As of right now, it’s fair to say that some of the Auburn football faithful’s current fan favorites are quarterback Robby Ashford, running back Jarquez Hunter, and linebacker Eugene Asante.
All three bring added energy to the field when they step on it and have made big plays, sometimes earning a clever nickname in the process — and the latter breaking out of his shell on the defensive side of the ball as the team’s leading tackler by a healthy margin.
There’s quite an uncomfortable truth about all three of these players, though…
Bryan Harsin recruited several of the Auburn football faithful’s favorite players
Bryan Harsin recruited Ashford via the transfer portal in 2022, Hunter as one of his staff’s first marquee signings, and Asante as an unheralded transfer portal addition a day after Ashford.
Turns out that the most hated man the Plains has perhaps ever seen in the head coaching role for the football program wasn’t a totally sunk cost, as it turns out.
Harsin has been criticized in the past for his lack of recruiting which many have felt has pushed the program back; including most notably Bo Nix’s decision to transfer after coming in as a celebrated legacy. But despite what many feel about him and his lack of success at Auburn, he did give the team something to be proud of in this celebrated trio.
One of the most notable criticisms of Harsin’s tenure is that he didn’t show up on the recruiting trail, oftentimes not even picking up the phone to form a relationship with local high school coaches. That’s unforgivable.
But every time someone says Harsin did no recruiting while employed by Auburn University, just remember that statement is somewhat of a pot shot toward three of the most impactful players Hugh Freeze inherited from the previous regime.