re: 2018 Football Recruiting Thread -- Final OP Update Edition

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Your original post had a quote saying he made "big mistakes in Mobile" so what other than supposedly being a cause for Johnson leaving did he do? My point is he didn't seem to mess us up with those guys. What were these mistakes and how has it hurt us in Mobile? Because right now I don't see evidence that our Mobile recruiting has suffered

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My OP was an interrogative statement. I'm seeking answers myself. But just because a recruiter drops the ball, that doesn't mean he naturally did something "horrible" enough to deter others. For instance, maybe Kodi was too confident that Auburn had his commitment in the bag. Hypothetically, maybe Kodi could've introduced him to his future engineering teachers. Not doing such things may have hurt Auburn enough to lose out but nothing that Kodi did was indisputably horrible.

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I am guessing you saw a better opportunity there than at Auburn for your career.

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Auburn didn't have a strong school in the field that I got my degree in. Also, there was no graduate program. Not the case for Ryan.

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If you can get better why not take it?

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Stanford is a prestigious institution. Auburn is top 31 in his desired field. Auburn has a better football program/ conference/ etc. There is absolutely no necessity in seeking to travel across the country when Auburn is already one of the best of both worlds in your home state which also offers athletes like 5,000 dollars per semester for cost of living.

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It isn't. But not everyone thinks SEC football is the end all be all either. That mystique has washed away some recently too with everyone not named Bama struggling to consistently win

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The Pac12 champion lost to a Bama team with a true freshman QB. Our conference puts more fans in the seats, more players in the league, and generates more money. The ACC is catching on but the SEC is still the GOAT. Don't even know why I'm typing this because the driving point is beyond sidetracked.

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Because right now I don't see evidence that our Mobile recruiting has suffered

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Well why do you admit that T-Will replaced KB because he is a better recruiter for Mobile, an important area for Auburn? I think there is evidence that we screwed the pooch on Mobile.

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Stanford has finished top 15 some 7/8 of the past years.

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Lol. Hype and the media and their conference keeps their average seasons relevant.

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Except MIT and the other schools that offered don't play at a high level of basketball.

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And Auburn does?

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More importantly though, his offers were bottom tier Ivy League schools that actually are playing well below AUs level and not on AUs stage in SEC

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He strongly considered the likes of Yale, Stanford, Brown, Georgia Tech and Oregon State. You're talking out of both sides of your mouth again. Please Greta Van Susteren yourself and pick a side.

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Good luck explaining to a 17 year old kid why Stanfards 11-12 win seasons on avg aren't as impressive as Auburns 7-8 win avg season

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Money, conference, hoes, fanbases, blow, etc. Has Stanford even won anything since Harbaugh left? Stanford isn't exactly the "hottest" female population either.

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So he had offers from these schools, or his family just said he considered them? Rivals/247/everywhere don't include either school as having offered him

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Those sites are not the gospel either. Maybe they never updated. If you're going to believe a lack of confirmation from recruiting sites over our official site, go for it.
Auburn's own site has this:

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McLemore has a 4.0 grade-point average in advanced classes. He had considered Yale, Brown, Oregon State, Stanford and Georgia Tech.

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Yale/Brown combine for 2 IVY league titles in the past 50 years and made just as many NCAAT appearances. Even AU's weak bball history is better than that

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Yeah, well. Yale is a prestigious school..."4 years for 40 years commitments" amirite? Yale was in the NCAA tournament last year and beat Baylor in the first round. That's more than Auburn can say for more than over a decade.

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Hell, they've won more with Shaw than with Harbaugh.

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Look at who they play, you bad, bad, boy. They play the Memphis Chickens of the west coast. They still don't win anything of note. Even when they manage to beat USC, they still frick up somewhere on the schedule. Just judging by wins is a dumb thing to do.

Why are you two fricks shitting all over the recruiting thread? Meet at Sonic and figure it out or get a hotel room.

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Why are you two fricks shitting all over the recruiting thread? Meet at Sonic and figure it out or get a hotel room.

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If your idea of a quality board is synonymous to a dead board, you missed a fine chance to be a Vanderbilt fan. Stick to the topic, post recruiting information, or GTFO.

