Auburn Bolsters Alabama Recruiting

by kleph on Feb 17, 2009 9:15 AM CST Comment 15 comments

If there was any doubt that Alabama’s second top-ranked recruiting class has put a sense of urgency in the efforts of our in-state rival it was put to rest this week. During a battery of one-on-one meetings with reporters on Monday, Chizik and his staff hammered home the team’s commitment to recruiting.

"We need the No. 1 recruiting class in the country,” said recruiting coordinator Curtis Luper to the Huntsville Times. “That's what I want. That's my goal."

According to Luper, the Barners have designated no less than seven recruiters – and Chizik himself, of course - to work Alabama high schools. That is in contrast to the three Tubberville had working the state during his tenure. According to The Birmingham News their breakdown in the state will be:

Two assistant [coaches] will recruit south Alabama, two will recruit north Alabama, one will recruit Birmingham, another will recruit Montgomery and another will recruit Lee County and cross over to Columbus and LaGrange, Ga.

After that, there will be five coaches working Georgia and four on the beat in Florida. (although most will have multiple assignments, of course) To do all this Chizik added a number of new coaches to his staff this week that should finalize the Barner coaching lineup.

Meanwhile, a story in today’s Tuscaloosa News indicates that Alabama’s tack will be an increased selectivity toward in-state recruits for the class of 2010 in order to fill specific needs in the lineup. Efforts out-of-state, particularly in Georgia and Tennessee, will then bolster the strength of the next recruiting class.

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Gee Auburn

going to step up recruiting. I can’t imagine why? Don’t all the really “good” guys just want to go to a place where they can be a part of a family.

by 5026 on Feb 17, 2009 9:36 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

And

have character, like Ryan Pugh, Chaz Ramsey and Trey Blackmon. Remember those great character guys?

"All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity." - Gordie Howe

by Bens4vcobra on Feb 17, 2009 9:43 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Character is that one unspoken quality..

that Rivals and Scout never consider! We want guys that play as a team!

by brandonh on Feb 17, 2009 9:49 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Tubb's

line of thinking was always – why waste resources on players you know you aren’t going to get? – This kind of circular self-defeatism was a major factor that led to his undoing on the plains, and was explosed once a competent coach/recruiter landed on the Capstone. I think AU will be better under Chizik just for the simple fact that he is the anti-Tuberville. He will be hands-on, he will recruit aggressively and he will at least put up a fight against Alabama. The first step to accomplishing anything is you at least have to believe you can do it. I think Chizik believes he can do it. Whether he is right or not, time will tell.

"All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity." - Gordie Howe

by Bens4vcobra on Feb 17, 2009 9:43 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Tuberville

According to his Iron Bowl record he did put up quite the fight against Bama. Not supporting Auburn, but you gotta give the man credit for the streak even though he seemed to slack off in his later years.

by brandonh on Feb 17, 2009 9:52 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Tubervillain...

…Iron Bowl record: 7-3; head coaches: 1; years probation affected team: 0.

Alabama record: 3-7; head coaches: 5; years probation affected team: 7 (or 10 if you include the fact that the 90s probationary period helped push Stallings out to give us Dubose to create our more recent years of teeth-gnashing).

You gotta give lots of folks credit for the streak before Tubervillain started to slack off in his later years.

by NiceLittleSaturday on Feb 17, 2009 3:13 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

i think that’s actually a smart plan by chizik’s staff given the approach of saban’s squad of recruiters. if Alabama now has the body of recruits it wants and can afford to be selective (which the TN report suggests) – then there should be a larger number of good-quality recruits to choose from inside the state. so while Auburn might not be realistically able to snag the cream of the crop, they have to be agressive to fend off the efforts by out-of-state schools swooping in for the rest of the quality players still out there.

i don’t take the “No. 1 recruiting class in the country” comment as anything more than the usual coaching bluster. for chizik the first step is be competitive and build a team that can at least rise to the middle of the SEC pack and not get blown out by anybody. this approach should give him the players to do that. we’ll see if he can actually do anything with them on the field in september.

by kleph on Feb 17, 2009 9:57 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Congrats,kleph, and Pete too...

…on becoming RBR site authors. Great additions to Nico, Todd, and OTS. I look forward to a lot of good reading, especially in the dregs of the off season.

"I hate everything orange"
It's all about Crimson - ROLL TIDE!!!

by bamavicki on Feb 17, 2009 10:58 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Uh-Oh...

I’m already fearing the Losing to Mullen Can Get You Fired video this fall…

:-)

by War Eagle Atlanta on Feb 17, 2009 9:42 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

for chizik the first step is be competitive and build a team that can at least rise to the middle of the SEC pack and not get blown out by anybody

True, but the problem is, the “middle of the SEC” is a rather crouded bunch these days. And at least right now, you have to give the nod to Arky, MSU and Ole Miss to be in that pack before Auburn and we’re just talking about the West. The question will be, how much time will Chizik have to get Auburn competitive? If the 3 teams I named continue along their current path, I gotta say the deck is stacked against him. If “competitive” means not getting blown out, then he’ll be ok, but if it means seriously contending for the division, I don’t think thats in the near future.

"All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity." - Gordie Howe

by Bens4vcobra on Feb 17, 2009 11:13 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I see the west as

Alabama
LSU
These two can be either one or two

Ole Miss
Arkansas
Both these teams are on the rise with Ole Miss leading the way

Auburn
MSU
Both these teams could easily be the whipping boy of the SEC West for the next few years. If Chizik does things right, he can pull AU out pretty quickly. MSU on the other hand is a work in progress. It will be at least 3 years until they are competitive again.

When you are an Alabama fan you are expected to hate Auburn, I hate Tennessee because I want to.

by bammer on Feb 17, 2009 11:18 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

AMEN!!

What Steve McQueen said! 100%!

Most Barners don’t have the courage to admit what Ben just said…Myself included, until last week.

by War Eagle Atlanta on Feb 17, 2009 9:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Another thing about "selectivity"

Could this just be a down year for in-state talent? Pittman over at ATVS notes that LSU is going to seriously bang away on East Texas and the Gulf Coast b/c of the exceptional talent there this year (although it is usually pretty talent-laden). So, if you’ve got a dearth of in-staters, coupled with that information, seems to make a lot more sense to me rather than just conceding the state to Aubie.

That said, if Cheezit is really going to clamp down in-state, that certainly diminishes competition in the GA region they traditionally recruit heavy.

...Addicted to Facebook. Why, oh, why did I ever start an account?!...

by Stuck in the Plains on Feb 17, 2009 11:30 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Meh.

It’ll be the way it’s always been, with the exception of the probation years: Alabama will get pretty much who they want in state,with the occasional exception, and Auburn will get what’s left.

My money’s on Coach Saban.

by MetallibamA on Feb 17, 2009 1:30 PM CST reply actions 0 recs