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re: 2018 Football Recruiting Thread -- Final OP Update Edition
Posted on 5/13/17 at 7:52 am to TigerPaw1
Posted on 5/13/17 at 7:52 am to TigerPaw1
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Let’s talk Nix family comparisons
Patrick Nix’s name is mentioned with some of the great quarterbacks in Auburn lore.
It begs the obvious question: Will Bo be the same way?
Patrick isn’t big into comparisons. It’s a different day and time in a much different college football and recruiting landscape. But he also recognizes his son’s innate leadership and quarterbacking ability.
“As far as a player, he’s farther along than I was at this time. I think most players are now than when I was coming out. Things have changed drastically over the course of time,” Patrick said. “Quite honestly, we try not to compare too much. His goal and my goal for him is to be the best him he can be. However good that is, let’s make sure to maximize that and not worry about being better than your dad, be better than your little brother.”
When Bo talks about his recruitment, he has a distinct reason for why he wants to wait another year before making a college decision. He is operating in the here and now. Bo has his sights set on his next football season at Pinson Valley more than where he’ll suit up for college.
It all links back to his overarching goal.
“I want to be the best high school quarterback in the nation,” Bo said. “I’m young. I want to experience high school. In doing that, I have to focus on the now and not the future. At the same time, I want to have a good experience with the recruitment and have fun.”
Bo is on the fast track to be one of the best quarterbacks in the country, not just in the 2019 recruiting class.
At the Nike Opening camp in Atlanta, he was named top quarterback overall. That camp showcased many great 2018 quarterback prospects, including Ohio State commit Emory Jones.
Bo doesn’t just want to be the best in the country, though. He has a house full of quarterbacks he wants to top.
“He’s said it a couple times. If he can be the best quarterback in the house when it’s all said and done, he’s going to be pretty good,” Patrick said. “I was fortunate enough to have had a good career. He’s had a pretty good career. And he’s going to be pushed by one coming up behind him that wants to do that. For us in our family, it’s a friendly and fun little competition to see who does what.”
Of course our big time legacy/AU fan wants to make sure everyone knows they can recruit him while the Bama kid (Pierce Quick) jumps on board without much hesitation....
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Posted on 5/13/17 at 7:53 am to TigerPaw1
Despite scary incident, Markaviest Bryant says ‘I won’t be limited’ when he arrives in Auburn later this month (SECCountry)
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CORDELE, Ga. — Markaviest Bryant wasn’t worried.
Just a “little scratch or something,” he thought after he accidentally put his arm through a glass window at Crisp County High School.
But his football coach knew it was much more than that.
“It didn’t scare me, I actually didn’t think it was that bad, I thought it was a little scratch or something,” Bryant told SEC Country on Wednesday. “But then Coach (Felton) was like, “Whoa, whoa, come here.’ He stopped me and it was kind of bad.”
The 4-star Auburn defensive end signee called Big Cat was playing around when he lost his balance. “I thought my hand was just going to hit the door,” he said. He didn’t panic. Most the damage was done when he pulled his arm out of the window.
Bryant went to the hospital — doctors put him under to make sure there was no nerve damage — and he received a few stitches. On Wednesday, Big Cat was wearing a wrap on his right arm. He assured that everything was “all right.”
It wasn’t enough damage to prevent him from keeping his Thursday appointment to speak with kids at a nearby primary school.
“He could have easily called and told the kids he wasn’t going on a field trip tomorrow,” Crisp County High School coach Shelton Felton said. “Instead he called and made sure they knew he was coming. That’s the kind of kid he is. The teachers love him to death and the kids love him. He didn’t want to disappoint those kids and he said, ‘Coach, I’m still going.’”
And don’t worry Auburn fans. Big Cat doesn’t expect the injury to be a problem when he arrives on campus after graduation at the end of the month.
“No, I won’t be limited,” Big Cat said. “Pain is temporary. I won’t be limited. It’ll be all right. I’ll be healed and right in time for when I get to Auburn.”
