aubiefifty

who in the hell is the bama hammer? I bet this is why coach cut off the recruiting sites out of the loop. what a jerk.

flywareagle.com Auburn football: Bama Hammer claims AU has “downward trend in talent” Mary Kate Hughes 3-4 minutes This year is set to be a rebuilding season for the Auburn football team. After a mediocre 6-5 season and several years of recruiting neglect in certain positions, it’s clear to everyone that new head coach Bryan Harsin will have to prove himself in the SEC before he can truly dig into the high school recruiting scene. Well, clear to almost everyone. Rival FanSided site Bama Hammer claims that the past several years of recruiting alongside Bryan Harsin’s work on the recruiting trail this year indicate that the Tigers will fail to compete with Alabama in the coming years and go on a losing streak similar to the one the Tide suffered through from 2002-2007: No matter what happens in Auburn’s so-far, bleak 2022 class, a downward trend in player talent has been established. The disparity between the Tide and Tigers programs could lead to a calamitous Auburn losing streak. Recruiting relationships are built over time and last for years. It would be unrealistic for Bryan Harsin to be going after all of the 5-star recruits that have had Nick Saban in their ears since they were freshmen in high school, and he’ll have to prove himself with the Auburn football this year in order to be able to recruit on that level. However, Harsin and co. have managed to pull the Tigers’ class of 2021 up to the No. 19 spot in the nation, and No. 7 in the SEC. Harsin has also used the NCAA transfer portal to bring in more talent to the roster, but according to Bama Hammer those players will be unable to compete at a high level: So far the problem for Harsin is the players he is getting are far from game-changers. They are mostly (some say totally) a rag-tag bunch of former 3-Star recruits. Sometimes such players blossom. Alabama Football has shown 3-Star players can turn into top performers. Even with such successes, the majority of them do not excel competing against elite talent. Harsin has brought in a total of nine transfers so far, according to 247 Sports, and they’re all 3-star recruits with the exception of WR transfer Demetris Robertson, who was a 5-star prospect out of high school. Of those nine transfers, three were impact players at SEC schools, and six of them were competitors at Power-5 schools. Robertson’s best year at UGA was in 2019, a year when the Bulldogs finished the season 12-2, first in the SEC East, runners-up to LSU in the SEC championship, and beat Baylor in the Sugar Bowl. Eku Leota, EDGE transfer from Northwestern, contributed to his team’s Citrus Bowl win over Auburn in 2020 after the Wildcats finished first in the Big 10 west and went to the conference championship. The 3-star recruits Harsin has added to the team are hardly a “rag-tag” bunch and the transfers have plenty of potential to develop into top performers that can compete against elite talent under a new coaching staff and a program with a new direction. The Tide has enjoyed their reign of terror for a long time, and they’re worried that Auburn football is coming for them. The Tigers–and their 3-star recruits–are going to be turning plenty of heads come this fall.

He wants to finish you and embarrass you in front of everyone you know.<<<this all day long!!!! How Micah Riley-Ducker can help the Tigers Zac Blackerby 2-3 minutes The Auburn Tigers are getting a tight end that can do it all in Micah Riley-Ducker. The tight end announced that he would be lending his services to Bryan Harsin’s program Wednesday night. The Bellevue, Nebraska native is listed as a three-star player by some recruiting sites and a four-star by others. Regardless of his ranking, the belief is he will be able to help out the Auburn Tigers. It was an impressive move by Harsin’s staff to be able to go out and get the 6-foot-six, 235-pound prospect from the middle of the country, far away from Auburn. Harsin gets his first high school player to commit to the Tigers that resides outside of the southeast. Jake Crain, the host of The JBoy Show, joined the Locked On Auburn podcast to discuss what type of player that the Auburn fanbase can expect. “A lot of people thought Iowa early,” Crain said on the show. “This is such a great job by Bryan Harsin and his staff. Look, I coached at Iowa Western Junior College for two years and was out in Council Bluffs and was actually really close to Bellevue, Nebraska and these kids are really tough. He is a four-star kid. You look at his frame, he’s got room to grow. Jeff Pittman is going to put some weight on him. The thing about this kid, and there’s a few things that stand out. Number one is that he’s a willing blocker and in today’s football world, outside of offensive linemen, to find a tight end that not only wants to block but if you turn on his tape, he wants to finish you and embarrass you in front of everyone you know. That’s how you win football games. He can also play inline which means he can go on the end of the line of scrimmage and put his hand down, get in the hip, and can probably help you with running split zone a little bit” Riley Ducker is the fifth member of the 2022 Auburn signing class. He joins quarterback Holden Geriner, defensive back Jarrell Stinson, linebacker Powell Gordon, and kicker Alex McPherson. Contact/Follow us @theauburnwire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion.

