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

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All of his offensive snaps between A-day through the end of the season..

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There is just no objective reasoning to quantify this

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Fvck that fat piece of $hit

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Matthew Hill must decide whether he wants to play offense or defense

One thing is certain: Matthew Hill will be a Tiger.

Now, the question lingers: Which one?

Hill, Auburn wide receiver commit, wrapped up a standout Under Armour All-America Game week and will now turn his full attention to recruiting in January. He has been committed to Auburn since the last week of the summer and has never come close to backing off that stance.

As it currently stands, this is how Hill describes his Auburn commitment:

“I’d say it’s pretty strong. Clemson’s going to have to show me a lot of things. And I’d really have to see how I fit into the defense to make me flip. The commitment is pretty strong,” Hill said this week. “Those are the only two schools [Auburn and Clemson] I’m really considering.”

Here are the options laid before Hill:

Auburn wants him as a wide receiver. The Tigers want him to join a group of Anthony Schwartz, Seth Williams and Shedrick Jackson. Clemson likes Hill as a safety, which he is fully capable of playing at a high level in college. Auburn hasn’t had many conversations with Hill about playing safety, but it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out if this becomes an offense-versus-defense decision.

That could be where it’s headed.

“At Clemson, I know I fit into the culture. At Clemson, it’s just like the school I play for now at Brookwood. They’re all about family. They love each other. I feel like I fit in with Clemson regardless,” Hill said. “It’s just I need to figure out if I want to play offense or defense.”

Hill visited Clemson for two games during the 2017 season. That’s the same number of times he went to games in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Coming into the season, the main edge Clemson held was its championship pedigree. But Hill thinks Auburn made major strides this season that he feels will lay a foundation for years to come.

“I also want to go to a school that’s going to play for national championships and just play for championships in general,” Hill said. “Auburn’s coming up there. The defense has been outstanding. But Auburn’s really changed the program around the last couple years. They came from the bottom to the top. They beat two No. 1 teams in one year. That’s a lot to think about.”

For now, multiple sources around this recruitment remain confident Hill sticks with Auburn. In fact, confidence has grown throughout this week as Hill has spent time with Auburn signees/commits Schwartz, Joey Gatewood and Quindarious Monday, who have made him feel much more comfortable about his commitment.

Still, Hill had enough doubts prior to the early signing period to prevent him from signing — despite Auburn’s wishes.

“They wanted me to sign, but I kept telling them I wanted to enjoy the last few weeks of the recruitment process,” Hill said. “Just take my official visits and finish it out. That signing period was when we were in the playoffs, so I wasn’t thinking about that.”

Hill hasn’t set specific dates yet, but he plans to go to Auburn and Clemson in January. He expects he’ll shut down his recruitment once and for all soon after those trips.

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Well, I’d like to think you won’t be surprised by much in the recruiting world — assuming you read SEC Country Auburn regularly.

With that said, there are a few key targets leading up to National Signing Day who seem much more likely to land at other schools than Auburn. At this point in the recruiting cycle, the Tigers know the primary prospects they’ll go after in January. But some of those prospects, whether they were to visit or commit, could fall into the “surprise” category.

Here are the names to watch — with more details on each to follow.

5-star cornerback Tyson Campbell
5-star offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere
4-star defensive back Kelvin Joseph

That list doesn’t include Alabama commit Quay Walker or recent UCLA de-commit Olaijah Griffin. It doesn’t have Florida commit Richard Gouraige or offensive tackle William Barnes. Not because I don’t think those signings will happen, but because I wouldn’t classify them as surprises if they ended up at Auburn. Those four seem much more realistic to me that the bullet-pointed trio.

Let’s break down the Auburn connections for Campbell, Petit-Frere and Joseph.

SEC Country first reported earlier this week that Auburn could pick up an official visit from Campbell. The 5-star cornerback has been one of the most impressive prospects at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl this week. Alabama, Georgia and Miami are the front-runners. Clemson and Ohio State fall into the second-tier group.

But Campbell said he’s been in contact with Auburn recruiting coordinator Larry Porter since his state championship game and has contemplated an official visit to the Plains. For now, place Campbell in the surprise visitor category and in the major surprise commitment category. It just doesn’t seem realistic at this time.

As for Petit-Frere, it’s hard to know since he doesn’t reveal much in interviews. The 5-star offensive tackle took the politically correct approach to all questions at the Under Armour All-America Game this week, so it’s unknown where he’ll take official visits in the coming weeks. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see him officially visit the Plains, but for now consider that a potential surprise commitment addition to the class.

Finally, there’s Joseph, who has an official visit set for Feb. 2. LSU is the clear team to beat for Joseph and Alabama also is a threat. Auburn is running third right now, so it’ll take a major splash on his official visit to pull in his commitment.

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Here are the important numbers from the early signing period — and slightly after:

Signed (15): Joey Gatewood, Asa Martin, Shaun Shivers, Kam Stutts, Jalil Irvin, Seth Williams, Shedrick Jackson, Josh Marsh, Zakoby McClain, Michael Harris, Quindarious Monday, Christian Tutt, Jamien Sherwood, Daquan Newkirk and Kayode Oladele.
Committed (6): Matthew Hill, Coynis Miller, Richard Jibunor, Anthony Schwartz, Arryn Siposs and Kolbi Fuqua.

Auburn plans to take 25, so those numbers suggest the Tigers have room for four more.

But that operates under the assumption that all six of the committed (but unsigned) players would sign with Auburn. Jibunor, Schwartz and Siposs — for now, at least — fall into the “confirmed yes” category. Hill and Miller are in wait-and-see mode as they take a few visits elsewhere in January, but for now, I fully expect them to ink with the Tigers on National Signing Day.

Fuqua is the question mark. He didn’t sign during the early signing period despite his initial wish to do so, which indicates Auburn requested he be patient. It’s possible he classifies as a grayshirt candidate if Fuqua is willing to wait. Those are conversations that will be had in January and will be dependent on what other prospects commit to the Tigers.

For now, let’s say Auburn plans to take five more prospects in the Class of 2018. That number could be reduced to four if Fuqua sticks in the class with a 2018 scholarship spot.

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