so how we feelin?

[ausburn 159]

Coach Malzhan has an in home visit with Derrick Green 1/17. The staff is working to make all things happen with the time they have.

[Bro Johnny Mac 1,450]

A lot has happened to AU the last couple of years that make this possibly the toughest recruiting season for us in recent memory.We had guys gettiing kicked off the team.We had guys going to prison.We had guys going on HBO and telling the world that AU cheats(they were false allegations)but there had to be some damage done there.We had players and former players who were the victims of a horrible crime just off of campus.We had another story come out from the media that we are under another NCAA investigation.

We had the worst showing on the field for an AU team in decades,possibly the worst in our history.We won 3 games two years after winning it all.We fired the ENTIRE coaching staff,(arguably a positive)who had been recruiting this class of commits for a couple of years,so there was always going to be guys flipping this season.And the Updykes just won their third ring in four years.

With all of that said,IF AND thats a big IF Gus and co. can pull a top 15 - top 20 class this year,it may be the BEST recruiting job an AU staff has pulled off in recent memory.

A top 25 type class will be an excellent job IMO.

With all of these factors in place,we shouldnt start jumping off the highest structure we can find on NSD if we dont pull off a top 25 type class.

[triangletiger 1,599]

[blueridge 29]

I am happy to not have to read or here anymore about Dee Liner. Actually, I was hoping the new coaching staff would just pull the plug and move on. Actually, I couldn't be happier with the new coaching staff.

[AU64 10,122]

For anyone to say they feel "great" or "fantastic" about this, something has got to be wrong with you. We've lost two HUGE recruits. HUGE. They would've been stars in our program, and would've made a massive difference. Just look at all the top players that have de-commited from us over the last couple years, and tell me you don't wish we had them. I expect the same thing out of Dee Liner and Reuben Foster, even possibly Carl Lawson. I always thought there was a bondage between those three players, and now that Lawson is the only one left, I am now expecting him to go, also.

Logan!! Step back young man! I believe Carl is coming to AU as will Foster on NSD at the least. I do not see the same can't miss skills in DL that I did in the unnamed one or C. Killamajaro(sp). He has Calloway written all over him.

+1

Logan, you seem very negative lately. Not calling you out in bad way, but I think you are missing the big picture. Just looking at the list of guys suddenly interested in AU ought to cheer you up a little. We knew we would lose a few this year. We actually look ALOT better than many on here predicted. We will be more than fine

++

One or two or three defensive players are not going to be the difference between a wnning and losing season this year. I've seen too many "sure things" recruited to AU and never see the field in a meaningful way for various reasons over the years to be affected one way or the other when an 18 year old makes his decision about AU.

[DyeCampAlum 335]

Wondering how often a kid is committed to School A, then key coaches leave, and then the kid -- hardly recruited by School B -- follows one of those coaches to School B.

New staff apparently trying that as hard as they can.

[TigerNBham 3]

I feel good about the JUCOs for this reason, it is our staff putting their expertise and stamp on the program.

Expertise, as in evaluating holes and doing what pros do, find a way around the weakness.

Stamp, as in another wake up call to our present team and future recruits, we want you and want you to succeed but we have a Plan B.

Plan A, maybe better for all concerned, however, we have a Plan B.

So, get on the Bus or it moves on without you.

[Mikey 16,781]

"Had our coaches not called his bluff yesterday," I have seen this reference several times, please excuse me for remedial "keeping up".

What did our coaches do y'day that forced his hand ?

Anybody? "Our coaches called his hand" sounds great. Some hard information confirming that would BE great. Who, what, where and when would be nice, we can already guess the why.

[AU64 10,122]

"Had our coaches not called his bluff yesterday," I have seen this reference several times, please excuse me for remedial "keeping up".

What did our coaches do y'day that forced his hand ?

Anybody? "Our coaches called his hand" sounds great. Some hard information confirming that would BE great. Who, what, where and when would be nice, we can already guess the why.

HEY, it makes everyone feel good to express it that way so don't go raining on their parade

[ausburn 159]

"Had our coaches not called his bluff yesterday," I have seen this reference several times, please excuse me for remedial "keeping up".

What did our coaches do y'day that forced his hand ?

Anybody? "Our coaches called his hand" sounds great. Some hard information confirming that would BE great. Who, what, where and when would be nice, we can already guess the why.

I expect with the maturity of our staff that Coach Ellis and Coach Garner have seen recruits work the coaches before. The strong asking of a question with the no bull approach works. We are with you and want you, but if your not we are going on. Are you coming to Auburn? Yes is yes and anything else is a no. The games were over.

[WarEagle1983 2,187]

I am happy that Liner did this today. He was never coming to Auburn.

