation as we were last year. We have the #9 class according to ESPN right now, and we still have most of our big time commits yet to come (Florence, Rose, Jones, Frost, etc). We'll have a top 10 class, no reason to panic at all 

[texastiger09 0]

We are basically in the same situation as we were last year. We have the #9 class according to ESPN right now, and we still have most of our big time commits yet to come (Florence, Rose, Jones, Frost, etc). We'll have a top 10 class, no reason to panic at all 

And to add we have 3 All-Americans in Frazier, Dismukes and O'Reilly. 

[guerra aguila 0]

Dont let this past class spoil yall... this only applies to the members that "worry"

I promise you, Auburn is in damn good shape for their 2011 class.

U have to trust me, even if you find it hard to believe.

[Warbird82 160]

Dont let this past class spoil yall... this only applies to the members that "worry"

I promise you, Auburn is in damn good shape for their 2011 class.

U have to trust me, even if you find it hard to believe.

I'm with you GA!  DWWD!

[Orange and Blue 17211345162833 0]

Xavier Ward, Jamar Lewter, Greg Robinson, Brandon Fulse, Mike Blakely, Ameer Abdullah, Jeremy Richardson, Joe Morrow, Tacoi Sumler, Gabe Wright, Terrance Coleman, Jonathan Jenkins, Devaunte Sigler, Ray Drew, Keymiya Harrell, Kris Frost, Chris Jones, Erique Florence, Jonathan Rose, Ahmad Christian and Kadetrix Marcus.

We will get our share off that list but not all. It's just early July and there will be others that's not on our radar that will pop up and some that are longshots right now that we'll sign come February.

I can see another top 10 class filled with stars and all our recruiting needs will be met.

[Rednilla 5,406]

Honestly, at this point, I think it's kinda hard to tell...but compared to this time last year, I think we're right about the same place we were. We don't have the headlines of the top three running backs in the country being extremely interested, but we do have one of the best quarterbacks in the country firmly committed, and we have quite a few stellar recruits who seem to be leaning heavily towards Auburn to go along with an already impressive array of talented commits. Our offensive line class looks to be one of, if not the, best in the nation, again, and the defensive secondary class will probably be at least as good as last year's wide receiver class.

All in all, we might end up rated a bit lower due to the way Chizik recruits to need more than just getting the highest rated players, but I would be very surprised if this class was not rated in the top 10 in the country when it's all said and done.

[Orange and Blue 17211345162833 0]

I agree Red that our RB prospects are not as glamourus as last year but our DB class could be one of the best ever with Jones, Florence, Rose, Lanier and etc.

Our DL class also looks to be stronger especially at DT where we already have Blackson and Niles in the mix. We have good chances at Coleman, Jenkins and Wright. This could be the most talented and deepest DL in the SEC in a couple of years.

[shceagle 0]

We need OL, DB's, and DL in that order.  I am excited about the potential of our secondary in the future.  If we sign Rose, Florence, Jones plus Swain and Lanier, possibly Abdullah, that will be a major upgrade in our secondary.  From then on we can focus on needs.(mostly OL and DL), add 1-2 RB's, and we should fill out our class nicely.  Right now we are at a B avg, in February look for another A+ class.  These coaches will bring the best players in the country that fit Auburn.  Recruiting is a strength for this staff.

[AUoutsider 0]

Let's do this by position... and I'll consider strong leans the same as commits since they are both equally committed (meaning neither has signed an LOI)

QB- A... Probably should be an A+ with such an obvious ringer at QB committed, but he might have been our 2nd choice.  I don't think anyone will complain.

DB- A+... unless Chris Jones signs elsewhere, but even then it looks pretty strong.  If they grab a 3rd corner or another safety that is highly rated it will be epic.

OL- B-... Got 2 and lost out on 2 (maybe 3 depending on what the story is on Regions).  The rest of the uncommitted prospects look good, but we don't have a clear lead with any of them except maybe Lewter.  And I'm not sure what guards we are recruiting.  We need to sign at least 5.

