Auburn football: Bama Hammer claims AU has “downward trend in talent”

This year is set to be a rebuilding season for the Auburn football team. After a mediocre 6-5 season and several years of recruiting neglect in certain positions, it’s clear to everyone that new head coach Bryan Harsin will have to prove himself in the SEC before he can truly dig into the high school recruiting scene.

Well, clear to almost everyone. Rival FanSided site Bama Hammer claims that the past several years of recruiting alongside Bryan Harsin’s work on the recruiting trail this year indicate that the Tigers will fail to compete with Alabama in the coming years and go on a losing streak similar to the one the Tide suffered through from 2002-2007:

"No matter what happens in Auburn’s so-far, bleak 2022 class, a downward trend in player talent has been established. The disparity between the Tide and Tigers programs could lead to a calamitous Auburn losing streak."

Recruiting relationships are built over time and last for years. It would be unrealistic for Bryan Harsin to be going after all of the 5-star recruits that have had Nick Saban in their ears since they were freshmen in high school, and he’ll have to prove himself with the Auburn football this year in order to be able to recruit on that level.

However, Harsin and co. have managed to pull the Tigers’ class of 2021 up to the No. 19 spot in the nation, and No. 7 in the SEC. Harsin has also used the NCAA transfer portal to bring in more talent to the roster, but according to Bama Hammer those players will be unable to compete at a high level:

"So far the problem for Harsin is the players he is getting are far from game-changers. They are mostly (some say totally) a rag-tag bunch of former 3-Star recruits. Sometimes such players blossom. Alabama Football has shown 3-Star players can turn into top performers. Even with such successes, the majority of them do not excel competing against elite talent."

Harsin has brought in a total of nine transfers so far, according to 247 Sports, and they’re all 3-star recruits with the exception of WR transfer Demetris Robertson, who was a 5-star prospect out of high school. Of those nine transfers, three were impact players at SEC schools, and six of them were competitors at Power-5 schools.

Robertson’s best year at UGA was in 2019, a year when the Bulldogs finished the season 12-2, first in the SEC East, runners-up to LSU in the SEC championship, and beat Baylor in the Sugar Bowl. Eku Leota, EDGE transfer from Northwestern, contributed to his team’s Citrus Bowl win over Auburn in 2020 after the Wildcats finished first in the Big 10 west and went to the conference championship.

The 3-star recruits Harsin has added to the team are hardly a “rag-tag” bunch and the transfers have plenty of potential to develop into top performers that can compete against elite talent under a new coaching staff and a program with a new direction.

The Tide has enjoyed their reign of terror for a long time, and they’re worried that Auburn football is coming for them. The Tigers–and their 3-star recruits–are going to be turning plenty of heads come this fall.