Re: Auburn will be a first class wreck
It seems to me that their recruiting issues are threefold:
1. They recruit based on star ratings alone, with little consideration of character or even filling needs on their team.
2. They lose a large number of recruits to attrition (academics, legal issues, etc.)
3. They aren't doing a good job of coaching fundamentals on the guys that they do get on campus.
Add it all together and it spells disaster.
I agree with all that, but I think there's a bigger issue. Chizik clearly has no central philosophy on how he believes you win football games. It's not that he has a bad or ineffective philosophy. He doesn't have one at all.
Case in point: He hires Gus Malzhan (sp?), who very clearly does have a philosophy. You might agree with it or you might not. But you know how Gus Malzhan believes you win football games. He spends three years recruiting players with skill sets specifically suited to that offense. Because of the specific attributes needed at the QB and OL positions to run that offense, this is especially true at those positions. And so long as you run it, you're OK.
But then he decides that that's not the way to go, fires Malzhan, and heads in a whole different direction, essentially copying Nick Saban's approach. Trouble is, the power-based pro set requires an entirely separate skill set from the QBs and OL. So you have a nasty transition period that you can only recruit your way out of over time.
Right now, they have absolutely the wrong personnel to run what they're trying to run.
So which is it, Gene? Do you believe in power? If so, why did you hire Malzhan and build multiple recruiting classes around his way of doing things? Or do you believe in the spread? If so, why did you hire Loeffler to run something your current roster is unsuited for?
Compound that with not developing players, losing stars to character issues, and not being effective in the fundamentals, and you get an 18-point loss to Mississippi State, complete with one offensive touchdown in two games against defenses that aren't exactly stellar.
For those of us in the OFC, you may remember when Bill Curry tried to run power with Rip Scherer, then lucked into maybe the best offensive mind in college football in Homer Smith to run a finesse-based passing game, then at Kentucky hired Elliott Uzekak (sp?) to run the triple option. For heaven's sake, he even tried to turn Tim Couch into an option QB.
And none of this touches on the effects a soft offense has on the defense.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again....the more I see of Gene Chizik, the more I'm reminded of Bill Curry.