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From Rivals.com national recruiting director Adam Gorney today:
AUBURN
“He’s going to use the entire season as a recruiting platform like he did those first two years at Ole Miss because the offensive line and the receivers are bad and don’t know the system but Auburn is going to expect him to operate on a faster timeline. They’re so far behind Bama and Georgia; it’s maybe the biggest gap in decades.” - An opposing SEC assistant coach
Gorney’s take: FACT. The numbers are pretty daunting. Since 2008, Alabama has beaten Auburn 11 of 15 times. Georgia has won nine of the last 10 and 15 of the last 18 against the Tigers. Since losing the championship game in 2013, Auburn has one double-digit winning season. The Bryan Harsin era felt like a complete meltdown. But I had said from the beginning (and I’m not patting myself on the back) that Hugh Freeze was the right choice for the job and that he could build Auburn back into a national power. The transfer portal has been a big winner for the Tigers. The SEC is soul-crushing at times and relentless, sharks in the water when they see blood, but Auburn has been a winner and could be again - if the alumni base trusts in Freeze and gives him time. We’ll see if that happens.
CLEMSON
“When you recruit against these guys all you hearing about is ‘family, family, family’ and him going outside of his group and making the change at offensive coordinator isn’t about family. That’s accepting the reality you’re just another football program and you have to do things like Alabama and Ohio State to stay relevant with those guys.” - An opposing ACC assistant coach
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Doing things unlike Alabama and Ohio State while also stockpiling talent has gotten Clemson to where it is today and while there might have been some slippage in recent years, the Tigers are still one of the best teams nationally that with some fixes can be back in the national title hunt. Trying to beat Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia at its own game is not smart for Clemson. Dabo Swinney has a winning formula and one outside-the-family coaching move doesn’t disprove that. Top Clemson recruits talk about what makes Clemson different, not what makes it like all the other schools recruiting them. The Tigers should keep their formula because it works.
COLORADO
“It feels like a lose-lose for Colorado with [Deion Sanders]. Either he’s going to be really good really fast and leave for another gig, which, looking at that roster doesn’t seem possible. The alternative is that they’re going to be bad and they’ll end up firing him in a big circus. It’s all hard to tell. It’s hard to separate the hype from reality.” - An opposing Pac-12 assistant coach
Gorney's take: FACT. This was honestly one of the more thoughtful and insightful takes from a coach while I was reading through all of them. Here’s the thing: Does anyone really believe Sanders is going to stay at Colorado for the long term and build a program from scratch in Boulder? That he would turn down higher-profile jobs back in the South if they come available? That would be a surprise to me. So if Sanders has success with the Buffaloes early, he could be a goner. If turning over nearly an entire roster with transfers doesn’t work for any number of reasons, it could be miserable there for him. Either way, it will be intriguing to watch.
FLORIDA STATE
“As a roster, they might be at their best since Jimbo Fisher’s title. You always get asked, ‘Are they back?’ Yeah, they might be. They’re not one of those top six or so teams nationally but they can win this league.” - An opposing ACC assistant coach
Gorney’s take: FACT. Best Florida State team in a decade? I don’t know about that because the year after Florida State won it all, the Seminoles were 13-1 again and went to the College Football Playoff. But the point is well taken. The Willie Taggart years were ugly and the early years for Mike Norvell was rebuilding a system that is now kicked into high gear. There is a ton of excitement about this team and rightfully so because it wouldn’t be shocking to see Florida State run the table. It also wouldn’t be a complete stunner to see the Seminoles lose to LSU and Clemson by the end of September, either.
MIAMI
“The idea is that Mario hired names instead of fits but that doesn’t make sense for a guy who knew the place he was going back to and who’s already coached at a high level.” - An opposing ACC assistant coach
Gorney’s take: FICTION. From the time Mario Cristobal was a teenager through his years playing at Miami, the Hurricanes were an elite program, one of the best in the nation. When he came back to his hometown to coach at Miami, the Canes were still a high-end program and capable of winning it all. While I’m sure he watched it closely from afar, in many ways Cristobal was coming back to a program that was completely foreign to him. No one can step into the Miami program and restart the national title contention from Day 1. Over nearly two decades, Miami has had one 10-win season. The best-of-the-best programs have routinely come into South Florida to steal talent. So while Josh Gattis didn’t work out as offensive coordinator - for numerous reasons - I don’t think Cristobal just hired big-name coaches to come in and turn this thing around. He hired “fit” guys and sometimes when assembling a staff it’s not going to work. But just like in the real world, cut losses quickly and move on. Admitting mistakes and learning from them is a strength, not a weakness.