from sports illustrated ...University Park Airport Adds Special Fall Flights for Sports Fans Mark Wogenrich 3 minutes Fans can fly non-stop to State College from Atlanta and Birmingham for the Penn State-Auburn football game. Several airlines are offering special flights to Penn State sporting events this fall, including the home football game against Auburn that will simplify travel to State College. According to the University Park Airport, Delta and United will offer non-stop flights to State College for the Penn State-Auburn game Sept. 18 at Beaver Stadium. Delta is offering one flight from Atlanta to State College on Sept. 17, and United is adding two non-stops from Birmingham, Ala., to State College on Saturday morning that arrive in plenty of time for the 7:30 p.m. kickoff. Both airlines have scheduled non-stop return flights Sept. 19. The non-stops, which last about two hours, certainly shave time getting to State College, which often requires connections for fans of other college teams. Delta flights to State College normally connect through Detroit and take more than four hours. To get from Birmingham to State College on United usually requires two connections and nine hours. Tickets were available for all flights as of July 8. The cheapest round-trip price was $319 on United. The special flights suggest that State College expects a huge crowd for Auburn's first football visit to Penn State. The athletic department announced in June that it would return to 100-percent capacity for home sporting events this fall. The football team plays its first home game of the 2021 season Sept. 11 against Ball State. Fans already are making Auburn's visit a priority. Tickets on the secondary market start at $239 on Seatgeek and $265 on StubHub. And a hotel search on Expedia showed no weekend vacancies in State College and only a few in the region. A Holiday Inn Express located about 20 miles away listed its nightly rate at $599. Penn State hockey fans also can take advantage of a special flight as well. Allegiant Airlines is offering non-stops between State College and Nashville for the men's hockey team's appearance in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game. Penn State will play North Dakota on Oct. 30 at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. Allegiant has scheduled a non-stop from State College to Nashville on Oct. 28, with a return flight on Oct. 31. i hope this might help a couple of you............

Ranking Auburn's wide receivers in 2021 Zac Blackerby 3-4 minutes With the addition of Demetris Robertson transferring to Auburn, the Tigers have a much different look at wide receivers entering the 2021 season. The former Georgia receiver will be the oldest player in the room and will carry the most experience of any skill player in Bryan Harsin’s offense. Although inexperienced, the wide receiver room on The Plains is filled will a lot of explosive players and has a ridiculous amount of upside. With the departure of Eli Stove, Seth Williams, and Anthony Schwartz, Auburn’s next version of a big three at the wide receiver position will be a wait and see type situation as younger guys like Kobe Hudson, ZeVian Capers, and Elijah Canion fight for playing time in this new Mike Bobo offense. Let’s rate Auburn’s receivers going into fall camp after the addition of Robertson. Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics It was a fun story when Newton announced he would be attending Auburn University but it seems like a tough road for him to crack the starting rotation in 2021. Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics Evans is a young receiver that will be able to do a lot of effective things in the open field. He has a chance to be a key number two or three option in this offense by the time he’s done on The Plains. John Reed-USA TODAY Sports Jackson was the most veteran wide receiver room before the addition of Robertson. Former players talk about his ability to lead and is ready to step up but his inability to stay healthy is his largest hurdle. Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics Johnson Jr. is one of the fastest players in the SEC. Harsin and Bobo will dial up enough plays to him to make him a key role player in this offense in 2021. He has the ability to pop on any play. Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports Capers was a starter in the slot for last year’s squad at some points in the season. It will be interesting to see how he is used in this new offense. Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports Canion had a breakout game against Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl and also looked great in the A-Day game. He could be a fixture on the outside for Bo Nix this season. Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports A former high school quarterback has shown that he is a natural wide receiver. Hudson will be a big part of the Auburn passing game. Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics Johnson has set himself up for a breakout season. His production in the slot could be what helps Auburn’s offense take a huge step forward in 2021. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports The newest man in the receiver room has the chance to be the best. Robertson will have a chance to become Nix’s favorite target once fall camp begins.

yes they met on vacation and became friends. Greene was so impressed by him and remembered him. they were at the same place for about a week and it is my understanding they were not friends before then. i believe they struck up a convo in the pool. my memory fails but i believe this is right.

