Chaos, though it may be the good kind of chaos, rained down on the Auburn football program early this week when the university announced that it would be hiring former Mississippi State athletic Director John Cohen and firing head coach Bryan Harsin.
Though many believe that the move was a long time coming, and that the program is in bad need of new leadership after a two-year stint that was largely unsuccessful, but how does this affect the Tigers’ struggling recruitment issues?
Auburn football began the week with only 11 committed recruits from the class of 2023, but the number immediately shrunk to 10 following the announcement of Harsin’s firing. Offensive line Gernorris Wilson announced he would be decommitting from the program:
Due to the current circumstances I’ve decided to decommit from Auburn University. My recruitment is 1000% back open.
— Gernorris “Sweettreat” Wilson💫 (@WilsonGernorris) October 31, 2022
However, the news didn’t come as a surprise or even as bad news to all the committed recruits. Jamarrion Harkless, a 2023 defensive line commit, had this to say when asked about how the firing of Auburn football’s head coach affected him, per Auburn Undercover:
"“Seen the firing of the head coach coming. I’m still committed.”"
Other Auburn targets that have already committed to a different program commented on the news, too. Ohio State tight end commit Jelani Thurman was notably surprised, believing the Tigers would wait until the end of the season, while North Carolina defensive line commit Joshua Horton described Harsin as a “holdback” to the program.
Will Harsin’s dismissal positively affect recruiting in terms of those players that the Tigers missed out on earlier this year? Will it negatively impact the kids that have already committed to the program? Will those players that entered the transfer portal mid-season make the decision to come back?
With one decommitment already coming from the situation, it’s likely there will be more bad news, but only time will tell.