I know I've heard it numerous times on here, on radio, and from fans everywhere - they say depth is not the problem in the 1st quarter. And that is a logical statement, BUT isn't depth an issue, if some of the guys you are missing should be first stringers?
Take Auburn defense for istance and just consider the players that were signed and not on the roster or available, for whatever reason:
DT Marks, DB Power, LB Blackmon, LB Trahan, DB McNeil, - I'm sure there are many more - but ALL of these guys would be STARTING at Auburn RIGHT NOW if they were on the team and healthy. Am I wrong?
That would make a HUGE difference in the 1st Quarter. It would just about replace HALF of the defense.
I realize that other teams lose players through attrition, but I just think when you discuss "depth" the problem has to be considered that Auburn lost some guys at the top and did not have enough "quality" replacements to fill the void.
Some of it may be lack of speed, or size, or just being young and inexperienced, but the available guys were not ready to step up into that starting role and compete on the level they needed to in order to completing account for losing some of the guys who are gone.
On a related note, the linked article lists a bunch of guys who were signed, but are no longer on the rosters, that could have been "impact" players. Does anyone know where to get a run down of the guys that were signed, and maybe what happened to them?
On a related note, the linked article lists a bunch of guys who were signed, but are no longer on the rosters, that could have been "impact" players. Does anyone know where to get a run down of the guys that were signed, and maybe what happened to them?
Go either to auburn.rivals.com or auburn.scout.com and select "FB Recruiting" from the top menu - then select "Commitment List". The results will be the current year (2010) list of football player commitments. However, you can change the year using the pull-down menu and go back as far as 2002, I think.
Beginning in 2004-2005, our "retention rate" and our "qualification rate" (percentage of signed players who actually gained admission into school) really took a nosedive and stayed there through CTT's last recruiting class.
The jury is still out on the 2009 recruiting class, but there were several (4-6) letter-of-intent signees who did not gain admission. The new staff needs to improve recruiting in two areas: (1) quality of signees, and (2) academic qualification of signees.
I don't know how to find out what happened to all of the players - I know about some - but in many cases the players never qualified academically to enroll in Auburn University.
Oh boy. I can make that list but it's going to be a very..very long one.
Auburn's attrition rate over the last 4 odd years is more than 41%. Highest in SEC. Miss State had equal attrition, however with dismissal of Harry Adams Auburn took the lead.
Here's a partial list. I can't list all 35 though.
2006 signing class.
Steven Ensminger — QB — transferred to Louisiana Tech after freshman year.
Raven Gray — DT — Failed to qualify
Hendrick Leverette — LB — transferring to JUCO. Signed with Southern Miss.
Bo Harris — ATH — Failed to qualify, enrolled at prep school
Bryant Miller — DE — Played sparingly in two seasons before leaving team
Alex Rose — WR — Left program after 2007 season
Chris Slaughter — WR — Failed to qualify, enrolled at prep school
Greg Smith — DT — Five-star juco transfer showed up overweight, redshirted, then transferred.
Lee Tilley — OL — Spent two years on Auburn roster, but never played and eventually left.
Kyle Coulahan — OL — Left team this spring because of academic concerns
Enrique Davis — RB — Failed to qualify, spurned Auburn in 2008 by signing with Ole Miss, where he currently plays
Johnnie Lee Dixon — ATH — Failed to qualify
Brandon Earl — OL — Failed to qualify
Bo Harris — ATH — Played regularly his freshman season before transferring in 2008
Carlton Johnson — LB — Failed to qualify
Jermaine Johnson — OL — Failed to qualify
Wilfred Journet — DE — Failed to qualify
Tim Lamb — DT — Failed to qualify
Chaz Ramsey — OL — Officially left team after 2008 season because of career-ending back injury, which he has since blamed on former offensive line coach Hugh Nall and former trainer Arnold Gamber in a lawsuit
Chris Slaughter — WR — Left team because of personal reasons after 2008 season
Brent Slusher — TE — Left team this summer after spending entire 2008 season on medical hardship
Ryan Williams — DB — Did not return for 2009 after spending most of 2008 in Tommy Tuberville’s “doghouse.”
Chris Zinn — OL — Failed to qualify
Eltoro Freeman - LB - Failed to qualify. Re-signed in 09.
Nick Fairly -DL - Failed to qualify. Re-signed in 09.
You are absolutely right. There are spots on the team that are manned by kids that do need time to develop, or are not up to par. I am not going to name names here, and maybe it's just inexperience or lack of physical practices because of depth issues, but it's a fact.
It has been pretty brutal. Coaches did not do a good job finding the right kids, and actually drove a lot of kids who are starting and playing at other schools away. The running back position is one position where Auburn should always get top recruits, and yet if you look at the last 3 years Auburn has really struggled.
Caleb King
Jonathan Dwyer
Enrique Davis
Auburn could have had these three, but coaches really dropped the ball.
LB is another area that Auburn has struggle in.
Tubberville made a career out of finding guys (Dansby, Marks, Thomas) who nobody else offered and turning them into NFL players, but one or two guys a year is not going to make it.
I like Tuberville and respect everything he did for the program. He really did some amazing work when you look at the talent he recruited. If he had focused more on recruiting and demanded more from his assistant coaches he would still be at Auburn.
His failure to capitalize on recruiting after the 2004 season was his downfall. Borges should have had top QBs, RBs, & WRs lining up after 2004.
I know I've heard it numerous times on here, on radio, and from fans everywhere - they say depth is not the problem in the 1st quarter. And that is a logical statement, BUT isn't depth an issue, if some of the guys you are missing should be first stringers?
Take Auburn defense for istance and just consider the players that were signed and not on the roster or available, for whatever reason:
DT Marks, DB Power, LB Blackmon, LB Trahan, DB McNeil, - I'm sure there are many more - but ALL of these guys would be STARTING at Auburn RIGHT NOW if they were on the team and healthy. Am I wrong?
That would make a HUGE difference in the 1st Quarter. It would just about replace HALF of the defense.
I realize that other teams lose players through attrition, but I just think when you discuss "depth" the problem has to be considered that Auburn lost some guys at the top and did not have enough "quality" replacements to fill the void.
Some of it may be lack of speed, or size, or just being young and inexperienced, but the available guys were not ready to step up into that starting role and compete on the level they needed to in order to completing account for losing some of the guys who are gone.
On a related note, the linked article lists a bunch of guys who were signed, but are no longer on the rosters, that could have been "impact" players. Does anyone know where to get a run down of the guys that were signed, and maybe what happened to them?
Depth refers to talent on the 2nd and 3rd teams. Talent is shortage on 1st team. Auburn clearly suffers from depth and talent issues.
__________________ "I thought Auburn was good, but certainly not great on offense. Next season [2010], the Tigers need to be better on short yardage and they need to be able to run the ball and take time off the clock when it's called for." - Phillip Marshall, AuburnUndercover.com
Hrm, maybe I am not crazy after all.
The "Depth" Issue
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