Paul Finebaum addresses where things went wrong for Auburn

Few things have gone right for the Auburn Tiger’s football program as of recent. While they sit at 3-1 on the season, their blowout loss to Penn State and a close call against Missouri over the weekend have the fanbase ready to fire head coach Bryan Harsin themselves. When you look at the Tiger’s past successes, it’s not easy to pinpoint how things got here. Paul Finebaum did his best to put his finger on it during a Monday appearance on ‘McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning’.

Finebaum threw it all the way back to the recruiting trail shortcomings at the end of Gus Malzhan’s tenure. Pairing that with Harsin’s even more dreadful recruiting efforts is what has put Auburn in the current hole they find themselves in.

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“Malzahn had moments. I think he was able to get some real, difference-making players on that roster as we all know. But, with Malzahn, it caught up to him at the end. His recruiting trailed off. And as Georgia became a juggernaut on top with Alabama and LSU has always made a difference, it just became more difficult,” said Finebaum. “Then I think you compound it with just an abominable recruiting approach the last two years. For all the reasons you should get rid of Bryan Harsin or not, recruiting is really where it’s at.”

Malzhan’s final three classes in from 2018 to 2020 finished 10th, 12th, and seventh in On3’s Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings. That’s respectable enough, especially in the SEC. However, Harsin’s two classes show a real drop-off. The Tigers finished with the No. 22 class in 2021 and the No. 17 class in 2022.

Before anything gets fixed on the field, their needs to be better success for Auburn on the recruiting trail. Only then will the Tigers be able to avoid performances like they had against Mizzou according to Finebaum.

“That’s what has to change. You can overcome bad coaching decisions if you have a little bit of talent. But there just isn’t any talent,” Finebaum said. “I realize Auburn was shorthanded from a quarterback standpoint…but I’ve never seen less imagination and more sandlot ball than (vs. Missouri) in my life.”

Whether you believe it or not, there is a very real chance Auburn will be in search of new leadership by the end of the season. It’s still realistic that Harsin may not make it out of the 2022 season. Whoever is to follow him not only has to fix the problems on the field, though. They’ll need to go out and fix the program’s recent problems on the recruiting trail as well.