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

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The 4-star offensive lineman from Stephenson High School (Ga.) committed to Auburn on Wednesday less than a week after his visit to Auburn, which he said had him “99.9 percent close” to committing. He finalized that decision Wednesday via a recruitment video with 247Sports.

Irvin told SEC Country he knew when he left Auburn this weekend that he would choose the Tigers. He simply needed a few days and conversations with his mother.

“I just really need to re-affirm it,” Irvin said. “Everything is all good now. I’m committed. I’m AU, man. I let the coach know yesterday (Tuesday). They were excited. They were pretty happy, man.”

Irvin spent most of last Saturday with offensive line coach Herb Hand.

The 6-foot-4, 280-pound guard is the first offensive lineman in Auburn’s 2018 recruiting class. He’s the fourth member of the class and the first to commit since running back Shaun Shivers in October. Irvin is ranked the No. 18 offensive guard in the nation by the 247Sports composite rankings.

Irvin said Michigan and North Carolina were the two schools that gave Auburn the best push.

The relationship with Auburn coaches and players won him over.

“That connection. It was that connection. It was just something special. I made the best decision for myself,” Irvin said. “I just needed to get it out of the way, man. That’s really what it came down to. I felt like that was the best decision for me.”

With Irvin’s commitment, Auburn jumps to the No. 15 position in the team rankings. The Tigers have four total commitments: Joey Gatewood, Daquan Newkirk, Shivers and Irvin.

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Jalil Irvin committed to Aubun on Wednesday, but the wheels had been in motion for the four-star offensive guard from Stone Mountain, Ga., for more than a year.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Irvin said he visited Auburn for a game while he was a sophomore. Stephenson High School puts out plenty of SEC prospects yearly, including Auburn safety signee Carlito Gonzalez from last year's class. When he saw a game, he knew early on that Auburn was a place for him. Auburn offered last fall and though there's 11 months before National Signing Day, Irvin knew where he wanted to go. He said he's 110 percent committed to the Tigers.

WHAT AUBURN IS GETTING: The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Irvin said he'll play guard or center for Auburn. He plays guard at Stephenson, but has played some tackle. The personable Irvin can be one of the leaders for this Auburn class.

"He's a great kid, great leader, good student," said Corey Johnson, the recruiting coordinator at Stephenson High School. "Any kind of adjective you want to put that's positive, it fits him."

Irvin has been battle-tested on the field as a three-year starter. He's versatile enough to play any position but will be a guard or center.

"I think he's going to bring toughness," Johnson said. "In our program, we coach our kids hard. It's not going to be something where he can't take instruction. He's a good listener and very knowledgeable about football. You're getting a kid with a high football IQ. He's a tough kid.

"He's played against top-notch talent already being in high school. You look at the kids coming out of our program and our region, he's blocked the best of them. From Chauncey Rivers (Georgia signee who went from junior college to Mississippi State) to all the guys. We probably have 10 guys in the SEC that came off our team.

"Being in a situation like that on a daily basis, you have no alternative than to get better day in day out."

WHAT IT MEANS: Irvin is Auburn's fourth commitment for the class and first on the offensive line. Irvin had plenty of offers and he's going to stick. Auburn signed three offensive linemen last year and that number will need to be higher in this class. Irvin is a great start.

RANKINGS

247Sports composite: As a 4-star, Irvin is ranked as the No. 18 offensive guard nationally, No. 30 prospect in Georgia and No. 311 overall prospect.

247Sports individual: 4-star, No. 14 OG nationally, No. 26 in Georgia and No. 314 overall

Scout: 3-star

Rivals: 4-star, No. 7 OG, No. 17 prospect in Georgia, No. 172 nationally

ESPN: 4-star, No. 8 OG, No. 105 regional, No. 21 in Georgia.

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I dont see him on the front page as committed. Weird

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There are multiple high schools in Georgia that have two three star or better football prospects in the 2018 class, but Stockbridge has two four stars that are in Rivals' top 200.

Defensive end Brenton Cox is No. 156 and wide receiver Marquez Ezzard is No. 176. Each has a long list offers, each is coveted by top programs for different reasons and each would love to play with the other on the next level.

