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

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Alabama commit says Auburn’s ‘still got a shot’

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn has a chance to make things interesting with Alabama commit Quay Walker.

The 4-star linebacker from Crisp County (Ga.) attended yet another Auburn game over the weekend. This time, he was able to witness the Tigers dismantle the No. 1 team in the country in a chaotic Jordan-Hare Stadium environment.

And as he left, Walker made something quite clear.

“Oh, Auburn’s still got a shot,” he said. “Auburn always impresses me at all times.”

Walker has always had a strong connection to Auburn.

He liked the Tigers back during his sophomore and junior seasons when he attended games. Walker told SEC Country in the past he even sold Class of 2017 defensive end Markaviest Bryant on Auburn. Needless to say, Walker has had a soft spot for the Tigers since his recruitment began.

But witnessing them put on a performance like that in front of a national audience proved to Walker that Auburn needs to be a major part of his decision-making process down the stretch.

“The defense was something I pretty much expected. With the offense, everything clicked,” Walker said. “This win, I didn’t expect a blowout like this or a close game. I really didn’t know who was going to win at first. At the same time, I thought it was going to be a close game.”

It wasn’t, and as a result, it could make for a close recruitment.

Walker will be back to Auburn, as you might expect, for an Iron Bowl unofficial visit. But he’ll also take an official visit to the Plains in either December or January.

The last part of that is key.

Walker confirmed Saturday he won’t sign during the December early period, which will give Auburn an extra month to try to steal Walker away from the Crimson Tide. Auburn won’t be the only one attempting to pull off a flip. Walker said he plans to take an official visit to Georgia at some point, as well.

There is a growing sense of confidence in Auburn that the Tigers can pull this one off. They know flipping prospects from Alabama isn’t easy, especially when the Crimson Tide really want to keep them, but two different sources said they feel it’s within reach and Auburn’s effort level on this one has and will continue to pick up steam.

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Florida WR commit recruited as DB

There ended up being three official visitors at Auburn this weekend. I originally reported it’d be two — commit Jamien Sherwood and target Christian Tutt — but a change of plans added Florida wide receiver commit Jalynn Williams to the official visitor docket. He attended the game and stayed the whole weekend with his parents.

But here’s the catch: Auburn isn’t recruiting him as a wide receiver.

The Tigers see him as a cornerback, which is a position they’re still evaluating heavily. It’s likely Auburn snags one at the position Tuesday when Christian Tutt announces his decision between Auburn and Ohio State.

But my sources are telling me Auburn would now like to take two, maybe three, at the position. There are several other prospects to keep an eye on.

Probably the big takeaway from Williams’ visit, however, is he left without receiving an offer. That’s usually an indication of what a program thinks. In fact, the only official visitor I can think of from the last class who took an official visit without a committable offer and landed in the class was Tyrone Truesdell, and technically he had been offered in the past.

I wouldn’t completely remove Williams from the cornerback board, but there isn’t much substance to it at this time. With that said, it’s clear Auburn will try to poach players from Florida’s class and Tennessee’s class, if possible.

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Auburn’s recruiting plan at offensive tackle

If you take a look at the big-time offensive linemen who attended the Auburn-Georgia game, you’ll notice a potentially worrisome trend. Most of the star power is at offensive guard, not offensive tackle.

Auburn commits Jalil Irvin and Kameron Stutts attended the game and are ready to sign their paperwork in December to wrap up the process. Both will be interior linemen at the next level.

The two key uncommitted targets in attendance were Trey Hill and Tank Jenkins who are similar prospects. In fact, Auburn might be in a situation where it has to make a decision soon on what to do with Jenkins (who clearly seems ready to commit to Auburn) versus Hill (who appears to be trending that way with Georgia still confident).

So that’s four prospects — two committed and two uncommitted — who are interior offensive linemen. It’d be somewhat surprising to see the Tigers take all four of those guys, but it wouldn’t necessarily surprise me.

Perhaps the biggest concern, though, is the lack of offensive tackles.

For starters, the Class of 2018 is a down year for offensive tackles across the board. If you aren’t landing one of the two or three elite guys, then you’re having to settle a little bit. Is it worth settling for multiple guys? That’s the question Auburn has to answer in the coming weeks.

As far as the Tigers’ targets, it would make sense for Auburn to try to make a JUCO splash at tackle, or even try to secure a grad transfer. That isn’t to say Auburn has closed the book on 2018 high school prospects.

Dylan Wonnum appears to be trending toward South Carolina. He visited there instead of Auburn this weekend.

The other name to keep an eye on is Jalen Goss who attended his first Auburn game of the season against Georgia. Goss camped with Auburn this summer and the Tigers liked him enough to extend an offer with the contingency that he’d return (he just did) and that the staff would keep evaluating his growth and development (they have).

In fact, linebackers coach Travis Williams went to Valdosta High School to see Zakoby McClain a few weeks ago. He stopped by Lowndes High School after that to see Goss. Williams told Herb Hand and others that Goss had put on 15 pounds at least from when he camped and felt it was time for Auburn to bring Goss on campus for a game.

If Auburn misses on Wonnum, Goss might be the go-to guy among high school targets. I’ll keep you posted when I hear more about junior college options.

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AU, Ole Miss, MSU still all showing interest. Any of them offer and it would get him.

I think he just wanted to make sure he had a spot somewhere.

Could be back for the Iron Bowl.

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