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

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I thought for sure McCreary was JUCO

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This will be by far the shittiest o line class we have had in years. frick herb hand

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Auburn sets first junior day for 2019 class

Auburn isn’t quite done with the 2018 recruiting class.

The Tigers still have 3-4 spots to fill this cycle. Coaches are hitting the road to see top prospects, and several of those recruits will reciprocate with official visits over the next two weeks. It’s still the Class of 2018 recruiting cycle, so that’s where the focus is for most followers of recruiting.

But the Auburn coaching staff has started to pivot toward 2019.

Feb. 3 will be the last official visit weekend of the 2018 recruiting class. The Tigers are likely to host several visitors to try to bring in for this class. But it also will be the first of two spring junior days for Auburn. The Tigers will host some of the top members of the 2019 recruiting class to get things in full swing for next year.

There will be many more names than this on campus. But here’s an early look at some of the prospects who told SEC Country they’re planning to be at Auburn’s junior day on Feb. 3.

4-star QB commit Bo Nix, Pinson, Ala.
4-star WR Ramel Keyton, Marietta, Ga.
4-star LB Donte Starks, Marrero, La.
4-star G Dontae Lucas, Miami
3-star WR Laquez Cain, Montgomery, Ala.
3-star S Jarrian Jones, Flowood, Miss.
Unranked CB Rhasaan Christian, Pinson, Ala.
Unranked ATH Jadarious Martin, Wetumpka, Ala.

Most importantly for Auburn, Nix will be at the forefront of this event.

The newly-committed quarterback for the 2019 class chose Auburn early enough to be able to build a class around him. Junior day on Feb. 3 will be a great opportunity to get that started. The junior day last March included eventual Auburn commits/signees Bo Nix, Joey Gatewood, Kolbi Fuqua, Jalil Irvin, Richard Jibunor and Kam Stutts.

It’s a successful event that helps set the stage for the rest of the recruiting cycle.

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With the early signing period, the talent pool is much smaller in January than it has been previously.

I had one non-Auburn SEC assistant tell me the biggest issue being run into is finding secondary and tertiary options on the recruiting board after the early signing period. In other words, guys that schools would’ve, in the past, had a chance to flip in January have already signed. The flipping of prospects from one school to another is much more likely to happen around the early signing period than National Signing Day.

That doesn’t mean January flips are done, though.

There are a few kinds of prospects still as potential flips: 1) Guys who didn’t de-commit prior to the early signing period, but were leaning that direction 2) Ones at smaller programs hoping for an opportunity at a more prominent school 3) Prospects who are dealing with coaching changes 4) Recruits who committed early in January and haven’t been able to sign yet and 5) In a few cases, recruits who have treated this process, essentially, as if there was no early signing period and are handling their recruitment similarly to years past.

Here are the prospects Auburn has offered who have committed, but remain unsigned, with the number corresponding to the above reasonings.

4-star Alabama LB commit Quay Walker (5)
4-star Florida T commit Richard Gouraige (1 and 3)
4-star LSU DB commit Kelvin Joseph (4)
4-star Florida State G commit Christian Meadows (3 and 5)
3-star Florida State T commit Jalen Goss (4)
3-star Mississippi State ATH commit Nathaniel Watson (3)
3-star Tennessee DT commit D’Andre Litaker (3)
3-star Ole Miss DB JaKorey Hawkins (2)
3-star Virginia T commit Will Lawrence (2)

The two names at the top of the list are the ones Auburn has had the best chance with, to date.

Walker is expected to officially visit this weekend, if a late Florida push falls short. He has always had a strong impression of Auburn. Even though the Tigers have looked like the outsiders — trying to catch Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee — they’ve been a constant in his recruiting process. This could get interesting after his Auburn visit.

Gouraige could’ve even been considered an Auburn flip lean after visiting for the Iron Bowl. The Tigers looked poised to bring him on an official visit last weekend. Herb Hand’s decision to leave for Texas hindered that plan. Auburn will still try to get Gouraige on an official visit one of the last two weekends. If it happens, put Gouraige with Walker as one of the two most likely flip candidates.

Joseph, Meadows and Goss are all long shots. Joseph doesn’t plan to take any more official visits. Meadows is fully expected to sign with Florida State despite not doing it during the early period. With Auburn searching for offensive linemen, even though Meadows projects on the interior, I figured he was worth putting on the list. As for Goss, he’s maybe the most likely of the group considering he had strong interest in Auburn. Still, his commitment came so recently that it’s not likely.

The final four on the list — Watson, Litaker, Hawkins and Lawrence — have a lot of unknown surrounding them. Watson, at least, officially visited Auburn a few weekends ago, and it looks like he’s a down-the-line option if the Tigers miss on a few other targets.

As for the other three, Auburn hasn’t been involved much in their recruitments recently, but the Tigers have offered all three at one point in their recruitments. The reason I add them: They’re at positions of need. Litaker is a defensive tackle, Lawrence is a tackle and Hawkins is a defensive back. If the Tigers needed to circle back around on prospects, those three would be good places to start.

To answer the question in short: There’s still hope. It’s dwindling. But it’s still there. And there remain a few big fish to catch.

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