I've said this in other threads, but I'll say it here again, because my take is always something people want to see time and time again.
College football is discussed 365 24/7 in the South. Prior to the season, I listened to every analyst who gets paid to break things down. People who have been there, done that, lived it and continue to live it. Everyone to a man said this Auburn club was one huge question mark. I listened and tried hard to come up with an orange and blue counter.
They said Bo Nix was wildly inconsistent and still can't break himself of taking off too early. I said it was all coaching. Malzahn has ruined QB after QB. This staff will flip the switch for him. Reality is....he's better. Not that much better, and he has very little help around him save the running backs.
They knew our O-line sucked ass last year. They also knew all of them were coming back. And they knew the big question was to what degree they would suck this year. My counter was new strength and conditioning program, new coaching, new schemes. Have to be better. They're not, and there's nobody riding the bench who is better.
The analysts said every bit of our production at wide receiver walked last year and nobody has a clue about this bunch. I thought they were tall and athletic, and some coaching by someone not named Kodi will bring this group together. Nope! They get very little separation and can't catch it when they do. They are leading the SEC in dropped passes.
They said the D-line is also a huge question mark because True, New and Mud Kat all bolted for greener pastures. I said big deal. Those guys were full of suck. I again countered with the S&C program that seriously beefed up players like Wooden, Walker and Hall, along with several decent additions from the portal. Truth is, there's not one All-SEC caliber D-lineman in the bunch. Derrick Brown was dominant player. Carl Lawson was a dominant player. They've been gone a while now and help is not on the way.
I tried to find a silver lining and hoped we would surprise a lot of the naysayers. We haven't. But, I like what Harzin has done. I like the new attitude, the physicality, the offense which is actually a joy to watch from the standpoint of actual play calls being made, game planning being put into effect....something besides two runs up the middle and a back shoulder throw to Seth. Love the use of our tight ends. Does anyone realize one of our tight ends, John Michael Shenker, has 19 catches for 256 yards? That's more than the last 28 years combined.
This shit is on Malzahn. Maybe next year as well. He left the cupboard all but bare in the places where it counts the most, the trenches on both sides of the ball. In the S-fucking-E-fucking-C-fucking-West. You don't build that back overnight. Harbinz has his work cut out for himself.
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