Confession: I’m not the world’s biggest recruiting junkie. I’m not one for message boards or keeping tabs on which schools are involved in a recruit’s final 15 choices.

But I can usually at least pick up on trends. As in, yeah, Jimbo Fisher arriving in College Station has taken Texas A&M’s recruiting to the next level. Or sure, it makes sense that Miami is suddenly losing recruits galore after a season that fell short of expectations that ended with the Canes’ coveted defensive coordinator Manny Diaz leaving to take the head gig at Temple.

I get all of that. What I don’t get is how Gus Malzahn is on the verge of putting together a top 15 class after the year that was.

Malzahn is in position to sign the nation’s No. 14 class. That’s 2 spots lower than where Auburn finished last year.

Last year, though, Malzahn had recently inked his new 7-year, $49 million deal. He took down rivals Alabama and Georgia en route to an SEC West title and a New Year’s 6 Bowl.

Anybody with a pulse knows that it’s been a different story for Malzahn in 2018. A preseason top 10 ranking was followed by a 7-5 regular season — with a pair of blowout losses to Alabama and Georgia — that ended with Malzahn’s $32 million buyout reportedly being a serious topic of discussion. And regardless of how true that was, it doesn’t change the fact that Auburn athletic director Allen Greene had to publicly address Malzahn’s future in the middle of his first season on the new deal.

It also didn’t change the fact that at season’s end, Malzahn watched his offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey leave him for Les Miles at Kansas. That’s right. Kansas.

Yet despite all of those year-to-year changes, Malzahn is basically sitting where he was with his incoming talent. I can’t figure that out.

Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Now before you tell me that “kids commit to the school and not the coach,” I’m at least smart enough to know that’s far from the norm. If it were, Miami wouldn’t have watched its 2019 class crumble when Diaz left.

I’m not saying that Auburn should have suffered that kind of blow because it’s still a program with an incredible fan base and one of the top home environments in the sport. But in a year of turmoil, not a single one of Auburn’s top 15 recruits dropped their commitment. All of them committed to the Tigers before the start of the 2018 season.

Sure, there cases like 5-star linebacker Owen Pappoe’s. He took an official visit to Tennessee and stirred some speculation about a potential flip to the Vols, but that was put to bed over the weekend when Pappoe reaffirmed his pledge to Auburn.

Pappoe is actually one of 3 top-50 recruits committed to the Tigers. Including highly-touted quarterback recruit Bo Nix and Hoover (Ala.) receiver George Pickens — if he sticks with Auburn and doesn’t flip to LSU when he signs after the Early Signing Period — Malzahn could tie the 2016 class for his most top-50 recruits. Interestingly enough, Malzahn was coming off a 7-win seasons in both instances.

Actually, Malzahn’s records and recruiting class rankings clearly aren’t directly related to each other:

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The only thing that seems constant is Malzahn’s classes getting slightly worse by year. But let’s be honest. We’re talking about 7 spots lower now compared to when Malzahn was coming off a Year 1 in which he led Auburn to a national championship berth. That’s not that drastic of a fall.

Rumor has it that Malzahn has been playing defense with this class. That instead of recruiting uncommitted players, he’s had to spend plenty of time keeping commits locked into their Auburn pledges.

That, I get. It makes sense that a 17-year-old kid would have some reservations about their future head coach when they see reports about the Tigers possibly eating that massive buyout to part ways with him.

But say what you want about Malzahn as an offensive mind, he deserves some credit even if he only finishes at No. 15.

There are tons of programs nationally who have their coaches of the future. Take Scott Frost and Dan Mullen, for example. Both are recruiting at what would be deemed traditional powers, yet both could finish just outside of the top 20 in their first full cycles.

If Auburn’s class holds, it’ll be because Malzahn did an impressive job overcoming negative recruiting about his future. That’s not easy to do, especially with how much Auburn’s rivals are thriving on the field and on the recruiting trail.

Is that my way of saying the Malzahn hate has gone too far among Auburn fans? Not necessarily, though Jim McElwain reminded us all that a 7-win floor isn’t the worst thing in the world.

At the very least, though, Malzahn’s ability to sign one of the SEC’s top classes shouldn’t go unnoticed.

No matter how baffling it is.