Since surprising many by committing to Auburn on National Signing Day over Georgia and LSU, Bryant has been preparing for the transition. The 6-foot-5 future buck has been doing his time in the weight room. According to Felton, Bryant gained nearly 12 pounds since the end of his football season.
Posted on 5/13/17 at 7:54 am to TigerPaw1
Top WR target Jacob Copeland continues high Auburn praise (SECCountry)
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WR from Florida offers high Auburn praise — again
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Jacob Copeland’s preferences have changed a few times throughout his recruiting process.
A few top schools have been eliminated. On more than one occasion, one of his schools of interest re-emerged after saying publicly that he’d reduced his options to other programs.
Through all of that, one thing has remained constant: Auburn.
“That’s one of those schools, you can’t go wrong going to Auburn, just knowing you’ll have coaches that’ll take care of you,” Copeland told SEC Country. “Coach Kodi Burns, he’s like a big brother to me. Me and him, we vibe all the time, we talk all the time. It’s hardly ever about football. It’s after football life. He’s always got me, even if I wasn’t to come to Auburn. He always tells me I have the ability to be a first-round draft pick. He wants to guide me through to be a man.”
If Copeland ever had any doubts about Auburn, it stemmed from his uncertainty with the passing game.
He’s well aware of the Tigers’ tendencies as a run-first team. During the 2016 season, Copeland wondered why the offense wasn’t utilizing top wide receivers such as Nate Craig-Myers. Any of those concerns were washed away with one film session with Burns and offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey.
The trio sat down for a quick tape review during Copeland’s most recent swing through the Plains. Auburn’s spring game was the primary topic of conversation.
Copeland liked what he saw.
“They’ve got [Jarrett] Stidham. He’s young. They’ve got the other true freshman quarterback [Malik Willis]. When I stopped back by coming back from Clemson, I sat in a room with Coach Burns and Coach Lindsey. They showed proof,” Copeland said. “They threw for like 700 yards in the spring game. All the receivers had like 87 to 100 yards each. Just coming in, I know what their receivers can do. I feel like I’ve got something in my mind that other receivers can’t do.”
Copeland’s decision remains far off.
After saying Auburn and Florida were the only programs remaining, the 4-star wide receiver decided to take a step back and reopen his options to five. That added Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee to the mix. For more information on all of these schools, check out Copeland’s 1-on-1 video interview with SEC Country Florida recruiting reporter Zach Abolverdi from earlier in the week.
Copeland plans to announce his choice on national television at the Under Armour All-America Game.
Posted on 5/13/17 at 7:54 am to TigerPaw1
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Quick note on early signing period
For those of you deeply engaged in the recruiting world, you likely saw the most recent recruiting rule approved by the NCAA.
Now in effect, there will be a 72-hour early signing period at the end of December, which allows prospects to ink with schools — beginning this recruiting cycle — from Dec. 20 to Dec. 23. This would lock top targets into those programs a month earlier than the typical first Wednesday of February date and allow college programs to utilize their time and resources elsewhere throughout the January contact period.
It’s still not completely clear how this change will affect the recruiting landscape. However, for a useful perspective on the subject, check out Tommy Tuberville’s most recent edition of his weekly column for AuburnUndercover.com, where he outlines the effect he thinks it may have and what it means on the team side of things.
As for Auburn’s 2018 prospects, I reached out to all of the school’s commits in the class.
It’s too early to tell what this means for them. The legislation is so new that all of them have said they need to sit down with coaches and parents to discuss further what steps they should take with the new signing-period possibility.
Quarterback commit Joey Gatewood said he’s likely to sign early, but that’s not because of the new rule. He already planned to enroll early, so he will sign his letter of intent the same way early enrollees have been doing for years.
Posted on 5/13/17 at 8:02 am to TigerPaw1
Next Gen: Markaviest Bryant admits he won’t miss going through recruiting process (SECCountry)
So there's this article by the AU side on Bryant's recruitment which does make it sound like he actually wanted to sign with AU. Now I am gonna post the long UGA one which seems to make it sound like he settled for AU...
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CORDELE, Ga. — Most high school football players envision themselves on the field at one of the nation’s top college programs.
