‘27 DE OL Layton von Brandt (Auburn Verbal)

allenm5333

Well-known member
Wagner is not a huge loss, IMO. With the way ND recruits OL (can't look at this class in a vacuum) he likely never plays meaningfully at ND. While guys will leave early, with the following names ahead of him, good luck...

Will Black (4 years of eligibility)
Guerby Lambert (3 years of eligibility)
Matty Augustine (4 years of eligibility)
Grayson Mckeogh (4 years of eligibility)
Olu Olubobola (4 years of eligibility)

That's not even counting guys like Gregory Patrick (4 years of eligibility) and James Halter (4 years of eligibility) who might very well be able to play RT as well... Nor does is factor in the inevitable studs that ND will be after in the 2028 cycle as well, one year behind him.
This is where I stand. We have already landed the elite OT we need from this class. Olu and Halter can be legitimate starters from this class. We have last year's class who could have multiple starters and have to consider next year's class. Is LvB a good prospect? Yes. Is he going to be someone who wins us a national title? Probably not. Given our roster, the difference makers are Simien, Fakatou, and Henderson. I would probably include Gayles in there too tbh. Take LvB's money and split it up amongst them.
 

rtrn2glory

Well-known member
Wasn't expecting to wake up to this. Looks very much like this was all about money and if so that's fine. He's no longer in a position of need. This makes it seem like the Cali kid that flipped was in regards to this not Simien
 

NDFAN2008

Well-known member
Wasn't expecting to wake up to this. Looks very much like this was all about money and if so that's fine. He's no longer in a position of need. This makes it seem like the Cali kid that flipped was in regards to this not Simien
Yeah I think so to, staff was probally not going to waste anymore resources.
 

NDFAN2008

Well-known member
This is where I stand. We have already landed the elite OT we need from this class. Olu and Halter can be legitimate starters from this class. We have last year's class who could have multiple starters and have to consider next year's class. Is LvB a good prospect? Yes. Is he going to be someone who wins us a national title? Probably not. Given our roster, the difference makers are Simien, Fakatou, and Henderson. I would probably include Gayles in there too tbh. Take LvB's money and split it up amongst them.
Also the 2028 class has 3 kids from Illinois at Tackle and 2 from Iowa who are highly ranked.
 

arrowryan

Well-known member
I don’t necessarily think, or want, the staff will allocate the LVB funds to Simien. With the numbers from the 2026 class and the two high end blue chip prospects from the 2027 class, I think that puts you in a comfortable spot.

I think I’d rather the staff use some of that LVB money on Osani Gayles, and assure they continue to bring in high end skill position talent on offense. Continuing to bolster the DL is never bad idea either. This, obviously, is assuming they already have money allocated for Fakatou, Henderson, etc..

The checks and balances in recruiting makes this stuff entertaining. I’m definitely okay with the staff not overpaying for LVB and saying no to his bullshit.
 

NDFAN2008

Well-known member
I don’t necessarily think, or want, the staff will allocate the LVB funds to Simien. With the numbers from the 2026 class and the two high end blue chip prospects from the 2027 class, I think that puts you in a comfortable spot.

I think I’d rather the staff use some of that LVB money on Osani Gayles, and assure they continue to bring in high end skill position talent on offense. Continuing to bolster the DL is never bad idea either. This, obviously, is assuming they already have money allocated for Fakatou, Henderson, etc..

The checks and balances in recruiting makes this stuff entertaining. I’m definitely okay with the staff not overpaying for LVB and saying no to his bullshit.
This is where I'm at and not to knock on LVB but he is from Delaware what kind of competition is he playing?
 

rtrn2glory

Well-known member
I don’t necessarily think, or want, the staff will allocate the LVB funds to Simien. With the numbers from the 2026 class and the two high end blue chip prospects from the 2027 class, I think that puts you in a comfortable spot.

I think I’d rather the staff use some of that LVB money on Osani Gayles, and assure they continue to bring in high end skill position talent on offense. Continuing to bolster the DL is never bad idea either. This, obviously, is assuming they already have money allocated for Fakatou, Henderson, etc..

The checks and balances in recruiting makes this stuff entertaining. I’m definitely okay with the staff not overpaying for LVB and saying no to his bullshit.
Simien though is a different cat though isn't he? He kind of falls into the category of he's too elite not to pass on if you can get him in the fold.
 

arrowryan

Well-known member
Simien though is a different cat though isn't he? He kind of falls into the category of he's too elite not to pass on if you can get him in the fold.

I don’t know exact NIL numbers. What I’m saying is that I don’t think it’s smart to just move all LVB funds over to Simien.

