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

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Auburn sees recruiting rankings bump

Boom!

Oh wait, no, Auburn didn’t land a commitment. The Tigers did, however, make a jump in the 247Sports composite rankings recently updated. For the casual recruiting fan, the 247Sports composite ranking aggregates the player rankings from separate recruiting outlets 247Sports, Rivals, Scout and ESPN.

It’s that time of year for each service to put out its year-end players ranking list. Those changes sometimes have a reflection on the team rankings. That’s what happened here.

In this case, Auburn saw slight jump from No. 10 to No. 9, in third among SEC schools.

This thing is far from over, of course. All of the teams in the top-10 are in the hunt for 4-star and 5-star prospects that will cause constant shakeups in the rankings between now and National Signing Day. The Tigers will host many of their hopefuls on official visits this weekend.

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Quick aside for those reading: My Twitter account @benjaminwolk is generally the best place to submit an Auburn Recruiting Question of the Day. It’s not the only option, however. For those loyal to SEC Country Auburn’s recruiting coverage, you may be familiar with my weekly Facebook Live recruiting chats where I hang around and answer any questions for those in attendance.

That’s another great avenue to send me questions to answer for this mailbag.

For programming purposes, it’s important for you to know my new Facebook Live plan. Instead of once a week, leading up to National Signing Day, I’ll have two Facebook Lives per week. The first will be on Thursday night heading into the weekend. We can preview the upcoming official visitors. The second will be Sunday night following the weekend. We can recap those who officially visited.

Anthony, above, reveals a question many will ask.

Which three prospects does Auburn close with in the 2018 class?

Keep in mind that number could grow to four if the Tigers were to go a different direction with safety commit Kolbi Fuqua, or if one of their commitments — Coynis Miller or Matthew Hill — were to make a surprise flip to another school. For the time being, let’s operate as if none of those things will happen and answer Anthony’s question as it was specifically asked.

The final three will come down to a few factors.

Justyn Ross and Quay Walker are the biggest pieces of that puzzle. These are two can’t-miss prospects who the Tigers plan to host on official visits this weekend. The recruiting picture will likely be more clear after this weekend when Auburn has a better feel on each of these prospects.

As of now, the Tigers feel like they’re on the outside looking in for both. With that said, neither one of them has outright made that comment on their own. Still, for the purpose of this discussion, I don’t project either in Auburn’s class.

That makes the decision process easier for a few position groups, especially tight end.

Matt Alaimo took an official visit to the Plains last weekend. Source suggest he would’ve like to commit, but the numbers crunch forced Auburn to request he be patient. That resulted in him taking an official visit to Texas A&M, and it’s possible he takes one to UCLA. If Auburn misses on Ross and Walker, that makes the decision to take a tight end that much easier.

I think Alaimo lands in the class. That’s one.

Roger McCreary had a similar official visit experience to Alaimo. It seemed like he was on commit watch, but it didn’t happen. Still, Gus Malzahn and Kevin Steele made a point to see McCreary twice when they were in Mobile, Ala., for the Senior Bowl. That kind of prioritization speaks for itself, especially when Auburn has such a major need at cornerback.

Count McCreary in. That’s two.

The final spot has to go to a specific position group: tackle. Auburn has been hopeful to add tackles throughout this recruiting cycle. The truth of the matter, however, is the tackle class hasn’t been strong enough to go all-out on any given prospects.

Auburn has found a target, though, with immediate impact potential.

Calvin Anderson, a Rice grad transfer, had dinner with Malzahn and Chip Lindsey the other night. He’s eager to get to Auburn for an official visit. It will most likely be his last official visit, which would be a great sign for the Tigers. The idea of playing in the SEC means a lot to the May graduate.

So that’s how I see it playing out:

3-star tight end Matt Alaimo, Montvale, N.J.
3-star cornerback Roger McCreary, Mobile, Ala.
Rice offensive tackle Calvin Anderson, Houston

Come back with the same question next week? The answer could be quite different.

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Surprisingly nothing has come out yet on Gus's in home with Langham.

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7:42 AM is a little early on a worthwhile update from a visit the night before.

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KN has put out some late updates in the past.

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AUBURN | Roger McCreary’s big senior season has paid off.

The in-state cornerback from Williamson has committed to Auburn.

McCreary made his commitment Wednesday night, a day after Gus Malzahn, Kevin Steele and Greg Brown visited him in school and in home.

McCreary took an official visit to Auburn Jan. 12-14 and left with the Tigers his leader. He never wavered.

McCreary chose Auburn over interest from Alabama and Tennessee, and offers from N.C. State, Duke, Southern Miss, UAB, Tulane, South Alabama and Western Kentucky.

McCreary, who also is a standout in track, committed to South Alabama early in his senior season, but reopened his recruitment in December after Auburn offered. Alabama and Tennessee both increased attention in McCreary.

McCreary's senior season stats included 100 tackles, had eight interceptions and 14 pass breakups. He also had 802 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, 62 receptions for 702 yards and seven touchdowns and passed for 600 yards and six scores.

It's no wonder SEC schools came calling.

McCreary, who is six feet tall and weighs 190 pounds, is Auburn’s 23rd commitment in the 2018 class and second cornerback, joining four-star and early enrollee Christian Tutt.

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Roger McCreary, an All-State athlete at Williamson High School, has committed to play his college football at Auburn.

McCreary and his high school coach, Dedrick Sumpter, said the three-star standout actually committed Tuesday during a Mobile visit by Auburn coaches Gus Malzahn, Kevin Steele and Greg Brown.