In an attempt to pull this thread out of the ditch I helped drive it in, here's some recruiting news....

Auburn stays patient with 2018 DB Braelen Oliver, 2019 LB JD Bertrand who are picking up recruiting steam (SECCountry)

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Versatile defensive prospect has long Auburn bond

Braelen Oliver was introduced to the recruiting process well before it was his turn. His brother, Brandon, went through the process in 2011 before Braelen even knew he’d walk in similar shoes one day. Brandon ended up at Georgia Tech, but the first place Braelen accompanied his brother on a visit was Auburn.

He’ll never forget that.

“Auburn was my first college I was introduced to because my brother came up here. This was the first Division I college I went to and, ever since then, I just really liked Auburn,” Oliver said. “Whenever they tell me to come up there, I can’t hesitate.”

Oliver’s most recent visit to Auburn was for the program’s junior day earlier in March. It was his fifth trip.

Once again, the 3-star linebacker/safety hybrid from Douglasville, Ga., left without an Auburn offer, but he has growing optimism that one will eventually come. Oliver’s offer sheet is blue-collar list that includes Colorado, Colorado State, Western Kentucky, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Troy, Tulane and others.

He’s started to gain intrigue from Auburn, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Notre Dame, Purdue and South Carolina. As he gets to more camps this spring and summer, that list expects to grow.

Oliver is particularly interested in the Tigers’ offer.

“That would mean a lot. I would be truly blessed to get an offer from Auburn,” Oliver said, breaking into an ear-to-ear smile at the thought of it.

Auburn coaches look at Oliver’s frame — 6-foot and 210 pounds — coupled with his agility and see a nickel back. He plays linebacker and safety at the high school level. Travis Williams and Kevin Steele have told him that experience would fit nicely into the nickel role in Steele’s defensive scheme.

Williams, in particular, has left a positive impression on Oliver.


He also has a high school connection to a few of Auburn’s players, which has given him inside access to what to expect as an Auburn student-athlete. Josh Holsey and Montavius Atkinson played for Oliver’s high school coach Johnny White, and they’ve returned to see White for practices.

That’s given Oliver a chance to ask questions. He’s been blown away by his initial impressions from Auburn coaches and players alike.

“I just love the staff. All the coaches here, I can relate to all them. I know a couple of the players because of my high school coach, and they tell me how much they like it. It just seems like a place I could be at,” Oliver said. “A lot of them played for my coach, so they come to our practices to talk to him. Josh Holsey, they all come up and tell me what a great program it is and what it would mean.”

Now all Oliver can do is work and wait.

“They said they’re waiting for more of spring to pass to see me grow as a player and develop,” Oliver said. “They said to come to a spring practice. So hopefully I’ll be able to get back.”

2019 linebacker to watch

Travis Williams has already made his mark.

He was the recruiting star of the staff during the 2017 cycle. That’s starting to manifest itself again in the 2018 class. As long as Williams doesn’t land a DC gig somewhere — his name will almost certainly be mentioned if he continues this trend — the 2019 class will be no different.

He’s already making his mark with 2019 linebacker JD Bertrand.

“I went to Auburn for a camp (last year). They were really interested in me and kept talking to me. They told me to come back to see the school more and talk to coaches,” Bertrand told SEC Country. “Coach T-Will invited me back in about a month to talk some Xs and Os. He said he’ll look more at my film. Coach Steele just wanted to get to know me a little more and helped me get to know him.”

Auburn isn’t the only school courting the 6-foot-1, 205-pound linebacker from Blessed Trinity (Ga.). Following his trip to Auburn for junior day, he planned subsequent visits to LSU and Georgia — the other two schools he’s high on in the early going.

There is a big difference between Auburn and those two programs: He received LSU and Georgia offers following his Auburn junior day visit. He’s still without the Auburn offer.

When Bertrand returns to Auburn to talk football with Williams — assuming that actually happens — an offer is almost a guarantee. In that case, the Tigers will be a major factor in the mix.

“I’d definitely be looking into the school,” Bertrand said “I want to talk to some of the players and see what some of them think, but I really like it … They all tell me they want to see me work out for them. They say they like my football vision, my ability find a ball carrier and go make a tackle.”

