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

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WR who ran 10.15 100-meter enjoys first Auburn visit

AUBURN, Ala. — Anthony Schwartz’s recruitment has been on a fast track in 2017.

The 6-foot wide receiver from American Heritage (Fla.) entered the year with a Rutgers offer. He’s since picked 20 other big-time Power 5 offers, including Florida, Miami, Auburn, Georgia and LSU. Schwartz is a 3-star wide receiver who ranks 72nd at the position in the class.

But college coaches like him for something else: His world-class speed.

Take pregame of Auburn’s A-Day, for example. First it was Travis Williams who walked over to make a comment about Schwartz’s lightning-fast 100-meter dash. Then Gus Malzahn, Kodi Burns and Jarrett Stidham all wandered over to make some form of comment about Schwartz’s elite, straight-line speed. Later in the day, Auburn tight ends coach Larry Porter pointed out a Corvette driving around Auburn and asked if he could beat it in a race.

For those unaware, Schwartz recently ran a 10.15-second 100-meter dash. He hopes to get down to the “10.0s” by the end of his junior track season. The 10.15 display broke the nine-year high school record set by former Florida running back Jeff Demps.

That’s fast.

Auburn was quick to get Schwartz on campus following that 10.15 performance on March 31. Schwartz was equally eager to get up to the Plains for A-Day, and then venture over to Athens, Ga., for an unofficial visit to Georgia.

The Tigers impressed on visit No. 1.

“It really changed my opinion on Auburn. I always liked it, but now I feel like it’s somewhere I can play,” Schwartz said. “It was great. The spring game atmosphere was great with 50,000 fans. I spent the whole day here pretty much, just talking to all the coaches. I just liked the facilities. I went on a little tour.”

Schwartz didn’t know entirely what to expect from Auburn.

He’s heard murmurs from other recruits about what to expect. Before the visit, he commonly heard the word “different” about Auburn and wanted to find out what that meant for himself. Schwartz experienced that first hand around campus and Auburn, as he hung out with fellow south Florida boy John Franklin III during his visit.

“I was looking forward to how the school is. People like to say Auburn’s different from urban places, like Miami. It feels great,” Schwartz said. “We’re all secluded. I thought it would be just a small school, not a lot of people. I didn’t think there would be that much people for a spring game. I was with a few of the receivers. Everyone came up to them and knew all of them. They feel like celebrities out here.”

More importantly, Schwartz wanted to see the new-look Auburn offense.

He’d heard about Chip Lindsey’s downfield plans. He’d been told Jarrett Stidham’s big arm would alter the nature of Auburn’s passing game. Schwartz came away from the spring game impressed by what the Tigers are going to do on the offensive side under a new offensive coordinator.

“I feel like they have a great offense, started to pass a lot more,” Schwartz said. “Usually they were a run team the past couple years. This year, a lot of deep passes, a lot of stuff I think I would fit in with.”

The visit also allowed Schwartz to hang out more with Kodi Burns who he was with until his late Sunday afternoon departure.

“I feel like we have a good relationship now, especially since this was my first time actually meeting him,” Schwartz said. “I definitely got to relate to him. We’re both kinda chill, laid-back.”

Schwartz hopes to make his college decision by the end of the summer. He wants to return to Auburn — in June if he can. A big deciding factor for Schwartz: Will college programs let him run track? He’s on the verge of Olympic trial times, so the ability to compete in track in college will be critical for him being able to fulfill non-football life goals.

Auburn said there won’t be a problem there, and that — along with the visit — has the Tigers in good shape.

“I’d put them near the top,” Schwartz said, naming Florida, Miami, LSU and Georgia as Auburn’s main competition.

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Alabama still a top school for Williams despite silent recruitment period

BUFORD, Ga. — One result when a coaching change happens is the new staff member needs to quickly repair and establish a relationship with a recruit who may have already had a strong bond with the former staff member who was spearheading his recruitment. Sometimes, the new bond could be better than the previous one and then sometimes it can start slowly.