McCreary (6-foot, 180 pounds) committed to South Alabama this spring with teammate Jamall Hickbottom but de-committed in December when the Tigers started to show interest. He's also picked up recent offers from N.C. State and Duke.

Check out AL.com's list of the best available senior football players in the state ahead of the second National Signing Day on Feb. 7

"I'm excited," McCreary said. "Auburn's always been No. 1 for me. When they came and saw me this week, I was just kind of thinking, 'What am I waiting for.' I just figured it was time to get it done."

McCreary likely will play cornerback in the SEC. He played all over the field for Williamson this year. He ran for 802 yards and eight TDs, caught 62 passes for 702 yards and seven scores and also completed 50 passes for more than 600 yards and six touchdowns. He played wide receiver, running back and quarterback at different times.

Roger McCreary, a one-time South Alabama commit, took his official visit to Auburn and nearly committed to the Tigers.

On defense, he had eight interceptions and more than 100 tackles. He also was the team's punter.

"The sky is the limit for that guy," Sumpter said. "Whatever he wants to do, he can do. He's just worried about being the best football player he can be. When the lights come on .... I've never had another guy like him. He has unlimited, untapped potential."

McCreary said he is perfectly comfortable playing cornerback and that is where he was playing when Auburn coaches came to watch him during the season.

"It's like a dream to me to be able to go to Auburn," he said. "But I've always tried to stay humble, and I plan on doing the same thing in college."

McCreary has been rising quickly on recruiting boards since the season ended. He is up nine spots to No. 33 on 247's composite rankings of the top senior prospects in the state. The 247 individual site has him rated No. 18.

Auburn has enjoyed a good run in recent years with former Williamson stars on defense. Antonio Coleman, who was McCreary's defensive coordinator this year, was an All-SEC first-team selection in 2008 and 2009 and Nick Fairley won the Lombardi Award and was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2010.

McCreary is the 23rd player in Auburn's 2018 recruiting class.

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Lavonta Bentley tweeted this morning that he expected an "unbelievable, amazing, fantastic day."

He had no idea how prophetic his words would be.

The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Jackson-Olin linebacker received scholarship offers from Auburn, Alabama and LSU today, having started the week with no offers from Power 5 conferences. He is a junior and part of the Class of 2019.

"It's been great," he said this afternoon. "It feels great to know that these big, SEC schools want me and think I can help their program. ... It's a blessing."

The 6-foot-1, 220-pound linebacker started the week as a relatively unknown recruit, a high school junior dreaming of one day playing college football. Then, Oregon offered him a scholarship. Then came an offer from Florida Atlantic, coached by former Alabama assistant Lane Kiffin.

Bentley played at Parker the last two years, logging time at linebacker, fullback and running back. He transferred to Jackson-Olin when the second semester began earlier this month.

Jackson-Olin coach Tim Vakakes said the Mustangs were impressed with Bentley's aggressiveness and toughness when they had to game-plan for him and play against him.

"He's a striker," Vakakes said. "He's a very strong, very physical player. (Parker) Coach (Andre) Robinson and his staff did a heck of a job with him and put him in position to make plays."

Jackson-Olin has become a must-stop on the for college recruiters recently, with 2017 linebacker T.D. Moultry signing with Auburn, 2018 defensive lineman Coynis Miller committed to Auburn, and 2019 prospects Jammal Abrams and A.J. Toney also having Division I offers.

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MOBILE, Ala. — When Tray Matthews was asked this week who could step up and replace him as a leader in Auburn football’s secondary, the first name out of his mouth was a surprise.

He mentioned two veteran defensive backs who will most likely take up starting jobs next season. But he led off with one who hasn’t even played a down of college football yet — Quindarious “Smoke” Monday.

“I feel like there’s a lot of good talent,” Matthews said Tuesday at Senior Bowl media day. “You’ve got young Smoke, who is going to play a little safety. You’ve got Daniel Thomas, who has some experience. You have Jeremiah Dinson, who can also move to the safety position. I feel like any of those guys can fill the void.”

Monday enrolled early at Auburn and got to spend some practice time with Matthews, who started three seasons as Auburn’s vocal, hard-hitting safety.

The Under Armour All-American will immediately compete for a starting job in the place of Matthews and Stephen Roberts, who are both off to the NFL after their senior seasons. Auburn coaches believe Monday has the skill set that would’ve made him an asset for the secondary in 2017.

“He really plays with an edge and has a great personality,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said in December. “We’re very excited about him.”

Monday, an Atlanta native, made a name for himself in high school with his physical nature and versatility across a secondary. Then there’s his “Smoke” nickname, which he’ll officially go by at Auburn — much like sophomore defensive end Markaviest “Big Kat” Bryant.

“Both those guys are excellent players, and both of them will probably play in the NFL,” Malzahn said.

But what Matthews likes most of all is Monday’s attitude.

“He’s got the confidence off the bat like I did,” Matthews said. “I feel like he’ll be in a good spot.”

Monday showed that off on Auburn’s campus before he even became a full member of the team. During his official visit, he told reporters “when I get my rhythm, it’s going to be hard to stop me.” He also talked about raising the standard that was set by Matthews and Roberts at safety.

“I’m going to come in and grind… just because they’re leaving, I got to fill their shoes,” Monday said. “I mean, they did a great job this year, so I just got to come next year and do way better than they did.”

Matthews believes that if his fellow Georgia safety can stay on the right path, he’ll have a highly successful career on the Plains.

“If he stays out of trouble and everything, the sky’s the limit. I mean, he’s not a troublemaker or anything,” Matthews said. “But I’m just saying, the sky’s the limit for him.”

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