Bryan Harsin lasted 21 games at Auburn and was fired Monday following Auburn naming a new athletics director and just days after the Tigers were blown out by Arkansas. After an unsuccessful coup following Harsin’s first season, he was back for Year 2 but only made it until Halloween as Auburn will now head in a new direction.
Here are five teams that could benefit from the upheaval on The Plains:
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ALABAMA
Over the last 10 recruiting cycles, Alabama has signed the top prospect in the state rankings seven times followed by Georgia twice and Clemson once so the Crimson Tide have unsurprisingly had great success with in-state prospects. Over the years, though, Auburn has won some big local battles like Racean Thomas, Marlon Davidson, Tre Williams, Kerryon Johnson, Tadarian Moultry and K.J. Britt.
In the 2018 recruiting class, Auburn signed three of the top five in-state players. In 2019, it was Bo Nix. Lee Hunter and Dylan Brooks were top-five players from the state of Alabama in the 2021 class. But Auburn got none of the top-five in 2022 and none are committed in 2023. That will need to change.
For Alabama, the in-state success continues especially as Auburn cannot find its footing with yet another new coaching staff. Since Nick Saban took over Alabama in 2007, Auburn has been through four head coaches.
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CLEMSON
Dabo Swinney is from Birmingham and he was a position coach at Alabama until the year 2000 plus he’s built one of the top programs in the country with its own unique and special culture at Clemson.
All of that stability and background has paid huge dividends for the Tigers in their recruitment of the state of Alabama. This recruiting cycle alone Clemson has landed four-star quarterback Christopher Vizzina and four-star DL Peter Woods. In 2022, the Tigers got five players from there, in 2020 and 2019, two apiece. With uncertainty at Auburn, Clemson could keep reaching into that state for elite prospects.
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FLORIDA
First-year coach Billy Napier has already had significant success in the state of Alabama by landing a major commitment this summer from four-star Kelby Collins out of Gardendale as the Crimson Tide and many others wanted him badly. Napier and his staff also got five-star linebacker Shemar James to re-commit during the early signing period after he backed off his pledge and was looking around again. The Gators have also picked their spots in recent recruiting classes landing Jeremiah Williams, Mohamoud Diabate (now at Utah) and Jaydon Hill among others.
Winning a ton of recruiting battles probably won’t be Florida’s focus and it won’t need to be in the state of Alabama since there is so much in-state talent but going in and winning for Collins, James and the next big-time players might be a little easier with Auburn in flux.
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GEORGIA
Georgia has proven it can go anywhere in the country for any prospect and while it hasn’t had tremendous success quantity-wise in the state of Alabama, there has been a feast or famine approach there. The Bulldogs have landed the No. 1 prospect in the state rankings in high four-star cornerback AJ Harris this recruiting cycle. A few years back, Georgia won out for five-star receiver George Pickens out of Hoover and five-star OL Clay Webb although that one did not work out. Recently, Kamari Lassiter and Jackson Meeks signed with the Bulldogs.
Kirby Smart is one of the best recruiters in college football. And if a shark like that sees weakness and blood in the water, he’s going to go after top prospects - and there are lots of them in the state of Alabama.
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TENNESSEE
Even though second-year coach Josh Heupel has not had an extensive amount of time to garner recruiting wins in the state of Alabama, the Vols have had recent success there and more could be on the way. Tennessee got Marquarius White and Jourdan Thomas in its 2022 class and then Heupel and the Vols staff have landed pledges from four-star defensive backs Sylvester Smith and Rickey Gibson out of Alabama in the 2023 class.
Tennessee is playing great football, Auburn is starting over with a new staff and Heupel’s recruiting pitch could be really compelling for more top prospects in the coming recruiting classes.