Yet when those hopes become a reality and a handful of the SEC’s best come knocking at your door, that dream quickly can turn into a nightmare.
Few understand that better than Markaviest “Big Cat” Bryant.
“There were nights where I couldn’t eat because I didn’t know where I wanted to go,” Bryant told SEC Country during a visit this week. “If I could have another high school football season I wouldn’t want to do recruiting. It’s a blessing, and I’m not going to say a curse, but it can get hectic when it gets down to it and you’re one of the top prospects in the country. It gets kind of dirty towards the end.”
By the conclusion of his recruitment the 4-star defensive end narrowed his choices to Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Auburn.
The process could have been simpler. The Cordele, Ga., native could have made a choice, stopped answering his phone and canceled visits. He could have eliminated all the back-and-forth.
That didn’t seem like the solution to Bryant, though.
“I could thank his grandmother on his father’s side,” said Marcia Bryant, Bryant’s mother. “Because she always taught him to share, don’t be selfish.”
Instead, Bryant endured an arduous couple of years — in part with his teammates in mind.
Every time a college coach stopped by Crisp County High School, head coach Shelton Felton made sure the visitor saw all of his other Cougars before the college coach laid eyes on the Big Cat they were hunting.
“I wanted to help pave the way for everyone else. I didn’t really have anybody in front of me that had set the bar,” Bryant said. “The only reason I didn’t commit is because I was trying to help the guys around me. I tried to wait it out, that’s one reason.”
Bryant was an integral piece to Crisp County’s football turnaround. After winning just a handful of games for years, the Under Armour All-American lifted the Cougars to the Georgia Class 3A semifinals last season.
Bryant’s thought process as far sharing the glory is one of the many reasons Felton appreciates Bryant.
“The biggest thing is he’s a team-first guy,” Felton said. “He could have shut his recruiting down but he knew by bringing the coaches in to see him it brought attention to his teammates.”
National Signing Day in February was exactly what Bryant hoped it would be.
Before Big Cat announced his shocking decision to be an Auburn Tiger, three of his teammates — Brandon Dowdell (Chattanooga), Dekevious Hamilton (Eastern Arizona College) and Jhishawn Taylor (Georgia State) — made their decisions, too.
Felton now has more players garnering loads of attention. Bryant’s presence helped.
Quay Walker is a 4-star linebacker prospect in the 2018 class with 17 offers, including Auburn. Jammie Robinson is a 2019 prospect who’s looking at double-digit offers.
Bryant hopes to continue being there to offer help and guidance even as he heads to Auburn later this month. He’s willing to have conversations behind the scenes and help make the process less of a headache in any way he can.
And Felton can vouch for Big Cat’s credentials.
“In my 12 years, I’ve had big-time recruits, I had (Auburn’s) Montravius Adams, Big Cat’s cousin, but I think through the whole recruiting process, Big Cat’s might have been the most stressful,” Felton said. “He liked a lot of schools, a lot of different people. There was a lot of made up stuff going on, you know how fans are. Even in a small town people have their favorites. It took a toll on him, and he was just glad to get it over with.”
Originally Bryant was most interested and expected to attend Georgia. Then his interest in other schools picked up with Auburn being one of them.
That also including LSU, a school Bryant had always adored and his mother had pushed him toward.
“It was such a battle between Auburn and Georgia,” Marcia Bryant said. “That’s why I was like if you go to LSU you don’t have to worry about going back and forth.”
Bryant was pulled in all directions. He endured rumors and negativity.
Following lots of conversations with his mother, Bryant decided. In the 12 hours before his Signing Day ceremony, he considered proximity. He could make the nearly 130-mile drive to the Plains in just more than two hours. The 530-mile drive to Baton Rouge would last around eight hours.
But there was more to the decision that travel. His heart kept pulling him toward Auburn. He saw himself having an immediate impact as a Tiger.
“I feel like Auburn will have a much bigger need for me than LSU,” Bryant said. “At LSU I would have just been another player, but at Auburn I’m the player.