Agree. I thought he was going to do a Yeldon for sure. I feel like this: If they sign with Auburn great..if they don't great. Sure it would be nice to have certain recruits as it may be more clear they can make an immediate impact but it is what it is. This are young teenage adults who can easily change their mind at any moment so I wouldn't be surprised if we get a couple "shockers" in regards to some guys decommiting or a couple flipping to us a day or two before signing. Just how it goes.

Seems like the staff has done pretty well in recruiting considering the situation so I look at it as it could be worst. After what has gone on the last 2 years regarding recruiting and performance on the field....I'm not putting much stock in if we have a top 10 or 15 class. I'm more concerned about the development of the guys we currently have.

[WarEagle1983 2,187]

Truthfully I am anxious to finally get this years recruiting over and somewhat disgusted by all the negativity around Auburn recruiting lately from recruits amd fans. I know it sucks having guys decommit and look at other schools but that is part of big time recruiting. We have more threads lately dogging guys for looking around then we do actual threads on players. If I was a recruit who was on the fence it would push me further away to read some of this stuff especially when it comes from hipocrits who are happy when players from other schools lool at us. Take it in stride. I wakt the best players possibe for Auburn but that does not mean I have hate on those who choose to go somewhere else. I will say that it does anger me some when a player does jusy seem to be stringing Auburn along.

So Agree!

[ausburn 159]

Can't wait for Gus to bring us this back again.

[WarEagle1983 2,187]

IMHO Liner and Foster were critical and not just because of the number of stars some Dorito crumb-brushing-off-belly dork assigned to them. JUCO at select positions can be a fix but quality recruits still need to be coming in for red-shirts while the JUCO's play or a toilet season's just being pushed down the road a couple years. JUCO en masse is alamingingly short sighted.

If one believes in a staff's ability to identify talent needed by THAT staff, it's interesting to watch which colleges GET whom they want most instead of who lands the most stars blah blah blah. I think Notre Dame has a history of getting highly touted guys from out of state that don't fit what they like to do. Sure a Bo or a Cam can make any coach look good but every player (and staff) have ideal and poor fits.

So far I don't see this staff landing their first choices outside of JUCO's. Lots of time left of course and in fairness, Dameyune Craig (e.g.) just unpacked. Derrick Green would be a great land. I'd do flips if we could get Hackenburg from Penn State, very wishful thinking.

There is NO high school senior critical for the Auburn football team. The reason for the Juco's is short sighted and is to fill immediate holes this year while new staff builds relationships. While recruiting has taken a hit from staff turnover this was expected and will be short lived. It's not like we are going to sign 5-7 jucos for 2014.

+1.

[logan adams 333]

For anyone to say they feel "great" or "fantastic" about this, something has got to be wrong with you. We've lost two HUGE recruits. HUGE. They would've been stars in our program, and would've made a massive difference. Just look at all the top players that have de-commited from us over the last couple years, and tell me you don't wish we had them. I expect the same thing out of Dee Liner and Reuben Foster, even possibly Carl Lawson. I always thought there was a bondage between those three players, and now that Lawson is the only one left, I am now expecting him to go, also.

Logan!! Step back young man! I believe Carl is coming to AU as will Foster on NSD at the least. I do not see the same can't miss skills in DL that I did in the unnamed one or C. Killamajaro(sp). He has Calloway written all over him.

+1

Logan, you seem very negative lately. Not calling you out in bad way, but I think you are missing the big picture. Just looking at the list of guys suddenly interested in AU ought to cheer you up a little. We knew we would lose a few this year. We actually look ALOT better than many on here predicted. We will be more than fine :)/>

I just hate to see us lose all these guys year in and year out. It's getting really old. I try to stay positive but losing two 5 start proven athletes isn't made up by 3 and 4 star JUCO players. I'm not taking anything away from these JUCO players but we're missing out in these payers. I really hope we can keep Lawson, but I'm very iffy about him. Foster, there's no telling. Hopefully we can streak Ira Denson. I see Montravius Adams as being a long shot. There are positive things that gave happened to this team I'm the offseason such as the coach hires, but recruiting has taken a massive blow. I'll just have to wait till signing day though to see how I really feel, but right now, not too well.

[johnjacob 44]

The guy quit on his high school this year. He doesn't respond well to authority and he is used to getting his way.

The guy has off field issues.

Meh.

We will replace him with more character if nothing else.

He also seems to have forgotten who had his back, and who supported him during all his "off-field" issues last year. That would be AUBURN UNIVERSITY. The bammers railed against him, calling him every negative, derogatory name in the book. Good luck, Mr. Liner. I hope you enjoy it in Turdville.

Integrity and honor used to mean something, but not with today's youth. I have no problem with him decomitting, and choosing what he feels is best for him, but it's the way he did it. Had our coaches not called his bluff yesterday, he would have been another Yeldon, Koundjio, or Calloway. As far as I'm concerned, the University of West Vance can have all of those type players.

War Eagle!!!

