re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition

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Auburn's passing game is expanding, and when it comes to recruiting, the effects are likely to trickle down to the Tigers' approach with their 2018 class.

After signing two wide receivers back in February, Auburn will likely seek a bigger group at the position this cycle, with the team signing at least two but possibly as many as four receivers in 2018. Not only could it be a bigger crop of recruits at the position, but wide receivers coach Kodi Burns is confident it could be an impactful class.

"I think we're in a great spot right now," Burns said last month in Eufaula. "I think this will be a special class for us at receiver, as well as the whole 2018 class, to be honest. I think we're off to a good start right now, and I think this summer will be really big for us."

Auburn has just two senior receivers on its roster, Jason Smith and former quarterback John Franklin III, so there is an influx of youth at the position. Still, with eight underclassmen on scholarship at receiver -- including expected starters Darius Slayton, Nate Craig-Myers and Kyle Davis -- the Tigers will look to strengthen their depth at the position while trying to add more potential big-play threats to the roster.

"I expect a really big class this year," Burns said in March. "It's exciting for me because now you've got some separation, which we did a good job two years ago of signing probably the best class Auburn's ever had at receiver. We signed four guys who came in here and were big-time players. That's always a little bit of a struggle where guys see that the next year like, oh you just signed this class so why would I go to Auburn.

"Now we've created some separation a little bit and by signing three guys (including tight end Sal Cannella) that are good players, that are going to come in and add some depth and I think this year are going to be a big-time class for us, and I'm excited. I'm really excited."

Auburn currently has one receiver committed to its 2018 class: three-star Cordova prospect Kolbi Fuqua, who committed to the Tigers on A-Day. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Fuqua is listed as an athlete and could also play safety, but said he will start at receiver at Auburn.

Whether he remains on the offensive side of the ball could depend on how the Tigers fare with their other top receiving prospects. At the top of that list is the state's No. 1 recruit, five-star receiver Justyn Ross, who is from just down the road in Phenix City.

Ross is a 6-foot-4, 197-pounder who is considered the No. 5 receiver in the country and 25th-best player in the class of 2018. He was on campus earlier this month for Big Cat Weekend and brought his mother, Charay Franklin, who recently returned from a tour of active duty overseas with the National Guard. Auburn is considered the favorite for Ross, with Alabama, Clemson and Florida State among the other teams in a top 11 he released in late April.

The other top targets Auburn is pursuing at receiver this cycle are four-star prospects Matthew Hill, Jacob Copeland and Seth Williams, as well as three-star receiver Shedrick Jackson.

Hill is a 6-foot-2, 185-pounder out of Snellville, Ga., and Auburn is considered the favorite to land his commitment. He's rated as the No. 29 receiver in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Copeland is a 6-foot, 192-pound prospect out of Escambia High in Pensacola, Fla. He has Auburn among his top-five schools, though he briefly had Auburn and Florida as his top two, and the Gators appear to be the favorite in that race.

Williams is a 6-foot-3, 212-pounder from Paul W. Bryant in Cottondale. Auburn has been in hot pursuit of the nation's No. 28 receiver, though the Tigers will have to stave off nearby Alabama, as well as the likes of Maryland, Georgia, Ole Miss and Florida State.

Jackson, meanwhile, is one of the most likely to join this class. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder out of Hoover is the nephew of Auburn legend Bo Jackson, and he has Auburn in his top five. The Tigers are one of three SEC schools to make the cut, along with Missouri and Mississippi State, with Georgia Tech and Memphis rounding it out.

While those are Auburn's top priorities at receiver for the 2018 class, the Tigers are also pursuing four-star prospects Anthony Schwartz, Kearis Jackson and Camron Johnson. Schwartz, a South Florida native, is expected to choose Florida, while Jackson is also considering Georgia, Michigan and Ohio State. Tennessee is the favorite for Johnson.

Regardless of how it shakes out, it's clear that Auburn is making this class of receivers a priority under Burns and first-year offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey.

"We hired Coach Lindsey for a reason," Burns said. "We brought some RPOs. I think we threw for 400 yards in the first half of the spring game. You kind of see the direction we're going at Auburn as far as throwing the ball down the field. I think if you're a long receiver and you want to come in and play early, this is the place that you can do it.

"We've got the trigger man now -- Sean White, Jarrett Stidham -- we've got some guys coming in so I just think we're in a really good spot to throw the ball down the field."

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Skyler DeLong, the nation’s No. 1 punter from Nation Ford High School (Fort Mill, S.C.), has flipped his commitment from Tennessee to Alabama on Thursday morning. DeLong had been committed to Tennessee since June 1 but had visited Alabama two days after for its specialist camp.

The Crimson Tide remained confident that they would be able to flip DeLong from his commitment because he hadn’t been a Volunteer for long.

Punter is one of Alabama’s biggest needs in the Class of 2018 because JK Scott will exhaust his eligibility after this season, and there isn’t a clear backup to replace him. DeLong will likely be that man now.

Here’s a breakdown of DeLong’s game from Kohl’s Kicking Camps, one of the nation’s top experts on special teams play:

DeLong is developing into one of the best punting prospects in the 2018 class. He had strong a strong showing at the 2016 Southern Winter Showcase and followed it up with an even stronger showing at the 2017 Underclassman Challenge. One of the premier hang time guys in his class, DeLong, can continue to keep the ball extended and sit back on his contact which should help improve his contact and power through his finish. He has the ability to kick off as well but his best chance at the D1 level will be punting. Delong has attended previous camps with the most recent being the NSC in July of 2016. Once again he showed flashes of dominances.