Big Cat paid close attention during Kevin Steele’s first season in 2016. He loved everything he saw from the first-year coordinator.
“I’m not going to lie, I’ve really seen a big improvement on the defensive side of the ball,” Bryant said.
His fondness for his future coaching staff only grew as he learned how Steele — Big Cat calls him “a genius” — and defensive line coach Rodney Garner — a “father figure” — explained their plan for him.
When Bryant walked toward the Auburn sign his friends held in the Crisp County High gymnasium on Feb. 1, and later saw his new coaching staff explode into celebration around a conference table, he knew it was the right move.
“That was big. That really made me feel like I made the best decision for me,” Bryant said. “A lot of people said I made it because of this or rumors and then because my coach going — he’s not even going — so you know, I really made the best decision for myself and my family. I wanted to put myself in the best situation to be great.”
So there's this article by the AU side on Bryant's recruitment which does make it sound like he actually wanted to sign with AU. Now I am gonna post the long UGA one which seems to make it sound like he settled for AU...
Posted on 5/13/17 at 8:03 am to TigerPaw1
What really happened with UGA and Markaviest Bryant? (DawgNation)
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Markaviest Bryant signed with Auburn. The Tigers are so fond of his big smile, floppy hair and Crisp County charm they list him by his nickname.
Check the media guide. The press releases. The team website. He’s Big Cat Bryant.
But it was a long and winding road to that Auburn bio perch on the information superhighway. (Note: Bryant was in the news recently after he accidentally put his right arm through a glass window. He’s recovering nicely.)
Everyone probably thinks they know what went down with his decisions. Yes. Decisions.
Package deals? Cabin trips? How was his high school coach Shelton Felton really involved in all of that? You might think you know. Bryant tells an altogether different story.
The best way to start off is in Bryant’s own words. What did he learn from his recruiting journey that he might share to another prospect who struggled as much as he did?
“The first thing I would say is to just enjoy the process,” Bryant told DawgNation.com. “Find a way to enjoy it. But what I can say from what I learned is to find the right fit for you. Don’t do it for anybody else around you. Don’t do it for the people you stay with. Do it for your own cause. Because at the end of the day you are the one that lives your decision. For the rest of your life. You. Not anyone else.”
That’s the start. It just might serve as the postscript for Big Cat, too.
Posted on 5/13/17 at 8:06 am to TigerPaw1
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The toss-up for Markaviest Bryant
Let’s start with throwing it all out there. We’ll choose to do so with a listicle. Each one of the following statements applies to his recruiting story. He said it was either true, true for a time or stands as the truth to this very day.
- Bryant didn’t make his final decision to sign with Auburn until about 30 minutes before his 11 a.m. announcement time.
- He became a silent commitment after his official visit to Georgia in early January. That was the only time he felt the need to make a silent commitment.
- Bryant grew up a huge Florida fan. “Never in a million years did I think I was going to end up at Auburn,” he said.
- If you asked him this time a year ago which school he would sign with it would have been Georgia. “Hands down, Georgia,” he said. “Just for the hype and the simple fact of all the great players and great guys I knew that were already going to Georgia. It is home. Home state. That’s really the only place I thought I was going to end up at.”
- If LSU were closer to home, then that program have the name “Big Cat” Bryant on its website. He said if LSU had been two hours away from home, that would’ve been his choice. “I was inches away from signing with LSU,” he said.
- The top two schools for Bryant on National Signing Day wound up being Auburn and LSU. Georgia was cut about two days prior. Auburn coaches did not know his choice until the moment the rest of the world did.
- What could Georgia have done better to sign him? Apply less pressure, Bryant said. Recruit him less. Yes, that’s right. Georgia recruited him harder than any other school. It wasn’t even close.
- Bryant said he holds no regrets about how things shook out. He wouldn’t change a thing. If he had to look to one thing, he wouldn’t have used an official visit to go to Arkansas. He would have used that for an official visit to, say, UCLA or Southern Cal.
- He knows the class of 2017 at Georgia well. Bryant built great friendships with those guys. That will be the one school he will look forward to playing the most in the SEC.
