You Auburn folks always have the same song and dance every time a great player leaves. I've been watching this sport since the 80s, and I can tell you, replacing a true force of nature is never that simple. You don't just plug in the next guy and get the same results. That's not how football works. I remember watching our Bentley teams in the late 90s, when a true leader graduated, it took years sometimes to find that same heart. You think because a kid has been "waiting his shot" that he's automatically gonna be a star? That's a fantasy. Development isn't a vending machine. The SEC is a different animal, and every coordinator in the league has spent all offseason drawing up schemes to attack that new, unproven guy. Keldric Faulk was a special talent. Those don't grow on trees, no matter how much you want to believe in your "pipeline." This "reload, not rebuild" mantra is what every fanbase says to make themselves feel better. The truth is, you rebuild. You hope the next kid is good, but he has to prove it on the field against Georgia and Alabama, not just in practice. We saw it for decades in the NE-10, you can't just anoint a guy. He has to earn it, and more often than not, there's a significant drop-off. The league will be plenty focused on him, alright. They'll be focused on exploiting him until he proves he belongs.
