BMatt’s Monday musings
AUBURN | It won’t be long before Cadillac has his room full of Escalades.
The former Auburn tailback and current running backs coach reeled in another highly-rated recruit Sunday with the addition of 4-star Damari Alston.
Rated the nation’s No. 3 all-purpose back, Alston will give Carnell Williams a third consecutive talented back after he landed Tank Bigsby in 2020, who was named preseason first-team All-SEC last week, and Jarquez Hunter in 2021, who he had to fight for late after a coaching change.
By 2022, the Tigers may finally be able to stack up talented running backs like their top rivals do. Recall, just four years ago when an injury to Kerryon Johnson in the Iron Bowl sank Auburn’s best chance to win an SEC Championship and play for a national title since 2013.
Cadillac has had a huge impact on AU’s talent and depth at the position. Auburn should have adequate depth behind Bigsby this season and it should be only be better next year.
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While we’re handing out accolades, Auburn’s entire coaching staff deserves credit for putting together a successful Big Cat in just a couple of weeks. This was no kitty cat.
The Tigers welcomed in a big group of prospects, which included more than a dozen 4-stars and the reports were positive including the overall organization and commitment of Alston.
The assistant coaches and recruiting staff had to work overtime to get this many prospects here along with their families. Big Cat has been vital to AU’s recruiting for the past 12 years and it’s good to see it return.
While the culture in AU’s football program needed to change, and certainly is under Bryan Harsin, Big Cat is a good example that not everything was broken under the previous staffs.
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It’s not done until it’s done but it sure seems inevitable that Oklahoma and Texas will be joining the SEC, perhaps as early as 2023. This is good for Auburn assuming the conference sticks to its division format.
And let me be clear, we don’t play SEC football in pods.
The easiest way to handle the additions would be placing both new teams in the West, moving Auburn and Alabama to the East and Missouri to the West where it belongs.
That would balance out the divisions pretty well. East: Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. West: Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas and Texas A&M.
For Auburn, it would mean the return of playing traditional rivals Tennessee and Florida on an annual basis. It would also mean the Tigers would no longer have to play a conference schedule that is often tougher than its top rivals. Currently, AU must play UGA every season while UA plays UT and LSU plays UF. Traditionally, those would be close to equal but that hasn’t been the case in the last two decades, especially for a Volunteer program that is a shell of its former self.
The biggest disappointment from the proposed move has been the Texas A&M administrators and fans whining about it. They should welcome the opportunity to renew a rivalry against their in-state rivals every season. It’s good for college football and will be great for the SEC.
Instead, they’ve spent most of the last five days acting like they’re being victimized. Boo hoo.
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In today’s musical journey, we go back 48 years to a hit song that was based on a fictional city that turned out to be real. On July 25, 1973, The Doobie Brothers released China Grove. The song only reached No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed in the Top 40 for eight weeks, but it has since become a staple of classic rock stations. Tom Johnston wrote the song about a crazy sheriff that lived in this town right outside San Antonio. It was only later that he realized there really is a China Grove, Texas, which is just east of San Antonio and considered part of its metro area. There’s also a China Grove, N.C., northeast of Charlotte. Johnston learned about the real China Grove from a taxi driver in Houston. He now believes he may have seen a China Grove sign touring through Texas in a Winnebago in 1972 and the name stuck in his head.
The Doobie Brothers formed in 1970 in San Jose, Calif. A friend of the band came up with the name because they smoked a lot of marijuana at the time. At first, they didn't like the name and only planned to keep it for a few weeks but it stuck. The original members included Johnston, John Hartman, Patrick Simmons and Dave Shogren. They signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1970 and released their first album in 71. Their second album, 1972’s Toulouse Street, started a string of hit songs with Listen to the Music and Jesus is Just Alright. More hits followed including Black Water, Long Train Runnin and China Grove. Steely Dan’s Jeff Baxter joined the band in 1974 and then Michael McDonald followed in 75 when Johnston was hospitalized for an ulcer. McDonald brought a new sound to The Doobie Brothers and their next album included a couple of hit songs in Takin’ it to the Streets and It Keeps You Runnin. More albums and hit songs followed including 1978’s What a Fool Believes. Written by McDonald and Kenny Loggins, What a Fool Believes rose to No. 1 on the charts and won two Grammy Awards. The band has continued playing under different lineups for five decades including a 50th Anniversary tour this summer.