News Article: Tuberville recruits for more than just ‘star ratings’ - Page 2

Bama323 · May 30th, 2008, 10:39 AM

There are alot of contradictions in Tubs statements. He complains about being pulled off the road and not given more time to evaluate players, but yet didn't he vote for the new rule to take the head coaches off the road in the Spring?

Also, he likes to point out that they recruit "character" kids and players that make their grades, yet they had around 9 or 10 that didn't qualify in last year's recruiting class. I've heard as many as 7 - 8 of their incoming signees are long shots this year to qualify. Also, they recruited many of the same players Alabama did, they just didn't get them.

It's all spin on Tubby's part.

GreatDanish · May 30th, 2008, 10:54 AM

	Quote:	rgw
	It's not that I neccesarily disagree with Tuberville, the problem is what he is implying. He is obviously suggesting that a certain coach in West Alabama is not recruiting for character and work-ethic and just opens his browser to rivals.com's top100 list then opens the phonebook. Also, his statement about national recruiting really is another reason why Auburn will have trouble getting title winning talent. I think you have selectively look for good-fits for your program and go after difference makers that everyone covets. Alabama has great talent and many hidden gems each year, but any coach refusing to commit to a measure of national recruiting will have a team that is going to be handicapped. You may not be able to find SEC quality athletes to fill your needs within 200 miles of your campus...you have to go get them sometimes or somebody else will.

I kind of agree, but I think he is more responding to some Auburn fans who are thinking, "Why didn't we sign as many four star guys as Alabama?"
I also think Tubby's got a point with the distance thing... Guys like Jimmy Barnes, Prince Hall, Jamar Taylor, Zach Schreiber, Alex Stadler, these guys have a much harder time being away from home. While we've had our successes, Tubby was right in that the RISK is greater for guys coming from a long distance. Not saying we or they shouldn't recruit kids from far away - even Tubby said they will "mainly" come from close to home.
That's not to say that everyone has to be an in-state kid. Heck, about half our starters at the end of the Spring were from out of state. But, they were from MS, north FL, TN, KY, mid-GA (McCoy, Grant, Hanks, MJ, Marlon D., 'Zo, KJ, Fanney, Deaderick, Arenas, Woodall) - not TX, LA, CA, etc. (Again, we've had our successes from there too). Mark Ingram will hopefully be one that hangs on.
To clarify, I agree with Tubby that we should MAINLY recruit within a close radius of the school, and occasionally go after some guys from farther out. The kids have a much greater chance of staying put if they are relatively close to home.

As a side note, for all of Auburn's talk about recruiting in-state not being that important, this kind of throws a kink into that, especially coupled with the fact that we have as many non-home boys starting as Alabama kids.

Crimson Surfer · May 30th, 2008, 11:12 AM

	Quote:	crmzn
	CTT failed to mention that he recruited many of the same players as CNS, but did not get ANY of those players. If he didn't think they were "character guys", then why bother recruiting them in the 1st place?

Tubby is in denial with his ingnorant statements about AU not recruiting out of magazines/star rating comments but going after good character prospects. He acts like he didn't recruit or offer any of the top rated prospects from the state Alabama which just happened to have the deepest class of talented athletes in a long, long while this past year. Tubby offered all of them and he was shut-out of the state as far as the top prospects go. Tubby also offered and pursued some of Bama's signees from out of state. He wanted Star Jackson, Alonzo Lawrence, Don'ta Hightower, Chris Jordan, and Devonta Bolton.

Another thing he did not mention is the large number of non-qualifyers among AU's "character guys" from the 2007 class.

Auburn lost 10 signees to academics, including some of their top signees RB Enrique Davis (ended up at Ole Miss), LB Carlton Johnson, LB Eltoro Freeman and ATH Johnnie Lee Dixon.

