Auburn football was considered by Sports Illustrated one of several winners in a piece that broke down which teams had a successful National Signing Day…and which ones fell short.
Unlike Bleacher Report–who left the Tigers out of their Top 25 altogether–SI’s John Garcia Jr. was pretty high on Bryan Harsin’s first recruiting rush on the Plains:
"Across the Yellowhammer State, the new coaching staff hitting the ground running most is at Auburn. It had been hot on the trail entering National Signing Day, adding prospects like Colby Smith and Holden Geriner in the last week, and it hit another level Wednesday on multiple fronts. Priority No. 1 was probably retaining the pledge of Tarvarish Dawson and it held off Texas A&M to do just that. It then added defensive back Cayden Bridges, a flip from South Alabama, as well as in-state defensive back Juwon Gaston over SEC programs in similar coaching situations in South Carolina and Tennessee."
As Garcia pointed out, there weren’t any players that Auburn had in the bag (no, not McDonald’s bags, Rocky Top fans) that got away.
That’s more than what the Tigers’ September 18th opponent Penn State could say…and yet they were able to slither into Bleacher Reports’ Top 25 rankings.
P.S. Why does a team named the Nittany Lions play their home games in Beaver Stadium?
Of course, another winner from the list was the Alabama Crimson Tide. Yeah, yeah, they had the greatest National Signing Day of any team ever, but how could they not? There’s a pandemic and players had very little to base their decision on other than virtual recruiting pitches and what they saw on T.V.
2020 was not a great look for Auburn football, but it was a historically dominant season for ‘Bama…hence the historic recruiting class.
Like I’ve said before, this is an uphill climb for Bryan Harsin, but 2021 is a different year.
The Plains have persevered, and when the light is reached at the end of this tunnel, the Plains will profit once again.