re: The enemy of your enemy is your friend

Alabama is recruiting extremely well nationally (just look at the 2 they've taken from LA), so losing out on some in-state guys for them isn't a huge deal. However, I'd hate to base the majority of my recruiting approach on grabbing out of state guys. They are generally much tougher to sign than in-state guys. IIRC, Florida did a lot of this towards the end of the Meyer tenure, and now they have very little talent on the offensive end (which should never happen if you're UF) and are watching the resurgence of FSU.

All told, a strong Auburn helps LSU. IMO, what hurts LSU is a REALLY strong Texas and Texas A&M. For decades, LSU has been able to get great players out of Texas. Losing those guys would be a huge blow.