- Florida disappointed him. He was a die-hard Gators fan growing up. Coach Jim McElwain went from texting him every day to nothing. He saw Florida’s interest evaporate as the program changed defensive and recruiting coordinators leading up to National Signing Day.
- Bryant said Alabama coach Nick Saban came to see him in the weeks leading up to National Signing Day. When he did, Saban let it be known he still had a spot at Alabama if Bryant wanted it. The Crimson Tide finished fourth. Bryant said the Alabama scholarship offer was still there for him on National Signing Day.
Posted on 5/13/17 at 8:08 am to TigerPaw1
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When did all that Georgia stuff change?
Bryant said his decision began to turn away from Georgia shortly before he took his official visit to Auburn.
“It is a numbers game,” Bryant said. “I really felt that with Georgia. They must have thought I was going to change or switch on them. And I wasn’t at that time whatsoever. Something that nobody knows was that I had already silently committed to Georgia.”
Bryant believed Georgia coach Kirby Smart was worried. The Bulldogs were stacking up what would be rated as the nation’s No. 3 recruiting class.
Spots and slots were at a premium. Bryant believed the Bulldogs were sweating him on that Auburn visit.
What did they know? Why were they worrying? That’s what he had in his mind.
“I had been to Auburn before,” Bryant said. “I felt that there was already nothing that Auburn could do to change me. Or change my mind up from Georgia. I was already silently committed to Georgia and there were some things that were said about me afterward that just weren’t true.”
Let’s hit the rewind button here. Bryant said that he committed to Georgia on his official visit.
“When I committed to Georgia, I felt great,” Bryant said. “That was a big relief for me and a big big weight off my back when I committed.”
What happened here? Bryant cited two things.
He believed LSU came into the picture as sort of a blitzing linebacker. It could be stated (in football terms) the Tigers from Baton Rouge created a big enough wedge of doubt in his mind about Georgia that it also allowed Auburn to sneak into the mix.
Things got complicated. No doubt about that. He began to worry about pursuing his degree in engineering in Athens. Bryant said his offer to Georgia was never pulled. He didn’t honestly think it was.
He believes he still could have put the UGA hat on in the end.
“I feel it was all about a numbers game with Georgia,” Bryant said. “They wanted to make sure I was all in if I wasn’t in. I still think I had my scholarship to take at Georgia on signing day.”
Bryant said he still knew he was going to Georgia last January at the Under Armour All-American Game.
Funny he makes a trip to LSU & all of a sudden is worried about getting engineering degree at UGA. Orgeron doing some serious negative recruiting down there. Every time a recruit visits there all of a sudden they have a concern about a previous school they were highest on
Posted on 5/13/17 at 8:08 am to TigerPaw1
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‘Too much pressure’ from Georgia?
He expanded on that point about “too much pressure” from Georgia.
“I’ll just be honest here,” Bryant said. “I don’t mean to talk bad about anyone here. I mean that. But it was too much pressure. It was good pressure now. They were showing they wanted me. Real bad. Getting everybody to recruit me. This wasn’t bad pressure. It was good pressure. But at the same time if they would have laid off just a little bit and not bombarded me with that good pressure, then I would have been there.”
Doubt that? Well, Bryant would later say that Smart and lead recruiter Kevin Sherrer were the hardest people to say no to along his decision.
“It was a numbers game with Georgia,” Bryant said. “They needed to know if I was in or out. They signed like 25 or 26 guys. The numbers game was there with Georgia. They had to apply that pressure to see if they had room. The other two schools just sat back and waited for what I wanted to do.”
He said that Smart and Sherrer caught up with him a couple weeks after National Signing Day. They just wanted to see how things went, what they could have done better and wished him the very best.
“That right there really just reinforced the good personal feelings I had all along about those two guys,” he said.
He also believes Smart and LSU coach Ed Orgeron were the nicest head coaches he met during his recruitment. He made it clear that Gus Malzahn was in there, too.
“Coach O was probably the nicest and coach Smart was probably the coolest,” he said.
