Meet the Players 2015

Meet the Players 2015

This year had amazing potential. My mom went with me Although the day did not go exactly as we wanted, it was still a fun day.  There were tons of people there. We were in line with some of the nicest people. Be on the lookout for Carter- a center from Robertsdale who will graduate in 2018.  We had a great time in the line. The first line which was for CJ, Nick, Cameron, and Gabe moved pretty quickly. All the guys were super nice. CJ is A LOT bigger in person than I thought. His smile is even bigger. He was friendly and personable. 

Then next is the line was CAP. Cameron was really nice. He even signed something extra for me. He talked more than I thought he would.

 Nick was really nice and friendly. I got the idea Nick was kind of quiet, but he was really outgoing and nice with the fans. We thanked him for everything he did for Auburn and he responded with a nice War Eagle.

Gabe was what you would expect. He was outgoing and friendly. I told Gabe, "I've enjoyed every minute of watching you play." His response? "I enjoyed playing every minute." My mom took some pictures for me.

 I tried to actually get a picture with the guys this year. My mom is no cell phone photo expert, so my pics are kind of blurry. After we finished in line, the Convention Center staff were bringing a girl around the line in a wheelchair. I recognized her pretty quickly. If you follow her page on facebook, "Team Katelyn" , you know she has osteosarcoma. She actually had her leg amputated earlier this week. She has already been walking on her temp prosthetic. She went to an elementary school where I used to teach. She LOVES Auburn, so it was amazing to see her get to go up to see the Gabe and Nick. I couldn't see around the corner when she got to CJ and Cameron.

When we finished, we went to the restroom, sat for about 5 minutes and ate some crackers, and got back in line. We waited and waited and waited. The line hardly moved at all. At 6:30, they make the players leave and won't allow them to sign anymore autographs. Sammie could barely stand to look at all the people that were disappointed. Reese came by handing out some of his cards and spoke to people but he wasn't able to sign anything  If there had not been rails, Reese might have been mobbed. I am serious. There were Alabama fans, Florida State and tons of others hollering for him. I was really close to him. They were shoving stuff toward him to try to get him to sign. He was politely trying to say he couldn't sign. He was handing out his cards. Someone actually shouted over my shoulder, "Reese, your first grade teacher is right here!" Reese, to his credit, tried to look and see if she was there. He handed me an autographed card, which slipped out of my hands and fell to the floor. Reese leaned down to pick it up for me. He really tried to engage with people, there were just so many he really could not.

 I have mixed emotions. I am disappointed I wasn't able to get an autograph for Sammie and Reese, but it was still amazing to see Reese try to find people. Sammie immediately tweeted an apology for all the people he didn't get to meet. I am still not sure what held the line up for the length of time it did. I did get to get an autograph of Cody Prewitt from Ole Miss for my little friend Harrison. He went by while we were waiting for Reese. I saw him and called him over by his full name. He looked at me funny at first, wondering why someone from the AU line was calling him by name. He was very gracious and kind.  I think next year I will try to go to a practice instead of this event.  It was fun being with Auburn fans and fun meeting the players I got to meet, but there were just SO MANY people there this year. 

Malcolm Canada Press Conference: February 2

Auburn Basketball Highlights at Tennessee

Auburn Softball Preseason Press Conference

Auburn gymnastics vs Air Force Highlights

Bruce Pearl Press Conference: Janaury 30

Auburn Basketball Highlights vs. Texas A&M

2015 Auburn Swimming & Diving Intro Video

Rebuilding a Defense: Rising From the Ashes

Will Muschamp - photo courtesy of Auburn Athletics

In an earlier post we talked about the exposing of Auburn's defensive weaknesses that became public knowledge in the South Carolina game. From that game through the end of the season, Auburn's defense was torched for over 30 points in each game versus FBS competition. 35, 31, 41, 34, 55, and 34. 

This is the reason Auburn fired Ellis Johnson as Defensive Coordinator, and hired Will Muschamp to replace him.

