re: 2017 Football Recruiting Thread ["N$D Bryant" Edition]

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Roller coaster. Was hoping Stidham would give us some momentum but news hasn't been great this week.

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Well said.

KNs predictions for the day with confidence levels

4* WR Tarik Black - Michigan 85% (noon CT announcement ceremony at school)
3* TE Salvatore Cannella - Auburn 60% (1 CT on Twitter)
4* S CJ Avery - Louisville 60% (6 CT hsfnetwork.com)

I would really love an upset on Black but not sure it's gonna happen. Really hope we can close on Cannella

JUCO signing day: Auburn will add Jarrett Stidham, maybe 6-foot-6 tight end (SECCountry)

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3-star tight end Salvatore Cannella, Scottsdale C.C.

Signing: Cannella plans to announce his decision at 2 p.m. ET. His final choices are Auburn, Texas and Maryland. The 6-foot-6 pass-catching tight end will officially sign with whichever school he chooses. Cannella will be an early enrollee, likely not getting on campus until after bowl practice.

Eligibility remaining: Cannella has three years remaining and four years to do it.

Road to decision: Cannella stopped playing football his junior year of high school, instead focusing on basketball. He picked up football his senior season, but it was too late to gain recruiting traction. Cannella didn’t have any offers aside from a walk-on opportunity at Illinois State. His older brother, a baseball player, went the junior college route, and Cannella followed that path. He fired off tapes to multiple JUCO programs and landed at Scottsdale C.C. where he gray-shirted first year, but excelled in 2016 once he found playing time. A number of Division I programs offered solely based on spring practice film. Auburn and Texas joined the equation in December, both extending offers in the last two and a half weeks.

Forecast: Cannella felt right at home for his two-day Auburn official visit. He only spent a day at Texas, but the Longhorns made a significant push during the short window. Maryland led going into the official visit weekend, but that primarily was based on the Terrapins being the only visit to that point. The Tigers are the team to beat, however, based on Cannella’s relationship with Scott Fountain. I expect Auburn to get the early-enrollee tight end.

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8 questions with Chandler Wooten, who's set to join Auburn next month (AL.com)

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You've been to Auburn quite a bit throughout the recruitment process. What stood out most about his final visit?

"Just being around the players more. They let me know what's it like that's really what stood out to me the most. I was around Derrick Brown a lot, Kam Martin and Tyler Queen, my former teammate. I was also around Kyle Davis and Nate Craig-Myers -- really all the incoming freshmen from last year, that's who I was with most of the time."

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What did you think of the way Auburn's defense played this year?

"Auburn's defense played lights all year and kept them in a lot of different games. They definitely gave them a chance to compete. Their defense is College Football Playoff caliber and that's what I want to be a part of... They haven't hit their stride yet completely. There's a lot room for improvement in a lot of different areas so I feel like I can come in and help them out along with the other recruits. The players they have now are only going to get stronger and faster. I'm looking forward to it."

What do you like most about Auburn linebackers coach Travis Williams?

"I love his tenacity. He has a lot of fire. He coaches with a lot of passion and it trickles down to his players. How the linebackers are playing is a reflection of how he coaches. I feel like he'll get the best out of me."

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2018 5* DE Xavier Thomas tweets will stay instate

AU tried to get him on campus this fall but don't think he ever made the trip. Was probably a long shot anyway

Looks like new 2018 Rivals250 has actually updated. Again I am just listing guys I think we are targeting, still super early

2018 rivals250
104.) 4* QB Joey Gatewood (AU Commit) - previously #99
110.) 4* RB Asa Martin
111.) 4* OT Marcus Jenkins
112.) 4* OT Darrell Simpson
118.) 4* S Myles Mason
120.) 4* TE Jeremy Ruckert
140.) 4* CB Jalyn Armour-Davis
149.) 4* DT D'Andre Litaker
153.) 4* DE Nick Petit-Fere
157.) 4* OG Jalil Irvin
162.) 4* WR Camron Johnson
174.) 4* RB Shaun Shivers (AU Commit) - previously #195
187.) 4* DE Nikolas Bonitto
220.) 4* ATH Matthew Hill
233.) 4* DT Brant Lawless
235.) 4* TE Mustapha Muhammad

Delayed arrival not deterring Matthews (Rivals)

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Horton plans to utilize both aspects of Matthews’ game at Auburn.

“(Horton) said I would be a running back, but he’d also like to use me out at the slot (receiver) position,” Matthews said. “He wants to get me the ball in the open field with sweeps and screens.”

Matthews was joined on the visit by his uncle and cousin. The trio arrived Friday and stayed until Sunday. Freshman running back Kam Martin served as Matthews’ player host.

“We had a great time,” Matthews said. “We went to the athletic banquet and ate some really good food. I had a blast and I can’t wait to get back down there.”

Matthews plans to leave Itawamba after the spring semester and report to Auburn in the summer. He is very confident in his commitment to the Tigers, but isn’t ruling out taking two more visits.

“I might take a visit to Louisville and one to Western Kentucky,” Matthews said. “Those will be in January and will be my last two visits. But I still feel very good about Auburn.”

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Auburn's director of player personnel welcomed JS on Twitter. Now it's official.

LSU hired Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

-Orgeron's goal is to transform offense into "spreadbased scheme that utilizes a dual-threat quarterback" though the new OC has not had a DT QB as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at five schools Pitt, NC State, Wisconsin, Northern Illinois and Indiana.
-His quarterbacks averaged 392.2 rushing yards per season over the past decade -- Northern Illinois' Chandler Harnish was the best of the bunch with 1,379 rushing yards in 2011.
-Canada did some of his best work this season in developing Tennessee transfer Nathan Peterman at Pittsburgh. Peterman sits 10th nationally in Total Quarterback Rating with an 81.8 opponent-adjusted score, the highest of any Canada-coached quarterback over the past decade. Peterman is the triggerman for a Panthers offense that has already broken the school record for points in a season (508), having scored at least 28 points in all 12 games.
-Canada butted heads with head coach Bret Bielema in 2012, his one season at Wisconsin, and was fired at NC State in 2015 after three seasons there

Wonder what Narcisse thinks.