DT- B... So far so good.  We have 2 that I think the coaches really like even if they lack guru approval, and all our star-studded targets are still in play.  Could be a great year for DT's.

WR- D... Who are we even recruiting at wide receiver?  Lost out on a bunch of highly rated guys.  I'm sure Taylor will recover and pull some rabbits out of his hat by signing day, but at this point can't give a good rating.

RB- C... If we sign Blakely/Hart and Coe it will be a superb running back class.  Everything else seems like a back-up plan (except for maybe Quan Bray).  We seem to be struggling here this year since both Hart and Blakely don't have a clear favorite, while last year we were tripping over 5 stars.

LB- B... This one is hard to read because it isn't clear what position a guy like Frost is being recruited for.  And will Swain move up to LB?  It seems like the coaches are still in on everyone they like at LB, so lets make it a 'B' grade even though there are no elite LB's in sight, just guys with great up-side.

DE- C... No locks that I can think of, but lots of great prospects including everyone's favorite, Ray Drew.  I didn't want to give an overly high grade since this position is still so up in the air.  Lots of potential though.

I'm not predicting the future with these grades, just giving a "where are we now" evaluation.

 

[Holland's Fro 0]

Let's do this by position... and I'll consider strong leans the same as commits since they are both equally committed (meaning neither has signed an LOI)

QB- A... Probably should be an A+ with such an obvious ringer at QB committed, but he might have been our 2nd choice.  I don't think anyone will complain.

DB- A+... unless Chris Jones signs elsewhere, but even then it looks pretty strong.  If they grab a 3rd corner or another safety that is highly rated it will be epic.

OL- B-... Got 2 and lost out on 2 (maybe 3 depending on what the story is on Regions).  The rest of the uncommitted prospects look good, but we don't have a clear lead with any of them except maybe Lewter.  And I'm not sure what guards we are recruiting.  We need to sign at least 5.

DT- B... So far so good.  We have 2 that I think the coaches really like even if they lack guru approval, and all our star-studded targets are still in play.  Could be a great year for DT's.

WR- D... Who are we even recruiting at wide receiver?  Lost out on a bunch of highly rated guys.  I'm sure Taylor will recover and pull some rabbits out of his hat by signing day, but at this point can't give a good rating.

RB- C... If we sign Blakely/Hart and Coe it will be a superb running back class.  Everything else seems like a back-up plan (except for maybe Quan Bray).  We seem to be struggling here this year since both Hart and Blakely don't have a clear favorite, while last year we were tripping over 5 stars.

LB- B... This one is hard to read because it isn't clear what position a guy like Frost is being recruited for.  And will Swain move up to LB?  It seems like the coaches are still in on everyone they like at LB, so lets make it a 'B' grade even though there are no elite LB's in sight, just guys with great up-side.

DE- C... No locks that I can think of, but lots of great prospects including everyone's favorite, Ray Drew.  I didn't want to give an overly high grade since this position is still so up in the air.  Lots of potential though.

I'm not predicting the future with these grades, just giving a "where are we now" evaluation.

 

Great evaluation, except WR. Sure, we dont have any. But we arent recruiting any because that's the position we're most set at. We have about 9 receivers, and only 1 will graduate, so we dont need any receivers in this class. If we get Richardson (99% sure we will) and maybe Sumler, we're done and happy. The only WR we've "lost out" on was Woodson. We havent been heavily recruiting any others. So instead of a D, a N/A is probably better.

Other than that, excellent work sir 

[AUDynasty 588]

All I know that we'll sign a full, hungry players wanting to play. That's good enough for me.

[aupops2 9]

Great report card, outsider.  I'm just about 100% with you.  Ray Drew , in my opinion, is becoming the key to this class.

[AUoutsider 0]

AMM, I'll defend my wide receivers grade.  First, I expect to lose more than one wide receiver before next years signing day.  Attrition will do a couple of guys in, like PPL and maybe Derek Winter.  I expect to sign 3 or 4 in 2011 with one being Richardson.  Second, in the Rivals 250 the only WR we have an even shot at is Sumler.  The only others that I have heard we are recruiting are committed elsewhere.  We're going to have to flip some guys to make the receiver class anything more than one with "lots of upside".

