The Game of Recruiting Anyone? The Difference Between Alabama and Auburn

Jacob Brunk — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:33:03 -0400

Let's talk about the implications of recruiting based on how the season has gone thus far. I'm gonna go out on a limb here, and anyone with some guts should come with me.

Auburn has been completely shut out of the Southeastern part of this country in recruiting. The metaphorical door has been shut, and I doubt Tommy Tuberville is even seeing daylight through the cracks at this point.

After this weekend's embarrassing performance from Auburn, coupled with their heart-wrenching loss to LSU, every high school athlete in the state is thinking, "Well, hey, if I'm going to play football, I'm gonna go to the schools that are winning in the best conference in college football." That's sure what I would be thinking at any rate.

I would laugh in the face of any recruiter from across the plains that came to me my junior year in high school. The first thing that would pop into my brain would be the dominance of the other school in the state of Alabama halfway through the 2008 season, and then, let's see...a loss to Vanderbilt? Yeah, that kind of thing turns heads.

The last time Vandy was ranked and beat another ranked team? Let's see here, open up the history book—ah, here it is: 1956. Why, that was only the other day! Yeah, as if Auburn.

Now the Tide seems to have found a winning combination of recruits through a brilliant strategy that is insanely simple. Why can't Auburn seem to figure this out—or what a quarterback may be useful for?

Alabama is running rampant with a stable of four-star recruits. That's it. All the teams concerned with Mr. Five-Star athlete, well give that up. We all saw how well that worked for somebody named Knowshon Moreno. At least he had backup from Stafford...oh wait. What was that, 31 points in two quarters?

Now having said that, this weekend's performance from Alabama...well, all I'm gonna say about that is at least we know that we can win a game where everything that can possibly goes wrong will. We played like we were concerned with winning but not focused on it.

Going back to recruiting, Nick Saban has set up a living dynasty down in Tuscaloosa that shows every high school athlete in Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama especially, and probably Louisiana and parts of Florida that UA is here to get it done, and get it done right.

If you look at the caliber of players coming into Tuscaloosa and where they are coming from, it's nothing but a Saban recruiting machine in motion.

Take a good look around the state, Auburn. Look at the kids from Hoover, from Tuscaloosa County, from Briarwood Christian...and then say goodbye. After you look at them, take a look at their $50,000 cars—I believe their license plates say Roll Tide in big crimson letters.

A 16-Year Trip Back to Glory For the Alabama Crimson Tide

Jacob Brunk — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:28:32 -0400

Now when it comes to the University of Alabama, the Capstone, that magical city of dust, smoke, pollution, and water that smells terrible, there is only one reason that my heart lies in the southwest of this great state and that is Alabama football.

I have bled crimson and white since the day I was born and will continue to do so upon my death bed. Now having said that, there seems to be some issues that I can't let go when it comes to my beloved institution.

Never mind the fact that fountains are more important than parking for students, football players are given everything short of money and God's grace by the university, and tuition rises by hundreds of dollars are year, Nick Saban is here to stay and bring us the glory denied to us by the likes of Dennis Franchonie, Mike Dubose and Shula, and probably Bear Bryant Junior.

Let's not even get into the subject of Mal Moore. There are twenty seven thousand odd students attending this school and we cant afford to build a parking lot to make them somewhat happy? There are 92,138 seats in Bryant-Denny and over two thirds of the student body can't attend?

We have been on the cover of Sports Illustrated more than almost any other collegiate team, while Auburn has had one "cover" that was nothing more than a drawing of an Auburn football player; the main focus not even being on the subject of Auburn football, and if you've ever been to Tuscaloosa at night after the sprinklers are on you know the foul stench I referred to earlier.

Why, my beloved Crimson Tide, is it so hard to defend you?

Does anyone remember Lee Corso's comments prior to the national championship game in 1992? It went something to the effect of Alabama having no business being here and Miami is going to blow them out of the water. We all took great pride in making Corso eat those words and he has regretted it ever since.

Now, where have the Tide been since then? We have had talent, we have had decent coaches, but where have the winning seasons been? Yeah, we had a couple of years that caused excitement, we got put on Sports Illustrated, big deal. That's all fine and well, but where the hell has the Crimson Tide, the football team supposed to strike fear and worry into every other fan in the nation been?

We became a laughing stock, a joke for six years running to our rivals across the plains. We haven't had a season that made me walk from December to August with my head held high since then. I just had to make excuses for sixteen years.

Sixteen years, does anyone else realize that? The last time Alabama even beat Auburn was in a year Auburn was considered dominant and Alabama the severe underdog, and yet Alabama made the Tigers look like a high school team that night, after having a severely mediocre season.

Where has the pride gone, the passion we fought our battles on the grid iron with? I've made every excuse since '92 from well, 'we have been on probation', to 'we are going through a coaching change', to 'wait till next year'. I'm done waiting Crimson Tide.

Thank you for delivering this season. I was sick and tired of being disappointed, and I would just like to say thanks.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Jacob Brunk

The Game of Recruiting Anyone? The Difference Between Alabama and Auburn

A 16-Year Trip Back to Glory For the Alabama Crimson Tide