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Nik Bonitto still hearing from Alabama

Nik Bonitto is one of the most gifted athletes in the Class of 2018. Alabama, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU and Texas A&M have told Bonitto that if he ended up committing to their respective school, they would also give him the opportunity to play basketball, too.

Bonitto, the nation’s No. 6 weak-side defensive end (per 247Sports) from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has strictly basketball offers from Denver, Minnesota, St. Louis and Wake Forest, and more than 25 for football.

The 6-foot-3, 204-pound prospect would like the chance to play both sports in college, but it’s not of extreme importance to him if he ended up just focusing on football in school.

“I would love it because it would be a great opportunity for me, but it’s not really important to me,” Bonitto told SEC Country. “If these schools did offer me in basketball, though, it would be really great.”

Alabama, Louisville, Penn State and Virginia Tech are the schools recruiting Bonitto the hardest, he said. Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt is in touch with Bonitto at least once per week, he said.

The Tide are recruiting Bonitto as a “Jack” linebacker, which is a hybrid position of defensive end and outside linebacker. I know some fans are going to be concerned about him weighing 204 pounds and being a defensive end. But, again, he plays basketball, so his weight is going to be down.

Bonitto plays AAU basketball, so his summer schedule is busy with tournaments and therefore he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to make many visits before school begins. He hasn’t visited Tuscaloosa before, but he said he’s planning to make it to campus during the season.

Without being on campus, the 4-star prospect said his interest level in Alabama is high and the team will be one of his top schools when he releases his list near the end of summer.

“Obviously, Alabama is very high on my list,” Bonitto said. “They have a great tradition. They’re always a top 5 team in the country. It would definitely be a great opportunity for me if I did go to Alabama.”

Louisville is treating Bonitto as one of its top priorities in this class. At least one Cardinals staff member is talking to Bonitto every day. He also FaceTimes with Penn State coach James Franklin once a week. He has not received a FaceTime call with Alabama coach Nick Saban yet. That usually means some players may be ahead of him on the board at Jack. Jordan Davis is committed to Alabama as a Jack. Several other big-time targets at Jack include 5-star prospects KJ Henry and Micah Parsons and 4-star prospects Andres Fox, Eyabi Anoma and Cameron Latu.

It’s also interesting to note on Bonitto that the school he grew up rooting for, Florida, isn’t recruiting him strongly despite significant ties from his high school. Teammate Jake Allen signed with the Gators in 2017.

“I was a big Gator fan when I was growing up,” Bonitto said. “They text me every once in a while, but they’re not really on me that hard. I would definitely like to talk to them more, but at the end of the day, if they don’t like me, then that’s them. I have to keep working on me and worry about the schools that are recruiting me.”

The state of Florida’s No. 26 overall recruit isn’t sure when a commitment could come.

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Four-star cornerback Jaycee Horn returned to South Carolina on Wednesday for a session of the Will Muschamp Football Camp.

Horn was joined by his teammate from Alpharetta (Ga.) High School, 2018 defensive lineman Deporess Schletty, a 3-star who’s ranked by 247Sports as the No. 98 defensive tackle in the country.

South Carolina’s focus, presumably, was on Horn, who’s ranked by the 247Sports composite as the No. 23 cornerback in the Class of 2018. Coach Will Muschamp and defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson had a chance to see him work during on-field drills.

“I learned a lot of new things. That’s one of the main things I like about the camp season, just getting to go to the different colleges and learn different stuff and new techniques from different coaches,” Horn said. “T-Rob taught me a good thing that helped me in man-to-man, press-coverage.”

The coaches’ track-record with defensive backs stands out to Horn, a 6-foot, 174-pound prospect with an invite to The Opening Finals in Oregon.

“That’s a major thing, because it proves that most schools — all the schools that recruit you tell you a lot of things that you want to hear, but a few of the schools have an actual track-record to show for it,” Horn said. “Muschamp and T-Rob, they definitely have a track-record. They put a lot of DBs in the league.

“They’re second-to-none at that position, so you’re definitely getting the highest of the highest learning if you go to South Carolina. If I chose to go there, I could be up under those guys.”

Alabama had him on campus last weekend. Tennessee will host Horn for another visit this weekend.

“That’s going to be it for a while,” he said. “I don’t really have anything else set up after that.”

The Gamecocks, Tide and Vols are consistently listed among his favorites. Just how soon he makes a commitment is to be determined, though he does have a general idea.

“It could happen in the middle of the season. It could happen before the season, but right now, it’s not looking that way,” Horn said.

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This lady says she is the new director of recruiting.

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STOCK STEADY

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Harrison Bailey

Bailey still has three more years of high school, so he will continue to be evaluated, but he had a solid showing with some of the best in America that are two years older than him by his side. He has a big arm, good size and his offer list reflects his talent.

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell shares his biggest takeaways from the talented group of underclassmen that competed over the weekend at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas.

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WR Trey Knox

Knox is huge and has big, reliable hands. Will he be a big receiver or grow into a tight end? It doesn’t matter much. He will catch a ton of passes either way.

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