this has me worried about our Offensive Line

[Viper 3,503]

2 minutes ago, auburnatl1 said:

The difference between this rebuild and others is the sheer number of elite or rising programs in our recruiting backyard today - combined with the massive roster talent deficit. I don’t think anyone ever questioned whether chf could improve us. The question was he a big enough hire to affect the upper tier status quo. And even if he is, will we as a fan base have the patience for him to grind it out.

Yup that’s what I mentioned in one of my previous posts i.e. most of our opponents are either getting better or maintaining a superb level in raking in talent too.

Good question on patience. I would venture to say he will be given ample time due to firing two HCs in 24 months.

[TeamZero77 1,939]

40 minutes ago, Viper said:

I guess I’m one of the remaining few who believes Chizik was a good HC and what he accomplished at AU was nothing short of remarkable. Not just the incredible teamwork job of recruiting right in the face of bammer’s 09 title (remember we had the Top 3 RB recruits of 2010 deciding between AU and another team), not just navigating the biggest smear campaign in the entire history of a CFB regular season, square in the heart of Amen Corner, not just going undefeated (which BTW, the GOAT has only done twice in 26 years as a P5 CFB HC), but also winning 8 games in 2011.

Some folks don’t know or don’t recall Chizik lost a total of 37 players from 2010. That is nearly half your team. No transfer portal to overhaul that team. And yet he guided that team to 8 wins. So one remarkable season follows another, completely different rosters, adversity and hurdles from one another.

Did he flub the fallout of the armed robbery? Absolutely. Did he flub it up worse by hiring a crew who placed a lockdown on the team? Absolutely. Chizik 100% deserved to be fired for allowing 2012 to happen.

But that doesn’t discount 3 of the 4 seasons he and his staff accomplished phenomenal feats. G2G. Chizik will go down as one of, if not my fav AU HC of all time.

Kudos to Gus for resurrecting 2012 and Bowden for resurrecting 1992, turning both those dumpster fires into historical seasons we will never forget. Like you said, talent was already there. Just needed fresh voices and faces.

Freeze is going to have a much more difficult time turning this program around. There isn’t a wealthy pool of talent like 1993 and 2013. No James Bostic. No Frank Sanders. No Stan White. No Wayne Gandy. No Tre Mason. No Sammie Coates. No Nick Marshall. No Greg Robinson. Maybe he’ll eventually get there (10+ wins) and more importantly, maintain it. 

 

You make really good points and I've always like Gene as a person.

I just think back to losing the 2011 Iron Bowl 42-14 and the 2012 Iron Bowl 49-0 and that miserable 2012 season. The last 3 SEC games of 2012, we were outscored 150-21. Plus he was 5-19 at Iowa State and his final 10 games at Iowa State were all losses. His last year at Iowa State, he was 0-8 in conference. His last year at Auburn, he was 0-8 in conference. It seems that when things start to go sideways with a Gene Chizik coached team, they go REAL sideways. He was going to be fired at Iowa State (according to media reports) when Jay Jacobs hired him here. Hiring Scott Loefler and Porn Stache Van Gorder as coordinators in 2012 were very weird hires. Gene coached at 2 programs and ran both into the ground to be honest. 

I'll get downvotes for this but I honestly feel that Gene Chizik was propped up by Gus Malzahn. He coached 3 years and was 30-10 with a National Title with Gus. He coached 3 years without Gus and was 8-28 including 2 of those 3 seasons being winless in conference. Gus taking over a 3-9 team and getting them to the National Title Game is what made Chizik look the worst as a HC more than anything. 

He and Ed Orgeron are very similar as head coaches. Orgeron's Ole Miss flop and Chizik's Iowa State flop. Orgeron's LSU run with a Natty but ended terribly is like Chizik's season with a Natty at Auburn but then it ended terribly. In my opinion, neither coach will ever get a head coaching job again which is rare for for coaches who had undefeated seasons with a Natty and Heisman winner. Joe Brady is to Ed Orgeron what Gus Malzahn was to Chizik. Gene obviously wants to coach too because he is now on his 2nd stint as being DC at North Carolina since he left Auburn. 

