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

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I would much rather worry about holding onto Pappoe than trying to flip him down the line. The momentum generated by Pappoe commitment would be huge. He's gonna help recruit to AU if we get him tomorrow and he's well likes and respected by tomorrow other top prospects

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This

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Auburn added an impressive offensive weapon to its 2020 class.

Kobe Hudson from Lagrange, Ga., announced his commitment decision at high school Friday morning. The 4-star wide receiver committed to Auburn over Alabama, Georgia and Florida State to become the second pledge in the Tigers’ 2020 class.

Hudson ranks as the nation’s No. 11 wide receiver and No. 52 overall prospect in the 2020 class. He’s the second prospect from Troup County (Ga.) to commit to Auburn for 2020. Hudson’s close friend and high school teammate Andy Boykin, a defensive lineman, chose Auburn in the fall.

With the Friday commitment, Auburn moves up seven spots to No. 6 in the recruiting team rankings for 2020 behind Miami, Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU and Georgia. It’s still early, but the Tigers are off to a much quicker start in the 2020 class than they took in 2018 and 2019 recruiting cycles.

Hudson was the focal point of the Troup County offense, even as a sophomore.

The standout wide receiver played multiple roles for his high school. He caught 45 passes for 896 yards and 12 touchdowns. That included a 4-touchdown game in November. Hudson also averaged 8.5 yards per carry, albeit in a limited role in the running game. The only pass Hudson threw? He completed it for 15 yards.

Hudson, however, has been a breakout players since his freshman season. In ninth grade, Hudson caught 16 passes for 504 yards and a touchdown. He even got involved in special teams as a freshman with an 85-yard kick return on the only chance he was given that season.

Only halfway complete with his high school career, Hudson has already made a name for himself as one of the best playmakers in the Peach State.

It’s a long time between now and when Hudson can sign any official paperwork. That said, a big reason he wanted to commit so early was to become the vocal leader and focal point of his class.

Lucky for Auburn, he’ll play that role for the Tigers.

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AUBURN, Ala. — Jaylin Simpson and Jashawn Sheffield‘s second trip to Auburn gave them similar feelings to the first.

When the Frederica Academy (Ga.) athletes visited in March, Simpson said the Tigers “gave him something to think about.” Sheffield called Auburn his No. 1 school. That was his first trip on the Plains. They made a multi-day trip this weekend with their mothers and high school coach.

In Simpson’s case, making sure mom could give her seal of approval was important.

“I had a great visit, my second visit. I brought my mom and sister so they could see it. They loved it. They feel like it’s a good place for me,” Simpson said. “Just being comfortable with a place that feels like home. My mom liked it, for one. I want to make her proud. She liked it, so I liked it.”

As SEC Country has written, it was likely Simpson would make a decision on his Auburn visit.

That won’t exactly be the case, but he does want to wrap the process up soon.

Simpson will make an announcement Monday morning after he goes home and talks about his top options with his family and coaches. Auburn, Florida State, South Carolina, Miami, Georgia and Clemson are the teams in contention to land Simpson.

As for Sheffield, the timetable isn’t set in stone — but sooner sounds more likely than later. The versatile athlete said it could happen after his football season. Or it could happen in the next week or so. The latter seems to be a much likelier possibility.

Auburn has made a significant push here, but Florida State and Tennessee are working to get Sheffield on campus before he makes a final decision.

Those programs will have work to do to jump the Tigers.

“It’s really like family here. I can see they genuinely care about me,” Sheffield said. “They don’t just talk about football. They talk about life, education, the business school. I like that. Other schools haven’t really done that.”

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AUBURN, Ala. — Coming into his Auburn official visit, Luke Deal had questions.

He got his answers.

The Greenwood, S.C., tight end knows what the usage of that position group — or lack thereof — has been the last few football seasons. He understood coming into the visit some of the personnel shortcomings the Tigers have had at the positions in recent years.

But according to Deal, any and all concerns were put to rest through some film sessions with the coaching staff. Wisely, Auburn pulled up some tape of the late great Philip Lutzenkirchen.

