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

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Several Central High (Ala.) prospects attended the camp, and 4-star wide receiver Justyn Ross made the trip with them. He didn’t participate in camp, but Ross was on hand for the entirety of it. It was his second visit to Auburn in a week after visiting with his mother for Big Cat Weekend.

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A 2019 prospect that stood out, especially during testing drills, was safety Briton Allen from Lake Highland Prep in Orlando. He’s had offers from South Carolina, Maryland and North Carolina. He landed offers from N.C. State and Kentucky earlier in the week.

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Auburn had several people in attendance with other Power 5 offers: cornerback Eugene Bowman IV, safety Keyon Helton, tight end Jake Peters, 2019 outside linebacker Mohamoud Diabate and 2019 wide receiver Ahmarean Brown. This will be updated if any of those prospects receive Auburn offers.

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AUBURN, Ala. — Richard Jibunor, just a rising senior, looks like a grown man next to most other recruits. Quite frankly, at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, the 4-star prospect looks grown next to most people.

That is until he stands next to Auburn offensive lineman Prince Tega Wanogho. Jibunor and Wanogho are close friends — “brothers” as Jibunor calls it. They’ve known each other since before either was a college football prospect, before either had even come to the United States from Nigeria.

After unexpectedly missing Big Cat Weekend, Jibunor returned to Auburn on Thursday. The duo spent much of the day together, including watching the Tigers’ camp and getting fresh haircuts at a local barber shop.

Even Jibunor is impressed by Wanogho’s physical growth.

“Oh size-wise, he’s a monster now,” Jibunor joked after his visit. “Me and Prince used to be just a little different (in stature). Now I bet he could crush my bones in less than a second.”

Jibunor and Wanogho have a bond that runs much deeper than most recruit-player relationships. In fact, Jibunor said one of the main reasons he wanted to make it back to Auburn on Thursday was to spend time with Wanogho who lost his mother earlier this year.

That doesn’t mean Wanogho is pushing Jibunor to Auburn, or that Jibunor’s decision will be based whatsoever on his close friend.

But it’s worth noting the two have a special bond.

“I always try to be there for him, like a brother, because he’s always been there for me, no matter what. The most important thing — he’s like a big brother to me — is that he’s happy. That’s all I care about. And he’s happy. I’m just there as a brother, looking up to him, taking his advice on everything,” Jibunor said. “He doesn’t really force me to come here, but he tells me how good it is, and he tells me they take good care of him. He tells me about the team and how the team is doing. He feels comfortable here right now.”

Jibunor still maintains that he will try to make his decision by August.

He has a few things to wait on, however.

Jibunor will attend the 5-star Rivals Challenge in Indianapolis this weekend. After that, he plans to make it Alabama to set in stone where he sits on the Crimson Tide’s recruiting board. He also wants to make a return trip to Tennessee and potentially make a visit to Florida who offered him this spring.

He visited Georgia on Tuesday for a camp, but the Bulldogs have still been hesitant to offer.

There is also a possibility he makes one more visit to Auburn before deciding.

“I might be back here before I announce,” Jibunor said. “Every chance I have to come here, I would definitely never miss it for anything because I always love being here. Down in my heart, it’s just fun for me. I feel very comfortable here.”



Jibunor has taken no steps to narrow down his favorite programs. Auburn is in as good of a position as any. Tennessee and Alabama are two other programs to keep a close eye on.

But don’t expect to see a “top list” from Jibunor.

“I might not even put the top schools. I might just come out and commit,” he said.

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LAKE MARTIN, Ala. — Almost exactly a month ago, Auburn freshman Markaviest “Big Cat” Bryant sustained a freak injury when he accidentally put his arm through a glass window.

Now graduated and moved onto campus for summer workouts, the 4-star defensive end is back to normal in his new home. He’s seemingly learned his lesson and put the incident behind him completely.

Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, speaking at an Auburn club event at Lake Martin on Thursday night, said the newcomer has been doing well since landing on the Plains.

“You know, I don’t think he’s been limited on anything so far,” Malzahn said. “I haven’t heard anything other than the whole group is off to a good start; there haven’t been any limitations or injuries or anything like that.”

That’s been an important note during Big Cat’s first days in orange and blue, too, since most of that time has been spent with strength and conditioning coach Ryan Russell.

Next Generation: Auburn freshman Markaviest Bryant ready to be Big Cat for the Tigers

“Attitude’s been good,” Malzahn said. “The first week with coach Russell is always an interesting time when they’re learning about the standards and all that.”

Big Cat didn’t expect the cuts on his arm — the brief stay in the hospital included stitches and a minor procedure to ensure there was no nerve damage — to be a problem upon his graduation and departure for school.

“No, I won’t be limited,” Big Cat told SEC Country in early May. “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.”

Big Cat’s healthy status could be huge as he looks to impress his new coaching staff during his first-ever fall camp in August.

“He plays young guys,” Malzahn said of defensive line coach Rodney Garner. “If they’re talented enough to do that.”

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Where does Auburn turn after Quay Walker miss?

Chop one off Auburn’s lengthy linebacker wish list.

Quay Walker committed to Alabama on Thursday via SEC Country. The 4-star linebacker from Crisp Co. (Ga.), who was high school teammates with Markaviest Bryant, picked the Crimson Tide. He called Auburn his No. 2 choice, but now the Tigers will get used to game planning against him.

It’s a major miss for Auburn. Editorializing here, Walker has a different way about him that will make him a superstar at every level of football. But it’s also a miss the Tigers can overcome with a few major pickups in the remainder of the class.

Here are the most-wanted guys to watch in the class at linebacker.

4-star JJ Peterson, Colquitt Co. (Ga.)
4-star Zakoby McClain, Valdosta (Ga.)
4-star Richard Jibunor, Athens Christian (Ga.)
4-star Channing Tindall, Spring Valley (S.C.)
4-star Michael Harris, Tucker (Ga.)

If Auburn can land any two from that group, it’s a solid class at the position. In a perfect world, take Jibunor in his own class of player since it’s hard to project if he’s an outside linebacker or if he’ll play the Buck position. From there, two out of four from Peterson, McClain, Tindall and Harris would be a success.

Peterson and Tindall have both admitted other programs are ahead of Auburn. Peterson prefers Alabama by a slight margin. Tindall has similar feelings about his home-state South Carolina Gamecocks.

It’s been quite some time since McClain made it to Auburn and named the Tigers his leader, but the Tigers remains in good shape. LSU and FSU are also teams to watch for McClain.

With Harris, stay focused on the June 17 visit to Columbus, Ohio. It’ll be his first time visiting Ohio State as a recruit after growing up his entire childhood as a major Buckeyes fan. Auburn has the best opportunity to pry Harris away from Ohio State, but it will be primarily dependent on the Buckeyes’ staff’s pitch to Harris on that upcoming visit.

Let’s do a quick worst-case scenario, just to stop any potential meltdowns in their tracks. Yes, the aforementioned players would all be championship-caliber pieces. But there is another layer of linebackers who could emerge if there are some misses.

Here are some of the other linebackers who have visited the Plains this year.

3-star La’Dedrick Jackson, Lanier (Ala.)
3-star Ernest Jones, Ware Co. (Ga) — South Carolina commit
3-star Braelen Oliver, Douglas Co. (Ga.)
3-star Matthew Flint, Madison Co. (Ala.)
3-star Shaka Heyward, Mill Creek (Ga.) — Duke commit

Jackson plans to return for camp next week. Aside from him, the Tigers haven’t shown any recent attention to any of the other four.

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