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

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Boy Id really love to have Gouriage, really, really.

Say Tega takes left tackle, who do we have at backup and who will be right tackle:

Broadarius Hamm, Prince Sammons, Calvin Ashley, Troxell. They all have their issues. Gouriage signs, he may not start but he definitely could get some playing time early.

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In-state DB ‘really close’ to picking up rare late offer

At this point in the recruiting cycle, it’s rare to see un-offered prospects visit SEC campuses as high-priority targets.

Consider 3-star prospect Cam Taylor rare.

The elite athlete from Montgomery, Ala., wasn’t just a high-priority at the Iron Bowl. It was that way the night before the game as well, when he had a long phone conversation with defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who he has a close relationship with. Again at the Iron Bowl, he spent some extra time with Steele, having 1-on-1 conversation on the field before the game.

Their conversation points are clear. Where do things stand with the former Missouri commit receiving an offer?

“Really close [to offering] at the corner position,” Taylor said. “I really want to play defense — safety or corner. So when he said corner, and they may offer, that’s what I like. Man, it was amazing I can say that. The defense was lights out.”

The 6-foot, 205-pound athlete played quarterback at Park Crossing (Ala.) this season, which should give an idea of his innate athleticism. Beyond that, SEC Country has written extensively in the past about Taylor’s injury-plagued journey to high-profile college football prospect.

Those ACL tears stunted his recruitment early on and made programs such as Auburn hesitate to offer. My sources have told me the Tigers really like Taylor as a nickel safety type. The problem is: In this class, spots are tight. There are already four potential safeties committed and a cornerback also committed.

Auburn would like to add one or two more in the secondary. If Taylor receives an offer, there’s a high chance he ends up as one of those two.

“That’s going to change a lot of things in my recruitment, I’ll say that,” Taylor said about a potential offer.

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Between the 2018 and 2019 classes, there were more than 60 prospects who rank as a 4-star talent or better on campus for the Iron Bowl.

For those players — many of whom perceive Alabama to be the premier football program in college football — it was an opportunity to see that, from a depth and quality perspective, there are few programs in college football that can match the Crimson Tide. And the Tigers didn’t just match them, they dominated, just as they did two weeks earlier against another No. 1 in Georgia.

To answer the first question succinctly, wins like those can have a program-changing effect when that many high-profile prospects are able to witness something they maybe weren’t expecting.

Here are some notable 4-star or better prospects from the Class of 2018 who attended the game:

Luke Ford
Trey Hill
Saivion Smith
Channing Tindall
Richard Gouraige (Florida commit)
Harold Joiner
Emory Jones (Ohio State commit)
Justyn Ross
Dylan Wonnum

In the 2019 class, here are some of the players who were there whom Auburn would love to have as centerpieces of the next class (though this list isn’t exclusive, by any means).

Owen Pappoe
Clay Webb
Curtis Fann
Ryland Goede
Keiondre Jones
Ramel Keyton
Jaylen McCollough
King Mwikuta
Bo Nix
Mark Richards
Jalen Sims
Jackson Lampley
Kenyon Jackson
Wanya Morris
Shamar Nash

That’s a list that doesn’t even include the 2020 prospects or 3-star prospects who are likely to jump up in the rankings. Needless to say, Auburn couldn’t have asked for a better group to have on campus to witness the 26-14 destruction of Alabama in front of its home fans.

The Jordan-Hare Stadium environment was the main talking point for recruits following the Iron Bowl. For some, it confirmed how they already felt about Auburn. For others, it made them realize the Tigers can’t be dismissed as their recruitments go forward because Auburn is creating a deep, talented roster at every position.

To answer the final question, of specific flip candidates, scan back up to the priority 2018 targets at the game.

There are two players on that list committed to other programs: Gouraige and Jones.

Gouraige admitted how much of an eye-opening experience the game was. He hadn’t visited The Plains since the week before the spring game, so he hadn’t experienced Jordan-Hare with fans in it for the entire calendar year. Looking back on it, he said he wished the Iron Bowl hadn’t been his first game of the season, but now there’s a solid chance Auburn earns an official visit from a top offensive tackle who likely will re-affirm his decision in January or February.

Gouraige’s two primary Florida recruiters, Chris Rumph and Brad Davis, were retained on Dan Mullen’s staff, which should help the Gators here.

Perhaps the most intriguing flip candidate to watch now is Jones, who has been committed to Ohio State since July 2016. He was the last recruit to leave the stadium and recruiting facility after the game, which my sources tell me was because of a 1-on-1 conversation with Gus Malzahn. I had one source tell me that the source couldn’t “see him going to OSU” and that Auburn recruiters consider it a 50-50 battle between Auburn and Alabama.

I still think Ohio State has a firm enough grasp on Jones to rule out the Buckeyes to that extent, but that shows there’s a growing confidence in the Southeast about keeping one of its top quarterbacks in the region.

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Asa Martin shuts down recruitment, no Alabama official

Asa Martin has been at Auburn more than anyone this fall.

He’s the most active recruiter in the class. Martin plans to enroll early and already has his roommate situation worked out with quarterback commit Joey Gatewood. But as a prospect who chose Auburn over Alabama, there’s a segment of the Tigers fan base that suffers from a little bit of Crimson Tide paranoia.

So when fans hear Martin say what he said following his official visit last weekend, it may give them some pause.

“I’m going to take a Bama official and then I’ll be done,” he said. “You only get to do this once as an athlete, so might as well take your visits.”

As mentioned, Martin already has his roommate dynamic planned and a specific Auburn enrollment date.

But the words “Alabama official visit” make a lot of people in the Auburn world cringe.

Martin soothed those concerns Wednesday. As first reported by John Garcia of 247Sports, Martin told SEC Country of his plans to shut down his recruitment entirely. There will be no more Alabama official visit. In fact, he won’t even entertain those phone calls or in-home visits. He originally planned an official visit to Clemson. That won’t happen either — even though it was reported he already took one, which he didn’t.

Put your Asa Martin concerns to rest. The leader of the class is all Auburn.

“I’m 100 percent to Auburn,” he said. “It was everything I thought it would be. [My official visit] solidified it a bunch.”

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