Rivals.com: Enrolled team rankings breakdown

	Quote:
	15. Alabama Signing Day Rank: 10 Biggest Loss: Kerry Murphy The Tide's first effort under Nick Saban only produced three non-qualifiers. The biggest loss was Hoover, Ala., standout Kerry Murphy, who is heading to Hargrave Military Academy. The four-star defensive tackle was one of the most athletically gifted big men in the nation in the 2007 class. Four-star safety Michael Ricks and three-star running back Jamar Taylor are also not in Tuscaloosa. Taylor has moved on to South Florida. All in all, considering the circumstances in which Saban arrived, to only lose three signees is impressive.

IH8Orange · May 30th, 2008, 02:25 PM

The hatred of a large group of Auburn fans is so great that they always must have a basis for denigrating anything about Alabama.

I try to avoid any discussion of football at work because a couple of the Auburn fans are quite vitriolic and an innocent discussion would likely escalate. However, on signing day one of them just sat at his desk on the phone with another Aubie and kept talking about how pathetic "bammers" are that they make such a big deal about the recruiting. He seemed to be speaking louder than usual just to make sure that I could hear him. He made several comments that were just inviting me to say something to him, but I just let him suffer and simmer all day.

He made some of the same type of comments about "Tuberville makes stars, he doesn't recruit them". He said that Barrett Trotter was more highly regarded than Star Jackson by sources that "really" know a lot about evaluating quarterbacks. He said that Julio Jones wasn't really wanted by Auburn because he had a chip on his shoulder. I don't remember all the rest, but he was really digging hard as the day went on. Of course, as the day wore on, he seemed to be really irritated because I just ignored him. Bammers got more and more pathetic... even "sickening" around 4:00 PM.

He seemed to be alright later on, however. I guess that Auburn won another swimming championship or something?

Crimson Hawk · May 30th, 2008, 03:33 PM

	Quote:	IH8Orange
	The hatred of a large group of Auburn fans is so great that they always must have a basis for denigrating anything about Alabama. I try to avoid any discussion of football at work because a couple of the Auburn fans are quite vitriolic and an innocent discussion would likely escalate. However, on signing day one of them just sat at his desk on the phone with another Aubie and kept talking about how pathetic "bammers" are that they make such a big deal about the recruiting. He seemed to be speaking louder than usual just to make sure that I could hear him. He made several comments that were just inviting me to say something to him, but I just let him suffer and simmer all day. He made some of the same type of comments about "Tuberville makes stars, he doesn't recruit them". He said that Barrett Trotter was more highly regarded than Star Jackson by sources that "really" know a lot about evaluating quarterbacks. He said that Julio Jones wasn't really wanted by Auburn because he had a chip on his shoulder. I don't remember all the rest, but he was really digging hard as the day went on. Of course, as the day wore on, he seemed to be really irritated because I just ignored him. Bammers got more and more pathetic... even "sickening" around 4:00 PM. He seemed to be alright later on, however. I guess that Auburn won another swimming championship or something?

Sadly this is true. The goober nation has always been too obsessed with Bama to enjoy their own successes.
It's a shame because those successes are going to get fewer & fewer as we go .

	Quote:
	15. Alabama Signing Day Rank: 10 Biggest Loss: Kerry Murphy The Tide's first effort under Nick Saban only produced three non-qualifiers. The biggest loss was Hoover, Ala., standout Kerry Murphy, who is heading to Hargrave Military Academy. The four-star defensive tackle was one of the most athletically gifted big men in the nation in the 2007 class. Four-star safety Michael Ricks and three-star running back Jamar Taylor are also not in Tuscaloosa. Taylor has moved on to South Florida. All in all, considering the circumstances in which Saban arrived, to only lose three signees is impressive.

Thanks for the link, Surf. I had forgotten how good our '07 class was.

A question; do you think ears went out on a limb in panic with his '07 class (& subsequently lost so many to grades) because he knew CNS would close that gap in a hurry? Don't know about you all, but desperation looks good on the head goober!

