Amid 'challenges', Gus Malzahn expects his best recruiting class
AUBURN — Not everything has been peachy for Auburn's football program the last few weeks.
In fact, the negativity has heavily outweighed the positivity. Gus Malzahn acknowledged as much during his 20-minute, more-open-than-normal press conference on Thursday night. He pointed to the 7-win season and having to deal with offseason noise, though he diminished that has more outside the program than inside the program.
One element of the last few weeks, however, hasn't been haunted by negativity.
"Recruiting is going really good. Not just good, but really good," Malzahn said. "Not just good, but really good. I think that’s a tribute to our coaches. It’s a tribute to the type of people we’re recruiting, their families."
This mimics what has been written at AuburnSports.com since the official visit last weekend. Despite the overwhelming hostility surrounding the Auburn football narrative, Malzahn and his coaching staff have done an admirable job — especially with last weekend's big visits — of holding onto some of their wavering commits and still, somehow, attracting top uncommitted talent and prospects committed to other programs.
Malzahn admitted it hasn't necessarily been easy to do so.
"I think any time you're dealing with stuff like that, it presents challenges. But, you know, like I said, our class is going great. It's a tribute to our coaches and it's a tribute to the relationships -- the long-term relationships -- and the people we're recruiting, and the trust they have in us," Malzahn said. "I think that says a lot with everything as far as the negativity. When you only win seven games and everything that goes with that -- but it says a lot about them and a lot about their belief in our future."
The cliché responses to those Malzahn comments write themselves.
Auburn still isn't recruiting at as high of a level as its two biggest rivals Alabama and Georgia. None of it matters if the Tigers can't sign top-tier offensive linemen or running backs. I'll believe it when they actually sign.
These comments aren't false, necessarily, but they also inadequately credit Auburn's ability to recruit, especially amid the offseason debacle.
On Rivals.com, Auburn ranks 14th in the team rankings, but the Tigers only have 16 commits, meaning there is plenty of room to add and improve. Moreover, only four programs nationally — Georgia, Oklahoma, Penn State and LSU — ranked higher in points-per-commit in the Rivals team rankings.
There's no denying Auburn needs to bolster its offensive line. The Tigers will watch the decisions of Bamidele Olaseni, Will Putnam and Kamaar Bell closely. Securing those three in addition to Keiondre Jones and Justin Osborne would be considered an offensive line recruiting win.
As for running backs, a Mark-Antony Richards and DJ Williams class would satisfy the Auburn coaching staff in a big way, and it seems very possible. Georgia state record-setter Jamious Griffin, who remains an N.C. State commit, is another name to watch in January.
Based on Malzahn's coy comments Thursday, it seems Auburn expects to successfully build on its Class of 2019.
"We're set up to have a very good recruiting class. There are a couple things that could happen. It may be one of the best recruiting classes we've had since I've been here.