If elite guys were visiting, even if they were previously committed I'd feel better about WR, but I don't see them visiting. 

Pops, I agree that Ray Drew is one of those defining recruits.  Its too bad we are still fighting our way into his recruitment.  He's the kind of personality you could build a class round if you could lock him up early.  I can't help thinking he'll eventually return to his first love, FSU.

[Holland's Fro 0]

AMM, I'll defend my wide receivers grade. First, I expect to lose more than one wide receiver before next years signing day. Attrition will do a couple of guys in, like PPL and maybe Derek Winter. I expect to sign 3 or 4 in 2011 with one being Richardson. Second, in the Rivals 250 the only WR we have an even shot at is Sumler. The only others that I have heard we are recruiting are committed elsewhere. We're going to have to flip some guys to make the receiver class anything more than one with "lots of upside".

If elite guys were visiting, even if they were previously committed I'd feel better about WR, but I don't see them visiting.

Pops, I agree that Ray Drew is one of those defining recruits. Its too bad we are still fighting our way into his recruitment. He's the kind of personality you could build a class round if you could lock him up early. I can't help thinking he'll eventually return to his first love, FSU.

Good points. Im still not too concerned about it. WR was probably the position of least need this year considering the receivers we've gotten the last 2 years. After T-Zac and Kodi graduate next year and not including the two you said and whoever we sign this year, we'll still have Adams, Carr, Benton, Blake, Reed, Goodwin, Kitchens, and Spry. Id say we're in good shape if we sign 2 receivers this year

[Chadf93 0]

I am very excited about Goodwin and Reeds potential.

[AUGoo 2,671]

Yes, it sounds like we're set at WR.  I'm thinking when these recruits see the numbers put up by this offense they will be knocking down the door to get in.  I'll bet that Coach Troop gets his this year no problem.

[collector527 0]

I would say we are slightly ahead of last year. If you look at not only the commited people but the quality of commited people. Plus the quality of players who are giving Auburn interest. I would say other than rb(which could still be great) and maybe linebacker we are set to improve at every other position. The secondary could be the best haul ever. The d-line could be great, the o-line just as good, so i would say we are in a better position overall. And this staff always seems to pull in someone you do not expect. It is just hard hearing about all these espn 150 players who were interested in Auburn going to other places because we are not use to so many interested in us.

[auyushu 0]

AMM, I'll defend my wide receivers grade.  First, I expect to lose more than one wide receiver before next years signing day.  Attrition will do a couple of guys in, like PPL and maybe Derek Winter.  I expect to sign 3 or 4 in 2011 with one being Richardson. 

Sorry, but judging the coaches for not recruiting how you think they should when they aren't is a bit silly IMO. If you expect 3-4 WR commits this year, expect to be disappointed. The coaches will probably only take Richardson and one more possibly, which is why no top end WR have us on their list. It's not an area of need at all. There a limited amount of scholarships per year, we certainly aren't going to waste them on 4 WR when we have zero need for them at all.

I mean, assuming:

QB-1

RB-2

WR-2

OL-5

DL-6-7

LB-4

DB-5

That's 25-26 right there. We really don't have room for 2 more WR and still fill our needs.

I think your grades were pretty good outside of WR, though I would disagree with a couple assessments on OL and LB. With the OL we really don't need 5 necessarily, but we really have to get two solid OT, and Lewter is the only one we have a solid track on at this point. Hopefully the coaches can come through here, because OT has been a rough spot for recruiting the past several years, either through lack of commits or tragic situations.

As for LB, saying there is not an elite LB is sight is pretty weird to me. Last year we had a top notch LB class and the top one was ranked in the 15ish range in Owens. Landrum is a 20ish ranked guy and Frost is even higher ranked. We look to be in good shape at LB for having a similar class rankingwise to last year at LB if we pick up a couple of 3 star guys in addition to Frost and Landrum. I don't really see the issue here. Though I consider any player in the top 25 of their position to be elite myself.

