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

quote:

---

Whats the scouting scoop on Stutts. The coaches seemed impressed with him at camp and offered early. But he is not ranked very high, and I saw some notes where he looked weak physically in the all star games. Whats the real scoop.

---

quote:

---

Paw,

Whats the scouting scoop on Stutts. The coaches seemed impressed with him at camp and offered early. But he is not ranked very high, and I saw some notes where he looked weak physically in the all star games. Whats the real scoop.

---

quote:

---

Well, let’s start with the four who are already signed: cornerback Christian Tutt, safeties Quindarious Monday and Jamien Sherwood and versatile athlete Josh Marsh, who will likely split time as a linebacker, safety and special teamer to start.

That’s exactly what defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and defensive backs coach Greg Brown wanted to see during the early signing period. The Tigers missed on a few defensive backs targets in the class – namely Jalyn Armour-Davis (Alabama) and Kyler McMichael (Clemson) — but Auburn hit on most of the guys they wanted.

Monday and Sherwood quickly became the Tigers’ top two safety targets throughout the spring and summer. Marsh added a nice surprise during a summer camp. And the persistence with Tutt throughout his high-profile recruitment paid off in the long run.

But Auburn isn’t done yet.

For starters, there’s still the committed but unsigned Kolbi Fuqua. Depending on how recruiting shakes out in January, it’s possible he signs in the class as a safety. Fuqua isn’t the only defensive back prospect Auburn will target down the stretch, however.

At safety, here are the main prospects to keep an eye on.

4-star safety Kelvin Joseph
3-star safety Joe Foucha
3-star safety Derek Turner

Strangely, all three are from Louisiana. Joesph is the biggest long shot of the group right now. Turner might be more of a nickel than a true safety, and he’s probably a down-the-line prospect if Auburn were to miss on the other two and something were to go awry with Fuqua. But Foucha, he’s the prospect to keep a close eye on.

Foucha has called Auburn his leader since the beginning of the process. That wavered slightly when the Tigers loaded up at safety and he didn’t see the right positional fit for him in the 2018 class. Auburn’s staff has put that to rest — since his Iron Bowl visit — which has the Tigers back in the driver’s seat.

He’ll take an official visit to the Plains on Jan. 19. Foucha plans to make a National Signing Day announcement. That could change as other things shake out at safety that would force his hand, but the Tigers are in great shape for the Louisiana-based safety who grew up idolizing Cam Newton and wanting to play for Auburn.

There’s also more work to do at cornerback with these targets.

3-star cornerback Benjie Franklin
3-star athlete Cam Taylor
3-star cornerback Roger McCreary
3-star cornerback Reggie Thompson

Franklin plans on taking a Jan. 12 official visit. He’s a junior college prospect who has the ability to play quickly for Auburn. That’s something the Tigers may need badly if Carlton Davis bolts for the NFL.

Taylor is an in-state prospect from Montgomery, Ala., who the staff likes a lot. It’s all about whether or not the spots work out in January. He was previously committed to Missouri, but he backed off that pledge to see what else happens for him in the final stages of the recruiting cycle. If Auburn offers, watch out for Taylor.

Then there are McCreary and Thompson — both de-committed from South Alabama in the last month.

McCreary has already been offered and will take an official visit on Jan. 12, but he also has official visits set to Tennessee and Alabama. The Tigers are the only one of the three to have offered so far, but it’s possible the other two join — especially Jeremy Pruitt at Tennessee — so it could be an interesting battle down the stretch.

Thompson is the unknown who may or may not materialize into an offer. Until Dec. 14, he was committed to South Alabama and expected to sign. Auburn initiated contact with the Opp, Ala., cornerback who de-committed from the Jaguars and made a Dec. 17 visit to the Plains. How hard are the Tigers chasing Thompson? That remains to be seen, but it’s interesting he took an unreported visit so soon before the early signing period.

---

quote:

---

Auburn finds new tight end target loaded with potential

When Gus Malzahn spoke to reporters after the early signing period, he gave a specific answer when asked which position Auburn would target in January.

“I really feel like we need a big-time tight end,” Malzahn said last Wednesday.

At the time, that looked like a clear public call to Luke Ford — the nation’s No. 2 tight end — who, at the time, hadn’t signed.

But that’s why it was an early signing period, not an early signing day. Ford committed to and signed with Georgia the following day to end any chances for Auburn. It put the Tigers in a tough position at tight end given the mostly signed outlook among the top tight ends across the country.

Opportunity looked bleak for Auburn to land one of its top options in the 2018 class. That narrative changed Wednesday night when a new offer went out to Matt Alaimo, a 3-star tight end from New Jersey, who — if you watch his film — brings an offensive versatility the Tigers have been missing from their offense the last few years.

Alaimo is the No. 27-ranked tight end in the country. And, until Thursday of last week, he was committed to Pittsburgh and had been since the summer. Ongoing communication with Auburn helped stall a December signing, which played a role in the Dec. 21 de-commitment from the Panthers.

On Wednesday, Auburn tight ends coach Larry Porter, who had been up to see Alaimo in the spring, called to make sure he knew he had a scholarship spot with the Tigers. It changed everything.

“I put Auburn on top off all the other offers I have,” Alaimo told SEC Country on Wednesday night.

Alaimo holds 26 offers from places such as Pittsburgh, Arizona State, Arkansas, Louisville, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt.

Immediately, however, Auburn becomes the team to beat. After a few back-and-forth messages with Alaimo and some of my sources, I didn’t hesitate to put in my Crystal Ball prediction in favor of the Tigers. A big reason for that? Alaimo has already called the Tigers his new leader and set up his official visit schedule to the Plains.

Alaimo will officially visit Auburn from Jan. 12 to Jan. 14. To take it a step further, let’s put him on commit watch when he makes that visit.

