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

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-(9:48 a.m.) Four-star defensive end Ryan Johnson tells me he is not arriving until Thursday. He has a lingering ankle injury and will not be able to play in the game. Johnson's Auburn official visit is Jan. 20. Also officials to Stanford (Jan. 14), Texas (Jan. 26) and Alabama (Jan. 28). Potentially could official to Oregon or Notre Dame.

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ORLANDO — As January approaches, 4-star cornerback Christopher Henderson is still considering three schools: Miami, Florida and Alabama.

No Auburn.

That decision came within the last month based on some crucial news on the Plains. Henderson’s primary recruiter was then-secondary coach Wesley McGriff who departed to take the Ole Miss defensive coordinator job.

It caught Henderson by surprise, which forced him to reconsider his relationship with Auburn going forward.

“My main recruiter ‘Crime Dog’ went to Ole Miss,” Henderson said Tuesday at the Under Armour All-America media day. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

Auburn originally recruited Henderson as a running back. Once the Tigers staff considered him a defensive back prospect, McGriff picked up primary control over Henderson’s recruitment. That was who Henderson spent most of his time with for his Nov. 4 official visit to Auburn.

Once McGriff left, it made it tough for Henderson to continue to consider the Tigers who were playing from behind anyways — though it encouraged Henderson to shift the way he thinks about the recruiting process.

“I was really considering them, and it really made me think about going to a school just for a coach,” Henderson said. “Because he was my main recruiter, I really didn’t get to talk to any other coaches once they switched me (from running back to cornerback).”

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When are we expecting a hire there?

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Ashley’s family moved from Florida to Washington D.C. prior to his senior season so the 6-foot-7, 325-pound offensive tackle could play at St. John’s College High. With the move, the home-state Terrapins began to make a push. That included a December official visit and multiple in-home visits during the contact period.

It caused some concern on the Plains. But Ashley received his last in-home visit of the December contact period from Herb Hand and Scott Fountain.

That meant enough for Ashley to tweet out that he ended his contact period “right.”

“It was nice. Auburn came right after the (Maryland) visit. It was great for them to show the love. They came the last date of the deadline. That’s just family. We just hung around. It was great to have coach Hand and coach Fountain there,” Ashley said at the Under Armour All-America media day. “That was real nice.”

The Terrapins still haven’t been ruled out despite Ashley’s commitment to Auburn since June 2015.

Since his parents moved to D.C., the proximity of College Park, Md., gives Ashley’s family a much more realistic opportunity to watch him play his games. Ashley “wants his family to be able to watch” him play.

His parents will likely stay in the D.C. area, though they’ve considered the possibility of returning to Florida where Ashley grew up. If the latter happens, Auburn really has nothing to worry about. Even if his parent were to stay near Maryland, Auburn remains in strong position to maintain its highest-rated commitment.

“(I’m) very solid, very solid,” Ashley said.

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“I want to see where everything stands one last time,” Johnson said.

Auburn’s interest in Johnson grew over the last month and a half. Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and defensive line coach Rodney Garner began to contact Johnson on a regular basis, and that quickly turned into an offer.

Steele and Garner, who recently picked up their first defensive line commitment from Alec Jackson, have stressed the need for an outside pass-rusher in the 2017 class.

But Auburn’s best recruiting tool might not even be coming from the coaching staff. His high school teammate is Auburn commit Calvin Ashley. The 5-star prospect has made sure Johnson knows everything Auburn has to offer.

“Oh yeah. He tells me so much about Auburn, so I can’t wait to see it for myself. He says how much he loves the people, the coaches, the town, the facilities. I really can’t wait,” Johnson said. “I want to see the environment. I want to see how the people are. I want to see a lot of stuff. I’m just getting prepared for it … I love the SEC, so I thought I should take a real good look into it.”

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-(6:41 p.m.) -- Texas A&M 3-star defensive end commit Tyree Johnson says he's 99.9 percent committed to the Aggies, but will official to Auburn and Maryland. His Tigers official will be the final weekend before National Signing Day.

He says 5-star Auburn commit Calvin Ashley has been selling him on Auburn. Seems like it will be a tough flip, but he's listening.

-(4:55 p.m.) -- Talked at length with Auburn 5-star Auburn commit Calvin Ashley. It really sounds like he is extremely solid to the Tigers. In fact, the Jan. 20 official visit to Auburn probably will be his last one. Sounds like nobody else will even get an official.

Ashley says he was excited about Auburn's pickup of touted quarterback Jarrett Stidham.

He wants to do some recruiting this week. Four-star defensive end Markaviest Bryant will be a major target.

We will have a full video interview posted later in the day.

-(3:38 p.m.) -- Four-star linebacker commit Chandler Wooten just arrived. He will room with Nick Brahms, the 4-star offensive guard commit, at Auburn -- once the two enroll in college. Wooten has been talking to another early enrollee, linebacker Kenney Britt. Says Britt is real excited about having been able to practice with the Tigers in preparation for the bowl. Wooten hopes to do some recruiting this week.

Wooten says he has talked to the four Auburn defensive back commits -- and feels all of them will stick, even though secondary coach Wesley McGriff is leaving for Ole Miss.

Wooten has not heard any chatter about who might replace McGriff.

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Auburn: "I'm taking an official visit. I'm taking my visit the last weekend before Signing Day. I love Coach G. He came out the first day of the new contact period. He expressed that they really need me and I'm a big need for that school."

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Rivals Reaction: Bryant gave a few different answers when asked by different reporters about how things were in terms of a pecking order between schools. But based on combining all those comments together, it appears Auburn remains in a great position for Bryant. Obviously his official visits will play a major factor, but if all things were even and Bryant were making his announcement today the Tigers would be the school to beat.

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AUtigR24

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"I don't know too much about OU but I've got Auburn taking this one by at least 14 points because they have a healthy team back again." -- 4-star 2018 receiver Justyn Ross

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"I'm going to say 42-24 Auburn" -- 4-star defensive end Ryan Johnson of Mobile (Ala.) St. Paul's Episcopal.

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"I like Oklahoma 30-24." -- 4-star defensive end target Markaviest Bryan of Cordele (Ga.) Crisp County.

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"31-21 Oklahoma" -- 2018 running back Harold Joiner of Birmingham (Ala.) Mountain Brook.

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"21-17 Auburn" -- 2018 3-star receiver Shedrick Jackson of Hoover (Ala.).

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