The latter has happened for 4-star wide receiver Seth Williams, who is the No. 4 prospect in the state of Alabama, and the Crimson Tide. Williams visited Tuscaloosa for Alabama’s junior day event on Feb. 25, but as of March 25, which is when this interview was conducted, the team hadn’t talked to him during that time frame.

That would tend to be an issue for a majority of recruits, especially for a recruit who lives fewer than 15 miles away from the university, one who attends Paul W. Bryant High School and one who grew up a Crimson Tide fan.

Williams is taking things in stride, though.

“They’re one of my top schools, but I don’t really communicate with them,” Williams said. “They don’t really communicate with me.”

Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has taken over Williams’ recruitment, and, obviously, the new coach is still getting adjusted to being in a new place and establishing a new offensive identity. That could be a reason for the lack of communication.

The 6-foot-3, 212-pound prospect said his February visit went well and he did get a chance to speak with the staff then. Williams said he was given no indication that he had fallen down the staff’s main targets at wide receiver, which could be a reason for the lack of communication. Hence, he doesn’t have a clue as to why the staff hasn’t reached out since.

“I really don’t know why they haven’t talked to me,” Williams said. “It’s just recruiting. It happens.”

Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Ole Miss and Oregon have been communicating with Williams. He said those schools hit him up nearly every single day. Williams nearly committed to Florida State back in January. He decided to hold off because he felt like a January commitment was too early. He’s now going to make a decision after his senior season ends, so there’s plenty of time for Alabama to get back in Williams’ good graces.

“It’s just recruiting,” Williams explained. “You’re going to have some schools show you love and some that don’t. I still have lots of schools that are interested in me.”

Williams and 5-star wide receiver Justyn Ross, who is from Central High School in Phenix City, Ala., are believed to be near the top of the Tide’s wish list at the position. It’s hard imagining the Tide striking out on both of them, but there’s obvious work to do with Williams. Auburn is also strongly in the mix for Ross, who lives approximately 30 minutes or so from the school’s campus.

It’s possible the Tigers can come into Cottondale, Ala., and steal a recruit from Paul W. Bryant High School, but the Tigers have a legitimate chance. He’s visited Auburn numerous times and has become comfortable there.

“They want to build me into an NFL wide receiver,” Williams said. “I just want to look at the entire offense, but the quarterback situation is nice.”

I would expect things to heat up with Williams once again. After all, he lives in Alabama’s backyard.

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Relationships are important to Jackson-Olin defensive lineman Coynis Miller, which is why the past two weeks have been advantageous for Auburn.

Miller visited Auburn for three nights during his spring break and returned Saturday for A-Day.

“I just keep building good relationships with the coaches,” Miller said.

Miller’s three-night visit to Auburn was March 26-29. The visit allowed him time to meet extensively with Auburn’s coaches, including Gus Malzahn, as well as see practice from a different angle.

“I got to be around the coaches, build relationships and watch them practice,” Miller said. “Coach Malzahn came and got me and put me right behind the players. I got to see the plays up close and how they are supposed to execute.”

Miller saw the execution Saturday during the Tigers’ spring game.

“They looked real good,” Miller said. “The d-line was getting after it. Some of the older guys were putting the younger guys in position to make plays.”

Miller watched two of Auburn’s sophomore defensive linemen, former five-stars Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson.

“I watch (Brown) because when I go off to college, I’ll be playing the same position,” Miller said. “I also watched Marlon Davidson because I like the way he plays.”

Miller next will visit Alabama for its spring game on April 22. The Tide and Tigers both are in Miller’s top group, as are LSU, Georgia and Ole Miss. He also plans to visit Florida in the summer.

Miller doesn’t plan to make an early commitment.

“I’ll probably commit after the season,” he said.

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Scout identifies 2018 prospects in the state of Louisiana who have earned the bump to three-star status during the rankings updates of the past few weeks.

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Anthony Schwartz’s

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Just reading some tea leaves it looks like Schwartz and Copeland are both headed to UF. Obviously things can and will change before signing day

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