athlonsports.com Auburn Football: Tigers Roll Dice on SEC Newcomer Bryan Harsin Athlon Sports 7-9 minutes Bryan Harsin is Auburn's new head coach after going 69-19 in seven seasons at Boise State Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics It had to be an outsider because there was no one left on the inside who hadn’t chosen a side. Auburn fired head coach Gus Malzahn after eight seasons as head coach in December, and it did so in the most Auburn manner possible: with a controversial maneuver orchestrated by angry boosters and carried out with seemingly no foresight or plan. Malzahn, 68–35 all-time on The Plains with two SEC West titles, one conference championship, a BCS National Championship appearance and the best record of any active head coach against Nick Saban, was fired after a 6–4 pandemic-shortened season and owed over $20 million in buyout money — half of it immediately. Compounding matters — and increasing the Auburn-ness of the entire affair — were reports that Malzahn had been ousted by a particular faction of monied supporters who wanted to elevate then-Tigers defensive coordinator Kevin Steele to full-time head coach. That’s when athletic director Allen Greene moved not only to end Auburn’s infighting but also to wrestle control of the program away from warring booster factions, tapping Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin to replace Malzahn. Harsin is charged with overhauling a program that once led the entire sport in offensive innovation and repairing — to whatever extent possible — Auburn’s “Family” mantra. “I think at the time you had a lot of people who had thrown their hands up and said, ‘They’re never going to get this right,’” SEC Network analyst and former Auburn offensive lineman Cole Cubelic says. “There was a lot of nervous energy, and a lot of folks tuned it out because it wasn’t going the way they wanted it to. You also had substantial people involved indicating they would create legit backlash if it wasn’t going to be their guy.” Enter Harsin, the man who had succeeded Malzahn once before. Malzahn’s one-year stint at Arkansas State ended when he got the Auburn job; Harsin followed Malzahn by spending one year of his own in Jonesboro, only to be hired by his alma mater, Boise State, the following offseason. If anyone, Auburn fan or industry pundit alike, tells you they saw this second Harsin-for-Malzahn switch coming, they’re lying. “I think some people at Auburn were hoping it would be a coach who hadn’t been discussed to that point because an unknown would be better than either the names they’d heard associated with the job or what kind of hire they thought could be possible based on what was out there,” Cubelic says. Harsin is inarguably a breath of fresh air, both to Auburn and the Southeastern Conference. The 44-year-old managed a 69–19 record at Boise and a staggering 45–8 record in the Mountain West Conference. What Harsin helped build as an assistant under former Broncos head coach Chris Petersen, he forged into a standard as head coach: The Broncos were the class of Group of 5. Winning the conference was a given; going undefeated and challenging for College Football Playoff consideration was the expectation. Harsin isn’t what every single power broker in and around Auburn wanted, but no one head coach could ever meet that impossible standard. Harsin, at least a few months in, is seeking to quell any doubts by establishing transparency with Auburn’s famously vociferous fan base and their understandably high expectations in the Nick Saban era. “The most important part of expectations is communicating who I am,” Harsin says. “That started early on through the process of the coaching search. There’s a lot of things players get to read because your résumé is out there. So, they understand at least where you came from, and some of the things you’ve done.” If there’s a misconception among discerning SEC football fans (and Auburn faithful), it’s that Harsin is some kind of trick-play enthusiast or that he operates on the fringes of what Southern fans consider to be big-boy football. That perception is a product of bad intel. From his first day on campus, Harsin has promised to hew a lot closer to Pat Dye than Gus Malzahn, which is likely why a lot of Tiger fans have warmed to their new hire. “They’re going to build everything on that offense from the run game out. Inside zone stuff, run by SEC-caliber dudes. If there’s a misconception about Boise being a ‘finesse’ or ‘trick play’ team, that doesn’t exist in coaching,” a rival SEC coordinator says. “They’re Jay Ajayi and Doug Martin and Alexander Mattison, so that should play well at a place where it’s about Bo Jackson and Cadillac [Williams].” Harsin has also fortified his new staff with familiar SEC faces. Former South Carolina and Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, once a Harsin foil as head coach at Colorado State, will call plays on offense, while former Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason chose to coach the Auburn defense over LSU and multiple other schools that pursued him. If there’s an early concern on The Plains, it’s recruiting. Harsin has outfitted his staff with SEC veteran coordinators (as well as three former players), but he’s never gone to war over personnel in the nastiest, most talented corner of the game. “Our message [in recruiting] is the same as it is with our team,” Harsin says. “We haven’t played a game, we haven’t been in a season, but here is what we are expecting from the players and everybody in this program. We explain to recruits our expectations and what they could have a chance to be a part of. You want the right people to be a part of the program. They also want to come into a program that’s going to fit them. And at the end of the day, it comes down to fit.” Related: Ranking All 130 College Football Teams for 2021 Of course, a major reason the Auburn job opened in the first place is a level of expectations that might be unattainable. It’s possible that Harsin could be exactly what Tigers fans who grew frustrated with his predecessor wanted — an offensive-minded coach with a more physical, run-heavy scheme and the same elite defense — and still not satisfy them. “I don’t know if the fans have had enough time to get to know him,” Cubelic says. “And people will make their decisions situationally. They’ll form an opinion based on a single game or a single play, maybe. But the one thing I don’t know if most Auburn fans will ever have the ability to see, because it’s inside the program, is the consistency. He will be the same guy every day. That’s the part of his background and his demeanor that makes him a good fit. His expectation of his players — to the details, to being the same, consistent guy every day, demanding full effort and attention no matter what — I think Auburn fans would appreciate that.” Before Harsin coaches a game in the SEC, it’s impossible to prognosticate whether Auburn fans will warm to a new coach from outside the SEC at the height of the Saban Era. But it’s likely because of these seemingly insane circumstances (a demand to keep some kind of pace with Alabama) that Harsin got the job. There’s no complex formula. If there’s a path for the Tigers to win the league, it will have to be adhered to steadily and faithfully. “Everything we do as a program has an expectation that is a simple one: It’s your personal best,” Harsin says. “It’s your personal best at whatever you need to do, or asked to do. The expectations are simple. They’re hard to do. That’s what everyone on the staff and what I expect from myself every day. Do it to the best of your ability every single day and be consistent as best you can.” — Written by Steven Godfrey (@38godfrey) for Athlon Sports' 2021 SEC Football Magazine.

