Rednilla

Not bird, but as a former wide receiver, I'm not sure that kind of drill would help much at this point. Now, if the receiver is maybe a former high school basketball player, and he's doing that kind of thing in the offseason, then absolutely it could help. But now? No, now they need to be running routes with the quarterbacks, working on timing issues. I would think that if you want them to get practice going up for the ball, then you'd just do a fly drill with two defenders on a receiver who runs a fly pattern and has the ball aired out for him to go up and get. That way he has to work on judging the trajectory of the ball and where it's going to come down, he has to fight through defenders to make the catch, and he has to catch a ball with the kind of momentum that comes with a spiral thrown 40 yards as opposed to catching a round basketball that's just floating above/around the rim. But, then again, I've never been a coach, so I don't know if any of that would work or not. It just seems more logical to me.

Not bad, Paul. Not bad at all.

Well, I think the idea is more that they look good considering who it is they're going up against more than they're dominating this D-line with two guys who would have been drafted if they'd left early. I got the feeling that the D-line won the night overall, just that the O-line held it's own surprisingly well, all things considered.

I think that might have started when he was a player for Boise, actually. I know it started long before he was hired here.

Reading between the lines, I get the feeling that the coaches really want either Calzada or Ashford to step up. Maybe I'm seeing something that isn't there, but right now it feels like TJ's job is to be big brother to the other QBs and help them grasp the playbook, because he, himself, is more a backup plan. Personally, I'm kinda rooting for Ashford at this point. I had been enamored by what I heard about Calzada's arm strength, but he's going to have to get his act together if he wants to be the starter. Oh, one thing that surprised me in my scrimmage report was that the O-line is supposed to be doing pretty well. It's QB play on the offensive side and linebacker play on defense that was mentioned as the potential weak points.

There are multiple factors that play a role.

I didn't say he would be fired midseason, either. I said he might not last the season. The two statements are not synonymous. Also, just because they don't technically fire a coach until the season is over, that doesn't mean he can't be gone before that time and just not know when the hammer is going to drop.

Has anyone picked Tank yet? If not, I'm calling him as my mancrush...

If we're 3-2 by October 2nd, Harsin might not last the entire season. It will be an uphill battle for him even if we're 4-1. That's not really fair to him, because despite the proclamations of an apologist for our previous head coach, the program was in shambles when he took over, and he's having to do a rebuild in fast forward because Auburn people are tired of giving the coach time to get things together after watching Gus bumble about for 7 seasons after taking us to the BCSNCG. That's just one of the reasons why there are a lot of people who think Auburn is the toughest head coaching job in college football.

That list also doesn't include the incoming freshmen, like Camden Brown, who is 6'2, and Omari Kelly, who is listed by 247 as 6'2.

I'm not entirely sure that hasn't already happened. I've been hearing rumblings about Brown since he stepped on campus, which kinda surprised me since he's not the most highly rated of our freshman receiving corps. But he's the only one (of the freshmen receivers) I've heard about this summer, so I imagine he's standing out quite a bit.

From what I got, apparently Finley was the QB who looked the best of the competitors ("threw some dimes"), and Ashford led a scoring drive. Calzada is reportedly not taking command and leaving the door open for one of the others to take the reins. Bigsby and Alston were mentioned as standouts in the running game. "Defensive line is relentless," but the O-Line "definitely had some moments." Pappoe, Steiner, and Riley all looked good, but the big news from that group is Woodyard. "Not a great practice player, but man when the lights came on, he is a baller."

I don't want to get my hopes up too high on him. Would love for him to choose us, but I have my doubts that he will.

Hate to have a kid from Lee County get away from us if he's talented enough to play at this level, but I have no clue how to gauge that. JC is easy to tell he's got potential from his size and speed combination, but just knowing a lineman's size isn't enough to tell if he's worth a scholarship. The fact that he has D-I offers suggests he's at least close, and frankly I'd rather take a flyer on him if he's borderline. Keep the kids closest to home at Auburn.

That's the danged truth. The more I learn about him, the more impressed I am.

Actually, the only player I can remember having the kind of feeling that I'm having with JC is an offensive player, Sammie Coates. He was a tall speedster from a small town in Alabama who was underrated by the recruiting services. And more than a decade later, he's still playing professionally. . . not in the NFL anymore, but he's still going in Canada. If Hart lives up to that kind of billing, then we just got a whale of a steal.

Personally, I'd rather have five high schoolers who are rated 4-5 stars and five third to fifth year players in the portal. That way we have veterans as starters with the next wave ready to step in at the first opportunity. Hopefully that's the way it works out. I doubt if we can really pull in five high schoolers rated 4 stars or better on the OL, but it's not impossible, at least. And I do think we're going to see a far superior product on the field compared to what we have been seeing, which should help the recruiting efforts.

My apologies for not catching that.

You do realize that there will be a lot more kids entering the transfer portal once the season is over, right?

Actually, I'm told the plan is to bring in 8-10 O-linemen in this class between the high schoolers and portal additions. I'm guessing that probably means 4-5 of each, which means we will *hopefully* see some dividends before too long. Main thing is we just need the season to start so we can get some positive momentum going. We really, really need to beat Penn State.

That's why I prefaced it with FWIW; I don't know how much it's worth, either.

While it's certainly possible that he has grown a little since the recruiting sites last checked, he likely isn't 6'3. And that's okay for a center.

FWIW, the staff still believes we have a real shot with Bo.

I would be flat out shocked if he doesn't commit to Auburn. And, considering his measurables, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him be given a fourth star before too long. Maybe not, I dunno, but I really don't care what he's ranked. With that size/speed combination, there's no doubt that the potential is real.

Honestly, I was encouraged more than anything. He doesn't bring that sweet stroke Jabari had, and he might not have the same level of defense, but one thing he can do that Jabari couldn't do so much of is drive to the basket through traffic. Last year, there were two first rounders on the team. This year, there are four players (Westry, Traore, Flanigan, Broome) who could legitimately play their way into being a first rounder. Personally, I'd love to see all of them go in the 2023 lottery with a ring on their finger. And yes, I believe this team really has that kind of potential.