Don't hate on the kid. His momma needed the money and we sure as heck weren't going to help her out.

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

I'm even feeling even better about this class and I felt pretty dang good about it before. No worries from me.

['76 Tiger 108]

When you change coaches, you will lose some of your commits. This is no surprise.

Changing coaches is a five-year bet. Stop stressing over the details.

All I know is that, when Auburn lines up on offense, I will not groan, thinking that the next play will be boring. Auburn football will be FUN and WONDERFUL.

[aubfaninga 16]

For anyone to say they feel "great" or "fantastic" about this, something has got to be wrong with you. We've lost two HUGE recruits. HUGE. They would've been stars in our program, and would've made a massive difference. Just look at all the top players that have de-commited from us over the last couple years, and tell me you don't wish we had them. I expect the same thing out of Dee Liner and Reuben Foster, even possibly Carl Lawson. I always thought there was a bondage between those three players, and now that Lawson is the only one left, I am now expecting him to go, also.

Logan!! Step back young man! I believe Carl is coming to AU as will Foster on NSD at the least. I do not see the same can't miss skills in DL that I did in the unnamed one or C. Killamajaro(sp). He has Calloway written all over him.

+1

Logan, you seem very negative lately. Not calling you out in bad way, but I think you are missing the big picture. Just looking at the list of guys suddenly interested in AU ought to cheer you up a little. We knew we would lose a few this year. We actually look ALOT better than many on here predicted. We will be more than fine :)/>

I just hate to see us lose all these guys year in and year out. It's getting really old. I try to stay positive but losing two 5 start proven athletes isn't made up by 3 and 4 star JUCO players. I'm not taking anything away from these JUCO players but we're missing out in these payers. I really hope we can keep Lawson, but I'm very iffy about him. Foster, there's no telling. Hopefully we can streak Ira Denson. I see Montravius Adams as being a long shot. There are positive things that gave happened to this team I'm the offseason such as the coach hires, but recruiting has taken a massive blow. I'll just have to wait till signing day though to see how I really feel, but right now, not too well.

If I may throw my unwanted opinion out there...

Considering the circumstances our recruiting has not taken a massive blow. At least not yet, LOI is all that matters anyway. Have we had a dropoff from what we were projecting? Sure, but all in all the current coaching staff has done a great job fixing leaks as they appear.

Logan, In my eyes you are completely right about losing 5 star recruits. These kids get rated by people that do this for a living and they are pretty spot on. The number of stars a prospect is given is based completely off his performance and his "POTENTIAL". Nothing more nothing less. There are hidden intangibles that must be looked for by the coaches to see if a highly rated player is right for their system. It frustrates me when people say that we don't need 5 star prospects because they are big headed blah blah blah... Why people assume that all 2 and 3 star players have their head on straight beats the brakes off of me! Think about every 3 star athlete that has not panned out to every one 5 star player that has not worked out. I also agree that replacing loss 5 star prospects with JUCO players is not a recipe for success. IMHO JUCO players are great for filling holes that come about from common attrition issues in the roster. Some examples: When we loss Dyer, JUCO was a great route. Westerman = JUCO. but When we lose a high school prospect you replace him with another high school prospect. Of course there is acceptions to everything. Nick Marshall is available... get him!!! Cam Newton was available... got him!!!

[aubfaninga 16]

I also believe THIS staff will make filling needs a higher priority than getting every 5* guy we can. Not that they won't go after the best, just the best at what we need. And I want that! So far uat has been the ONLY school that is signing multiple 5*'s each year and winning championships. When I look at Texas, USC, OSU, FSU, LSU and UF I see very talented teams with very few championships. At least no more than we have had. You need superstars, everyone does, but the majority bring their 5* ego's with them and nicki seems to be the only one that can keep that many stars happy at one time. I also believe that the man must have sold his soul to the devil to have it work just the way he needs it to. Think about it, how many more more NC's in the last 20-30 years does Auburn have if we had the luck they have had (i.e. other teams losing when we needed them to) and the NCAA 's refusal to investigate them? Three at a minimum.

I don't know everything that has went on at Texas but I can still say that their recruiting has definately not developed into enough wins. USC gets a pass because Lane Kiffen is way overrated. IMHO! Yes, USC still gets quality players but they don't have Pete Carrol to stear the ship anymore.

Now about recruiting 5 star players and how it equates to the field. It definately takes alot of luck and help from the media to be crowned a national champion in college football but is there a correlation between highly rated recruiting classes and success? MOST DEFINATELY!!! Alabama and Notre Dame have had alot of success recruiting over the last few years. They both played in the NC. LSU and Florida have had success recruiting and was 1 win away from playing in the NC. Georgia has had really stable recruiting and has been so close to getting over the hump that it could make your mom cry. You mentioned Ohio St. in your post... They went undefeated and had it not been for their self imposed probation they would have been playing for the NC.