i second that !

i plan to get there. i think i am forty. let me go pawn some stuff..........grins. thanx red

omg i love this. i assume he literally went to GA campus. our coach is fearless..................

Auburn Football Bryan Harsin, the Auburn coach Bandit from Boise, strikes again Auburn football coach Bryan Harsin speaks to the media outside Cafe Florentine where AMBUSH was held on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. (Photo by Giana Han) Bryan Harsin is a thief from Idaho. Let me ask everyone a serious question: does this cowboy — this Bandit from Boise — have no moral code? Is nothing sacred anymore? Can’t anything be done to stop this man of mischief? Nope. And it’s glorious. And I’m really starting to like this guy. Everyone loves a good black-hat villain in the SEC, and Harsin is wearing it today. On Thursday, Auburn’s football coach did something many longtime fans of the league would have once considered unthinkable. Harsin straight up stole a former five-star recruit off the roster of the rival Georgia Bulldogs. I’m guessing Pat Dye would approve. Harsin walked into the Bulldogs’ receiver room this week, and left with a former freshman All-American. Demetris Robertson wore black and red in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry last season, but this fall he’ll be dressed out in burnt orange and navy blue. He’s the third transfer this offseason to go from an SEC school to Auburn, but the others were from Vanderbilt and LSU. It feels different when it’s a chief rival, right? Not dirtier, because it’s all within the rules, but maybe somehow more intimate. This isn’t just business. This is personal. This is the new world of college football. Does it matter which sideline of the Iron Bowl you’re standing on as long as you’re playing in the game? Maybe not in a few years. Robertson was once the top-rated high school receiver in the country and a freshman All-American for Cal. Now he’s just looking for a way to improve his NFL draft stock before his collegiate eligibility expires, and the best option, apparently, was the nuclear one. Push the red button to see Scott Cochran’s head explode. Over the past week or so, Auburn’s poker-faced Harsin has finally started to show some of his playing cards, and there’s some substance to go along with all the coach-speak. Still not sure what to expect from the Tigers under athletic director Allen Greene’s big bold replacement for Gus Malzahn, but at least now we know Harsin has the required skills needed to steal from an SEC neighbor. Hey, anything to help Bo Nix sell sweet tea. They’re all thieves, folks, so let’s not kid ourselves. The game now is just about knowing what to take. Georgia recently added a former five-star receiver from LSU, Arik Gilbert of Marietta, Georgia. Was Robertson addition by subtraction for Georgia, or will losing him to Auburn come back to haunt Smart and his staff like quarterback Justin Fields? Yeah, Smart will never live that one down. It’s not just about recruiting high school players anymore. From now on, coaches also will be measured and judged by their ability to steal transfers and retain talent. All things considered, Harsin is having a good summer after being handicapped by the NCAA’s extended recruiting moratorium due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to Robertson’s commitment, Harsin also landed a huge special teams recruit this week, class of 2022 kicker Alex McPherson. Again, anything to see Scott Cochran’s face catch on fire. Metaphorically, of course. Maybe Auburn isn’t going to be so mediocre this season after all. Auburn fans seem willing to give greenhorn Harsin a pass for the 2021 season — I don’t believe it — but it appears like he has different plans. Don’t chisel Alabama’s name on the SEC West division trophy just yet. Harsin might steal that, too, if Alabama coach Nick Saban isn’t careful. Oh, and lock up that diamond-crusted roster down in Tuscaloosa while y’all are at it. There’s a burglar on the prowl this summer. Auburn needed a veteran receiver for Nix going into fall camp, so Harsin looked around and took one from Georgia like he was pulling a gold chain right off Kirby Smart’s neck. How is Auburn possibly supposed to compete with Georgia in 2021? Raid the ‘Dawg house, of course. Robertson, while extremely gifted, apparently didn’t impress Smart enough in practice over the last three years to earn more chances on the field. The Savannah, Georgia, native then allegedly did something regrettable in February when he allegedly removed a parking boot from his car on campus. Who among us, right? Athens, Georgia, and its silly parking rules … Has anyone ever paid for a single parking ticket in the entire history of Alabama? The answer is heck no. Park wherever you want in Auburn, Demetris. In fact, the parking authority might even throw in an endorsement deal if you score a touchdown against Georgia.

