re: 2019 Football Recruiting Thread - Auburn Goes 4/7 & Land Brothers

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Florida safety recaps initial visit to Auburn

Cortez Andrews has heard from everybody.

It shouldn’t be a surprise, given the 6-foot-2, 205-pound safety’s skill set, that he’s already been offered by Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Louisville and others. Programs such as Alabama, Florida State and Notre Dame are eager to host him on visits this spring. Auburn got one of the first stabs at Andrews when he attended a junior day earlier this month.

Here’s how Andrews describes his initial Auburn interest.

“Just the fact that, growing up, I was a big fan of the SEC. Auburn was one of the heavyweights. That’s one of the big schools I grew up watching. Just coming up to see it for the first time was amazing,” Andrews said. “This is my first time coming up here, and I really enjoyed it, the coaches and the whole environment. So I’ll definitely be back up here.”

Auburn offered Andrews before he began his sophomore season.

The Tallahassee, Fla., native followed it up with back-to-back impressive seasons. That has brought other teams into the fold. The Tigers have hung around, communicating a “little bit every other week.”

“I’ve been hearing from Auburn a lot,” Andrews said. “Coach Kodi Burns, he’s my recruiting coordinator, so we talk. We text. We Snapchat. He checks up on me all the time, asks me how I’m doing. He texts me a lot.”

Auburn’s communication is “about the same” from all the other schools recruiting him, Andrews said.

Andrews won’t linger on his decision.

The No. 18-ranked safety in the nation will take visits this spring to Ole Miss, Georgia and Florida before honing in on a college decision. He admitted that there are a few more offers this spring that could adjust his timeline, but Andrews expects to know where he’ll go to school before he starts his senior season. He plans to take his official visits during the new spring window.

Auburn staked its claim with its typical sales pitch.

“Family. Family is everything up here. I really enjoyed that. I really liked that,” Andrews said.

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In some respect, it’s a little too early to say definitively who will be next.

So what you read below isn’t necessarily a “here’s who will be the next to commit.” It’s more of a “here are some prospect who, as of now, seem to be the most likely to commit.” There are already two prospects committed in the 2019 class — Bo Nix and George Pickens — so it isn’t too early to be doing this. With that said, most of the five names below will visit several Power 5 programs this spring and summer, so their recruitments will take many twists and turns.

Still, it’s nice to see who Auburn is in strong position for early.

Here are five names to watch:

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Derrian Brown, 4-star running back, Buford, Ga.

Derrian Brown is one of 10 running backs already offered by the Tigers in the 2019 cycle.

The Tigers will go after several top targets, including 5-star IMG Academy (Fla.) running back Noah Cain, who visited a few weeks ago. But it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Tigers take multiple running backs in the 2019 class, so the coaching staff will make sure to go through all of its options.

Brown is at the forefront of that conversation.

He plays at Buford High School in Georgia, and is coached by John Ford. Ford was the Roswell head coach when Auburn was recruiting quarterback Malik Willis. Auburn was willing to take a shot on Willis when other schools weren’t, so Ford has a special place in his heart for the Tigers. That will go a long way when recruiting Buford High School athletes.

In Brown’s case, the No. 9 running back in the nation was offered by Auburn on Oct. 23. Auburn got ahead of some of its other usual Power 5 recruiting competition, and I expect that might help when Brown makes his decision.

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Kalen Deloach, 4-star linebacker, Savannah, Ga.

Kalen Deloach will be offered by everyone when it’s all said an done, so the key here will be Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele’s early prioritization.

Steele went down to Deloach’s high school during the contact period. That was when Steele let Deloach’s coaches know he had an Auburn offer. Since then, Alabama and others have jumped on board to get in the Deloach sweepstakes. The Tigers will have to fight off several programs in this one, and it’s likely to run late into the year.

Auburn already has a jump on the competition, though.