I think you made good points about Chizik and I totally respect your opinions but I like him alot as a man and as a DC, just not a HC.

[auburnatl1 6,182]

4 minutes ago, Viper said:

Good question on patience. I would venture to say he will be given ample time due to firing two HCs in 24 months.

Hope so. While many focused on chf’s off field stuff, the onfield challenge was always going to be how well is he really known in 2023. And how long will it take him to build recruiting credibility with elite talent.  To your point, the firings and epic cost will force us to be patient. I’m just hoping it will also lessen the whining and pitchforks if we struggle during this process.

[southern_sports 58]

On 7/22/2023 at 1:44 PM, Viper said:

I guess I’m one of the remaining few who believes Chizik was a good HC and what he accomplished at AU was nothing short of remarkable. Not just the incredible teamwork job of recruiting right in the face of bammer’s 09 title (remember we had the Top 3 RB recruits of 2010 deciding between AU and another team), not just navigating the biggest smear campaign in the entire history of a CFB regular season, square in the heart of Amen Corner, not just going undefeated (which BTW, the GOAT has only done twice in 26 years as a P5 CFB HC), but also winning 8 games in 2011.

Some folks don’t know or don’t recall Chizik lost a total of 37 players from 2010. That is nearly half your team. No transfer portal to overhaul that team. And yet he guided that team to 8 wins. So one remarkable season follows another, completely different rosters, adversity and hurdles from one another.

Did he flub the fallout of the armed robbery? Absolutely. Did he flub it up worse by hiring a crew who placed a lockdown on the team? Absolutely. Chizik 100% deserved to be fired for allowing 2012 to happen.

But that doesn’t discount 3 of the 4 seasons he and his staff accomplished phenomenal feats. G2G. Chizik will go down as one of, if not my fav AU HC of all time.

Kudos to Gus for resurrecting 2012 and Bowden for resurrecting 1992, turning both those dumpster fires into historical seasons we will never forget. Like you said, talent was already there. Just needed fresh voices and faces.

Freeze is going to have a much more difficult time turning this program around. There isn’t a wealthy pool of talent like 1993 and 2013. No James Bostic. No Frank Sanders. No Stan White. No Wayne Gandy. No Tre Mason. No Sammie Coates. No Nick Marshall. No Greg Robinson. Maybe he’ll eventually get there (10+ wins) and more importantly, maintain it. 

 

Well said. We may not have a James Bostic now but we could have one by mid-season. I truly believe this staff will pull some greatness out of some guys on this roster.

[Viper 3,503]

On 7/22/2023 at 2:14 PM, TeamZero77 said:

You make really good points and I've always like Gene as a person.

I just think back to losing the 2011 Iron Bowl 42-14 and the 2012 Iron Bowl 49-0 and that miserable 2012 season. The last 3 SEC games of 2012, we were outscored 150-21. Plus he was 5-19 at Iowa State and his final 10 games at Iowa State were all losses. His last year at Iowa State, he was 0-8 in conference. His last year at Auburn, he was 0-8 in conference. It seems that when things start to go sideways with a Gene Chizik coached team, they go REAL sideways. He was going to be fired at Iowa State (according to media reports) when Jay Jacobs hired him here. Hiring Scott Loefler and Porn Stache Van Gorder as coordinators in 2012 were very weird hires. Gene coached at 2 programs and ran both into the ground to be honest. 

I'll get downvotes for this but I honestly feel that Gene Chizik was propped up by Gus Malzahn. He coached 3 years and was 30-10 with a National Title with Gus. He coached 3 years without Gus and was 8-28 including 2 of those 3 seasons being winless in conference. Gus taking over a 3-9 team and getting them to the National Title Game is what made Chizik look the worst as a HC more than anything. 

He and Ed Orgeron are very similar as head coaches. Orgeron's Ole Miss flop and Chizik's Iowa State flop. Orgeron's LSU run with a Natty but ended terribly is like Chizik's season with a Natty at Auburn but then it ended terribly. In my opinion, neither coach will ever get a head coaching job again which is rare for for coaches who had undefeated seasons with a Natty and Heisman winner. Joe Brady is to Ed Orgeron what Gus Malzahn was to Chizik. Gene obviously wants to coach too because he is now on his 2nd stint as being DC at North Carolina since he left Auburn. 