what about their oath? not me. i am tired of the religious right wanting to treat people like garbage.

am i wrong when i say he is initially saying screw america?

Gop congressman caught on video saying he wants '18 more months of chaos' to stall Democrats so RepuGOP congressblicans can retake Congress in 2022 Joseph Zeballos-Roig Wed, July 7, 2021, 4:37 PM Rep. Chip Roy of Texas. Patrick Semansky, File/Associated Press Rep. Chip Roy said he wanted to block Democrats so Republicans could retake Congress in 2022. "Our job is to do everything we can to slow all of that down," then "get in here and lead," he said. It's likely to fuel Democrats' characterizations of Republicans as uninterested in striking deals. See more stories on Insider's business page. A GOP congressman from Texas said in a secretly taped video that he supported blocking Democrats with "18 more months of chaos" so that Republicans would have a shot at reclaiming Congress in the 2022 midterm elections. "For the next 18 months, our job is to do everything we can to slow all of that down to get to December of 2022 and then get in here and lead," Rep. Chip Roy said in a video taped by Lauren Windsor, a Democratic activist. He added: "Nobody knows what anybody's gonna do right now. That's the thing; this is the problem. I actually say, 'Thank you, Lord, 18 more months of chaos and the inability to get stuff done.' That's what we want." Roy also said the moderate Republicans who negotiated a $579 billion infrastructure agreement weren't "conservative warriors." Months of talks eventually produced an agreement on a framework last month - President Joe Biden initially tied its passage to the success of a bill supported by only Democrats, but he backed down on his veto threat after criticism from Senate Republicans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has dug in on not approving the bipartisan agreement unless the Senate clears a multitrillion-dollar reconciliation bill containing social and health initiatives. That pathway allows Democrats to bypass Republicans and approve certain bills with a simple majority in the Senate. "And so they're cutting a deal, but then Biden, who came out and said, 'We've got a deal,' allowed Pelosi to basically kind of step in and go, 'Whoop, no you don't,'" Roy could be heard saying in the video. The remarks are likely to fuel Democrats' characterizations of Republicans as uninterested in striking deals on issues such as the economy, immigration, and policing. Many Democrats have pointed to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's comment earlier this year that he was "100%" focused on stopping the Biden administration. Roy doubled down on his remarks in a statement shared with Insider on Wednesday. "For the next 18 months, Republicans' job is to do everything that we can to slow down and block the Democrats' radical agenda, and then win the majority and lead," he said. Read the original article on Business Insider

some folks are saying this is the new slogan for the defense. is it possible jimmy rane might be interested or is already involved? best marketing slogon i have heard so far.

does this mean i am gold now? what is the minimum for platinum? thanx

can we start calling it the hypocrite oath?

Mike Pence reportedly once 'lost it' after Trump threw a crumpled newspaper article at him Brendan Morrow, Staff Writer Thu, July 8, 2021, 1:19 PM Donald Trump Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Former Vice President Mike Pence reportedly "lost it" and "snarled" at former President Donald Trump in 2018 after getting a crumpled up newspaper article thrown at him. A new piece in The Wall Street Journal adapted from reporter Michael Bender's book Frankly, We Did Win This Election describes the conflict that arose between Trump and Pence in early 2021 when the vice president was set to preside over the certification of the election results. The report describes how Pence "wasn't practiced in confronting" Trump, with the only example that administration officials could think of dating back to 2018. At the time, Pence's political committee had just hired Trump's adviser Corey Lewandowski, and Trump reportedly held up an article about the news while complaining it made him look weak and like "his team was abandoning him." Trump reportedly then "crumpled the article and threw it at his vice president," saying, "So disloyal." At that point, the report says Pence "lost it," growing frustrated because Jared Kushner had asked him to hire Lewandowski and he had discussed the plan to do so with Trump. "Mr. Pence picked up the article and threw it back at Mr. Trump," Bender reports. "He leaned toward the president and pointed a finger a few inches from his chest. 'We walked you through every detail of this,' Mr. Pence snarled. 'We did this for you — as a favor. And this is how you respond? You need to get your facts straight.'" Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

