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By B.J. Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com Senior Editor
SouthernPigskin.com Senior Editor B.J. Bennett share some perspective on Auburn's tremendous recruiting class. Follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/SouthernPigskin. Become a fan of us on Facebook at the SouthernPigskin.com Facebook Page
When Gene Chizik was hired as the replacement to Tommy Tuberville at Auburn, many fans responded with a blank glare; it was as if a waiter brought baked chicken and iced tea to a table at a restaurant in Opelika, Alabama.
Some took their disappointment a step further, voicing displeasure in public forums and criticizing athletic director Jay Jacobs. Objectively-speaking, from the perspective of those not in on the interviews, the concern was legitimate. Though an accomplished assistant coach at Auburn, Chizik took the job fresh off a ten-game losing streak with Iowa State. For those looking for a statement, name-hire to steal headlines from neighbor Alabama and Nick Saban, re-hiring an assistant who worked under the coach the administration just fired wasn't the ideal selection.
But the hard-nosed defensive guru brought a disciplined, determined mindset to the Auburn sidelines. He laid out a clear plan and path for consistency and contention. Chizik used the doubts as motivation and rallied his team under his direction and drive to prove the naysayers wrong. The Tigers jumped out a 5-0 start in 2009, defeating West Virginia and Tennessee along the way. A final record of 8-5, which included a New Years' Day bowl victory, exceeded expectations and laid the foundation for success in the future. A gritty effort, albeit a losing one, against Alabama in the regular season finale showed fans in the SEC that Chizik's Tigers weren't backing down from anyone.
If the five-point loss on November 27th showed fans this team could play with the best (the Tigers lost to the Crimson Tide 36-0 in 2008), Wednesday's recruiting class showed the nation that Auburn might soon be one of them. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the recruiting season, the Tigers finished with college football's 4th ranked class per Rivals.com. The 2010 haul was ranked one spot ahead of Saban and Alabama.
"This was a great day for Auburn. A year ago at this time, literally a year ago on this day, we came together and we really laid down a vision for what we wanted to try to do for the next recruiting year. When we came in last year, it was a different scenario because we had about three weeks to recruit our class. This year, we've had a full year. When I say that we had a vision, we had a blueprint of what we needed at Auburn," Chizik explained. "I've said this so many times, but it's not about getting the best player. We obviously want the best player, but he also has to be the right player. I think our coaches did a great job and we did a great job of evaluating not only talent, but the mark of a man that we wanted to bring in to represent this university, our football program and the Auburn Family. I am as much or more proud of that as I am with the talent that we recruited with this class."
Auburn signed 32 total recruits, three five star recruits and 13 four star recruits. Only Florida and Southern Cal signed more five star prospects. While Chizik signed two of the state's top linebackers in LaDarius Owens and Jake Holland, he and his staff did a remarkable job recruiting nationally, bringing in elite prospects from neighboring states in the southeast, to Texas to California.
Leading the way for the Tigers are a trio of offensive stars: quarterback Cameron Newton, running back Michael Dyer and lineman Shon Coleman. At 6'6'', 247 pounds, Newton is the most physically impressive of any signal caller in high school football. Even with the size of a defensive end, Newton has been clocked at 4.53 in the forty yard dash. The Tigers nabbed Newton from Texas, gaining his verbal commitment on December 31st.
The Tigers' recruiting reach extended into the home states of their divisional foes. Dyer comes to Auburn from Arkansas where he excelled at Little Rock Christian in the state capitol. The top running back in the south, Dyer is a rock-solid 5'8'' talent with a versatile set of abilities that make him extremely dynamic out of the offensive backfield. Committed to Auburn since early November, his commitment proved true despite the best efforts of many elite programs. The Tigers also nabbed the Magnolia State's top prospect in offensive tackle Shon Coleman. At 6'7'', 285 pounds, he has the frame to put on 25 pounds relatively easily. Despite a late blitz from other SEC West schools, Coleman stayed firm to his word; he committed to the Tigers back in April. Athlete Trovon Reed was the top-ranked prospect in the state of Louisiana. He signed with Auburn on Wednesday as well.
On National Signing Day, the icing on the cake if you will, Chizik pulled end Corey Lemonier from Hialeah, Florida out of Florida State's grasps. Throw in offensive tackle Roszell Gayden from the College of the Sequoias in California and the Auburn staff truly recruited coast-to-coast.
"One year ago, looking back, our goal was simply to start laying that foundation and build it from the ground up and that's what we did today. There are so many great families involved in this recruiting process. My hat is off to so many guys in this recruiting class who hung tough and stuck with Auburn through thick and thin and nothing was going to change them. That's a tribute to our coaches because there were great relationships built in order to do that. In this day and age, that's hard to do," Chizik continued. "Again, I feel like our coaching staff really worked hard in developing those relationships with those young men."
The current football climate is a unique one in Yellowhammer state because Alabama is the defending national champion, but entering mid-February, it's the Tigers who seemingly have at least a good portion of the off-season momentum. Stars may have fell on Alabama, but on Wednesday at least, a fair share of them fell on the eastern border.
As Tiger fans celebrate a consensus top five recruiting class, expectations for the years to come have just been boosted a notch or two. Some in the Auburn nation may have winced when back when Chizik was hired. After National Signing Day 2010, however, those Tiger fans are gladly enjoying their plate of crow.
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