Posted on 5/13/17 at 8:10 am to TigerPaw1
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The Auburn and LSU puzzle
Remember that two hours away stuff regarding that team in Baton Rouge? When Bryant recoiled from that good Georgia pressure, he found himself set to sign the papers to LSU.
“I honestly thought I was going to go to LSU,” Bryant said. “I was getting ready to sit down and sign the papers to go with LSU. Then I sat down with my mom. We talked. When we talked, then I felt real good about Auburn.”
That came after Bryant had told his coach that he planned “to shock the world” and sign with LSU.
“LSU couldn’t have done anything better,” Bryant said. “It was great. It was just the distance. Sometimes it is good to branch off but I just felt maybe out of my comfort zone being eight to nine hours away at LSU. Don’t get me wrong now. Because if LSU was just two hours away I would be in purple-and-gold today.”
Auburn kept pecking away late. He loved his official visit. When he told a coach he wanted to eat wings, Bryant was taken to a restaurant that cooked up whatever he wanted.
“I got everything and every kind of chicken wing I wanted,” Bryant said. “That was my official. They really did show they liked me and wanted me to come to Auburn. It made my official my own personal official. They let me plan and program whatever I wanted to do in Auburn on my official.”
He also loved LSU. He said it was his best college visit. By far. Bryant said he will remember the bond he forged with Georgia pass rush import Arden Key plus another big thing.
“I’m not going to lie about this,” Bryant said. “Just be honest. Those females in Baton Rouge. Oh. My. gosh. They have some nice-looking ladies at LSU.”
With so many big programs chasing him hard late, Bryant said one thing that will also surprise fans.
“I didn’t have one school say one thing bad about any other school,” he said. “Everyone stayed professional. No team tried to take another team down by saying this or that. Not one of those schools bashed any other school. There was a lot of respect between all these schools.”
The biggest reason he chose Auburn: He had a heart-to-heart talk with his mother.
“My mom gave me her opinion,” Bryant said. “She said Auburn and that was what I did. That’s the reason why I went to Auburn.”
That last part is really important & interesting. Remember how everyone thought it was his HC that was the real decision maker & that we got him because we were gonna hire his coach? Well sounds like we got em because we won over his momma
Posted on 5/13/17 at 8:12 am to TigerPaw1
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Biggest rumor that wasn’t true
The subhead above sets up the point. Bryant said he didn’t understand where the word came from that Crisp County coach Shelton Felton was getting a job at Auburn. That led to the rampant speculation and insider trading of sorts that Felton helped place Bryant with the Tigers.
“That was something that blew up,” Bryant said. “When I first spoke to Coach Felton about that, that was because I saw something about it on Facebook. I never knew that was going on and really didn’t think that was real. I thought somebody had just made that up.”
He said he was stunned. Especially as that talk ramped up around National Signing Day.
“Coach Felton and I never talked about him coming to Auburn with me or following me or anything,” Bryant said. “That was something that blew up and people looked into. That really was something that people looked into and I don’t really know why. Coach Felton and I never talked about that. Ever.”
It is worth nothing that the NCAA recently passed legislation that prevents coaches or other individuals with positions of influence and longstanding relationships with a prospect from gaining employment at the same program which signs a recruit they are professionally connected to.
Opinions vary about that legislation. Look for high school coaches to possibly bring a class-action lawsuit on the matter soon. That stunts their professional growth and blocks future high school coaches from following the path that numerous peers have followed over the past 10 years.
Maybe I am just defensive but that whole article basically made it sound like Bryant settled for AU. LSU was too far & UGA pressured him too much so he went to next closest school who was the most laid back. However, the AU article shows that he felt he could have the biggest impact at AU & felt most comfortable here. Anyways always interesting to read other school's perspectives
Posted on 5/13/17 at 8:14 am to TigerPaw1
Major LB target Quay Walker talks all-SEC top 5, which school is coming after him the hardest (SECCountry)
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CORDELE, Ga. — Quay Walker will play college football in the SEC, but which school he’ll exactly pick still remains an unknown.
