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Auburn Morning Rush: Harsin discusses NIL, walk-on PG to transfer, and more

JD McCarthy
·4 min read

The world of college athletics is still adjusting to NIL and how it will force sports to change.

Bryan Harsin shared his thoughts on NIL while attending the 28th Annual DEX Imaging L’Arche Football Preview event at Spring Hill College. The talk came after Jimbo Fischer and Nick Saban recently sent waves through the college football world with their public spat over NIL.

Auburn basketball saw another important piece of their scout team enter the transfer portal late Wednesday night and the gymnastics team announced that they were the only program in the country to sell out every home meet last season.

Here are the top stories around Auburn athletics you need to know to start your morning this Friday.

Harsin: "I think we’re losing the whole concept of what college athletics is all about."

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

Harsin is the latest to mention how quickly NIL has evolved from deals for proven stars to a key piece of recruiting pitches.

“Did it start like this? No,” Harsin told Creg Stephenson of AL.com. “Is this where we are right now? Yes, but nobody really even knows what that means. … And at the end of the day, it’s all about the players. I think we’re losing the whole concept of what college athletics is all about.

“… Obviously, there’s money involved and there’s opportunities, which — if done right — all make the experience for them even better. And that’s really what college should be. It’s not a career. It’s an experience that they get to have. And you hope at the end of that experience, if you, when you ask them, would you do this again? They’d say yes.”

Walk-on point guard Michael Whitmore enters transfer portal

Walk-on point guard Michael Whitmore has entered the transfer portal, according to Nathan King of Auburn Undercover.

Whitmore did not appear in a game last season but was an important member of Auburn’s scout team. The 5-foot-9 Whitmore spent his freshman season at Lee University before walking on at Auburn. He averaged 18.3 points and 6.7 assists at Lee University.

He joins Devan Cambridge and Preston Cook as members of Auburn’s team to enter the transfer portal this offseason.

Gymnastics sells out every home meet

Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

Auburn gymnastics had a year for the record books. They consistently broke program records and one reason why was the atmosphere in Neville Arena.

Each of Auburn’s five home meets were sell-outs with a total of 45,605 fans coming to see the Tigers in Neville Arena.

Auburn was also performing in packed gyms on the road. Every road meet was either a program record or season-high for the home team. In total, the Tigers competed in front of 131,631 fans during the regular and postseason.

Tad Maclean and Finn Murgett eliminated in quarterfinals of NCAA doubles

(Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)

Auburn’s Tad Maclean and Finn Murgett were upset in the quarterfinals of the NCAA doubles championships.

The No. 6 ranked Tigers fell 7-5, 6-4, 1-0 to VCU’s Charles and Maxcense Bertimon. Auburn took a 5-3 lead in the first set but was unable to hold onto the lead and the Bertimon brothers won the opening set. Auburn won the second set to force a 10-point match tiebreaker to determine the match.

Auburn jumped out to a 3-0 lead but lost the next six points and ultimately fell 10-6. Maclean and Murgett finished the season with a 20-6 record.

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