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

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2 2019 Georgia commits visit Auburn

On Saturday, Auburn’s basketball team faced off against Georgia. The Tigers pulled off a double-digit comeback to finish with a double-digit win of their own. Auburn Arena was live on Saturday with one of its best crowds in recent memory.

But the two most important attendees, by some standards, were likely somewhat conflicted about the result.

Five-star 2019 wide receiver Jadon Haselwood and 4-star defensive tackle Rashad Cheney took unofficial visits to Auburn over the weekend. Haselwood is the No. 3 overall prospect in the Class of 2019, and Cheney is the No. 192 overall player. Both have been committed to Georgia since last spring, but this isn’t he first time they visited Auburn, having attended a few games.

During the basketball game, Haselwood and Cheney sat with Auburn coaches Gus Malzahn, Chip Lindsey, Kodi Burns and Tim Horton. Early enrollee safety Quindarious Monday was also with the group to take in the game. That was by design. Monday and Haselwood played on the same Cam Newton 7-on-7 team together, which help foster a relationship.

Multiple sources on the Auburn and Georgia side feel this will be a tough flip to pull off, but the Bulldogs commits are listening. They were impressed by the Auburn-Georgia game they attended last fall in Jordan-Hare Stadium. And they have strong relationships with Auburn coaches. The Monday factor helps, too.

It won’t be an easy flip, but both prospects are worth the effort.

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FWIW KN says Bo Nix was also there this past weekend to help recruit Haselwood. Also Nix is expected back for junior day. Dude is apparently recruiting for AU hard right now

Auburn recruiting question of the day: Will Tigers add to offensive line? (SECCountry)

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Great minds think alike, isn’t that right, fellas?

Luke and Andrew were the first people to send questions when I posted my Question of the Day request (if you’d like to ask a question, tweet me @benjaminwolk). Their questions centered around the same topic, which likely means it’s the biggest area of interest/concern among the Auburn fan base as National Signing Day approaches.

So let’s take a look at offensive line recruiting.

To answer Luke: No, I don’t think things are so dire yet that Auburn has ruled out landing a 2018 offensive lineman. Sure, a majority of the focus will likely be on the 2019 class going forward. That class is much stronger at offensive tackle and has several more immediate-impact options than what remains in this year’s recruiting cycle.

While the coaching change on the line has been an obstacle, it’s not insurmountable.

In fact, to answer the first part of Andrew’s question, I think the chances remain fairly high that Auburn still lands an offensive lineman in the 2018 recruiting class.

Here are the options remaining (more could emerge with new line coach J.B. Grimes, but it’s unlikely given the late timing of the coaching change):

4-star OT Richard Gouraige
4-star OT Dylan Wonnum
4-star OG Tank Jenkins
Rice grad transfer OT Calvin Anderson
Stanford grad transfer OT Casey Tucker

I fully expect one of those prospects to join the class. I wish I could say definitively who it will be, but there’s too much uncertainty.

With Wonnum, it’s all about staying in his mind despite the fact he’s already taken his official visit to Auburn. South Carolina looks like the leader there, so this will be a classic Gus Malzahn-Will Muschamp battle for the big offensive tackle. The Gamecocks are likely to win that one, but there are plenty of inner-recruit relationships that should have an effect on Wonnum.

The question with Gouraige and Jenkins: Will they visit?

In Gouraige’s case, there’s no question the Tigers want him to visit. But the move from Herb Hand to Grimes happened at an inopportune time for Auburn. Gouraige was set for an official visit last weekend, but he found out about Hand’s move to Texas after Hand had come to see him on an in-home visit last week. That meant Grimes couldn’t see him until this week, which caused Gouraige to back off his official visit for the time being.

As for Jenkins, it’s been tough to read the Tigers’ interest level. There have been times when they’ve looked ready to add him. There have been others when it looks like they’re no longer looking for a guard. If he were to visit, that would cause a big shift in his recruitment.

The grad transfer candidates are tougher to read, but may make the most sense. If Auburn wants a tackle who could step in immediately, it would look to Tucker or Anderson. They’re more capable of stepping in right away than a freshman.

Anderson is the more probable of the two options since he was Grimes’ first recruiting stop as Auburn’s offensive line coach. Keep an eye out for that official visit, even though Anderson doesn’t want to make a final decision until March 25.

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FWIW I agree with Wolk on next cycle having better options at OT. AU needs to capitalize big time in 2019 & get at least 2 OTs in the class. Personally hoping for Amari Kight & Howard Allen. Tho I think Kight is a heavy Bama lean

Random note, KN put a CB in for AU on one of the top 2020 prospects WR Kobe Hudson. Teammates with 2020 AU commit Andy Boykin. Good chance Hudson will end up being a 5* recruit in that class

Rivals 250 has dropped. Miller and Monday both got nice bumps. Will post full list here in a minute

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UP

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4* DT Coynis Miller

Movement: +69

“Miller had a steady week of practice at the Under Armour All-America Game, but in the game, he took it up a notch. He was very disruptive, he got consistent penetration and he showed his athleticism for a big man. He’s committed to Auburn.” - Rivals.com Southeast Recruiting Analyst Chad Simmons

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Because I am petty

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DOWN

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4* OG Trey Hill

Movement: -64

“Hill is a mountain of a man and he is one who can push defenders back, but his biggest obstacle on being successful at Georgia will be his weight and conditioning. He simply needs to get into better shape. Many expect him to do that and play early in Athens, but his weight hindered him some in San Antonio against elite defensive linemen.” - Simmons

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^ this

Willis committed Dec 30th. Lashlee left January 12th. Lashlee sealed the deal with Stidham and was one that landed Willis. Not bad parting gifts

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My bad fellas. I don't know why it felt like Malzahn told Rhett to get the hell out of here as soon as the Bama game was over.

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Damn...Ellitor wrong twice in the recruiting thread...he’s losing it

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I guess LSU pisses me off so much it skewed my perception.

seems like most of our guys that had slight drops were just functions of other guys moving up, not necessarily them moving down.