re: 2018 Football Recruiting Thread -- Final OP Update Edition

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3* QB/ATH Gerry Bohanon

My Crystal Ball pick: No pick made

Level of confidence: N/A

Breakdown: If the Tigers push, they might have a chance. He's an athlete who would get a shot at quarterback.

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4* DT Alfred Thomas

My Crystal Ball pick: No pick made

Level of confidence: N/A

Breakdown: Auburn has not offered

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3* DE Andres Fox

My Crystal Ball pick: Auburn

Level of confidence: Medium

Breakdown: According to Fox, he nearly committed to Auburn earlier this year but his mother asked him to hold off. Alabama and LSU are very much in the mix.

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3* WR Shedrick Jackson

My Crystal Ball pick: Auburn

Level of confidence: High

Breakdown: It's hard to imagine the nephew of Tigers legend Bo Jackson going anywhere else. Auburn offered him a week ago.

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Alec Jackson feels two different ways as he prepares to join the Auburn football program next month.

The 6-foot-5 defensive lineman said he’s ready to make the Plains his home when he enrolls in late May. But Jackson isn’t in a huge hurry to get there. He still has a lot to celebrate in his last few weeks at Jeff Davis High School in Alabama’s capital city.

“It’s going to be crazy,” Jackson told SEC Country. “That’s when reality is going to hit right there. But I’m just enjoying my high school days, enjoy prom, enjoy graduation.”

That attitude toward his next few weeks reflects Jackson and what he’ll bring to Auburn as a football player — a little bit of everything.

Auburn defensive line coach Rodney Garner described Jackson, a former tight end, as someone with “tremendous upside” and the ability to play both defensive end and defensive tackle. In Auburn’s 4-3 defensive front, Jackson has the potential to fit any role.

“They say I have the ability to play any position on the defensive line,” Jackson said. “Just being versatile and using my talents at different position.”

Auburn has had its fair share of recent success with versatile defensive tackles. Montravius Adams split out at defensive end some in his four-year Auburn career. Current sophomore Derrick Brown has the agility to do the same, even though he weighs more than 300 pounds.

Jackson, who weighed 284 pounds during a visit to Auburn’s A-Day spring game earlier this month, wants to do the same for Auburn. A lifelong Auburn fan, Jackson lists both edge rushers and interior linemen as his inspirations on the field.

“When I was playing tight end, my favorite player was (Philip) Lutzenkirchen,” Jackson said. “I ended up playing d-line, and I started looking at Nick Fairley, (Dee) Ford, Montravius Adams, Carl Lawson, Marlon (Davidson), all those guys. I just pictured myself playing with them when I was in high school.”

Jackson’s versatile background stems from where he started his high school career. He was mostly a blocking tight end for the Jeff Davis Volunteers as an underclassman. Coaches thought playing defense would better utilize Jackson’s skills. After he made the switch, he became a coveted prospect.

Jackson said he took the lessons he learned on offense and translated them into his all-around game on defense.

“At tight end, you’re just blocking most of the time,” Jackson said. “But you’ve also got to be able to run out for a route and have a release move. On defense, if you’re rushing the passer, you’ve got to have a release move. Basically, that helps you right there. It really went just hand-in-hand.”

While Jackson didn’t get many opportunities to catch the ball at tight end for the Volunteers, his hands made him a real weapon on the other side of the ball.

“He really knows how to use his hands,” Jeff Davis head coach Lee Carter told SEC Country. “He’s so long. All your successful defensive linemen have good get-offs, and they’re able to use their hands. I think his get-off could get better, but the way he uses his hands and his length, I think that’s a plus for him.”

Carter said he thinks Jackson will stick as a defensive tackle at Auburn. He has experience at both traditional tackle and nose tackle, and, more importantly, room to grow.

“Getting up there and getting those good meals and being in that strength and conditioning program, I can see him being a 3-technique or growing into a 1-technique,” Carter said.

Jackson said he’s ready for whatever Auburn has for him in the future. He believes he has the skill set to fit any spot on Garner’s deep defensive line.

“I have size and length, and at the same time, I have a little speed to go with it,” Jackson said. “That makes me a weapon for each position.”

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It’s our job at Rivals.com to get the information on which schools the nation’s top prospects will end up signing with when the time comes. But sometimes the best clues come from fellow recruits. At this past weekend's Atlanta stop of the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp Series presented by adidas, we asked fellow prospects where some of the Southeast’s best players will end up and their answers may surprise you.

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5* OG Jamaree Salyer

The Pick: Clemson. Why: “I think he’s coming to Clemson. I’ve been talking to him. He hasn’t told me he’s coming for sure. I just know he really liked it. He really likes Georgia too, but hopefully we’ll get him.” – Lawrence

The Pick: Georgia. Why: “I think he’s gonna end up going to Georgia. He’s just one of those Georgia boys. He goes there a lot.” – Jones

The Pick: Georgia. Why: “The way it sets up for him and the way things have been going, I think he’s going to Georgia.” – four-star DB Myles Sims, Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake

The Pick: Georgia. Why: “I don’t know. He’s always talking about them.” – Bailey

The Pick: Georgia. – 2019 four-star OL Clay Webb, Oxford, Ala.

The Pick: Georgia. – three-star DB Jaycee Horn, Alpharetta, Ga.

The Pick: Georgia. – Jackson

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Breakdown: It's hard to imagine the nephew of Tigers legend Bo Jackson going anywhere else. Auburn offered him a week ago.

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ESPN is gutting a good bit of their recruiting network. Kind of nuts considering g how much they've pumped up and used recruiting in their broadcasts recently


They already were lagging in FB recruiting news/coverage, only going g to get worse

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