Recruiting rankings do help your chances of having success!!! The number don't lie. (or in this case stars)

[IronMan70 3,321]

For anyone to say they feel "great" or "fantastic" about this, something has got to be wrong with you. We've lost two HUGE recruits. HUGE. They would've been stars in our program, and would've made a massive difference. Just look at all the top players that have de-commited from us over the last couple years, and tell me you don't wish we had them. I expect the same thing out of Dee Liner and Reuben Foster, even possibly Carl Lawson. I always thought there was a bondage between those three players, and now that Lawson is the only one left, I am now expecting him to go, also.

Logan!! Step back young man! I believe Carl is coming to AU as will Foster on NSD at the least. I do not see the same can't miss skills in DL that I did in the unnamed one or C. Killamajaro(sp). He has Calloway written all over him.

+1

Logan, you seem very negative lately. Not calling you out in bad way, but I think you are missing the big picture. Just looking at the list of guys suddenly interested in AU ought to cheer you up a little. We knew we would lose a few this year. We actually look ALOT better than many on here predicted. We will be more than fine :)/>

I just hate to see us lose all these guys year in and year out. It's getting really old. I try to stay positive but losing two 5 start proven athletes isn't made up by 3 and 4 star JUCO players. I'm not taking anything away from these JUCO players but we're missing out in these payers. I really hope we can keep Lawson, but I'm very iffy about him. Foster, there's no telling. Hopefully we can streak Ira Denson. I see Montravius Adams as being a long shot. There are positive things that gave happened to this team I'm the offseason such as the coach hires, but recruiting has taken a massive blow. I'll just have to wait till signing day though to see how I really feel, but right now, not too well.

You need to just be more focused on the '13 season then. There is not a single Freshman that will make a huge difference in the '13 season, not one. The JUCOs are more developed and experienced upperclassmen and getting good ones will have a direct impact on the '13 season. The team's performance in the '13 season is more important to '14 recruiting than anything else right now. We have the coaches in place and a good showing this year will give them more to work with.

Gus is not bringing in the JUCOs as replacements for '13 Freshmen anyway. He is bringing in the JUCOs to plug the performance gaps from the '10 and '11 classes, created by attrition or players that are not meeting expectations. You can also expect Gus to get JUCOs next year if some '12 players don't make it at positions where we have critical needs. We have to get this team to the point that it is depending on the majority of its starters from the upperclassemen so that the underclassemen can develop. That is exactly the direction that Gus is going.

So, I wouldn't be too concerned with this year's class. In the first place we are going to close strong. In the second place, any players we are short on will be added next year. But, next year these excellent recruiting & development coaches will have had a full year to work their magic on the '14 class and hopefully some good improvement by the team in the '13 season to help them. That '13 season, as I said, is the thing to focus on right now.

Feel any better now ?

[ausburn 159]

The last few years we have placed well in the star wars race and what did it leave us last year? You will see this next year some high rated star players on our rostering playing the #2 and #3 positions behind the juco guys. The only problem with a juco roster is that you have to replace them on a two year rate as opposed to a 4 year rate. Red shirts apply to the 4 yr and 2 yr guys the same. The good player at any school that comes in as a freshman is only going to play 3 years and turn pro as a jr. How many true freshman contribute beyond special teams out of a class of 25? They add to your 85 and give you some reserves but they don't work into much playing time until past the middle of the season.

[AU64 10,122]

"good player at any school that comes in as a freshman is only going to play 3 years and turn pro as a jr."

That's just not true....Bama and most other top schools do lose some Juniors but it's not a given that 'good' players leave after 3 years. In fact, any player leaving after their Junior year better be damned good if they hope to have any chance at all. Not saying that any of them could have necessarily left early but we had something like 25 seniors on the 2010 team.

Meanwhile JUCOs can fill weak points and as noted above, Gus is recruiting to fill openings from the recruiting classes of 2010 and 2011 that should be juniors this coming season. Glad to see he is filling those spots with mature players instead of hoping that some incoming HS grad can step up and play right away.

[au75 75]

I feel good. Winter will be over then time for summer. Then fall and AUBURN FOOTBALL GET ON THE GUS BUS

[ausburn 159]

We will loose Cory off of this years team as a jr. I agree with you about 4 year players versus juco guys as a more stable way to go, but to have a heavy juco year is not a killer to roster development and on field performance. It is harder on the coaches because they have to refill that two year cycle and retool on a faster cycle. There are no more sure bets with juco's as there are with freshman, but you do have two years of growth and game tape to evaluate. Freshman give you the hope of 5 to play 4 and juco's give the hope in most cases of 3 to play two. Sometimes you get the guy with 4 to play 3. The idea of heavy juco year for us with maybe 6 to 7 of the 25 plus 3 EE's scholarships being juco is not a bad mix for a recovery year.