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Chizik Chases the Next Great Auburn Back

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Its been five years since the last great running back lined up for Auburn.

When Auburn kicks off in September it will have been five seasons since the backfield duo of Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown dominated SEC defenses. It has been 24 years since Bo Jackson won the Heisman Trophy and staked his claim as one of the best running backs in NCAA history.

In other words, Auburn is due. Running back U. is getting long in the tooth and it's time again for the program to land the next great back who will continue the tradition that's unmatched by anyone in the SEC. If you believe in karma, then you know it's time. Pat Dye's career at Auburn was launched in great part by the kid from McAdory High School back in 1982.

Tommy Tuberville had the benefit of three great backs to help launch his run on the Plains with Rudi Johnson, Williams and Brown helping turn Auburn's fortunes around. In the early 1950's, Shug Jordan called on All-American Fob James to lay the ground work for what would eventually lead to a national championship in 1957.

This weekend while everyone was enjoying Easter with their families, Gene Chizik was chasing his game changer. Texas native Lache Seastrunk was on campus with his mother taking in practice and getting to know the Auburn players and coaching staff. Seastrunk is widely regarded as the top prep running back in the country and the Tigers appear to be among his favorite.

Why would a Texas running back have Auburn on his short list? You can thank Auburn assistant Curtis Luper. His father is Seastrunk's pastor back in Temple, Texas. Seastrunk tells Inside The Auburn Tigers that is what got him to campus. "He is my pastor and he is a great guy," Seastrunk says. "Knowing his son is at Auburn and that he is a God-fearing guy makes it even better. I know Coach Luper has the spirit of God in him and God has gotten me to where I am today."

From listening to Seastrunk, it's apparent that Chizik and Luper pulled out all the stops. "I don't know if they planned it, but when I got to Auburn they had everything listed for me about how they will use me, how they will work with me and I have never experienced this anywhere else," Seastrunk said. "I have been to USC and a lot of other places and I can tell you the experience in Auburn is amazing.

"They haven't lied to me or my mom," he adds. "They have been straight honest with me. Auburn has an offensive coordinator (Gus Malzahn) who has worked with Darren McFadden. Auburn is a college that produced runners like Bo Jackson. They know their stuff. They know exactly what they need to do to get you where you need to be."

Seastrunk said he was also impressed by his meeting with Chizik. "It was amazing talking to him," he says. "He knows that they have a great chance at me. I enjoyed myself at Auburn and I could see myself going to college there."

While it's extremely early in the recruiting process, you have to love those comments if you are an Auburn fan. You can get bet there will be a full press for Seastrunk's services by the likes of Texas, USC and others as we get closer to next February. But on a sunny weekend in April, it looks like Chizik could be the clubhouse leader (can you tell I've watched the Masters all weekend?) for Seastrunk's services.

Once again, chalk up another impressive move by this coaching staff. No, they haven't won a game yet, but boy they do keep things exciting on the Plains these days. If you feel a little bounce in your step when you talk about Auburn football these days, you should. These energetic coaches remind you of the first Pat Dye staff that moved quickly to right the Auburn ship back in the early 1980's.

Let's hope history repeats itself.

 

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Great

…to have a busy, energetic coaching staff constantly working hard for the top recruits and giving us (the fans) something to talk about and get excited about. Chizik certainly has been using his time wisely. I hope all his efforts pay off in a big way. I want to be a Chizik fan, and so far he’s making it easy.

War Eagle

by WarEagle86 on Apr 13, 2009 6:02 AM CDT reply actions  

Good to see that GOD is important to this young man.....

Something you rarely see until after the big game, or play, is a young man openly talking about his beleif in GOD. I wish it happened more often.

WAR EAGLE!

by KoolBell777 on Apr 13, 2009 7:48 AM CDT reply actions  

Seastrunk's recruitment is going to come down to signing day.

Looks like an LSU-Texas-AU battle. I think there are too many closer-to-home schools in on him for USC to be in it.

by LSU Jonno on Apr 13, 2009 8:32 AM CDT reply actions  

Like the man says ...
“Recruiting is like shaving. If you don’t do it every day it shows.” – Trooper Taylor

by xotus on Apr 13, 2009 10:08 AM CDT reply actions  

With us changing to the spread

Running Back U. will be different than the Running Back U. we saw in previous years. It will be doubtful to see a power back emerge that bowls over defenders, like Ronnie Brown did to Jason Allen in Knoxville in 2004. That’s not to say we can’t have a program-changing back like Bo again, but I think it will be more difficult to get him the reps he needs, if such a running back were to come to Auburn.

The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs

by jd is legend on Apr 13, 2009 10:40 AM CDT reply actions  

Agreed

A great back here in the future will get more of his touches on swing passes and screens. But, you could have a run heavy version of the spread.

Thats Good For Another Jacksonville... First Down.

by Bestjagfan on Apr 13, 2009 11:00 AM CDT up reply actions  

Sometimes...

a spread offense will open up more holes for a quicker back- adding time to secondary to arrive; and when a D goes to a Nickle or 4/3 formation- line backers will be forced to cover back and out, sometimes opening up the middle for bruisers with good front 5blocking….

