Auburn has had great recruiting classes the last 4 years with almost zero attrition. UT has lost most of our most atheletic signees over the last 3 years to the draft, being thrown off the team, or quitting.
I'm going to repeat a post I made in another thread a week or so back which made this same exact claim....
You guys are seriously overstating Auburn's "outstanding recruiting". A high amount of Auburn's top rated signees over the past few years are no longer on the team due to off-field and/or academic issues. Of the ones that ARE still on this team; several of them are still not doing much of anything under Malzahn's staff because they were more or less tarnished by Chizik's inability to develop players. There is talent on this team (to go 9-1 in this conference means there has to be some talent somewhere), but to state Auburn's "Top 10 recruiting classes" as some sort of indicator that this team is stacked is absurd. Lets look at the reality of the situation, and you will quickly see that the majority of the players that bolstered those "highly ranked" AU signing classes have next to nothing to do with this year's success:
2012 Class: #10 on Rivals, 13 4-stars total
4* Shane Callahan: Not on 2-deep depth chart, doesn't play
4* Jordan Diamond: Injury probs, backup OL
4* Javiere Mitchell: Undersized; 3rd string player, barely plays
4* Tyler Nero: ~3rd string DL, barely plays
4* Ricky Parks: Kicked off the team
4* Jovon Robinson: You guys know this one; currently at JUCO
4* JaQuay Williams: Didn't qualify, signed with A&M after Prep School
7 of 14 4-star recruits are Non-Impact Players or No Longer on Team
2011 Class: #7 on Rivals, 13 4-stars, 1 5-star total
4* Jaylon Denson: Blew his knee out early this year; only a blocking receiver when he did play
4* Erique Florence: Left the team, attitude/behavior problems
4* Kiehl Frazier: Uber-bust, blocking receiver now...doesn't really play
4* Brandon Fulse: Suspended earlier this year, back on team, but not much more than a blocking TE
4* Jonathon Rose: Left the team, transferred to Nebraska
4* Christian Westerman: Left the team, transferred to Arizona State
6 of 14 4-star or better recruits are Non-Impact Players or No Longer on Team. *5-star Kris Frost splits time with one of the worst Linebackers in recent SEC history (Jake Holland)
2010 Class: #4 on Rivals, 13 4-stars, 3 5-stars total
5* Shon Coleman: Cancer story. Backup OL, rarely plays
5* Mike Dyer: Kicked off the team
5* JUCO Cam Newton: No longer on team, obviously
4* JUCO Joel Bonomolo: Huge bust, didn't do anything...no longer on team
4* JUCO Roszell Gayden: Huge bust, didn't do anything...no longer on team
4* Antonio Goodwin: Part of the Burglary Bunch, in prison I believe
4* Jake Holland: "Semi-starting" LB, but the worst LB in the conference and a liability
4* Corey Lemonier: Left for the NFL early, not on team
4* Eric Mack: Shot in the ass during the AU murders a few years ago, no longer on team
4* JUCO Brandon Mosely: Currently in the NFL, no longer on team
4* Trovon Reed: Huge bust; barely does anything
4* Jeremy Richardson: Never qualified
4* Craig Sanders: Special Teams and 3rd-string DL
4* Jeff Whittaker: Blew out his knee at start of season; huge bust up until that point anyway
14 of 16 4-star or better recruits are Non-Impact Players or No Longer on Team.
