I spent some time at the complex Wednesday, which made it a very good day.
Normalcy was the theme as dozens of football prospects perused the facility and met Auburn's new coaches. It felt like old times, like it was before a virus changed things some 15 months ago. The mood was good. Optimism abounded. A real summer recruiting season finally is upon us.
Yet something felt different. Very different.
I needed some time to figure it out, to be honest. The feel of these visits, of these visitors, was different than anything I'd seen before. I asked @Jeffrey Lee about it and he sensed the same thing.
And then it hit us: Everything was more. Amplified. Stronger.
There are so many people working when the football program is playing host to visitors these days. It used to be assistant coaches supplements by Tiger Hosts and Hostesses. They're still involved, to be sure, but now there are so many more people interacting with prospects and their associates. There are analysts. There are liaisons. There are full-time guys, many of them former coaches themselves, working to supplement Bryan Harsin's recruiting effort. They're everywhere. And they're on point.
Getting prospects into the facility, down to the practice field, dressed for workouts (if they're worked out), fed, ushered into a coach's office, ferried to the academic side of campus, questions answered, return trips planned. It's a lot. It's a whole lot. I look at it like a play — actors and directors and stagehands all working together, yet separately, to put on the best show.
Auburn is putting on a great show right now.
Enthusiasm from inside the program is on a different level. Nobody recruits more loquaciously than defensive coordinator Derrick Mason, who offered more handshakes and side-hugs than a political candidate on this day. He was at home while cranking up the radio in his Jeep — much to the delight of recruits within earshot. He's often flanked by Zac Etheridge, who isn't as loud but operates with a similar level of confidence. They love this. They love being at Auburn. They make sure every recruit knows that, sees that, feels that.
Cornelius Williams? He's the quiet assassin. One must lean into to hear him speak at times, but what he says clearly resonates with these youngsters. No wasted words, no platitudes. He's all business.
Jeff Schmedding is a hand-shaker and a back-patter. Same for Brad Bedell, a free spirit with NFL experience who's always in a good mood.
Nick Eason tends to work alone, which is odd in a way because he might be the most social assistant. Yet he clearly enjoys working directly with the families of his favorite recruits — and often has them laughing. He's also efficient. Eason often returns calls as soon as he re-enters the complex after another of his recruits bids adieu. Always working. Always hustling. He may have spent seven of the last eight seasons coaching in the NFL, but he has this college thing down pat.
From an overall perspective, everything seems more on schedule than before. Everything seems more coordinated, more precisely planned. Harsin is a regimented person and his operation reeks of regimentation. This is all done in his image, so to speak.
Yet many of these associated men and women who make the operation sing aren't Harsin's people. Unlike Gus Malzahn, who wanted every person involved to have a personal tie to him, Harsin trusts his assistants' recommendations and counsel. He listens and he adjusts. At Boise, Harsin was used to camps being mostly a money-making operation. They were costly, more than $300 in many cases.
In the SEC, camps are a critical recruiting tool. Auburn assistants with SEC ties explained that every assessable recruit should be able to afford the camps easily. Harsin listened and quickly relented. The camps are $30 or so. That's sound leadership.
Will this effort yield meaningful results in December when the first wave of recruits sign on the dotted line? That's impossible to know right now.
Still, this new regime is doing everything to turn the odds in its favor.
That's progress.