During that time span I listed that Auburn was letting teams score massive amounts of points, Florida allowed 20, 10, 23, 24, 20. With two of these teams being like opponents, Georgia and South Carolina each scored 20, and 23 respectively. The two division champs of the SEC were the only teams to score more than 40 against the Gators, and nobody scored 50 or more all season on them.

This next chart shows how Florida fared as a scoring defense:

in August/September	3	9	3	9	0	0	72	24.0
in October	3	9	6	7	1	0	81	27.0
in November	5	10	4	8	0	0	80	16.0
in December/January	1	2	2	2	0	0	20	20.0

Compare that to Auburn's defensive numbers:

in August/September	4	8	3	8	0	0	65	16.3
in October	3	11	1	11	0	0	80	26.7
in November	5	22	5	19	1	0	168	33.6
in December/January	1	4	2	4	0	0	34	34.0

There is a remarkable difference in the two. Especially when you look at the November and Dec/Jan numbers.

Before we jump to conclusions, let us look at the recruiting side of the equation. In 2013 Auburn finished 8th nationally in the Rivals final rankings, while Florida finished 4th. The average star rating was separated by just .02 points. The Gators signed 29 that year, while Auburn signed just 23. Below is the finish for each school since 2011.

Year         Florida          Auburn      Diff
2011          12th              7th             .04 - AU
2012          3rd              10th            .08 - UF
2013          4th                8th             .02 - UF
2014          8th                9th             .05 - UF

Basically, recruiting shows us the talent at each school is the same. Maybe we could break it down more closely by defensive players, although my gut says it won't be much different that what we have shown.

The difference is coaching. Auburn's defense was torched by our better opponents

Now that Auburn has "one of the greatest defensive minds in all of football" and one of the best best minds offensively in all of college football, the combination will be lethal for our opponents in 2015. It's time to rise from the ashes.

War Eagle!

National Signing Day Primer

Shon Coleman signs with Auburn University. photographer unknown

It's that time of year again, where we wait in anticipation for the college decisions of 17-18 year old football prospects.

National Signing Day (NSD) is what every recruiting enthusiast waits for. It's Christmas morning all over again with the exception being it's based in hope, not faith.

I wasn't the first, nor will I be the last to say recruiting is the lifeblood of every college athletic program. Simply, this is the most important piece of the puzzle for any championship program.

I use every "FREE" advantage to gain some limited amount of knowledge about the recruiting happenings that surround Auburn football. Using the information from Auburn 247Sports, and Rivals, along with the work of AL.com and the Auburn beat writers I gain the majority of my information, and occasionally I'll gain something from a national source.

 To show you how some classes are full of potential, and short on fulfillment read this post by Joel A. Erickson about the 2012 signing class. There are zero guarantees in this business of recruiting. Many factors are involved in whether the majority of the players will become "stars" or even contributors to a successful football program. 

Here is a short rundown of the players already signed by Auburn. From Auburn Rivals:

		Name Pos Location Ht Wt 40 Stars Rivals Rating Committed Videos Signed Letter of Intent Tyler Carr OL Southside, ALSouthside 6'5" 323 4 stars 5.9 6/24/14 14 videos Chandler Cox RB Apopka, FLApopka 6'2" 220 4 stars 5.8 5/31/14 3 videos Tim Irvin DB Palmetto Bay, FLWestminster Christian 5'8" 182 4 stars 5.8 1/18/15 12 videos Tyler Queen QB Kennesaw, GANorth Cobb 6'2" 236 3 stars 5.6 7/10/13 8 videos Jovon Robinson RB Milledgeville, GAGeorgia Military College 6'0" 220 4.5 5 stars 6.1 5/15/14 2 videos Bailey Sharp OL Marietta, GASprayberry 6'5" 284 3 stars 5.6 4/19/14 2 videos Jason Smith ATH Perkinston, MSGulf Coast C.C. 6'1" 195 4.5 4 stars 5.8 2/4/14 Maurice Swain DT Perkinston, MSGulf Coast C.C. 6'5" 297 3 stars 5.7 12/17/14 1 video I'll post some of the predicted commits that are thought to be definitely going to Auburn soon. WAR EAGLE!