I think you made good points about Chizik and I totally respect your opinions but I like him alot as a man and as a DC, just not a HC.

No question Chizik deserved to get canned for 2012. He lost the team’s respect with the lockdown. Had to go, National Championship and all.

Alabama, Georgia and A&M were a combined 36-5 in 2012. Two of those 5 losses were to one another. Those 3 teams were really freaking good. 2013 Auburn very likely would have lost to all 3 of those teams. So the margin of victory of those 3 losses Chizik’s team suffered is irrelevant to me.

2011 Alabama was really freaking good, so again, the 42-14 margin of victory is irrelevant to me.

Agreed Chizik should never HC again. He assembled an elite staff in 2009 who could recruit against anyone. They did the heavy lifting. Chizik just had to delegate and motivate. And did it well. He’d never be able to repeat that magic again. Does well as a DC. I like him best as a SECN analyst and hope he resumes that role soon. 

[JerryAU 1,847]

On 7/21/2023 at 8:22 AM, TeamZero77 said:

As bad a HC as Chizik was, he left a ton of talent for Gus and that Oline was legit!! Same way in 93, Dye left talent for Bowden. I think those 2 teams just needed to hear a different voice and just make it fresh for those rosters again. The talent was there in my opinion. 

As far as what Harsin left for Freeze, it's night and day difference to 1993 and 2013. I don't have to go into detail there because we've all lived it the past few years. 

It will take time but if everything is true from what insiders and past players have said, then everybody is finally pulling in the same direction and in this situation, Freeze will have a longer period to turn it around. The cliche about Auburn not having patience is true but everybody involved in this knows what Freeze came into and that gives him a longer leash.

Freeze gets a longer leash as long as he shows 1) steady improvement 2) shows that he understands talent acquisition is paramount 3) shows he knows how to treat people  4) can relate to his players.  Harkson would've had just long a leash if he had been about to do any of those 4 things; he didn't and he had to GO. 

[Viper 3,503]

22 hours ago, southern_sports said:

Well said. We may not have a James Bostic now but we could have one by mid-season. I truly believe this staff will pull some greatness out of some guys on this roster.

Hope so. Lot to wish for with a first-year staff who signed a bunch of unfamiliar players. Freeze alluded to this in his presser.

[aubiefifty 18,259]

On 7/22/2023 at 2:14 PM, TeamZero77 said:

You make really good points and I've always like Gene as a person.

I just think back to losing the 2011 Iron Bowl 42-14 and the 2012 Iron Bowl 49-0 and that miserable 2012 season. The last 3 SEC games of 2012, we were outscored 150-21. Plus he was 5-19 at Iowa State and his final 10 games at Iowa State were all losses. His last year at Iowa State, he was 0-8 in conference. His last year at Auburn, he was 0-8 in conference. It seems that when things start to go sideways with a Gene Chizik coached team, they go REAL sideways. He was going to be fired at Iowa State (according to media reports) when Jay Jacobs hired him here. Hiring Scott Loefler and Porn Stache Van Gorder as coordinators in 2012 were very weird hires. Gene coached at 2 programs and ran both into the ground to be honest. 

I'll get downvotes for this but I honestly feel that Gene Chizik was propped up by Gus Malzahn. He coached 3 years and was 30-10 with a National Title with Gus. He coached 3 years without Gus and was 8-28 including 2 of those 3 seasons being winless in conference. Gus taking over a 3-9 team and getting them to the National Title Game is what made Chizik look the worst as a HC more than anything. 

He and Ed Orgeron are very similar as head coaches. Orgeron's Ole Miss flop and Chizik's Iowa State flop. Orgeron's LSU run with a Natty but ended terribly is like Chizik's season with a Natty at Auburn but then it ended terribly. In my opinion, neither coach will ever get a head coaching job again which is rare for for coaches who had undefeated seasons with a Natty and Heisman winner. Joe Brady is to Ed Orgeron what Gus Malzahn was to Chizik. Gene obviously wants to coach too because he is now on his 2nd stint as being DC at North Carolina since he left Auburn. 

