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

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Three players at each position of need

Auburn already has a quarterback committed in the Class of 2018, though the Tigers would like to add Justin Fields, if possible. The safety position is virtually filled in this class, which is by design because it was such a major need this cycle.

But the other position groups still have several spots to fill.

Below are three names to keep an eye on at each position throughout the rest of the cycle. That’s three players for six different position groups, so 18 players total. Auburn will likely add about 10 more recruits in this class, so if the Tigers can secure commitments from half the players below, it should be considered a success.

New names are sure to emerge and other names have been left off this list based on priority and interest.

Cornerback

Derek Turner
Kyler McMichael (Clemson commit)
Christian Tutt

Linebacker

JJ Peterson
Quay Walker (Alabama commit)
Zakoby McClain

Defensive line

Coynis Miller
Richard Jibunor
Andres Fox

Offensive line

Badara Traore
Dylan Wonnum
Trey Hill

Wide receiver

Justyn Ross
Seth Williams
Matthew Hill

Running back

Asa Martin
Dameon Pierce (Florida commit)
Harold Joiner

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Three inside and three outside. That's his wishlist though so not set in stone

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FYI Garner said today to reporters he wants to sign six defensive lineman. Three inside and three outside. That's his wishlist though so not set in stone

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Aka a built in excuse for when Garner shits the bed in recruiting yet again.

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When high school football season kicks off this month, we’ll all have a pretty good idea who the top seniors in America are. A lot of rising juniors are already household names, as well. But now it’s time to welcome the sophomore class to the party. This fall, the class of 2020 gets its first heavy dose of collective action around the country and with the release of the Top100 for the class of 2020, we’ve got you covered on the names to know.

Who’s No. 1?

It’s a rare feat to hang on to the No. 1 spot in the rankings from start to finish and the next guy with that opportunity is Bryan Bresee out of Damascus, Md. At 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, Bresee has the size to hang on to the title. He’s got the athleticism, too. We saw it first hand at The Opening D.C. Regional when he was one of the best pass rushers in attendance despite being the youngest on hand and showed rare quickness with a 4.2 short shuttle time. With 20 offers already, college programs are clearly believers. Already Ohio State seems to have carved out a good position in his recruitment which is fitting considering the Joey Bosa comparisons that are already emerging.

RELATED | Bresee discusses the latest on his recruitment

In this initial release, the other prospect most heavily considered for No. 1 was Kevin Pyne out of Millis, Mass. Pyne is rare at 6-foot-8, 275 pounds with quickness and athleticism and college coaches are high on his upside, but he’s not a player we’ve been able to evaluate in person, he’s still predictably very raw and how tall is he going to get? Pyne also has offers from around the country and is generating a lot of excitement from offensive line coaches.

No five-stars?

We’re not ready to name any five-stars in this initial release but with more exposure to these guys this fall, it shouldn’t take long to get there and there are several that we expect to be in contention. In addition to Bresee and Pyne, Jason Harris out of Arizona has everything we look for in a five-star prospect with size at 6-foot-6 and basketball athleticism as an edge rusher.

Virginia running back Chris Tyree has maybe the best film of any prospect on this list and has a great shot at a fifth star if he adds the size we expect him to over the next year or so. Pennsylvania wide receiver Julian Fleming is a good basketball player, a 23-foot long jumper and the No. 1 receiver in the country in this initial release. He certainly has five-star upside. As does Leonard Manuel, a 6-foot-4 wide receiver/tight end/linebacker/defensive end out of Florida that is one of the most intriguing players in this entire class.

The top arm

We are slow-playing this quarterback class and you’re not going to run into an arm until you hit Jack Miller of Arizona at No. 47 nationally. He just edged out Harrison Bailey out of Georgia as the top quarterback in our initial release. They are players that we could see in the five-star range down the line but we want to see how they develop before we bestow top 10 expectations upon them.

California signal-caller Bryce Young comes in as the No. 3 quarterback but may have the best film of any arm in the class. He’s just limited with his size at under 6-foot. Another California quarterback with much less varsity tape but with more physical ability is DJ Uiagalelei out of St. John Bosco. While we try to limit this list to prospects with varsity experience, there are exceptions and his rare arm talent is one of those exceptions. From a pure talent standpoint, he’s the best quarterback in this class but he will be a backup once again this fall behind senior Iowa State commit Re-al Mitchell.

State breakdown

With 13 names each on the list, Florida and Texas lead the way in terms of geographic representation. Georgia continues to turn the Big 3 into a Big 4 for talent production by landing the third most players on the list at 12 with California fielding 10 names in the ranking.

The state of Tennessee continues to be an emerging talent hotbed leading the next tier of states with six names along with Maryland. In rough drafts of the ranking, Tennessee had as many as eight names in the tally.

Arizona, Virginia, North Carolina and Louisiana all put four names on the list. Among the four for North Carolina, two are teammates ranked within the top 10 in Porter Rooks and Jacolbe Cowan out of Providence Day School in Charlotte.

Early commitments

There are verbal commitments and then there are freshman verbal commitments. The first is non-binding, the second is something even less stable. There are four schools with the task of keeping a Top100 player committed for the next three years led by Oklahoma and their running back pledge out of Texas, Jase McClellan. As the current No. 1 in Texas, that’s a big pickup for the Sooners but they will undoubtedly get plenty of competition for the back in the coming months and years.

Miami continues its typical fast start with a commitment out of the No. 13 player in safety Avantae Williams. Texas A&M has another talented offensive lineman locked up in Jordan Jefferson out of Navasota, Texas, and Louisville has landed one of the most athletic edge rushers anywhere in the country in Latarie Kinsler out of Pahokie, Fla.

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thought they had no shot against Bama in that recruitment. If that last part is true then it pisses me off. We shouldn't back off recruits without ever going hard for them due to being scared of Bama or any team.

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We pushed hard for freaking Ben Davis late until the process.

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What school he go to?

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Harold Joiner

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