Why Bryan Harsin believes the Boise State blueprint will work at Auburn ByBrandon Marcello 12-15 minutes College football players more prone to critical coverage in NIL era AUBURN, Alabama — Bryan Harsin is never far from Boise. The Auburn coach is an ardent believer in carefully-crafted plans, hard work, accountability, and one-on-one instruction and mentorship wrapped in blanket of understanding and empathy. He picked up those traits and molded his own coaching philosophy from his 25 years as a coach and player alongside Boise State greats Chris Petersen, Dan Hawkins, Dirk Koetter, Justin Wilcox, Andy Avalos and others. It’s a blue-collar approach with a personal touch. Petersen calls it his "Built for Life" philosophy. Others have adapted it, but it was mostly tweaked, perfected and handed down by four head coaches from the same coaching tree over the last three decades at Boise State, a program that evolved from college football’s Cinderella into a powerhouse in the 2000s and 2010s. The philosophy may seem to be filled with platitudes, but the actions behind those words has provided remarkable results. Harsin echoes the words and wisdom of those coaches in every conversation. His plans are clear. His approach always mapped out. The touchstones unchanged. The approach might seem repetitive, even banal, but it works. After all, the Boise State blueprint led the Broncos to three major bowl games (all wins) and top-5 rankings while averaging 11 wins per season in the 2000s, including a Fiesta Bowl and two 12-win seasons in Harsin’s seven years as the head coach. “I got a chance to work with some of the best people in the world in what we do,” Harsin told 247Sports from his office overlooking Auburn’s practice fields. Harsin’s background — his upbringing, if you will — is what makes the decision to leave his alma mater for the SEC last winter so fascinating. He left stability and 10-win seasons at Boise State for a program that has recorded consecutive double-digit winning seasons only once in its 119-year history. The 44-year-old has lived his entire life west of the Mississippi River. Nineteen of his 21 years in coaching have been at Group of 5 schools and he has never coached in the SEC, where patience and job security are rare commodities. So, why Auburn? Why now? The new challenge, along with an opportunity to compete for a national championship every year, appealed to Harsin, but he wan’t actively interested in the gig until Auburn athletics director Allen Greene shared his sales pitch in December. Greene, who first met Harsin in a swimming pool in 2015 (yes, a swimming pool), left Harsin with one direction at the end of their conversation: “Google the Auburn creed.” A few minutes later, Harsin was gobsmacked. The first line was probably all he needed to read. “I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work.” The creed, written by George Petrie, the first coach of Auburn's football program, induced goosebumps. The Auburn Creed, written in 1943, reaffirmed the morality Harsin developed during his 23 years as a player or coach at Boise State. “A lot of the things in there are what we talked about at Boise and I had been apart of that for a long time,” he said. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it.” Harsin was no longer just interested in Auburn. He needed Auburn. “I wanted to be at Auburn and I hadn’t felt like that about any other opportunity. I love Boise. I love that program — I still do — but with this one, I was excited. I was genuinely excited about it.” Harsin believes the Boise blueprint melds perfectly with Auburn's ideals. It's here, in the heart of SEC country, an Idaho kid believes he can build a championship contender with the Boise blueprint serving as the backbone supporting the body of the Auburn Creed. But, again, will it work? He's an outsider, after all, and at the first sign of failure those same words of morality will be chalked up by critics and naysayers as nothing but banal sounds uttered by another coach from the assembly line. Harsin carries this message into unfamiliar territory, 2,171 miles away from those who understand and revere the principles. Now it's up to Harsin to convert the uninitiated into believers, just as he was converted as a backup quarterback at Boise State in the late 1990s. It wasn’t until Harsin’s junior season as a backup quarterback at Boise State that he was properly introduced to the blueprint developed at Cal-Davis by the likes of Jim Sochor, Bob Foster and Bob Biggs — and adapted by dozens of players and assistant coaches, including Hawkins and Petersen, who played and coached at the California school. Boise State had been successful as a Division II program, but the program was on shaky ground heading into its second year as a Division I school. Houston Nutt guided the program to a 5-6 record in its first season in Division I and left the program for Arkansas in December 1997. The program was in disarray and a collapse seemed possible. The next coach had to be the right hire. “We were going down a bad path early,” Harsin said. “We were not a very focused team, like we should have been. Our program changed (with Koetter). We got stronger, disciplined and we got tough.” Boise State turned to Koetter because, in part, of his familiarity with the program. He coached high school football in Idaho and as an offensive coordinator at Oregon he had attained the credentials, know-how and connections on the West Coast to lead a burgeoning program. Harsin caught on to Koetter's philosophy quickly and it strengthened his desire to be a coach. “Bryan was always interested in how and why we did things the way we did,” Koetter said. Boise State was quickly successful, winning 10 games in 1999 and 2000 while running away with the Big West title and the school's first two bowl victories. Koetter left for Arizona State following his third season, and the Broncos' administrators were not keen on making another mistake. They turned to Hawkins, the Broncos' offensive coordinator. He kept the blueprint but strengthened connections with players and united the roster, Koetter said. Hawkins turned to Oregon (again) and hired Petersen, a close friend and