JerryAU

I believe there's proof it has been the case at Auburn relative to specific position groups >> offensive line and WR's. We've now had a string of coaches that couldn't attract top quality olinemen for over 5 years now. Maybe Gus' evaluation process for olinemen and how he chose to utilize WRs are what cause the drought at those positions - but it has been a persistent problem. To deny that the actual on-the-field performance hasn't played a part in Auburn's inability to draw top quality olinemen & WR's isn't logical. When prospects watch AU struggle in the trenches year after year after year, that we can't field a line that can protect and enhance our QBs AND we have struggles at the WR position AND we aren't preparing players for the pro's, it most definitely plays a part in recruiting. If for no other reason than getting negatively recruited by other programs that can easily point out Auburn's ongoing weaknesses.

Gotcha. This sounds very familiar to comments made during portal recruiting in the spring where it was said Auburn was going to stay hot & heavy trying to flip some players from OleMiss, in case Kiffin lost his job or bolted from OleMiss. JMO, it sounds more like wish-casting with nothing really concrete and gets tossed to the masses to ease the fans nerves about losing a quality recruit.

I don't mean to sound asinine, but if AU couldn't keep him because we were dead set on him playing CB, a position the guy doesn't want to play and therefore lost him..........then how are we working hard to get him back? Are the coaches all of the sudden now willing to take him at WR all because they lost his commitment?

Andalusia's usually a killer vs most any opponent they face. They neutralize opponents on the regular.

No one could've known Thorne wouldn't be able to pick up this relatively simplistic offense in 4 months or be able to read a defense and react accordingly. The guy's a veteran player in his 3rd year.

It's been that way for years. 😪

I admit CU held my interest since DS came onboard. I'd never given CU a thought in any way, shape or form. I'm now intrigued, engaged, and keep tabs on them. lol

Ole Miss claims he wasn't removed from the team and is on scholarship. It seems pretty cut 'n dry, if tuition was covered via scholarship, then his future income has not been affected, has it?

Players getting paid big bucks (NIL $$), there may be some pressure on the coaches to get that player his touches. Portal players may not be immediate improvements at a position, they may not be all the hype some fans pump them up to be and they may not be plug-and-play type guys in a conference like the SEC. Just me brainstorming and thinking out loud.

To be honest, after viewing some of the SEC's crappy offenses so far this year; Auburn may be in the thick of things and could win the West with our defense. No QB/WR/RB/Oline look too good so far. There's tons of work to do at AU/LSU/USCe/UF/UAT/Arky/aTm, even Ole Miss floundered around on offense vs Tulane until the end of that game.

Are we okay to question the coach's decision making on player personnel or not? I see this particular thread begging for patience with the new staff, new players, new schemes, new language, etc. Then I see posts that straight up dislike the QB shuffle the coaches are implementing and suggesting this offense is Gus 2.0 with the predictable & scripted play calling.

I swear sometimes I think some folks watch a completely different game than others. lol That 3rd/17 pass was so grossly underthrown by Thorne, Fairweather had to contort himself to make the play.

Just looking around the conference, it's hard to find a QB/oline/WR grouping that looks in sync and has their ducks in a row right now. LSU/uat/aTm/UF/Arky/USCe all have glaring issues. That doesn't make me necessarily feel better about Auburn's deficiencies, because I'd love nothing more than for Auburn to be poised and ready to take advantage of those teams when they appear to be struggling....But the conference as a whole just hasn't looked very good at all. It all looks kinda 🤮

Freeze/Monty know what they're doing. We gotta have patience in the guys pulling in millions a year to do their job.

The offensive play calling, personnel selection and especially the play choice at certain times were eerily reminiscent of someone else on our sidelines years ago. The first 5 plays were scripted run plays, made my skin crawl a little when I saw them.

QB and that center were absolutely atrocious. Milroe can't see the field or read a defense, he literally didn't see a safety in a comeback route. LOL He has awful tunnel vision and had to keep dropping his eyes because center kept rolling balls back to him all night. Sark schemed Will Anderson out of the game last year and proceeded to scheme Dallas Turner out of the game this year.

Wait... the sexual assault took place over the telephone? And there's more than 1,200 pages of case documents?

The kid looked goooooood! He's gotten some dang good QB coaching/development.

Strong relationships can get you recruits + big NIL $$ packages and it can ALL fizzle out in an instant when the transfer portal comes a callin'. Relationships are important of course, but IMHO they aren't more important than $$ and thank goodness Auburn (OTV) has realized they have to pony up the $$ to buy the best. I'm not sure why new facilities, a new coaching staff, top level NIL $$, the need to stock the roster which almost guarantees early PT coupled with SEC exposure and the Family atmosphere doesn't strongly appeal to oline talent right now? 4-5* talent can literally step foot on campus and immediately be the man, not have to sit the bench or compete for a starting position. With the huge NIL we're dishing out, AU is so clearly an easy choice compared to uga/osu where they'd have to work to earn a starting role. Florida's got 4 HS olinemen committed so far, that program is no more appealing than Auburn right now. Just my opinion.

I just viewed 247's top 10 ranked classes as of today, most everyone has at least 4 commits so far. I'm hoping we can flip some of those UGA-UF-Tenn linemen even though some may not be in our recruiting territory. UGA pulled from NJ/IL/NY, Florida pulled from VA/MD/Germany and Tenn pulled from OH/CO.

When they start???? What??? NIL is now over 2 yrs old, athletes have been paying taxes and filing 1099's the entire time. Heck, most NIL collectives offer every athlete tax education and even tax prep as part of the package. Y'all act like this all just started when Hugh Freeze and Auburn recruiting started booming. NIL is no longer in it's infancy and thank goodness Auburn finally caught up.

I don't know how OTV works relative to each individual sport or the allocation of funds to each sport. You mentioned it was your understanding OTV operated under a shared pool. I'm interested to know how coaches like Bruce/Butch feel about busting their arse fundraising for their sport and the funds getting pooled together and then the $$ gets split on a prorata share basis with the giant that is football? Perhaps RIR or WDEWDE may have some insight on this? IDK?

If I were a HC (in one of the P5 big time conferences) I'd hate like hell to have to know I had to re-recruit my own roster year 'round for fear of a player jumping into the portal at any moment, leaving you hanging after all the work it took to acquire the talent on the front end.

Operating with a shared pool of NIL $$ may be fine for some programs. BUT, it's my understanding that Bruce and Butch have been instructed by the AU Administration that they have to fundraise for their own rosters, and we've been told they are passing the hat, glad handing donors and getting it done. Why should their hard work, valuable time and energy raising funds for basketball/baseball then be poured into the same bucket with the football funds and then distributed on a prorata share basis with an operation as big and costly as football?