Gene Chizik Auburn Football ERA: Impact Of 2010 Recruiting Class

With seven SEC Teams in the tentative top 10 of the recruiting class rankings, what does the 2010 season have in store for the South Eastern Conference? In short, this is not a new phenomenon. There are usually this many SEC teams high on the leader boards of all the major ranking services. 

Teams like LSU, Georgia, Florida have been in the tops of these list for many years in a row. Others like Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee have moved up from the Top 20 to the Top 10. (This is Alabama's third Top 10 class). While we all like to get excited about recruiting and well we should, it is not the only indicator of success in the SEC.

What does such a class of recruiting talent mean for Auburn? To answer this question we must first look at what Auburn is losing off of the current roster.

Antonio Coleman, senior defensive end, was likely the most important player on the field for Auburn this year. He will need a good, competent replacement and Nosa Eguae is the man for that job and is already on the team.

He was red-shirted this year due to a foot injury, but has excelled since healing and is making great progress. This recruiting class is full of the best available at this position.

Joel Bonomolo  – DE – 6’3” – 245 – 4.6 forty 

Craig Sanders  – DE – 6’4” – 230 – 4.6 forty

Justin Delaine  – DE – 6’5” – 225 – 4.5 forty

I think we Auburn fans can assume the running back position will continue to be as strong as we have become accustomed to. 

Ben Tate, senior running back, is one of the best to have ever played at Auburn. He was the cornerstone of our offense. Auburn has Dontae Aycock already on the roster for this position. He was red-shirted this year to allow for maturing.

He is certainly an adequate running back and has good potential. Only time will tell if he will be as productive as Ben Tate.

Michael Dyer  – RB – 5’8” – 201 – 4.4 forty

I expect this young man to be a historical figure in the Auburn football program before he leaves to go on to the NFL. He comes in as a freshman physically matured and ready to play. This young man has Heisman potential and will win games for the Tigers.

Note:

(Marcus Lattimore) is a running back from South Carolina. Many of the recruiting services and recruiting pundits have this young man going to South Carolina where he would join the passing offense of Steve Spurrier.

I think this would be a terrible mistake for this young man. One service even has him going to Southern California where he would be buried behind the 25 five-star athletes already there.

I hope he will come to Auburn where he would be the perfect option to run the Wild Cat offense of Gus Malzhan much like Ronnie Brown was running it at Miami before his season ending injury a few weeks ago. I think coming to Auburn is this young man's best option to meet his NFL goals. Auburn would likely only have him three years, but a wonderful three years it would be!

Lache Seastrunk is a running back from Texas. He is a major talent that is a certain Reggie Bush Heisman-type player. He still needs to physically mature some to avoid injury.

Many of the major recruiting sites have him headed to Southern California. This would seem to be a good move by him on the surface. The facts are, he would be buried behind three five-star running backs on that depth chart.

USC runs a traditional PRO Style Offense that emphasizes the use of one running back and is weighted toward the pass. I think if this young man comes to Auburn it will be a sure ticket to the NFL.

I think Auburn will have Dyre and Lattimore. They will be used differently with Lattimore being utilized out of the Wild Cat and Dyer in more traditional sets.

I think this young man with OMAC could run up thousands of yards short term off the corners in the miss direction offense.

Seastrunk would be able to move into the traditional power runner slot as he matured physically. This would allow him to avoid injury and maximize potential. It would also make him a millionaire in the NFL.

His current girlfriend is going to LSU and that is where the latest rumors lead. This would be a black pit for him and cost him millions in the future. One only need look at Holliday and Scott for LSU to see his future there.

He might prefer to follow his girlfriend and have a more traditional career, though. LSU has an awful offense and that is not going to change without major staff changes.

With or without these two young men, Auburn will have a hugely productive rushing offense that I can now predict will lead the NCAA next season quite easily.

Walter McFadden is a senior cornerback and was the leader in the Auburn defensive backfield this season. While he was a huge asset for the Auburn Tigers, before injuries riddled the back field there were several potential replacements here.

I actually expect the Auburn Tigers to be much improved in the entire defensive backfield next season. There is also depth added in this recruiting class.

Jonathan Mincy  – CB – 5’10” – 175 – 4.4 forty

D.J. Howard  – CB/S – 6’0” – 195 – 4.5 forty

Tommy Trott is a senior tight end and has had a productive career with the Auburn Tigers. He already has a replacement on the roster with Philip Lutzenkirchen and he will certainly be able to fill in the gap here.

There is also added depth in the recruiting class for this position. We will have to wait for the depth chart to come out and see which prospects are going to be tight ends and which are to be o-line.

There is a wealth of exceptional talent at this position.