Koetter's receivers coach while both were at Oregon, as offensive coordinator, and Bob Gregory as defensive coordinator. That's when the program started to take off, winning four straight WAC championships. Hawkins proved Boise State was not a flash-in-the-pan. “We believed we could win,” said Harsin, who served as the Broncos' tight ends coach in the Hawkins era. Like Koetter, Hawkins left for a bigger gig at Colorado, paving the way for Boise State to stay in-house with its next hire after Petersen had orchestrated record-breaking seasons as the offense's play-caller. Petersen, however, was reluctant about the job and the extra duties. He was set on following Hawkins, his longtime friend and teammate at UC-Davis, to Colorado. In the end, Petersen was convinced by his colleagues to become the Broncos’ head coach. They knew what so many would later discover in the ensuing years: he was among the best leaders, thoughtful mentors and innovative coaches in the country. What followed is football history — 92 wins, two undefeated seasons capped by wins in the Fiesta Bowl, five conference titles and four top-10 finishes in eight years. Boise State's model has been emulated by nearly every small-school program since. “We wanted to help our guys create a vision and value system that could be a framework for the rest of their lives,” Petersen told Foster Magazine at the University of Washington earlier this year. “It’s about using the platform of sports to focus on principles of success, character development and life skills. It’s about teaching and coaching great beliefs, great habits and great execution in all areas of life.” Petersen perfected the system at Boise State, and used those same principles to win a Pac-12 title while leading Washington to its first appearance in the College Football Playoff. Special doesn't begin to describe Petersen, said Koetter, who coached alongside him at Oregon, where they also lived on the same street in Eugene. It wasn’t until the tail-end of Petersen's stay at Boise State that Koetter finally bumped into someone comparable to his friend. Koetter was pondering his future after being fired by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011. He needed a job and Alabama had a gig. Nick Saban was interested in talking to Koetter about an opportunity on the Tide's staff. The interview went well and Koetter instead landed a coordinator job with the Atlanta Falcons, but that's not what was memorable. What was memorable from the conversation was Saban's demeanor and clear intent. “Saban knows what he wants in a program. The same can be said for Chris Petersen,” Koetter said. “He knew what he wanted and that was a process. It didn’t happen the first day. When he took over for Hawk, he did the same stuff we did at Oregon and the same stuff we did at Boise as assistant coaches. He really evolved to be the visionary of the program.” Eight years later, Petersen’s fingerprints remain at Boise State and at programs across the country. Four of Petersen's assistant coaches are now leading three Power 5 programs and Boise State. An important part of Petersen and his assistant coaches' success is built on player development. Again, it seems like a buzzword scribbled on every coach's resume. “Everybody says they do that, but you have to do the things that it takes to develop talent,” Koetter said. The perception (real or not) was that Boise State’s coaches turned 3-star recruits into 5-star players. Boise State's Kellen Moore is the winningest quarterback in college football history (50-3 in four years) but as a 3-star prospect he was part of a 2007 signing class ranked 63rd in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite. “Was that development? Were they underrated at that time?” Harsin asked. “I want guys that love ball.” And what about Leighton Vander Esch, a walk-on linebacker who played eight-man football in high school and became a first-round pick in the NFL Draft in 2018? “We had the blueprint and we laid it out for him,” Harsin said. “And he did all the work and hit all the checkpoints and did everything necessary and then some. ... You’ve got to trust your evaluation. “ That doesn’t mean Harsin will constantly search for diamonds in the rough at Auburn. After all, the recruiting trails in the SEC are much wider than those at Boise State. “We’re going to go after the best players in the country,” he said. “They also have to fit the culture and the things that are important to us, and whatever is important to them.” Harsin realizes life is different in the SEC. The spotlight is brighter, the pressure more intense. Heck, the first question he fielded at his introductory press conference was about the Iron Bowl. Harsin chuckled in his office this summer while recalling that surreal moment. “They've been the most consistent team,” said Harsin, who admires the Tide. “There's a team you can look at, and they have a model for for success. Now, that being said, you've got to be who you are. That's the one thing when I first got here, I made it clear we're gonna focus on Auburn.” Auburn has won in spite of Alabama's incredible success through the years. The Tigers own three wins against the Tide since 2013, the most by any team in the conference. They have appeared in two SEC Championship games (one win) and played for a national title during that time, too. Yes, it's possible to win here — and win big. Like the Auburn Creed declares, it's work — hard work — that remains a constant force in Harsin’s life. On a late afternoon in May, Auburn's athletics building is quiet but Harsin is busy studying in his office. His large desk is strewn with papers. A computer monitor with film of an Ole Miss game is frozen on the screen. Across the room is a board pinned with several pieces of important papers and pictures. One sheet on the board stands out: a recent interview with Petersen about his life as a coach and now a professor. The refreshingly honest and open interview about the challenges of being a leader is required reading for the staff at Auburn, which is composed of SEC veterans and a few assistants from Harsin's time at Boise State. hope this is not a repost as i copied from another site.