Deloach made the four-hour trip from Savannah for Auburn’s junior day with two family members. After speaking with Deloach and his family members, they were blown away by the junior day experience and really like the relationships they’ve already built with Steele and linebackers coach Travis Williams.

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AUBURN | Ramel Keyton isn’t in a hurry to make his college decision. The four-star wide receiver has many early offers, many colleges still left to visit and consider.

“I’ll probably have a top five in the spring,” Keyton said.

Keyton, from Marietta, Ga., has gotten an early start to his visits. He’s already made trips to Clemson, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, UCF and Auburn.

Keyton’s most recent visit was to Auburn. He had visited Auburn in the fall for the Tigers’ win over then-No. 1 Georgia and returned Feb. 2 for Junior Day.

“When I (visit Auburn), I like the feel of it,” Keyton said. “It feels good.”

Keyton met during his visit with area recruiter Tim Horton and wide receivers coach Kodi Burns. He and his mother also spent a lot of time talking with Auburn linebacker Deshaun Davis.

“Coach Horton preaches all the time that it’s about where you fit,” Keyton said.

Keyton agrees, but has more criteria when searching for the right school, the right fit.

“I look at how good the quarterback is,” Keyton said. “I look at how deep they are at receiver, the receivers they have now, are they about to graduate or are they freshmen and sophomores.”

Keyton has lots to consider, and he’s not in a rush to find the right fit.

“I’m going to wait,” he said.

Rivals ranks Keyton, who said he’s 6-foot-3 and weighs 185 pounds, the No. 34 wide receiver in the 2019 class, the No. 22 player in Georgia and No. 193 in the Rivals250.

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Nakobe Dean high on Alabama

Alabama failed to sign an elite inside linebacker in the 2018 class. The Crimson Tide signed 3-star prospect Jaylen Moody after it was clear Vernon Jackson, JJ Peterson and Quay Walker were going to sign elsewhere.

Moody was definitely a backup option for Alabama. He was offered by the Crimson Tide during the final week leading up to National Signing Day. Signing several inside linebackers in the 2019 class is going to be important for the Tide.

Nakobe Dean is one of the top targets for Alabama. Dean, a 5-star prospect from Horn Lake (Miss.) High School, told SEC Country that if he had to make a top 5 list, Alabama and LSU would be two schools that would be on the list.

“They’re the top 2 recruiting me harder compared to the other schools,” Dean said. “I definitely get a family feel every time I go there.”

Dean has visited Tuscaloosa several times already. On his most recent visit to Tuscaloosa earlier this month, Dean had a chance to talk with the head of the engineering department.

It was a brilliant recruiting tactic for Alabama to deploy because the biggest thing he’s looking for in a school is education.

“I’m always big on education and whether they have my major,” said Dean, who is considering a future in sports medicine and engineering. “Also, it’s how they make me feel. If I feel like home, then I love it. That’s going to be big.”

The nation’s No. 1 inside linebacker said he’s in touch with Alabama every single week. Dean said he feels like he has a strong relationship with the Tide staff.

Dean will sign with his school of choice during the early signing period and enroll at whichever college he chooses in January.

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LSU is set to host a large contingency of out-of-state recruits this weekend, but the latest addition is certainly a noteworthy one.

Nathan Pickering, a 4-star defensive end and top 50 prospect nationally, will make his way to Baton Rouge for an unofficial visit this weekend. The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Pickering from Seminary (Miss.) High School is the No. 4-ranked strongside end in the country and No. 2-ranked prospect from the Magnolia State.

The Tigers have cemented themselves as one of the early favorites for Pickering, along with Alabama and Auburn, which have also played host to the elite 2019 defensive linemen already this spring.

Pickering joins an impressive list of Texas prospects heading to LSU this weekend, including 4-star quarterback Grant Gunnell, 4-star athlete Marquez Beason and 2020 prospects Lejond Cavazos and Zeriah Beason.

Stick with SEC Country for more on Pickering’s visit to the Bayou.

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