Auburn football was deemed as not only just a loser but a “standout” loser on Signing Day by CBS Sports. The War Eagle is here to tell you why they are wrong.
There is nothing traditional about this year’s National Signing Day, with all of the fanfare of high school kids committing to the program they are committing their collegiate career moving to a virtual capacity. The other untraditional thing about this year’s class is how the big media conglomerates are viewing Auburn football’s Signing Day performance.
CBS Sports’s Chip Patterson decided to pour a thousand buckets of cold water on the Tigers’ signing day:
"It’s tough to ask Auburn to close at its normal pace with Gus Malzahn out and no replacement named, so this is less a judgment on the skeleton staff running the show as the opportunities lost by having a signing day in the middle of a coaching transition."
Patterson elaborated on the extenuating circumstances surrounding their disappointing day:
"Auburn is down at No. 46 in the country and No. 12 in the SEC, and while there were some blue chip prospects who have stuck with the program regardless of the coach in charge (like four-star Demetrius Davis out of Texas and four-star defensive tackle Lee Hunter) there’s a feeling that the Tigers would have been in on some more of the top SEC prospects with a more stable coaching situation."
Now, to be fair, there were some great athletes that signed on the dotted line to wear blue and orange in the coming years. The winningest quarterback in the history of Texas high school football history is making his way to the Plains in the form of Dematrius Davis.
The uber-athletic high school senior can do it all on the field; between highlight-reel jukes to having the ability to throw the ball well downfield, Davis could end up being a worthy successor to Bo Nix as the signal-caller.
Speaking of Nix, he’ll have a brand new weapon next year in the form of Oklahoma defection Grant Calcaterra. The former Sooner will provide a deep ball threat from the tight end position, something that isn’t exactly an easy thing to find. With transfers not needing to go through a probationary period that transfers have traditionally had to go through, Calcaterra can step in and make an impact in 2021.
Those two should improve the offense in due time, with Calcaterra likely to step in and fill a more immediate role coming from a Power 5 program.
Maybe Auburn football was a loser compared to other SEC Powerhouses–who mind you are not going through the sort of uneasiness that the Tigers are currently experiencing in their coaching turnover–but any team that lands standouts on the offensive end like Auburn did today is far from a “standout” loser.