Walker, a 4-star linebacker from Crisp County High School, spoke with SEC Country on Thursday at his school to get the latest on his recruitment and where things stand with his all-SEC top 5 of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU and South Carolina.
The Crimson Tide are on top for his services at this point.
“They just hit me up all of the time,” Walker said. “We talk about football, but sometimes we don’t even talk about that. We talk about life itself and how I can become a better person if I went to Alabama besides just playing football.”
In the video above, you’ll get the answers to the following questions:
1) Which school out of the five is recruiting him the hardest right now?
2) Has his former teammate, Auburn signee Markaviest “Big Cat” Bryant been in his ear about linking up once again?
3) Why South Carolina leapfrogged Georgia for a spot in his top 5?
4) What is LSU’s message to him and what does he think about the Tigers?
5) Which of the five schools was his first SEC offer?
Posted on 5/13/17 at 8:16 am to TigerPaw1
State of Alabama’s top offensive lineman close to narrowing options, including Auburn (SECCountry)
I'm starting to think we land 5 OL in this class. KN hinted last week that AU might take a swing type of guy which Jenkins or Stutts could be
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Top OL in Alabama talks Auburn
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Marcus Jenkins — his birth name — earned his nickname well before anyone knew what he’d become.
Better known in the recruiting world as “Tank,” Jenkins’ mother started calling him that as a child. It derived from a variation of nicknames his father had and it stuck throughout his childhood. By the time Jenkins became a 4-star football prospect, it was a logical nickname for the 6-foot-3, 320-pound prospect.
“I turned into a Tank, so it fits,” Jenkins said. “My dad is like 6-foot-3, about 280, a real big dude.”
Jenkins has lived up to the billing, especially in recent weeks.
As the No. 10 offensive guard in the nation in the 247Sports composite rankings, Jenkins is listed as the top offensive lineman in the state of Alabama. He plays for Park Crossing High in Montgomery. Last weekend, Jenkins put on a show at the Nike Opening regional in Charlotte, N.C. His performance received OL MVP honors at the camp.
Those accolades are forcing top programs to put on the recruiting pressure. He’s receiving most of that attention from Oklahoma, Missouri, Florida, Auburn, Louisville, Mississippi State, Miami, Arkansas and a few others.
Expect to see a complete list in the near future.
“I’ll make a top 10 [soon],” Jenkins said. “[I’ll have a decision] probably at the end of May. I’m going to go visit some more schools and talk to more coaches. For now, I think they’re all recruiting me the same. I just want to get it out of the way since I plan to enroll early.”
Jenkins projects as a guard at the next level.
For Auburn purposes, that adds some intrigue to his recruitment. So far, the Tigers have two offensive linemen committed in the class — Jalil Irvin and Kameron Stutts — who are both expected to be interior linemen, likely guards. Irvin could play center, which means the Tigers could plan to take another guard.
It’s still up in the air whether Auburn hopes to take four or five offensive linemen. With other guards such as Trey Hill out there, the Tigers’ priority figures to focus on tackles going forward.
Still, Jenkins feels like Auburn wants him. The presence of two other guards in the class doesn’t scare him away.
“It doesn’t play a role, for real. It all depends who would go there and get the spot and grind for it,” Jenkins said. “They love me. They want me to come play and be their best guy. It’s a good school. It’s a good in-state school.”
Most, if not all, of Jenkins’ communication runs through offensive line coach Herb Hand.
“He’s a real cool guy. He’s just like my offensive line coach at Park Crossing,” Jenkins said. “He’s real cool and laid-back. I just have a good relationship with Coach Hand. He always says real good stuff to me.”
I'm starting to think we land 5 OL in this class. KN hinted last week that AU might take a swing type of guy which Jenkins or Stutts could be
Posted on 5/13/17 at 8:16 am to TigerPaw1
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Joey Gatewood’s offer to watch
The central figure of Auburn’s 2018 recruiting class picked up a big offer Thursday, though there might’ve been some confusion about when he actually received it.
