Rednilla

I'm not concerned about recruiting rankings as much as I am about recruits. We NEED solid running backs in this class. That said, I'll be happy for the rankings boost, as well.

I can't imagine Harsin slow-playing Judkins, not when we're looking to take 2 RBs. As I said elsewhere, I really think he's a 4 star talent, and the fact that he plays high school ball 50 miles from Auburn is all the more reason to be sure he knows he's wanted on the Plains.

Personally, I'd rather not find out...

Isn't Malcolm Johnson, Jr. also nicknamed Jet?

Pretty sure Auburn was out in front with a program to assist athletes in their NIL dealings starting sometime last spring.

I sincerely hope we DO reel this guy in, because he looks like he's underrated to me. However, re: bringing in a 5* to replace Tank in the 2023 class, I have to say that I'm actually not all that concerned about exactly how high the RB is rated; if he qualifies as a 4 star, then he has either bellcow or game-changer ability. Tre Mason was #262 nationally, and he had one of the best seasons for a running back ever at Auburn, which everyone here knows is a huge deal. Granted, he was ridden harder than he should have been, IMO, and I think that affected his pro career, but he was a beast. Obviously, not every 4 star will turn out that great (witness Devan Barrett), but as long as we're getting one or two guys who are around 4 stars in each class, we'll be alright. Naturally, you want the guy the coaches think the most of, and there are the Tank types out there who are the exception to the rule, but as far as I'm concerned, if you've got the hosses up front, then RB is plug and play. Given the injury-prone nature of the position, it's hard to say that one 5 star talent with three 3 star talents backing him up is going to produce like four 4 star talents would. **NOTE** When I say X star talent, I'm talking about how good they are on the field on Saturdays, not their recruiting ranking. P.S. Back to my initial point, I think Judkins probably moves up to 4 stars, given the acclaim he got at that camp and the amount he is sure to dominate this fall. I might have to drive to Montgomery to see him play. Too bad he doesn't play my alma mater; we were 3A when I was in school, but they've moved up to 5A since then.

Sure hope so, because I strongly suspect we're going to get him.

@bigbirdI swear I had nothing to do with this post.

I, for one, actually appreciate the reality check here. UK routinely signs as many 5 star prospects in a single year as we have signed in our program's history, if not more. Putting us on their level of recruiting is wishful thinking at best and delusions of grandeur at worst. That's not a bucket of ice over my head when I hear that, because the level between our best recruiting in the 70 years before Bruce and their worst recruiting in the 70 years before Bruce is still significant.

Every school in America is dealing with it now. Not a single school in America was dealing with it in 2010. That you either cannot or will not see the difference is why everyone thinks you are such a joke.

Haven't heard any hints that we're close with any OTs. Seems like I heard we were doing pretty well with an OG, but that could be old, or I could just be making it up.

What I think he's getting at is that because the career of a good kicker generally lasts 20+ years, and because there's not really any need for a backup kicker, that means there are only 32 slots, so far less kickers make the pros than players of other positions.

Ah! Yes, that makes more sense now.

...Okay, help me out here...what does my post have to do with yankees talking fast? Am I missing a connection here that should be obvious (which wouldn't be a surprise), or what?

Oh, there's no doubt we've got a long line of great kickers. Don't forget the Godfather of great AU kickers, Al del Greco. Jaret Holmes was great, hitting that clutch 40-something yard game winner in the 97 Iron Bowl after being iced twice...there's no doubt that Auburn has a wealth of history with kickers. I was just mentioning the Carlsons and McPhearson because I know each was the number one kicker in his class, and it covers virtually all of Gus's time here, so it's giving him a bit of a tip of the hat for continuing the kicking recruiting prowess.

What, you mean that we're going to have 12 consecutive years of the #1 kicker in their respective class? Yeah, that's definitely a good selling point. And, fortunately, it has nothing to do with the offensive or defensive game planning and strategy, so having a new staff doesn't impact the fit.

He's being the kind of leader you want in a quarterback.

I think what he meant is that Harsin was hired with long term goals being the ones most prevalent, rather than hiring someone with the best chance to come in and succeed quickly at the cost of long term success.

Yeah, I got the 'up to' part loud and clear. I'm just glad to hear that we're that close on that many players the coaches like. Hell, if we pick up half that many commitments from quality players while still having a solid shot at the others, that's plenty good enough for me for this season. Have you heard anything regarding how many high school/JUCO kids the staff wants to take this cycle?

Yeah, the not helping toward rankings kinda bothers me, too. Kickers are important. They aren't on the field as much as position players, but every time they are on the field, their job is critical.

After hearing WDE predict we'll have up to 9 more commits by the time the season starts, I was wondering if that meant they were possibly going to sign as full a class as we could from high school and JUCO, contrary to what I was thinking. I'd actually prefer that we be selective in who we take. It's certainly worked out for Clemson, and the only hurdle I see to getting where Clemson is revolves around playing in the SEC as opposed to the ACC...which may not be as big a deal if we end up going to a 12 team playoff format, as I expect we will.

He's butthurt, and he's treating us the way he feels he has been treated for the last couple of years.

Wait, are you saying you'll take the side of those three being ranked ahead of Auburn?

In before Mikey or 24 come back with Tennessee, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt have to go through the same things. (I appreciate the thought, even if the execution was a little short, so no worries.)

Don't hold your breath, my friend.