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

quote:

---

Any Nigerians in this class?

---

quote:

---

An 80? Do not want

---

quote:

---

An 80? Do not want

---

quote:

---

Other known potential targets: 4-star Jeremiah Payton, Neptune Beach, Fla.; 4-star TJ Sheffield, Thompson’s Station, Tenn.

Importance of more blue-chip additions (1-10): 3

---

quote:

---

What I think Auburn should do: Much like with the quarterbacks, Auburn’s decision to take more than anticipated will be dependent on draft-eligible underclassmen leaving early.

Two wide receivers will depart with Davis and Hastings set to graduate after their senior seasons. Of the potential early entries, Slayton and Craig-Myers are the only ones who fit into the could category, though Stove, McClain and Cannella will be eligible to do so, in theory. Even Slayton and Craig-Myers would have to blow up during the 2018 season to shoot up draft boards.

If it becomes evident that will happen for Slayton or Craig-Myers, it would make sense to add a third wide receiver in the class, if coaches felt it could afford to sacrifice a scholarship spot elsewhere.

---

quote:

---

Where Auburn stands among loaded competition

Name a program, and it has probably offered McCollough.

He holds offers from more than two dozen blue-blood programs, including Auburn, Alabama, South Carolina, Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida State. It’s early in McCollough’s process, but he also said he doesn’t expect it to drag into his senior season.

The 4-star safety — ranked No. 4 at the position nationally — would like to have his process near a finish by the fall.

“I’m just taking it slow. I’ll probably commit sometime before the fall. I want my senior year so I can can just focus on football and graduating early,” McCollough said.

With a early-fall decision in mind, the new official visit window would allow pivotal spring official visits. McCollough said he hasn’t concentrated on those spring or summer visit plans, but he said he expects to take a few in the spring and the remainder in the fall.

Auburn made a strong early claim for one of those five official visits.

“Auburn will be an official visit,” McCollough said. “I know as of right now Auburn and Ohio State. Those are two for sure and probably sometime down the road I’ll think of three other schools for official visits.”

A few programs to watch closely with McCollough: South Carolina, Alabama, Florida State and Georgia.

Alabama currently leads the 247Sports Crystal Ball projections, if you’re looking for an idea of where public perception is.

That makes McCollough’s trip to Auburn especially interesting given his last visit to the Plains came for the Iron Bowl. In fact, McCollough said that previous time at Auburn — his first as a recruit — is what encouraged him to come back for a more exclusive visit with coaches.

“The Iron Bowl is one of, if not the greatest, rivalries in college football. Alabama has always been a great state for football, so Auburn and Alabama were always two schools to look at,” McCollough said. “Seeing Auburn beat Alabama just played a bigger factor. Just them showing interest is amazing.”

For now, McCollough doesn’t have any other unofficial visits set in stone. When he does start planning other visits, a return to Auburn is in the cards.

“[This visit] helped a lot. Just getting a feel for the coaches and the atmosphere on campus, it’s beautiful,” McCollough said. “We’ll definitely be back.”

---

quote:

---

Already offered: 4-star prospect Hudson Henry, Little Rock, Ark.; 4-star recruit Austin Stogner, Plano, Texas; 4-star recruit Keon Zipperer, Lakeland, Fla.; 4-star prospect Ryland Goede, Acworth, Ga.; 4-star talent Luke Deal, Greenwood, S.C.; 3-star player Jackson Lowe, Cartersville, Ga.; 3-star prospect Garmon Randolph, Jefferson, Ga.; 3-star recruit Sean Brown, Rome, Ga.

---

quote:

---

What I think Auburn will do: Ever since Landon Rice’s dismissal two offseasons ago, Auburn has been in search of a go-to tight end option.

Sal Cannella turned out to be more of a big slot receiver than a tight end. Shenker is the tight end in waiting that people within the Auburn program feel solidly about, strongly enough to turn away targets such as Matt Alaimo in the recent class recruiting cycle.

Harris, Cox and Brown will all graduate after the 2018 season. That will leave a huge hole at tight end and H-back. My inclination: The H-back position won’t be as much a centerpiece of this offense after Cox’s departure. But there will still be vacancies next to Shenker on the depth chart since Joiner’s inclusion here is more a projection than certainty.

Auburn will go after its top targets in this class such as Hudson Henry and Jackson Lowe, but they’ll also look all across the Southeast for top targets. I’d expect more to emerge in the coming weeks as the Tigers hope to figure out the tight end situation sooner rather than later in this cycle.

For now, Brown (offered Wednesday) and Randolph fall into my most-likely category.

---