TDBama78 · May 30th, 2008, 05:01 PM

	Quote:	IH8Orange
	The hatred of a large group of Auburn fans is so great that they always must have a basis for denigrating anything about Alabama. I try to avoid any discussion of football at work because a couple of the Auburn fans are quite vitriolic and an innocent discussion would likely escalate. However, on signing day one of them just sat at his desk on the phone with another Aubie and kept talking about how pathetic "bammers" are that they make such a big deal about the recruiting. He seemed to be speaking louder than usual just to make sure that I could hear him. He made several comments that were just inviting me to say something to him, but I just let him suffer and simmer all day. He made some of the same type of comments about "Tuberville makes stars, he doesn't recruit them". He said that Barrett Trotter was more highly regarded than Star Jackson by sources that "really" know a lot about evaluating quarterbacks. He said that Julio Jones wasn't really wanted by Auburn because he had a chip on his shoulder. I don't remember all the rest, but he was really digging hard as the day went on. Of course, as the day wore on, he seemed to be really irritated because I just ignored him. Bammers got more and more pathetic... even "sickening" around 4:00 PM. He seemed to be alright later on, however. I guess that Auburn won another swimming championship or something?

i cant see what tuberville could see wrong with having a chip on your shoulder.

PDL · May 30th, 2008, 10:55 PM

Tubbs also forgot to mention that one recruit within their 200 mile radius, in fact basically a 200 yard radius, was Cortney Upshaw. They wanted him BAD, but Upshaw never gave 'em a second glance.

Relayer · May 30th, 2008, 11:36 PM

"I’ll tell them that I’ll take a three-star every time over a four or five-star if he has good character and good athletic ability."

So Tubbs is implying that no 4 or 5 star players can possibly have good character?

Bamabuzzard · May 30th, 2008, 11:56 PM

	Quote:	Relayer
	"I’ll tell them that I’ll take a three-star every time over a four or five-star if he has good character and good athletic ability." So Tubbs is implying that no 4 or 5 star players can possibly have good character?

No, what he's saying is since he didn't get any of the top recruits in Alabama he's going to downplay the ranking system and make it sound like he planned on not taking any of the recruits that Bama got.

He's so full of BS it's running out of his flapping ears.

Boclive · May 31st, 2008, 09:52 AM

I've seen it said on this board by TideFans members a thousand times, "Don't give me a 4 or 5 star prima donna from out of state, give me a two or three star that wants to play at Alabama", and "star ratings are often over-rated and unreliable." So he is saying what many on here have said in years past. It is a great rationalization after a disappointing recruiting class.

Unfortunately I believe star ratings are sometimes based on measureables like 40 times, height, weight, agility, and performance evaluation. Some people aren't really willing to discard star ratings. There have been some spectacular five star "busts" but all else being equal a good recruiter will spend a scholarship on a five star over a three star every time.

The best running back in the SEC (that's not a quarterback) comes from New Jersey. Four and FIVE star athletes don't always grow in your own yard. Sometimes they grow in another states yard.

I will never understand how Alabama lost to a coach like Tuberville six times in a row. We put our program in the wrong hands from the very top on down for a very long time.

crains · May 31st, 2008, 10:11 AM

Someone thumped him on one of those big ears and his head is still spinning!

THE BAMA IRISHMAN · May 31st, 2008, 10:43 AM

If Tuberville is concerned about the right players coming in and Stars do not matter, then why in 2007 did 8 four star and 2 three star players fail to qualify academically?

Did he (Tubby) not inquire about the players as students? You can talk all day and try an convince people you really care but how is it Tubs was not in tune with the grades of those 10 players if he cared about the kind of players au was recruiting?

Capt. Jack · May 31st, 2008, 12:48 PM

	Quote:	PDL
	Tubbs also forgot to mention that one recruit within their 200 mile radius, in fact basically a 200 yard radius, was Cortney Upshaw. They wanted him BAD, but Upshaw never gave 'em a second glance.

Don't forget, Dee Finley was right in their backyard too.

http://alabama.scout.com/a.z?s=14&p=8&c=1&nid=2688642