Would be smart to use some of the LVB funds to sweeten up the offer? Sure! But I’d use the rest of that money on Gayles and the DL.
 

rtrn2glory

Well-known member
I don't disagree with that, but like you said I also don't know the current offers with the other dudes to know if it's worth upping offers. Also have no clue where some of these guys rank on the staffs board. I do think you're right though and we probably just found an extra set of $$$ that we can throw at Simien, Gayles, and the DL. Just boils down to how the staff wants to split it up.

Can't blame Auburn though in this scenario. Worth it in their case considering the NCAA is letting roster sizes explode.
 

CoachB

Well-known member
I don't disagree with that, but like you said I also don't know the current offers with the other dudes to know if it's worth upping offers. Also have no clue where some of these guys rank on the staffs board. I do think you're right though and we probably just found an extra set of $$$ that we can throw at Simien, Gayles, and the DL. Just boils down to how the staff wants to split it up.

Can't blame Auburn though in this scenario. Worth it in their case considering the NCAA is letting roster sizes explode.
Yeah, I am ok with it. You can't use up all your bait trying to hook one above average fish when you have so many big fish swimming all around your boat.
 

HouseofPain

Well-known member
Auburn has to try to do something. They just aren’t competitive with anyone not named Ball State. In the State of Alabama, if you aren’t chasing National Championships, you better at least not be a bottom dweller.
 

BleedBlueGold

Well-known member
I don’t necessarily think, or want, the staff will allocate the LVB funds to Simien. With the numbers from the 2026 class and the two high end blue chip prospects from the 2027 class, I think that puts you in a comfortable spot.

I think I’d rather the staff use some of that LVB money on Osani Gayles, and assure they continue to bring in high end skill position talent on offense. Continuing to bolster the DL is never bad idea either. This, obviously, is assuming they already have money allocated for Fakatou, Henderson, etc..

The checks and balances in recruiting makes this stuff entertaining. I’m definitely okay with the staff not overpaying for LVB and saying no to his bullshit.

The entertainment value is 100x now that ND is full-tilt and not trying to tip-toe around paying HS recruits. It was unbearable to see ND outwork everyone on the trail, get in a kid's top 3 and then finish as the bridesmaid because the chosen school was willing to outspend ND. The last two or three cycles have sucked me back into recruiting and it's been a lot more fun.

Regarding LVB, I think this is just the nature of modern recruiting. Some kids (or their families, or their agents, etc) will get greedy and push the limits to see how much they can nickel and dime a school. There will be schools out there willing to pay them whatever the number is; and to each their own. ND has a plan, will stick to their plan, and in the end I trust that the staff knows where and when to up the ante as opposed to letting a kid walk. Seems like a scenario where the latter occurred. ND will be just fine. Kid seems like a baller. Glad he's at Auburn and not a OSU or Miami, or USC, etc.
 

arrowryan

Well-known member
I don't disagree with that, but like you said I also don't know the current offers with the other dudes to know if it's worth upping offers. Also have no clue where some of these guys rank on the staffs board. I do think you're right though and we probably just found an extra set of $$$ that we can throw at Simien, Gayles, and the DL. Just boils down to how the staff wants to split it up.

Can't blame Auburn though in this scenario. Worth it in their case considering the NCAA is letting roster sizes explode.

Auburn’s 2027 recruiting class is pretty ass cheeks, at the moment. Maybe they overpaid and brought his Maine commit brother along just so they could feel something? They don’t have a QB in the class, nor do they appear to be in position to land a good one. Surprised they wouldn’t use that money to buy one.

We’re gonna see how good some of these college GMs are at negotiating contracts in a pseudo-NFL environment.
 

NewEnglandGuy

Best of the Rest
Some programs need to take family members who can’t play and pay over market value just to field a competitive team….but those teams will not have the ultimate success building that way.

ND is better off knowing this prospects priorities now then funding a roster spot without a return on investment when they leave in a year or two after back channeling money and family members roster spots comes back around.
 

allenm5333

Well-known member
I don’t know exact NIL numbers. What I’m saying is that I don’t think it’s smart to just move all LVB funds over to Simien.

Would be smart to use some of the LVB funds to sweeten up the offer? Sure! But I’d use the rest of that money on Gayles and the DL.
I am not saying that at all. I have zero idea how these numbers work. But hypothetically LvB was going to make 700k. Take 300k of that for Simien and then spread out the other 400k to close deals on other prospects.
 

brewdog_14527

Well-known member
How many years before Auburn "processes" his brother out? If the measurables that were shown for the kid on this thread were accurate, he would have been better off going to Maine and coming out with a college degree.
 

DCK_1981

Well-known member
Kinda wild that we were considered the leader for over 6 months and then the day before find out he isn’t coming. I wonder if the Olu commitment made him feel a certain way once he wasn’t going to be the man of the oline class or there was just a last minute change of offer from Auburn? Either way it sucks to lose out on a stud but if there’s a position I’m not worried about its oline.
 
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