I think you made good points about Chizik and I totally respect your opinions but I like him alot as a man and as a DC, just not a HC.

i have no idea what happened with chiz and coaching. but i like the man and i can listen to him talk football all day long. and i think i learned more from him than anyone else. and it has made the game more fun for me.

[tbone4jc 2,371]

Just MY opinion, I believe coaching goes a long way in good- great O-linemen. Talent only gets you so far. Technique has to be taught and repeated over and over. Strength conditioning is huge for them. I think we have mid level talent and the coaching will be what gets us to 7-9 wins or 6-7 losses.

[AUGoo 2,703]

EJ Harris was a kid I was really excited about when he chose us. How is he looking? Any summer workout news on any of them?

[AuburnNTexas 7,329]

44 minutes ago, AUGoo said:

EJ Harris was a kid I was really excited about when he chose us. How is he looking? Any summer workout news on any of them?

Like you I am really interested to see if any of the players we already had or pulled in last years class are showing signs of developing into SEC Linemen.

The ones I want to hear about the most are:

Tate Johnson - I have heard good things so far.

Braydon Joiner

EJ Harris

Garner Langlo - Saw some pictures he has really bulked up.

Conner Lew - I have heard good things so far.

Clay Wedin

Jeremiah Wright - May be a starter at guard. 

They have all gone through spring with the new coaches and the Strength and Conditioning with the new coaches. Physically Langlo now looks the part but as anybody who knows football it takes more than looking good physically to be a good Lineman. You need a strong punch, a quick first step, good feet and good balance, but most importantly you need great football IQ. My personal opinion is O-linemen need to be among the smartest players on the field especially with how well modern defenses hide  what they are going to do before the ball is hiked. 

 

[Hank2020 3,358]

3 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Like you I am really interested to see if any of the players we already had or pulled in last years class are showing signs of developing into SEC Linemen.

The ones I want to hear about the most are:

Tate Johnson - I have heard good things so far.

Braydon Joiner

EJ Harris

Garner Langlo - Saw some pictures he has really bulked up.

Conner Lew - I have heard good things so far.

Clay Wedin

Jeremiah Wright - May be a starter at guard. 

They have all gone through spring with the new coaches and the Strength and Conditioning with the new coaches. Physically Langlo now looks the part but as anybody who knows football it takes more than looking good physically to be a good Lineman. You need a strong punch, a quick first step, good feet and good balance, but most importantly you need great football IQ. My personal opinion is O-linemen need to be among the smartest players on the field especially with how well modern defenses hide  what they are going to do before the ball is hiked. 

 

Agree completely. They have to instantly recognize and adjust to the individual tactics being used by the DL person they are responsible for also recognizing the particular defensive tactic being used, and adjust relative to the offensive play that has been called.

[bigbird 60,940]

22 hours ago, AUGoo said:

EJ Harris was a kid I was really excited about when he chose us. How is he looking? Any summer workout news on any of them?

A little too soon to tell on any of them. They're finally receiving quality instruction and that will show.  How much remains to be seen.

[aucanucktiger 1,892]

On 7/20/2023 at 9:04 AM, aubiefifty said:

a random quote from another site and it sounds legit. are G5 players that much worse? i thought we were rocking along pretty good and i see this. i honestly do not know so humor me please.

 

The O-Line transfers we got are G-5 players who were good but have never played in the SEC West week after week. Our fans always said our O-Line guys were absolute trash the last 5 years. But they were still O-Line guys that were on scholarship at Auburn. They also played like 4 years together here. So I pause before I make claims that our mostly G-5 O-Line, that will have to gel together in real game situations, will be night and day better than the O-Line we had that had 4 years of time together and were all playing on a full ride scholarship to Auburn.

Correction, our fans the last 5 years always said AFTER each season started that our O line was trash, before each season the O line was "promising" or "talented" - like this season. Y'all temper your 2023 expectations for this edition of the O line.