People get way too locked up with star ratings anyway. Star ratings mean squat, the important thing is to have most all your players ranked in the top 50 at their position, and a good portion in the top 25. That will be consistent top 10 classes.

[rollsroyce5 0]

AMM, I'll defend my wide receivers grade.  First, I expect to lose more than one wide receiver before next years signing day.  Attrition will do a couple of guys in, like PPL and maybe Derek Winter.  I expect to sign 3 or 4 in 2011 with one being Richardson. 

Sorry, but judging the coaches for not recruiting how you think they should when they aren't is a bit silly IMO. If you expect 3-4 WR commits this year, expect to be disappointed. The coaches will probably only take Richardson and one more possibly, which is why no top end WR have us on their list. It's not an area of need at all. There a limited amount of scholarships per year, we certainly aren't going to waste them on 4 WR when we have zero need for them at all.

I mean, assuming:

QB-1

RB-2

WR-2

OL-5

DL-6-7

LB-4

DB-5

That's 25-26 right there. We really don't have room for 2 more WR and still fill our needs.

I think your grades were pretty good outside of WR, though I would disagree with a couple assessments on OL and LB. With the OL we really don't need 5 necessarily, but we really have to get two solid OT, and Lewter is the only one we have a solid track on at this point. Hopefully the coaches can come through here, because OT has been a rough spot for recruiting the past several years, either through lack of commits or tragic situations.

As for LB, saying there is not an elite LB is sight is pretty weird to me. Last year we had a top notch LB class and the top one was ranked in the 15ish range in Owens. Landrum is a 20ish ranked guy and Frost is even higher ranked. We look to be in good shape at LB for having a similar class rankingwise to last year at LB if we pick up a couple of 3 star guys in addition to Frost and Landrum. I don't really see the issue here. Though I consider any player in the top 25 of their position to be elite myself.

People get way too locked up with star ratings anyway. Star ratings mean squat, the important thing is to have most all your players ranked in the top 50 at their position, and a good portion in the top 25. That will be consistent top 10 classes.

Agreed, very nice analysis of the analysis

[TerritorialTigers 0]

I am very excited about Goodwin and Reeds potential.

I am too chad, an article I was reading on auburnundercover had T-Zac stating that Reed is the fastest player on the team and he is learning everything really quickly.  T-Zac said this while knowing that Reed is playing his same position.  These two young players are going to make our receiving corp even better and competitive. 

[Mikey 16,781]

My guess is we'll sign two WR max, with one of those being Richardson. If a grade is earned by achieving a goal and the goal is one WR plus Richardson, an A is only one player away.

It's way too early to tell if we get one more WR or not.

[AUoutsider 0]

auyushu, your count of scholarships by position looked solid to me.  If we sacrifice a couple of receivers for a couple more DL, I consider that a win.

I think my grade explanations show that I'm not getting exclusively caught up in stars.  All I've got to go on is star ranking, scholarship offers and just a sense of how badly our coaches want a player (do I hear about them visiting a lot, did the Tiger Prowl stop at their school, etc.)  I thought my grades took into account "are the coaches getting the attention of the recruits they like?"  Still, to move into an A grade you have to snag somebody that lots of people want... badly.   Haven't seen that type of recruit on our linebacker radar, except for maybe AJ Johnson (didn't Hatch recently report that we are out of his top 3?).  I realize that Roof has alternative linebacker tastes (Jessel Curry) and that means our most coveted LB recruits from now on will probably not be heavily coveted by other programs, except for the occasional Ladarious Owens.  If Frost ends up at linebacker then that would be a major plus for our LB grade.  But it sounds like our coaches are going to let him be a wide receiver at least for a little while.  Hard to grade based on Frost.

[amyjones17 0]

AUoutsider, if that's so, why not include Frost as a WR? He'd have to be considered a pretty good one, even if he seems better suited as a LB.