Because Freeze is an aggressive recruiter with tons of money to throw around at auburn. The exact reasons he flipped both Thompson and Coleman. I know it’s next man up with us or you shop we shop but Williams is a very important piece we need to hold on to. The barn will throw everything at him to take him away from us
Rev Sleeze flipped three 5 stars from the state of Alabama from two national championship teams and a school with more money and resources than auburn. Ryan is a legacy from auburn, it isn't difficult to be concerned at the moment. Furthermore, he did this at Ole Miss, he's now doing it at auburn, which is even more aggressive and desperate to be relevant again sooner than later. It's a perfect fit, a match made in heaven for Freeze and the barn.
Unfortunately Freeze appears to be a good coach as well with the right amount of sleeve to be a perfect fit like you mentioned; he and Pearl were made for auburn. If he gave us and Georgia everything we could handle in year one auburn is going to be tough with 5* skill players and an actual QB. I expect them to score big in the transfer portal at QB as well.
Of course everything you say is true (about Freeze, fambly and NIL$$$) but at some point these guys have got to consider the bigger picture of playing at Alabama and CNS than what Auburn can "offer."
I’ve wondered what our NIL plan looks like behind the scenes. We have to be doing something to stay competitive with all the programs across the nation but I doubt we’ve got into bidding wars with programs like A&M, Miami etc. I fully expect auburn to be one of these programs that will pay whatever it takes for signatures.
I agree with everything you said and have reiterated time and time again, Alabama is where you want to be if you're serious about contending for championship, NFL aspirations, development and exposure. Auburn and frankly, aside from a few other schools, can't even offer or challenge Bama in that aspect. These days, picking a program is basically a business decision. Plain and simple.
So what's our NIL playbook on Williams, for instance?
From what we read and heard, Saban isn't playing the bidding war and will not promise anything to anyone. So far, that strategy has worked out pretty well thus far just by our top recruiting rankings. But will that continue moving forward as Freeze is in the picture and the expansion of the SEC makes competition on and off the field very challenging.
Me too ,brother. We just need a million or so. It’s doable.
You can join "Yea Alabama" for about 20 bucks a month.
Saban's explained it several times. He proves that they can come here and earn more in working for endorsements than you could get as a lump sum from other places. Every player gets the same amount, maybe something like $200k. So do you want to get $1M for signing (and agree to who knows what conditions?) or do you 'bet on yourself' and know you can play at the premier brand school and line up $2M for yourself instead? The latter appeals to the mindset we want anyway
No one is allowed to talk about the amount, and those numbers are not leaking out anywhere yet. No one want to kill the Golden goose.
I think there’s a set amount for each player. But those players can go off and do their own agreements as well on the side.
