Auburn Football: Gene Chizik Era: A Foundation For The Future

While all of the Auburn faithful are preparing to go to Tampa and meet with a new group of friends to share football with, the continuation of a process started twelve months ago continues. Gene Chizik has his staff motivated and working at a break neck pace. They are working for a future that Auburn has aspired to but never reached. There is all of the signs that were visible through the season, like the improvement in tackling. There was a coming to maturity of players like Darvin Adams. There was the reality of improvement like the Defensive Line that refused to give an inch in the Iron Bowl. There was the look of pride returning to our teams faces. There was a waning of the fear of embarrassment when approaching big games. There was the confidence building in fans and team alike. All of this was easily visible and needs no explanation here.

The foundation pieces not so visible are just as important. Here is where most of us fans do not see what has truly been going on. We have not witnessed the extremely aggressive posture Gene Chizik and staff have taken through out the country. We have not witnessed the many huge victories already gained for the future of Auburn. We have not witnessed the excitement steadily rising in a new generation of players over the Auburn Football Program. Gene Chizik and staff have already accumulated a recruiting class not touched at Auburn since the early 80s. It is not over yet and will only improve from here. I do not like to use Rivals or Scouts assessment as Rivals is certainly and surely influenced by an Alabama bias and Scouts relies too heavily on too little information. I will say Auburn is doing well according to their sites. Auburn is now in the top ten in Rivals even though they lowered the rating of most of Auburn's recruits as soon as they committed with us. If any Auburn fan is interested in up to date information on recruiting for Auburn, I suggest they check out this site: http://www.wareagleauburn.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=322:on-the-recruiting-trail-&catid=37:auburn-recruiting                                                                                                        It is free and for fans of Auburn. It has most of the current information.

I really like the results of recruiting for this year for two reasons. The most important reason is all of the recruits Auburn has offered to, meet academic requirements for enrollment. This was a problem for the 2006-2008 classes, where one third of the recruits never made it to enroll. The other reason is, this class has class. They are not a group of troubled kids that will need heavy guidance to keep them out of trouble. The group as a whole are more talented than any Auburn recruiting class in my life time. They are a group that has the potential to get better. I have not noticed one recruit that is already at potential. They are fast as they must be to play in the SEC. I like our coaching staffs eye for strength and stamina. The linemen being recruited are extremely explosive and quick off the ball. The class of Line Backers is fast and has the potential to mature physically and be dominant. Auburn has Heisman quality talent coming at running back and receiver.

While this is all good news it is certainly not the best news. Auburn has already made evaluations and progress toward recruits for the next two years. This is something that was missing at Auburn before the coming of Coach Gene Chizik. Auburn is in the running for the two top projected quarterbacks for next year. One of the two is very likely. With a red shirt season this puts the team in great shape for the future when Rollison, Trotter, Mosely become upper class men. While quarterback is important, Auburn is already evaluating and making progress toward every other position as well. This will lead to Auburn having multiple classes as successful as this years and possibly more so, although I do not know if there is any better.

Auburn is recruiting hard in Alabama. They are going into traditional Alabama Territory and coming away with recruits in head to head contest. Auburn has not witnessed such aggressiveness in Alabama since Pat Dye. Auburn could very easily take the top rated players from 4 states. This is unheard of for any SEC coaching staff. There is the rumble of desire to go to Auburn and play football in our State High Schools again.

Many of the High School Coaches in the state of Alabama have given praise to this Auburn Coaching Staff. While this might not seem important, a kids High School Coach is usually one of the biggest contributing factors in where a recruit goes to play.

I plan to go to Tampa and enjoy a great experience. I look forward to meeting Northwestern fans. I will enjoy the celebration of a positive year. I will witness a big Auburn showing. While myself and all of the Auburn fans think and prepare for the Outback Bowl, Coach Gene Chizik and staff are making deposits that will pay off with a bright future for Auburn Football!