He hasn’t been ranked by every recruiting service, but 247Sports has him listed as the No. 4 linebacker and No. 59 overall in the preliminary rankings.

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3* ATH Richard Jibunor is planning on visiting again next week. He might also attend A-Day which would be 3 visits and 2 months for one of AU's top targets. Tigers are trending up and he has clicked well with staff. He's also originally from Nigeria and apparently him and Prince Tega have become real close. Still considering plenty of schools like Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wake Forest. He told KN he would really like to visit UGA and the Vols again soon. Right now says that AU and Bama are recruiting him the hardest but KN seems to think we are the clear leaders right now. He's being recruited to play the Buck spot but honestly could do a lot of different things including play any of the LB spots or TE. Plans to announce before senior season

Auburn remains competitive in chase for FSU running back commits Charles Strong, James Cook (SECCountry)

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It’s an oft-debated topic: What college football program is Running Back U?

Just like the WRU or DBU banter, there are more than a handful of colleges with worthy arguments in the discussion. Auburn and Florida State are both, at a minimum, factors in the conversation.

The Tigers have an impressive streak of 1,000-yard rushers. The Seminoles have had Devonta Freeman and Dalvin Cook in recent memory and just brought in one of the most impressive running back hauls — Cam Akers and Khalan Laborn — in the 2017 class.

In the 2018 cycle, it appears the two programs will be direct foes.

Florida State has two running backs committed in the class. Auburn has zero.

Charles Strong and James Cook, close friends, have been committed to the Seminoles for more than a year. Both are showing signs of reconsideration on their Florida State commitments. Both are showing love to Auburn.

Cook is a 5-star prospect and the brother of Dalvin, who is fresh off a record-setting career with the Seminoles. But Cook has made it clear he doesn’t plan to follow in his brother’s footsteps just to follow in his brother’s footsteps. He hasn’t even ruled out Florida (quite the contrary, in fact).

Despite his FSU pledge, Cook released a top 8 list that included Auburn. Cook told SEC Country’s Zach Abolverdi that he’s “80 percent committed” to the Seminoles, which is generally a surefire indication of second-guessing.

Auburn isn’t the RBU-level school on the list. The Tigers are joined on the list by Alabama, LSU, Oregon, Southern Cal, Florida and Georgia — all programs in the RBU discussion. He plans to take several visits. Auburn is likely to be one of those this summer.

A big part of that decision to visit? Cook trusts his close friend Strong, who was recently blown away by his unofficial trip to the Plains.

“I like Auburn. Talking to coaches, talking to Kodi Burns on the phone. He’s sitting here telling me, ‘Our school is the top.’ He kept telling me to come over to see it. If you like it, it’s all yours. If I don’t, he’ll keep recruiting me,” Strong said. “But I like it. No, I love it … Coach (Tim) Horton told me how he loves big backs, so he wants to coach me to the fullest.”

Because of the friendship between Strong and Cook, Strong has developed a bond with Dalvin, too.

In fact, that’s who Strong often reaches out to for advice. For instance, when he started to show some hesitation with his FSU commitment, many Seminoles fans he knows gave him every reason why he shouldn’t waver. Dalvin took a different approach.

“Some people don’t want me to look into a lot of schools, some people want me to stay with Florida State. At the end of the day, it’s up to me. I’m going to do my visits to see how it turns out. Talking with legends like Dalvin. He told me I’m one of the top running backs in the nation. Florida State has always got you, but go where it fits for you,” Strong said. “He ain’t my brother, but he was a real close friend recruiting me, so he wants what’s best for me.”

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Cook is the No. 3 running back in the nation, which makes him a slightly more coveted commodity than Strong. Strong is a 3-star prospect who is No. 29 at his position in 2018, but he holds other offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Miami (Fla.), Kentucky and Georgia Tech.

It should be clear: Both remain Florida State pledges.

As for Strong, at least, a flip isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

“I’m committed. I want to say that first,” Strong said. “But it’s possible. I don’t know what it would take. But it’s possible.”

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Charles Strong highlights
James Cook highlights

I think Strong is legitimately in play, not gonna get hopes up on Cook

So is coynis Miller predicted to Auburn or Bama? I see what you wrote last page but I also see that kneibuhr made a CB for Auburn in February.