Auburn football is in an unusual place, and I’m not sure quite what to make of it. I can make a half-dozen calls and hear convincing arguments that the program on the edge of the abyss and convincing arguments that things are good. Which of those arguments is accurate? I don’t know, and I’m not sure anyone really knows.
In our social media-driven world, recruiting rankings have come to create reactions as emotional as winning or losing games, sometimes more emotional. I think that’s a misguided view, but I certainly recognize it is out there.
What I know about that is first-year Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin and his staff have been able to welcome official visitors for all of 18 days. Most of those prospects who have visited had never met Auburn coaches face-to-face. I won’t even start to develop my opinion about the 2022 recruiting class until next February. Until then, I will leave that debate to others.
A bigger issue is just what Harsin inherited when he was introduced as Auburn’s head coach on Christmas Eve. It depends on how one looks at it. There certainly is reason for optimism as the 2021 season approaches.
The Tigers are seriously lacking in experience only at wide receiver, and that is probably the position in which young players frequently excel more than any other. They have arguably the best running back in the SEC in Tank Bigsby, a two-year starting quarterback in Box Nix, maybe the top pair of linebackers in the SEC in Owen Pappoe and Zakoby McClain, top cornerback in Roger McCreary and some other really talented defensive backs and linemen.
On the other side of that, while there are some experienced offensive linemen, there are unanswered questions about most of them. Is it as bad as some believe? No. It’s popular to criticize center Nick Brahms, but his teammates swear by him. Tashawn Manning is a future NFL player. Brodarious Hamm could be, too. But it can’t be argued that Auburn’s offensive line as a whole has not had championship production in in recent seasons.
I’m not trying to go position-by-position here, but Harsin will have some good players and potentially some great players on his first Auburn team. He will inherit a team accustomed to winning and some players who have been part of some really big wins. Auburn has not had a non-winning season since 2012. A 6-4 record against all-SEC schedule last season wasn’t great, but it was better than nine of the 14 SEC teams.
The problem that got Gus Malzahn in the end was that those players have been part of some bad losses, too. They rarely seemed to have any answers in bowl games. Can they get over that hump? And if they do, can Harsin keep it going in years to come? If knowing that was easy, there wouldn’t be any drama in college football.
At the highest level of the game, it’s about staying relevant, and for numerous reasons, doing that has never been more difficult.
In discussions among pundits about a 12-team playoff, it is taken as a fact that nothing will change at the top, that Alabama and Clemson will continue to win every year, with an occasional push by Ohio State or Oklahoma and a few others have moved into and out of the national championship picture in recent years. Everybody else is viewed as an afterthought, relegated to watching from the outside. At least that seems to be the going opinion.
In order to be relevant in today’s game, it takes getting into that group and staying there or at least close. Doing it for one year is not enough. Auburn won the national championship in 2010, lost five games in 2011 and had the worst season in 60 years in 2012. Auburn won the SEC championship and played for it all in 2013 and was on the verge in 2017.
Is that enough for Auburn to be relevant? In in any real measure, it is enough. But in the perception game that starts with “national” writers and sportscasters, Auburn isn’t getting much attention. That is despite the hiring of Harsin in December being hailed by those same writers and talkers as a bold move by athletics director Allen Greene.
LSU, on the other hand, is riding the crest of winning the national championship in 2019 despite going 5-5 last season, losing 48-11 at Auburn, missing out on a bowl game because of off-field issues and, in general, having an awful year. Why? It’s those recruiting rankings again.
I’ve been astonished at some of the takes that Auburn was a recruiting power until Malzahn left and Harsin came along. I’m not saying those takes aren’t accurate, but where were they when it was happening? How often was Auburn mentioned among the nation’s top recruiting powers even when it was piling up top-10 finishes in recruiting rankings?
Harsin took a difficult job. Year in and year out, Auburn probably faces the most difficult schedule in the game. Harsin knew that when he left Boise State to take the job.
In our social media-driven world, recruiting rankings have come to create reactions as emotional as winning or losing games, sometimes more emotional. I think that’s a misguided view, but I certainly recognize it is out there.
What I know about that is first-year Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin and his staff have been able to welcome official visitors for all of 18 days. Most of those prospects who have visited had never met Auburn coaches face-to-face. I won’t even start to develop my opinion about the 2022 recruiting class until next February. Until then, I will leave that debate to others.
A bigger issue is just what Harsin inherited when he was introduced as Auburn’s head coach on Christmas Eve. It depends on how one looks at it. There certainly is reason for optimism as the 2021 season approaches.
The Tigers are seriously lacking in experience only at wide receiver, and that is probably the position in which young players frequently excel more than any other. They have arguably the best running back in the SEC in Tank Bigsby, a two-year starting quarterback in Box Nix, maybe the top pair of linebackers in the SEC in Owen Pappoe and Zakoby McClain, top cornerback in Roger McCreary and some other really talented defensive backs and linemen.
On the other side of that, while there are some experienced offensive linemen, there are unanswered questions about most of them. Is it as bad as some believe? No. It’s popular to criticize center Nick Brahms, but his teammates swear by him. Tashawn Manning is a future NFL player. Brodarious Hamm could be, too. But it can’t be argued that Auburn’s offensive line as a whole has not had championship production in in recent seasons.
I’m not trying to go position-by-position here, but Harsin will have some good players and potentially some great players on his first Auburn team. He will inherit a team accustomed to winning and some players who have been part of some really big wins. Auburn has not had a non-winning season since 2012. A 6-4 record against all-SEC schedule last season wasn’t great, but it was better than nine of the 14 SEC teams.
The problem that got Gus Malzahn in the end was that those players have been part of some bad losses, too. They rarely seemed to have any answers in bowl games. Can they get over that hump? And if they do, can Harsin keep it going in years to come? If knowing that was easy, there wouldn’t be any drama in college football.
At the highest level of the game, it’s about staying relevant, and for numerous reasons, doing that has never been more difficult.
In discussions among pundits about a 12-team playoff, it is taken as a fact that nothing will change at the top, that Alabama and Clemson will continue to win every year, with an occasional push by Ohio State or Oklahoma and a few others have moved into and out of the national championship picture in recent years. Everybody else is viewed as an afterthought, relegated to watching from the outside. At least that seems to be the going opinion.
In order to be relevant in today’s game, it takes getting into that group and staying there or at least close. Doing it for one year is not enough. Auburn won the national championship in 2010, lost five games in 2011 and had the worst season in 60 years in 2012. Auburn won the SEC championship and played for it all in 2013 and was on the verge in 2017.
Is that enough for Auburn to be relevant? In in any real measure, it is enough. But in the perception game that starts with “national” writers and sportscasters, Auburn isn’t getting much attention. That is despite the hiring of Harsin in December being hailed by those same writers and talkers as a bold move by athletics director Allen Greene.
LSU, on the other hand, is riding the crest of winning the national championship in 2019 despite going 5-5 last season, losing 48-11 at Auburn, missing out on a bowl game because of off-field issues and, in general, having an awful year. Why? It’s those recruiting rankings again.
I’ve been astonished at some of the takes that Auburn was a recruiting power until Malzahn left and Harsin came along. I’m not saying those takes aren’t accurate, but where were they when it was happening? How often was Auburn mentioned among the nation’s top recruiting powers even when it was piling up top-10 finishes in recruiting rankings?
Harsin took a difficult job. Year in and year out, Auburn probably faces the most difficult schedule in the game. Harsin knew that when he left Boise State to take the job.
