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

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Back on the market, James Foster refreshes recruitment

It wasn’t one specific moment that led to James Foster’s de-commitment.

The 3-star quarterback from Lanier High in Montgomery, Ala., stepped off his Missouri commitment last week. It came on the heels of an offer from LSU — and a visit from LSU recruiting coordinator Tommie Robinson — but, according to Foster, it was something likely to happen regardless as several top programs continue to coax Foster to visit their campuses.

“I kinda backed off my decision because I wanted to take visits to other schools. I knew I didn’t want to put their school out there like that and make it seem like I’m taking visits to other schools when I’m committed to them,” Foster told SEC Country. “I was already, in my head, thinking about de-committing. I was already talking to my mom. That LSU offer maybe opened it up a little bit more and made me go ahead and re-open my recruitment, but I was going to do it regardless.”

There are many who will enter the chase for Foster.

Baylor, Florida State, LSU, Auburn, Alabama, Indiana, Illinois and Memphis are programs Foster said he hears from already. Of that group, he holds quarterback offers from all but Florida State, Alabama and Auburn. Alabama has offered him as an athlete, but Foster’s only interested in playing quarterback. Missouri remains a factor and will most likely receive one of Foster’s official visits.

He picked up his LSU offer last week just prior to his de-commitment. Florida State communicates with him regularly, and Foster said the coaching staff plans to be at his game this Friday when Lanier plays Prattville. Don’t be surprised to see a Florida State offer soon.

Because of that level of prioritization, Foster said it’s LSU and Florida State that have emerged as the front-runners right now based on communication by the staff and his interest in the respective universities.

As for Auburn, Foster is playing a waiting game.

“I talk to Auburn a little, too. I talk to coach [Chip] Lindsey. He’s just still not sure if they’re going to take two quarterbacks or not,” Foster said. “He said he was going to let me know. I’m probably the next guy up if they’re going to take two quarterbacks, so we’ll see.”

Foster is willing to be patient. He just recently backed off his Missouri pledge, so he’s not in a rush to jump on board somewhere else. His visit plan is set up for the next two weeks. He’ll be at Alabama this weekend for the LSU game. Foster will travel to Baton Rouge the following week for a visit to LSU. After that, Foster hopes to be at Auburn for the Iron Bowl, but some of that will be dependent on the message he receives from Lindsey about Auburn’s quarterback plan.

This isn’t a situation where Auburn needs to rush a decision, but the Tigers also shouldn’t linger if they decide a second quarterback is the plan. Foster has a strong familiarity with the program and he didn’t hold back from admitting the Auburn offer would be a big one for his recruitment going forward.

“It would make a big difference, honestly, because it’s right down the street, 45 minutes. I can see myself playing there,” Foster said. “I visited there a lot around my ninth- and 10th-grade years, so I know a lot about it.”

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Linebacker target to watch for Auburn

I spoke with Foster and Thomas after their high school practice earlier this week. They play on the same high school team as 3-star linebacker La’Dedric Jackson, who has visited Auburn at least twice this recruiting cycle. Jackson sat out practice the day I was there to rest a bone contusion, so I wasn’t able to speak with him directly, as I was with Foster and Thomas.

With that said, I spoke with a few of Jackson’s coaches who think Jackson — who also recently de-committed from Missouri — could become a legitimate linebacker target for Auburn.

Jackson doesn’t hold an Auburn offer yet, but the linebacker position, beyond the hopes of flipping Quay Walker, remains somewhat of a mystery. I’ve been told in the past that Jackson was someone to watch for an offer if things didn’t work out with Walker, and that appears to be the sentiment at Lanier High School with Jackson.

I hope to learn more about this specific recruitment when I get the chance to talk to Jackson face to face, but it’s certainly a recruitment to track down the stretch.

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Like who? DL depth has been the one positive the last 2-3 years. Hate to turn away a potentially talented one from right down the road.

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Brandon Hamer (Facebook): Do we get Anthony Schwartz now?

I wrote a longer piece earlier in the week about the effect of Jim McElwain’s departure from Florida. It helps in some ways. It could hurt in others.

A lot of this depends on who Florida hires and the type of players that coaching staff hopes to add.

In Schwartz’s case, I think it could go either way.

For starters, the 4-star wide receiver from Plantation, Fla., said he’s down to two schools — Auburn and Florida — but the track pull of Houston also has that program in the mix. Florida has always been the school Schwartz is most connected to, but with a coaching change, it might give you reason to believe this skyrockets Auburn’s chances of landing him.

That may be the case — if Florida’s new staff looks at taller types of receivers.

But, in some ways, the coaching change could increase Schwartz’s chances of ending up in Gainesville. Before McElwain’s departure, Florida had five wide receivers committed, which was a big reason why Schwartz delayed his decision-making process.

Corey Gammage posted a de-committment tweet, but deleted it. At the very least, he’s thinking about it. Jacob Copeland has been linked to a possible Alabama flip for more than a month now. This will only make that noise louder. Ja’Marr Chase will take visits to multiple places and has been on de-commitment watch for some time.

If any or all of thsoe prosects make a move, Schwartz might be the next-man up. He’s always wanted to play for Florida, and that might be tough for Auburn to overcome, even with his relationship with wide receivers coach Kodi Burns.

