Here's the full interview:
Head coach Hugh Freeze and athletic director John Cohen both gave explanations for Auburn's recruiting cold spell
www.al.com
So basically Auburn is screwed. There is no reason for them to be in this position. So Alabama played the long game and it benefited them. So If I read it correctly, It sounds like Auburn, Michigan, Texas could struggle with this similar situation after July 1.
I don't see Auburn redeeming themselves this late in cycle. You need to have a momentum going into fall camp because once fall camp starts, it puts extra burden on coaching staff and on top of that game planning. As a school in SEC, You can't be heading into July with 6 commits when at least top 100 teams has over 15 commits by now. Not only that, but you also can't bank your strategy on flipping players from other school. They put themself in a bad situation and wasn't prepared.