“I got video proof and everything, which was more than I expected. They showed me the tight ends they’ve had in the past with Lutz and other guys that have been productive in that spot and the different spots they’ve used them,” Deal said after his official visit. “It was pretty reassuring, and that really was what I was looking for.”

Deal’s official visit to Auburn was his second trip this spring — both times with the whole family.

It also marked his fifth official visit overall with trips to N.C. State, Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame already ini the books.

With Auburn, the official visit gave Deal another opportunity to measure the Plains environment to other schools he’s been to. As is often the case with recruits, Deal dropped the word “family” on multiple occasions to describe the feeling he gets hanging out with Tigers players and coaches.

Tight ends coach Larry Porter, especially, exemplifies that.

“He’s a family man. He’s the type of guy who will do anything for his players. He treats his players like he treats his family. I spent a lot of time with his family too, and they’re a reflection of him,” Deal said. “This visit was really just going in-depth with the culture and atmosphere here. It seems like a great place. It’s a great big family, which is hard to find at this level of college football.”

Deal had an important 2019 prospect hang out with him on his visit.

That’s quarterback Bo Nix.

Nix spent a lot of time with Deal on Saturday. It wasn’t the first time the two were around one another for football purposes, though that wasn’t something the tandem connected until their on-campus encounter.

“He never really thought that he met me, but actually when I was a freshman, we went to a camp together. I was a QB, and I actually threw with him. I didn’t know he was going to blow up the way that he did, and he didn’t know me very much,” Deal said. “But he’s a great dude. You can tell he wants to win, wants to win early and believes in this football program.”

Deal confirmed he’ll be ready to make his decision on May 25, which has been his commitment date for a while. He expects Auburn will be the last visit he takes before that announcement. Deal said his May 25 pick will be final. He’ll shut everything down until he enrolls early in January.

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Latest take on Owen Pappoe, Wanya Morris

I figured I probably couldn’t get out of here without giving you something on the big decisions coming Tuesday.

It’s been a tiresome wait to May 1, but the announcements are less than 48 hours away.

Five-star linebacker Owen Pappoe has become one of the biggest priorities for Auburn in recent memory. He has developed a strong relationship with Tigers linebackers coach Travis Williams. It’s actually his closest player-coach bond, according to Pappoe. He’s taken official visits the last two weekends to Penn State and Texas, and he made a midweek trip to Georgia prior to those trips.

I’m sticking with my sourcing on this one. Pappoe to Auburn is what I’ve said for more than a month now, and the feeling remains the exact same as I write this. I’ll probably have yet another update on this Monday and Tuesday, but I don’t expect much to change in my mind. Auburn has done a 5-star job of securing this one, making a late push after missing out on the top 3.

The battle might not turn out as favorably for 4-star tackle Wanya Morris.

Auburn worked all weekend — well into Saturday — to get Morris in on an official visit. He took one to Tennessee last weekend, and he was supposed to make it to the Plains this weekend. As of late Saturday, Morris hadn’t made the trip to Auburn for his official visit, which isn’t a great sign for the Tigers. As one source put it, Tennessee hit such a home run on the official visit last weekend that Morris might’ve been too far gone to sway anyway.

I expect the Volunteers to land him on Tuesday.

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Luke Deal really likes Auburn, and so does his family. He took three official visits to Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan earlier this month. One thing is clear: Deal and his family feel comfortable in the South. Deal also doesn’t plan on taking anymore visits between now and his May 25 decision, so Auburn likely got the last laugh. There will be a lot of Clemson buzz because he’s from South Carolina, and those Tigers are ones to watch. But I think Auburn is in a great spot here at a major position of need. Auburn has really struggled recruiting tight ends the last two years, and there’s no question Deal is priority No. 1 at that position.

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I expect Auburn to land three commitments this week from high-profile athletes in the state of Georgia. Starting Monday, I think there could be plenty of momentum for Auburn on back-to-back-to-back days. It should be fairly obvious (if you read SEC Country regularly) who I think those three commits will be. Regardless, it’ll be nice for the Tigers to dip into the Peach State successfully. It should be a big week for Auburn, maybe the biggest since I started covering the Tigers two years ago.

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