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Ryan Pearcy (Facebook): Other than Quindarious Monday, any other big time defensive backs that would be a possibility for Auburn?

Quindarous Monday is the highest-rated defensive back for Auburn, but all four committed are impressive. Jamien Sherwood is one of the best all-around athletes in the southeast. Kolbi Fuqua is somewhat of an unknown who Auburn’s staff loves. Josh Marsh has a chance to be the state of Alabama’s all-time leading tackler.

But will there be any others added to the conversation? A lot of that is likely dependent on the momentum Auburn grabs with late-season games against No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Alabama. A win or two would certainly pique the interest of some of the nation’s top talent.

At cornerback, the highest-ranked prospect Auburn is in the mix for is Christian Tutt, a 4-star from Georgia. Nebraska is the team to beat, but Auburn will work to get him on campus for one of the last two SEC games.

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Steve Kensaul (Facebook): Who is the recruit you think Auburn needs to get the most?

Among the guys already committed, it’s Quindarious Monday.

Auburn had a major need at safety coming into the recruiting cycle. The Tigers figured that out early with four safeties, but Monday was the key. Stealing him away from Clemson was the highlight of Auburn’s recruiting cycle up to this point.

Going forward, there’s no question Trey Hill is the recruit Auburn needs the most. The Tigers have a need at offensive guard coming up, and Hill might be the best uncommitted prospect in the nation at that. It’ll be an Auburn-Georgia battle for Hill down the stretch, and that’s one the Tigers need to find a way to win.

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Kevin Dubanowitz (Facebook): Who else are we looking at for OL?

As mentioned above, Trey Hill is priority No. 1. But Auburn would like to add two more, at least.

Here are the names to look at: Badara Traore, Tank Jenkins, Dylan Wonnum and Jalen Goss. More could emerge, but those are the key four behind Hill right now.

Traore is a JUCO offensive tackle who officially visited over the summer. Texas and LSU are the teams to watch out for going forward. Jenkins has been a tough one to read, but he made his way into my most recent recruiting class projection. Wonnum is an Auburn-South Carolina fight until the end. Goss hasn’t been mentioned much, but he camped with the Tigers over the summer and picked up an offer. He’s someone to watch if Auburn were to miss on a few.

Don’t be surprised to see the target pool grow if Hill chooses Georgia.

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Cam Taylor talks de-commitment, Auburn’s plan

Cam Taylor made a decision last week that wasn’t easy. He de-committed from Missouri, which he said was due to “several different factors that built up over time.” It wasn’t his preference — to commit and de-commit — but he knew it was something he needed to do in order to close out his recruiting process the proper way.

He hasn’t eliminated Missouri, by any means, and his bond with the staff hasn’t been hindered.

“The city itself [Columbia, Mo.] and coaches-wise, everything is still fine with that,” Taylor said. “I’m still on good terms. We haven’t lost connection or anything like that. They’ll still be a top school in my recruiting, but I wanted to settle things down right now, so I could take some visits.”

The 3-star athlete had been out of football for a while because of some unfortunate recurring injuries early in his career.

But coaches have started to take notice this fall. The 6-foot, 205-pound athlete has served as the Park Crossing (Ala.) quarterback this season. He’s helped his high school squad to the No. 2 ranking in Class 6A. Western Kentucky and Indiana have entertained the idea of deploying Taylor as a college quarterback, and while Taylor admits he’s “starting to like this quarterback thing,” he sees himself as a defensive back or wide receiver in college.

Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Notre Dame have been top-tier programs that have communicated with Taylor some throughout the fall. He’s visited Auburn and Alabama. All of those programs have shown interest in him on the defensive side of the ball.

In Auburn’s case, Taylor speaks primarily with defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who talked to Taylor about a potential position fit that would fill a major area of need for the Tigers’ 2018 class.

“He actually told me cornerback,” Taylor said. “I like it. I can get physical on the line with receivers. He just knows what he saw on film from me being at camp that he really likes me. He knows that I can play cornerback.”

Taylor has maintained a close relationship with Steele throughout the whole process. He’s always felt an offer would come, but Steele has always told him to remain patient. It’s undeniable the Auburn interest — and potential offer — played a part in his Missouri de-commitment.

Even though an offer hasn’t come yet, Taylor remains confident it will.

“I talk to Coach Steele a lot, still. He wants me to come up there next weekend to come to the game. I really think they will offer, but he just said it’s going to take a little bit of time right now,” Taylor said. “They’re going to see how things play out.”

Many programs have projected Taylor as a safety. With four guys committed at the position, that would likely mean some class attrition for Taylor to fit in at safety. Still, he camped with the Tigers this past summer as a cornerback, which is a position Auburn has had trouble figuring out this recruiting cycle.

Taylor will be at Alabama this weekend for the LSU game. He’ll visit Auburn the following weekend for the Georgia game. After that, he hopes to receive a little more clarity on each team’s plan with their defensive back recruiting.

It’s likely a National Signing Day decision for Taylor, who will rely heavily on his official visits, which are likely to take place in December and January.

“I’ve got to take all my visits, all my officials. I don’t have them set yet, but I’ll take visits to all the schools I feel like I fit,” Taylor said.

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