Ohio Allows Doctors to Deny LGBTQ Health Care on Moral Grounds The new provision, snuck into a last-minute amendment to the budget, was signed by Gov. Mike DeWine Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, February 2020 AP/Tony Dejak In the latest state-level swing at LGBTQ health care access, Ohio will now allow medical providers to refuse to administer any medical treatment that violates their moral, ethical, or religious beliefs. The language was buried in a 700-page document of last-minute amendments to the state’s two-year budget bill, which Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine approved last Thursday. The provision allows anyone providing medical care — from doctors and nurses to researchers and lab techs – and anyone paying for that care (namely, insurance providers), “the freedom to decline to perform, participate in, or pay for any health care service which violates the practitioner’s, institution’s, or payer’s conscience as informed by the moral, ethical, or religious beliefs.” The bill does not allow medical professionals to deny LGBTQ people care, carte blanche; the exemption “is limited to conscience-based objections to a particular health care service.” It goes on to say that the provider is “responsible for providing all appropriate health care services, other than the particular health care service that conflicts with the medical practitioner’s beliefs or convictions, until another medical practitioner or facility is available.” But the bill was overwhelmingly opposed by the state’s medical community. “The implications of this policy are immense and could lead to situations where patient care is unacceptably compromised,” read a letter to budget negotiators, signed by the Ohio Hospital Association, the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, the Ohio State Medical Association, and the Ohio Association of Health Plans. Gov. DeWine could have struck the language while signing the rest of the budget into law, but declined to do so, despite issuing 14 other line-item vetoes. State and national LGBTQ advocates started sounding the alarm in June, when the language was introduced, saying that it will prevent LGBTQ people from accessing the health care they need. With this newly enacted language in place, a medical provider could refuse to prescribe PrEP to an LGBTQ patient looking to reduce their risk of contracting HIV, or refuse to provide gender-affirming care to trans and nonbinary patients, or puberty blockers to transgender minors. Equality Ohio called it a “license to discriminate,” and Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David said that it jeopardizes “the medical well being of more than 380,000 LGBTQ people in Ohio.” Gov. DeWine has insisted that this provision won’t change the standard of care in Ohio. “This is not a problem,” he told a local news station. “If there’s other things that maybe a doctor has a problem with, it’s worked out. Somebody else does those things” — referring to a loosely written clause that requires that the medical professional, when possible, “attempt to transfer the patient to a colleague who will provide the requested procedure,” as long as making that referral doesn’t violate their conscience as well. But even if the medical professional does attempt to make that referral, a quarter of Ohio’s population lives in rural counties, where LGBTQ-friendly medical care is sparse. And for queer elders living in long-term care facilities, options are even slimmer. Local advocates have also called foul on lawmakers’ move to insert the clause last-minute into the state’s massive two-year, 2,400-page budget bill. “They know that they couldn’t pass this on its merits as a standalone bill, because literally no one is asking for this to be passed,” Dominic Detwiler, a public policy strategist for Equality Ohio told the Columbus Dispatch. It’s a strategy that Ohio lawmakers have attempted more than once this year, but it’s the first time it’s paid off. Earlier in June, while writing a bill that allowed college athletes to profit off of their own image, lawmakers tried to add a provision banning trans athletes from school sports. DeWine did not sign that legislation and instead drafted an executive order that mimicked the original text of the bill but omitted the anti-trans portion. Then, just days later, he signed the budget bill into law with the new health care statute. More than 250 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures in 2021 — a trend that advocates have called an “unprecedented war on the LGBTQ community” — breaking the previous record in 2015. Newswire

i have learned to keep my mouth shut now.

is this kid the one legged kicker i keep hearing about?

some of us are old so try not to wait too long oh mighty one.

i just donated another twenty. it did not make me sign in to paypal so maybe i am already a paypal since they use it in ebay. it was so many years ago i cannot remember but let me know if you got it. not worried about the glory unless you ae giving out 8 by 10's of golf and bird on their first date......

why are the repubs not calling this crap out? anyone want to tell me? why is the right so silent? silence is consent or so some say...............