The close friends, teammates first started playing together on an eight and under team. They stayed together for years in pop warner, then played in middle school together before going separate ways.

After starting out his high school career at Lithonia (Ga.) Miller Grove, Cox moved to Stockbridge to re-unite with Ezzard at the end of his sophomore year.

The two are closer than ever and each had a big junior season helping the Tigers reach the semi-finals in 2016. Now each has cemented himself as a top prospect in 2018 and the offers have been rolling in the past few months.

They know they each have their pick to future their education, but one school might receive two letter-of-intents from Stockbridge.

"It is about every day that we talk about picking a school together, playing together and we talk about that stuff a lot," said Cox. "We know time is winding down, that this is something we have to get serious about pretty soon, and I am graduating early, so I know I do not have until signing day to wait. That pushes us a little more."

Cox is a 6-foot-4, 245 pound hybrid who could play standing up or with his hand in the dirt depending on scheme. That is something he has thought about when them playing together comes up.

"It could a little tricky because some schools want me at different positions," said Cox. "We know Marquez is a receiver, but some schools like me as an outside linebacker and some like me as a defensive end, so seeing how I fit into a certain scheme could help or hurt this plan. We know both have to make the best decision for ourselves."

Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Louisville, Miami, Ohio State and Tennessee are some of the schools who have offered each of these four stars. You would expect in today's world of recruiting with staffs being so deep that college coaches would know how close these two are, but the topic of these two staying together has not been a hot topic yet.

"No college coaches have really asked us if we are committing together or anything like that yet," said Ezzard. "It has come up maybe once when I was talking with someone, but it is not really a big thing yet.

"It might be after this story though. It will start to get out. We just haven't talked about it much yet."

Cox has been on a few more visits so far this year than Ezzard. Cox has a little more free time due to Ezzard playing baseball. Both were out a lot in the fall taking in games and they each know what they are looking for in a school.

"We are really looking for the same things in a school," said Cox. "We both want to go where we are comfortable, we both want to have good relationships with the coaches and we both want to win.

"We have the same mindset and we are really looking for the same stuff. We are a lot alike."

Personalities are the same. Cox may be the one that cares about his personal looks on Friday nights a little more. Ezzard may talk a little more trash, but both are relatively quiet young men letting their actions speak for them.

Neither is close to making a decision and do not look for one before they begin their senior campaign.

"Neither one of us are close to committing," said Ezzard. "I see everything happening after the season.

"Us committing on the same day, at the same time, to the same school could happen, but we are not there yet. We aren't even close to that, so that is something we still have a lot of time to figure out."

If that time was now. If signing day was tomorrow. If a decision had to be made right now; without hesitation, the star defender said the two would be inking with the same school.

"I would say 10 out of 10 would be the odds of us staying together if signing day was tomorrow," said Cox. "We have known each other since we were little, we have been talking about playing together for a while now and we would love to make that happen.

"I know it is not our time yet, but when it is, I think it will happen."

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Brevin Jordan is past two dozen scholarship offers and the next few months could prove to be a key part of his recruiting process as he hits the road to check out some of his options in person.

Auburn and California became the two latest offers for the No. 1-rated tight end in the 2018 class, and Jordan told Scout.com last weekend that the Tigers in particular caught his attention given that it's an SEC program. Jordan plans to visit UCLA this coming weekend and is eyeing a trip to Michigan next month, with Miami another likely stop.

Hear what Jordan had to say about his recruitment at the adidas 7v7 National Championship in the video above.

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Auburn on Wednesday offered 3-star tight end Jacob Warren of Knoxville (Tn.) Farragut, he Tweeted.

8??7?? @jwarren808
Blessed to receive an offer from Auburn University #WarEagle ????

The 6-feet-6, 215-pound Warren is the No. 28 tight end nationally in the 247Sports Composite.

He is the son of former Tennessee Vols lineman James Warren.

By our count, Auburn now has offered eight 2018 tight ends. The Tigers plan to sign one in the class.

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