He may not have the pop that Ford would have, given the national recruiting ranking. But at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds — and the pass-catching ability shown on tape — Alaimo looks like he has the potential to be the missing piece that’s been lacking from the Tigers’ passing game because of personnel setbacks at tight end.

Alaimo caught 44 passes for 671 yards and 7 touchdowns as a senior.

---

quote:

---

Of the five Auburn commits who didn’t sign last week, 4-star defensive tackle Coynis Miller has probably gained the most interest and concern within the Tigers fan base.

Arryn Siposs is strictly a paperwork issue from what I’ve been told. Richard Jibunor’s reasoning has been well documented. Kolbi Fuqua was a mutual decision to be patient and monitor a late-season injury. Matthew Hill might generate similar levels of concern to Miller. But it’s Miller who is the top-ranked, in-state commit in this class. For people in Alabama, that usually makes said prospect a major priority — and raises concerns if it feels like a threat is imminent.

With the new early signing period, anytime a prospect is committed but doesn’t sign it’s going to create some panic within the fan base.

But Miller has made one thing very clear whenever we’ve spoken: He’s all Auburn.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: Of course he’s saying that, but does he really mean it?

I’ll give my take on that.

I’ve been covering Miller’s recruitment for nearly two years now. When Auburn was still recruiting TD Moultry, I went out to Jackson Olin High in Birmingham, Ala., a few times to talk with him and had some conversations with Miller — a junior at the time — about his recruitment. While Miller isn’t a huge fan of answering the same repetitive recruiting questions from reporters (and he’d admit this), he’s always been straightforward with me.

Even when he was calling Florida his public leader, Miller had conversations with me privately that Auburn was certainly in the picture and arguably the favorite, which turned out to be true. Whenever I’ve asked him about visit plans to other schools or to Auburn, Miller has always been open and honest about where he wants to visit or where he has set up visits.

But he’s also made something else abundantly clear: He’s 100 percent committed to the Tigers.

With that said, “100 percent committed” might mean different things to different people. To me, it means, when it’s all said and done, that a prospect knows he’s going to sign on the dotted line with the school to which he’s committed. Despite expected pushes from Tennessee, Alabama and Florida, that’s exactly what I expect Miller to do.

Miller isn’t a prospect who has had the opportunity to take many visits throughout his recruitment. Much like Moultry (who didn’t actually end up taking official visits to places such as Florida and Missouri, as expected), Miller wants to broaden his horizons with a few January official visits to places he hasn’t gotten to see.

Tennessee and Oregon are the likely destination points. I doubt an Alabama official visit will happen, per Auburn’s request, but it’s not out of the question.

I know these types of trips make fans uneasy. But you have to put yourself in the shoes of a prospect who hasn’t gotten to take some of the recruiting visits that some of his 2018 classmates have gotten to take. Let him enjoy the experience, as he should be allowed to do in peace, and then watch him sign with Auburn in February.

---

quote:

---

Other Auburn targets who could’ve made best-case class?

On Christmas Day, I released a best-case scenario finish for the 2018 class. It included four of the already committed prospects along with six new additions. I battled with including a few other prospects, but 10 is how many spots the Tigers have left in this class, so I didn’t want to go beyond that number for that post.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t a few top targets who didn’t crack the list — but certainly could have or should have.

Here are the five prospects who were closest to cracking that list — and very well could crack that list as Auburn cranks up its recruiting in January. You’ll notice, for the most part, a positional trend.

5-star offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere
4-star offensive guard Tank Jenkins
4-star linebacker JJ Peterson
4-star offensive tackle Dylan Wonnum
3-star offensive tackle Jalen Goss

---

quote:

---

Tackle William Barnes (4-star)

William Barnes hasn’t been a regularly mentioned name for Auburn in the 2018 class.

He visited the Plains in the past with his 3-star guard teammate Ed Montilus from Apopka, Fla. Barnes planned to make return trips to Auburn over the spring, summer and fall, but for one reason or another, he never made those trips.

Expect that to change over the next month and a half. The Tigers missed on all their top tackle targets in the early signing period. The Tigers have multiple vacancies remaining at that position int the 2018 class. It’s the position of need down the stretch.

As first reported by Keith Niebuhr of 247Sports, Barnes has set an official visit to Auburn for Feb. 2, which is the final contact-period weekend before National Signing Day.

Florida and North Carolina are the competitors to watch for now.

---

quote:

---

Tackle Richard Gouraige (4-star Florida commit)

Richard Gouraige goes hand-in-hand with the Barnes update above. Auburn needs tackles. In terms of relationship already built and caliber of prospect, Gouraige might be No. 1 priority. Gouraige and Barnes are both ranked among the top-100 recruits nationally.

The difference between Gouraige and Barnes? Gouraige has been on campus recently. He visited for the Iron Bowl at the end of November and hinted at a return visit.

The Tigers’ staff watched closely to see if Gouraige would sign in December or wait. He waited. Gouraige remains committed to Florida, as he has been since Oct. 20, but the fact he didn’t sign early says plenty about the relationship he’s built with the new Gators’ staff.

Gouraige hasn’t set up a January official visit yet, but it seems to be a likely possibility leading up to National Signing Day.

---

quote:

---

Buck linebacker Richard Jibunor (4-star Auburn commit)

Richard Jibunor provided Auburn with the most early signing day drama when he didn’t sign as expected.

Don’t read too much into that development.

Obviously the Tigers would’ve liked to ink Jibunor up in December. But Jibunor’s decision to postpone his signing had to do with personal reasons rather than any hesitations with Auburn. In fact, he came close to signing instead of waiting because of Auburn’s request.

Instead, he’ll finalize his future in February.

---