JJ Fe

by Rydaddy617 on Apr 13, 2009 11:53 AM CDT up reply actions  

Power Backs

Are a possibility, but quicker backs usually work better in the spread. Often times a defense will remain in base or nickel even with 4 wide outs on the field, especially in the SEC were a lot of defenses are built to stop the spread. The linebackers are more apt to cover slot receivers as a result. A defensive coordinator may gamble and keep his base in to prevent running the ball. So if you pass a lot, you run it fewer times, but sometimes with more explosive results.

Thats Good For Another Jacksonville... First Down.

by Bestjagfan on Apr 13, 2009 1:20 PM CDT up reply actions  

Seastrunk or C-Crunk as we call him, came out to Cal’s Junior day back in Feb. Cal has no realistic shot at getting him (a lot of kids visit us just to see the west coast). The buzz from his trip is below, you might be interested in the last few sentences.

He also talked about how there is no pressure to commit early from the coaching staff

Some dude on Rivals sat behind Lache Seastrunk and his mother, who were both having a great time with Ron Gould and the staff. Lache was high-fiving the staff during the game, and this guy apparently told Lache he loved his highlight tape. This is so much of a longshot (rumor is LSU saved RB scholarships form 2009 just to offer Seastrunk), but this can only be good for recruiting top players from Texas. It should also be noted that people close to some of the big name programs think there is no way Seastrunk will go to Texas…

someone else said this:

I asked some of my buddies who are close to the UT program and they agree that Seastrunk is a longshot for Texas at this point. They think its LSU and maybe SC who have the best shot at him.

Please note, this info is from a month or two ago.

They're after our precious bodily fluids

by chowder on Apr 13, 2009 12:14 PM CDT reply actions  

Apparently...

Seastrunk is related to 2009 LSU signee Michael Ford, as well as 2010 LSU lean Trovon Reed. He’s been to our campus a few times on unofficials, so I think that’s why a lot of people think he’s LSU’s to lose. Looks like it will be down to the wire though with LSU, UT, and AU.

by LSU Jonno on Apr 13, 2009 12:55 PM CDT up reply actions  

I disagree that it's been 5 years since we had a great back

Kenny Irons in 2005 was a great back—1300 yards great, if you can still define a great back within the confines of a single season. I do.

Irons could have had a similar year in 2006 if he didn’t have to share the ball as much as he did. The last two years have been rush by committee. Will we finally have a back stand head and shoulders above the rest this year?

by War Eagle Atlanta on Apr 13, 2009 12:23 PM CDT reply actions  

Ben Tate?

Thats Good For Another Jacksonville... First Down.

by Bestjagfan on Apr 13, 2009 1:21 PM CDT up reply actions  

I'm not convinced at all..

…..that we’ll be able to push a back over a thousand yards, this season. I don’t think we have enough blockers. It will be interesting to see, Saturday!

by Acid Reign on Apr 13, 2009 2:20 PM CDT up reply actions  

If we have penalties on the Oline

like last season, I think you can chalk that up to damn near impossible.

"Jay Jacobs can't go to the bathroom without Bobby Lowder's permission" - Paul Finebaum

by GumptownTiger on Apr 13, 2009 4:35 PM CDT up reply actions  

as awesome as it would be to land this kid

if Auburn ever actually wants to win another SEC title i think landing an NFL caliber QB is more important.

by suicidewatch on Apr 13, 2009 5:02 PM CDT reply actions  

You don't think Kodi Burns is an NFL caliber QB?

(Don’t answer that)

The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs

by jd is legend on Apr 13, 2009 5:37 PM CDT up reply actions  

Haha

To tell you the truth, Maybe(with a capital M). I think by his Senior season he could be nice in a spread style offense. NFL, probably not.

Thats Good For Another Jacksonville... First Down.

by Bestjagfan on Apr 13, 2009 6:09 PM CDT up reply actions  

While it is important...

to get a top RB……we are very very thin on the line. What I fear the most this year is a depleted line. That must be a priority next year. Even then, how long does it take to get an O-lineman ready to start in the SEC? I’m excited about the prospects A few 4 star lineman would make me feel better!

Even a Broken Clock is Right Twice a Day

by Indytiger1 on Apr 13, 2009 5:33 PM CDT reply actions  

I'm with you all the way

Who plays in the backfield and who takes the snaps won’t matter if our o line doesnt do their job. In spite of all the x factors last season, I believe it all started on the o line. They didn"t seemed conditioned, they weren’t disciplined, and they just looked bad. I know some of that goes to coaching, but I am just waiting ti see how they. I think our offense depends more on thet than who ’s at RB or QB.

"Jay Jacobs can't go to the bathroom without Bobby Lowder's permission" - Paul Finebaum

by GumptownTiger on Apr 13, 2009 8:08 PM CDT up reply actions  

At least the top recruits in the country are talking about us again...

…Chizik and the staff deserve a ton of credit. They haven’t won a game, but they have done everything right this off season…

by auburner on Apr 13, 2009 6:22 PM CDT reply actions  

True

Even a Broken Clock is Right Twice a Day

by Indytiger1 on Apr 13, 2009 7:28 PM CDT reply actions  

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