Auburn Football: Gene Chizik Era, Recruiting Myths and Running Backs

Many have asked about the chances Auburn has for certain recruits. This article will be devoted to giving enough information to make a good guess. It is only possible to guess with these young men. They are attempting to make one of the most important decisions of their life, and their logic doesn't always coincide with everyone else's.

The biggest question for Auburn fans is Lache Seastrunk. There is no doubt about this young man's talent. He is a high spirited young player with endless potential. The question is to what lucky program he will play for.

On his list of favorites are Auburn, Oregon, LSU, USC, California and there have been whisperings of Memphis. While Seastrunk is young and spirited, he is also smart. He will consider his position well. I will attempt to give some information that he will be considering while making his decision.

Lache Seastrunk wants to make it onto an NFL roster in the future. He has the ability, and the team he chooses will be next up on the most important list. Let us look at his future prospects with each team.

LSU

Simply put, he has no NFL future from LSU. LSU has lost Larry Porter and that was his contact. LSU was ranked 90 of 120 in the NCAA this year in rushing. They had about 438 rushing carries and averaged a little over three yards per carry. 

The problem with this is, there is little chance for improvement next season with the current offensive coordinator. Since the current offensive coordinator arrived at LSU the rushing statistics for every running back on the team has plummeted.

LSU has preferred a big power back since the arrival of Les Miles. They have three on the commitment list, so Lache Seastrunk would not fit in as more than a returner and specialty play back. He would replace Trinden Holliday and he never got a chance to show his potential.

USC

They are Running Back University West. They know how to use a player like Lache Seastrunk. They also have three five-star running backs recruited and more already on the team. It would be three of four years before he could hope to get significant exposure at USC.

Oregon

The Ducks have five running backs on the roster for next season. They also have more on the way with this recruiting class. Several of them are of the same type and style of Latch Seastrunk. The Oregon offense is great for Seastrunk's abilities, but he would likely only get eight to 10 touches per game in his career if he goes there.

California

Simply put California was 42nd in rushing this season. The offense at California was talent-laden but ineffective. There is also a good chance of coaching staff instability as the program has not progressed as expected. 

The other thing that Seastrunk will want to consider about Cal is that they send a lot of full backs to the NFL, but not many half backs. Their offense is not the right type to use his talents other than as a returner.

Memphis

Seastrunk would immediately play at this school. He would step into a program that has inferior talent. They had a poor O-Line in 2009 and the prospects of this improving are slim in 2010. They certainly could use his talent in many ways. However, going here would certainly diminish his value and exposure to the NFL.

Auburn

Running Back University has multiple running backs in the NFL right now. Ben Tate is going there this year. Auburn does and always will have talent at running back. Lache Seastrunk has abilities that would make him fit in well with the program. 

Auburn has four running backs on the roster. They also have more coming in for next season. Auburn will be running 510 running plays next season with their 13th ranked rushing offense. With five running backs on the roster this year, Auburn was forced to use receivers to run the ball due to a lack of depth. 

While Seastrunk would be an asset to Auburn, he would have to compete and work for touches. With his talent, this should prove to be easy for him. I would expect him to get 10-15 touches per game his first year. That would increase with the graduation to the NFL of Mario Fannin next year. 

The next most asked about prospect is Marcus Lattimore. This young man is a pure down hill runner. He is considering South Carolina, Auburn, Penn State, Oregon, Georgia, and Florida State, among others. 

South Carolina

South Carolina is his home. I can not find, nor think of a reason, that it would be good for this young man to go to South Carolina. The South Carolina offense is pass based. They have a head coach due to retire at any time, and they have a poor offensive line. The list goes on and on. They are close to home though.

Oregon

The situation for Lattimore here is exactly the same as it was for Seastrunk above.

Georgia

Georgia would be a good fit for Lattimore. The problem is he would be third or fourth on the depth chart and would not play for quite some time. Georgia has two excellent, experienced running backs returning next season and a few seasons after that. He would see limited, shared playing time there though.

Penn State

This is another good match for Lattimore. They have all the essentials for making him an essential part of their offense. He would likely play early and often. He would also be one thousand miles from home and on a team not known to send running backs to the NFL. They also have a tendency to convert running backs to line backers.

Florida State

This is a team already loaded with running back talent. They did not use it well with their pass based offense this year. They will not likely use their multiple running backs any better next season. They are and have always been a pass first offense.

Auburn

Marcus Lattimore would share time with Michael Dyre and Dontae Aycock. Ben Tate is off to the NFL and a replacement is needed. Tate also had no dependable running back to pick up the extra downs this year. Tate leaves 260 carries without a running back.

There are another 150 carries that will be needed next season. Add in the running back pass plays and it is likely Mario Fannin will have to pick up some of the slack still. Lattimore would also likely be utilized in the Wildcat set as well as an H-Back slot. 

While some worry that Auburn would have too many running backs, if Lattimore and Seastrunk were to commit to the current class, this is certainly not the case.

In fact, the amount of running backs would barely be sufficient. If any of the running backs were injured it would leave the Auburn offense lacking. Running backs would be forced to play when tired and less effective. 

I do not know how either of these young men will decide. I do know that coming to Auburn seems to be their most direct and timely path to the NFL. While I think this should be their main concern, priorities are different for each person. The truth is that the NFL covets Auburn running backs. 

Current soft commit DJ Howard is another name that seems to be on fans minds. He wants to play running back at the next level. Auburn will give him that chance. It seems Clemson and Kentucky have surfaced as of late with him. He can go to Clemson or Kentucky and play running back. He will also diminish his chances to play professional sports dramatically. 

If Howard sticks with Auburn, he will be given a shot at running back. If he has pro talent at that position, he will win out. If he does not, he can play corner where he does have NFL caliber talent. If he goes to Kentucky, he will be stuck with his decision. I would rather be an NFL corner than a middle of the road college running back, sitting at home watching the NFL. 

Howard initially made the right decision. If he can not win a spot at running back at Auburn, he is not going to make it to the NFL at that position. Auburn is good, but most NFL teams are better. If he changes his mind, it would be a major mistake.