Alabama offensive line coach Brent Key swung by Bartram Trail in Jacksonville, Fla., to let Gatewood’s high school coaches know that the quarterback has a spot in the Crimson Tide’s 2018 class if he wants it.
The interesting element: Alabama said the offer had been extended a year prior.
“I think they offered last year, but there wasn’t much communication so [Key] reaffirmed it to me again today,” Gatewood told SEC Country shortly after picking up the offer.
Gatewood had mentioned Alabama’s offer to me for a while.
Not that it will alter his commitment in any way, but it’s a place he has interest in finding out more about. Gatewood said he’ll “probably” visit Alabama this summer. That comment alone will likely worry many in the Auburn community.
For now, however, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about, simply something to watch.
Worth noting: This all comes on the heels of Auburn electing to take two quarterbacks in the 2018 class.
Posted on 5/13/17 at 10:48 am to TigerPaw1
quote:
Auburn football fans are excited to see “Big Cat” Markaviest Bryant on campus by the end of the month. And Tuesday’s incident will only make them wish that time frame could be shortened to avoid any more potential accidents.
The 4-star defensive end from Cordele, Ga. spent a portion of Tuesday at the hospital getting repairs from what his high school coach termed as a “freak accident,”
“He was horsing around a little bit,” Felton said, per Niebuhr. “He slipped and tried to catch himself on the door. He’s so big, his arm went through the window. I guess it was just a regular window.”
Good to see our policy of signing one DE per year has zero downfall and will not backfire.
Posted on 5/13/17 at 11:55 am to CaptainBrannigan
Who could be next to commit? (247)
quote:
The Auburn Tigers have six commitments and the No. 25 class ranking at the moment.
The Tigers have two four-stars committed and an average-rating-per-commit of 88.85 -- just below the 90.00 4-star threshold.
Based on the latest intel, there are somewhere around 16-17 spots remaining -- although that number will be fluid right up until the very end.
The bottom line: There is much work ahead to fill the class between now and National Signing Day.
Today, we ask the question on everyone's mind: Who could be next to commit?
Here are the most likely candidates.
Posted on 5/13/17 at 11:56 am to TigerPaw1
quote:
Matthew Hill, WR, Snellville (Ga.) Brookwood: Auburn appears to be in great shape for the No. 137 recruit in the 247Sports Composite and could be closing in on a commit. He's a lifelong Auburn fan and has developed a strong bond with receivers coach Kodi Burns. We think there's a chance Hill could join the class by the summer. He has a scheduling conflict and can't attend Big Cat Weekend. He would be Burns' biggest commitment to date.
Posted on 5/13/17 at 11:56 am to TigerPaw1
quote:
Shedrick Jackson, WR, Hoover (Ala.): Auburn recently offered the 3-star recruit and the Tigers could be on the verge of adding him to the class. Jackson visited Auburn on Saturday and plans to return June 3 for Big Cat Weekend. He calls Auburn "a special place" and is close with the staff. Jackson has strong family ties to the school and grew up bleeding orange and blue.
Posted on 5/13/17 at 11:56 am to TigerPaw1
quote:
Quindarious Monday, S, Atlanta (Ga.) Carver: The 4-star defensive back has Auburn in front big and is all Tigers at this time. It wouldn't surprise us if he joined the commit list in the near future. In fact, he potentially could do something Big Cat Weekend, which is June 3. There is no clear-cut No. 2 program -- another good sign for the Tigers. Georgia is trying to make a move, but Monday continues to call Auburn his leader. The Tigers look to be in great shape.
Posted on 5/13/17 at 11:57 am to TigerPaw1
quote:
Andres Fox, DE, Mobile Christian (Ala.): Auburn is battling Alabama and LSU and landing his signature won't be easy. But the Tigers offering early helped -- so does his relationship with the staff. Auburn visited Fox last week and will return soon. The 6-feet-5, 232-pound Fox wanted to commit to the Tigers earlier this year, but his mother wants him to take his time. Could Auburn get him on board the weekend of June 3 should he visit for Big Cat Weekend? We think there's at least a possibility.
Got to get momma on board if we wanna pull this kid
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