Other programs/rest of the article: https://clemson.rivals.com/news/tuesdays-with-gorney-reacting-to-anonymous-comments-from-coaches
From Rivals.com national recruiting director Adam Gorney today:
AUBURN
“He’s going to use the entire season as a recruiting platform like he did those first two years at Ole Miss because the offensive line and the receivers are bad and don’t know the system but Auburn is going to expect him to operate on a faster timeline. They’re so far behind Bama and Georgia; it’s maybe the biggest gap in decades.” - An opposing SEC assistant coach
Gorney’s take: FACT. The numbers are pretty daunting. Since 2008, Alabama has beaten Auburn 11 of 15 times. Georgia has won nine of the last 10 and 15 of the last 18 against the Tigers. Since losing the championship game in 2013, Auburn has one double-digit winning season. The Bryan Harsin era felt like a complete meltdown. But I had said from the beginning (and I’m not patting myself on the back) that Hugh Freeze was the right choice for the job and that he could build Auburn back into a national power. The transfer portal has been a big winner for the Tigers. The SEC is soul-crushing at times and relentless, sharks in the water when they see blood, but Auburn has been a winner and could be again - if the alumni base trusts in Freeze and gives him time. We’ll see if that happens.
CLEMSON
“When you recruit against these guys all you hearing about is ‘family, family, family’ and him going outside of his group and making the change at offensive coordinator isn’t about family. That’s accepting the reality you’re just another football program and you have to do things like Alabama and Ohio State to stay relevant with those guys.” - An opposing ACC assistant coach
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Doing things unlike Alabama and Ohio State while also stockpiling talent has gotten Clemson to where it is today and while there might have been some slippage in recent years, the Tigers are still one of the best teams nationally that with some fixes can be back in the national title hunt. Trying to beat Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia at its own game is not smart for Clemson. Dabo Swinney has a winning formula and one outside-the-family coaching move doesn’t disprove that. Top Clemson recruits talk about what makes Clemson different, not what makes it like all the other schools recruiting them. The Tigers should keep their formula because it works.
COLORADO
“It feels like a lose-lose for Colorado with [Deion Sanders]. Either he’s going to be really good really fast and leave for another gig, which, looking at that roster doesn’t seem possible. The alternative is that they’re going to be bad and they’ll end up firing him in a big circus. It’s all hard to tell. It’s hard to separate the hype from reality.” - An opposing Pac-12 assistant coach
Gorney's take: FACT. This was honestly one of the more thoughtful and insightful takes from a coach while I was reading through all of them. Here’s the thing: Does anyone really believe Sanders is going to stay at Colorado for the long term and build a program from scratch in Boulder? That he would turn down higher-profile jobs back in the South if they come available? That would be a surprise to me. So if Sanders has success with the Buffaloes early, he could be a goner. If turning over nearly an entire roster with transfers doesn’t work for any number of reasons, it could be miserable there for him. Either way, it will be intriguing to watch.
FLORIDA STATE
“As a roster, they might be at their best since Jimbo Fisher’s title. You always get asked, ‘Are they back?’ Yeah, they might be. They’re not one of those top six or so teams nationally but they can win this league.” - An opposing ACC assistant coach
Gorney’s take: FACT. Best Florida State team in a decade? I don’t know about that because the year after Florida State won it all, the Seminoles were 13-1 again and went to the College Football Playoff. But the point is well taken. The Willie Taggart years were ugly and the early years for Mike Norvell was rebuilding a system that is now kicked into high gear. There is a ton of excitement about this team and rightfully so because it wouldn’t be shocking to see Florida State run the table. It also wouldn’t be a complete stunner to see the Seminoles lose to LSU and Clemson by the end of September, either.
MIAMI
“The idea is that Mario hired names instead of fits but that doesn’t make sense for a guy who knew the place he was going back to and who’s already coached at a high level.” - An opposing ACC assistant coach
Gorney’s take: FICTION. From the time Mario Cristobal was a teenager through his years playing at Miami, the Hurricanes were an elite program, one of the best in the nation. When he came back to his hometown to coach at Miami, the Canes were still a high-end program and capable of winning it all. While I’m sure he watched it closely from afar, in many ways Cristobal was coming back to a program that was completely foreign to him. No one can step into the Miami program and restart the national title contention from Day 1. Over nearly two decades, Miami has had one 10-win season. The best-of-the-best programs have routinely come into South Florida to steal talent. So while Josh Gattis didn’t work out as offensive coordinator - for numerous reasons - I don’t think Cristobal just hired big-name coaches to come in and turn this thing around. He hired “fit” guys and sometimes when assembling a staff it’s not going to work. But just like in the real world, cut losses quickly and move on. Admitting mistakes and learning from them is a strength, not a weakness.
Other programs/rest of the article: https://clemson.rivals.com/news/tuesdays-with-gorney-reacting-to-anonymous-comments-from-coaches