Jake Ricks is a senior defensive tackle. He has been a long-time steady player at this position and Freshmen Derrick Lykes, Zach Clayton, are preparing to step into this position. There is also some more depth being added with this recruiting class.

Kenneth Carter  – DT – 6’5” – 270 – 4.9 forty

I fully expect this position to improve tremendously next season.

Chris Todd is a Senior Quarterback that will be sorely missed. While Auburn has some prospective replacements in the works they all need additional development.

It is my opinion that here is no equivalent current replacement on the current team. While one or more might emerge before next season, this is a huge question mark. There is hope on the recruiting trail though.

It seems Cameron Newton has chosen to come to Auburn. He started his career at Florida and was buried in the depth chart behind Tim Tebow.

He red-shirted one year and then chose to transfer to a Junior College for last season where he picked up his associate's degree and led their football team to the National Title.

He is a natural leader who knows how to win. He has two years of eligibility left and is rated a five-star NFL future prospect.

I expect the Auburn Tigers to sign him this week.

If this happens it will improve the position for Auburn and give much needed development time to the up-and-coming underclassmen. This young man could well be a contender for the Heisman Trophy this year, especially in the Gus Malzhan system. 

While this seems to answer questions about replacing the players lost to graduation this year, what of the areas that needed improvement this year? To answer this question we must analyze this years team. 

The most publicized and most obvious shortage for the Auburn Football team this year was the tremendous shortfalls at Line Backer. With Josh Bynes returning and ElToro Freeman, Jonathan Evans and Craig Stevens returning next season it leaves Auburn solid. Auburn is looking to improve the depth at this position with one of the best recruiting classes at this position ever.

LaDarius Owens  – LB – 6’2” – 225 – 4.5 forty

Jake Holland  – LB – 6’1” – 230 – 4.5 forty

Jawara White  – LB – 6’2” – 220 – 4.5 forty

Jessell Curry  – LB – 6’2” – 215 – 4.5 forty

With the current starters and returning injured red-shirts, Auburn will have no problems at this position in the coming season. Auburn will also be the fastest team in the SEC at this position.

I look for improvement at this position alone to put the Auburn defense back into the top 20 in total defense.

Special teams coverage was a definite worry this year. Auburn has recruited speed at linebacker, safety and corner that will shore up this problem. With the added depth in those positions, look for this problem to disappear. 

Special teams returner has been a problem all season for the Auburn Tigers. They have fumbled more punts than any other team in the SEC. While I do not expect Auburn to return many punts in the upcoming 2010-2011 season, it is still a place where vast improvement is possible.

I think this recruiting class has plugged this hole for the foreseeable future. Chris Davis is coming in as a freshman and will likely be one of the most formidable returners in the SEC.

Auburn has addressed another problem as well.

The offensive line seemed to tire out and become less effective as the game got into the fourth quarter. Auburn's Offensive output in the fourth quarter was offensive to say the least.

While the added defensive depth will likely keep teams from coming back and winning in the fourth quarter, if Auburn were scoring as well, this would not be an issue.

Auburn has one of the best offensive line classes in the history of Auburn University football coming in. This should overcome the problem of Auburn's entire offensive line graduating next year as well as add depth next season. Auburn should easily have the strongest offensive line in the SEC next season two deep. 

Shon Coleman  – OL - 6’7” – 285

Ed Christian  – OL - 6’5” – 290

Chad Slade  – OL – 6’6” – 316

Roszell Gayden -  OL- 6'’7”- 310 lb

The final area that really improves with this recruiting class is the receiving corps.

While Auburn already has great receivers, this position has been strengthened to the point of being by far the best in the SEC.

With Darvin Adams back next season along with Terell Zachery, DeAngelo Benton and a host of great talent, the recruits will make things interesting.

Trovon Reed  – WR – 6’0” – 175 – 4.4 forty

Jeremy Richardson  – WR - 6’4” – 220 – 4.5 forty

Antonio Goodwin-WR- 6'2"-170-4.5forty

These are some of the options available that give Auburn the fastest receiving corps in the SEC. There is also a great vertical threat with this new group of receivers.

Auburn will have more options at this position and will be able to stay fresh with rotation as the game progresses. This should provide a big advantage over the defensive backfields of the SEC.

While anyone can form any opinion from the information here, there is no doubt the Auburn Tigers will be even more improved next season.

While the recruiting season does not end until February 4, this Auburn coaching staff has already outperformed their predecessors. They have gone out and provided Auburn with an exciting class that will put the brand of SEC Champions on the Auburn Tigers once again.

Auburn is bound to shock the conference in the 2010-2011 football season. There is no doubt they will contend in this second season of the Gene Chizik Era. We will all have to wait and see if they can pull off a championship in his second year.

It is certainly possible.