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

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Auburn’s punter of the future is here.

Australian punters have won each of the last five Ray Guy Awards. The Tigers decided to get in on that trend. Auburn worked together with the Prokick Australia program to set up a mutual scholarship opportunity for the former professional Australian Rules Football player.

That’s right, Siposs is a former professional athlete.

He spent five years playing in the highest professional league in Australia before turning his full attention to a United States academic and athletic career. As you’ll be able to tell from the highlights below, Siposs isn’t the average punter commit, hence why the Tigers were willing to take his commitment so quickly.

Siposs is 25 years old and is already engaged. This is a grown man the Tigers are bringing in at punter for the 2018 class. Maybe there will be more fake punts in Auburn’s special teams future? Siposs is skilled enough to try.

Here is all you need to know about the punter in the 2018 class:

3-star punter Arryn Siposs

247Sports composite ranking: No. 6 punter, No. 2 in Australia, No. 1,884 overall

Hometown: Melbourne, Australia

School: Prokick Australia

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 198 pounds

Offers: 1, from Auburn

Commitment: Dec. 12, 2017

Where he fits at Auburn: Auburn had some major issues with the punting game in 2017, starting with fall camp concerns. That’s clearly a position group the Tigers wanted to clear up in the 2018 recruiting class. Australian punters have been all the rage when it comes to the Ray Guy Award in recent years. The Tigers figured it was their turn to snag a punter with rare athletic traits. Siposs spent several years playing Australian Rules Football professionally.

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Harold Joiner‘s recruitment had some twist and turns. In the end, his final decision made sense.

For a majority of the process, Joiner looked destined to land in LSU’s class. He came close to commitment there on a few occasion. Unexpected circumstances pushed Joiner in a different direction and forced him to re-assess his options. Auburn had the most to gain from that decision.

The Tigers hosted Joiner several times over the last few seasons. It never seemed like the in-state school was going to make a strong push for the uber-athletic running back. That all changed when he took his official visit to the Plains.

He struck a connection with head coach Gus Malzahn, and that was enough to bring Joiner on board.

Here is all you need to know about the running back in the 2018 class:

4-star RB Harold Joiner

247Sports composite ranking: No. 5 running back, No. 4 in Alabama, No. 151 overall

Hometown: Birmingham, Ala.

School: Mountain Brook

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 218 pounds

Offers: 32 offers, including LSU, Georgia, Alabama, Michigan State, UCLA, Ole Miss, Baylor and Florida.

Commitment: Jan. 14, 2018

Where he fits at Auburn: Joiner is one of the highest-rated running backs in the class, but he won’t be cornered to that position group. On his official visit, Joiner said Gus Malzahn compared him to former Tulsa player Charles Clay. That’s how Joiner is likely to be used in Auburn’s offense. He’ll line up in the backfield at times. He’ll work as an H-back. Joiner might even be used as a tight end or wide receiver in some situations. Joiner brings a versatility unmatched by another prospect in 2018.

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Auburn made a late push for cornerback Roger McCreary, and it paid off.

McCreary was committed to South Alabama until Auburn offered in December. Other Power 5 programs such as Alabama, Tennessee, N.C. State and Duke started to show interest. Ultimately, Auburn was the team to beat, and the Tigers didn’t let go of this one.

He committed to the Tigers shortly after an in-home visit with Gus Malzahn.

McCreary joins 4-star recruit Christian Tutt as the cornerbacks in Auburn’s class. This one boiled down to Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele finding McCreary in the summer and sticking with him throughout the course of his senior season. McCreary isn’t the highest-rated guy in the class, but he’s going to surprise people early in his Auburn career because of his elite athleticism.

Here is all you need to know about the cornerback in the 2018 class:

3-star CB Roger McCreary

247Sports composite ranking: No. 87 cornerback, No. 34 in Alabama, No. 984 overall

Hometown: Mobile, Ala.

School: Williamson

Height: 5-foot-11

Weight: 178 pounds

Offers: 12, including Auburn, N.C. State, Duke, South Alabama, Troy and Tulane.

Commitment: Jan. 24, 2018

Senior season stats: 62 catches for 702 yards and 7 touchdowns; 802 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns; 600 passing yards and 6 touchdowns; 100 tackles; 8 interceptions; 14 pass breakups

Where he fits at Auburn: Auburn circled around on McCreary late when it was in search of another cornerback to add to this class. Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele sought out McCreary in the summer when he camped at Auburn. Steele tracked him throughout the 2017 football season when McCreary put up the eye-popping numbers listed above. Based on McCreary’s elite-level speed, he’s someone who could surprise with an earlier career as a boundary cornerback.

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Auburn landed 4-star defensive tackle Coynis Miller after all.

There wasn’t much doubt, but there was some. He flirted with Oregon and Tennessee official visits late in the recruiting cycle, but those were more for the experience than anything. Miller decided against taking the Florida official visit. He was all Auburn’s from there.

Miller ended up being one of the bigger wins for the Tigers in the 2018 class. Alabama made a big push for Miller, but his relationship with defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and defensive line coach Rodney Garner turned out to be too much to turn down. Garner doesn’t lose many battles when he makes a strong push for someone.

Miller’s case was no different. That’s a big pickup for the Tigers.

Here is all you need to know about the defensive tackle in the 2018 class:

4-star defensive tackle Coynis Miller

247Sports composite ranking: No. 10 defensive tackle, No. 3 in Alabama. No. 120 overall

Hometown: Birmingham, Ala.

School: Jackson-Olin

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 305 pounds

Offers: 12, including Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Oregon, Tennessee and Louisville.

Commitment: Oct. 14, 2017

Senior season stats: 21 tackles and 4 sacks; 6 rushing touchdowns

Where he fits at Auburn: Miller has all the athleticism defensive line coach Rodney Garner loves. The 4-star defensive tackle, at 305 pounds, has the ability to windmill dunk on the basketball court. Those freakish traits carry over well to the defensive line. You won’t find many prospects with more physical explosion than Miller. He will be one of the early candidates to fill in on the defensive line when the group of Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson, Nick Coe, Dontavius Russell and Andrew Williams leave.

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Auburn played it smart with 4-star wide receiver Anthony Schwartz.

Florida was the runaway favorite to land Schwartz during his recruiting process. For that reason, most schools didn’t bother putting many resources into the Schwartz recruitment even though they thought highly of his skill set. Auburn knew it wouldn’t be easy to top the in-state school, but Kodi Burns stayed consistent from start to finish.

When Florida went through the coaching change, Schwartz didn’t receive the immediate answers he would’ve liked from the Gators. Meanwhile, Auburn didn’t waver on its desire to take one of the fastest prospects in the country. That paid off for the Tigers in the end.

Here is all you need to know about the wide receiver in the 2018 class:

4-star wide receiver Anthony Schwartz

247Sports composite ranking: No. 30 wide receiver, No. 28 in Florida, No. 162 overall

Hometown: Plantation, Fla.

School: American Heritage

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 172 pounds

Offers: 28, including Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Louisville, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska and Tennessee.

Commitment: Jan. 4, 2018

Senior season stats: 25 catches for 507 yards and 7 touchdowns; 6 carries for 42 yards and 1 touchdown; 95-yard interception return touchdown

Where he fits at Auburn: The Tigers are clearly looking to bring back the “Auburn Fast” mantra with this one. Schwartz is one of the fastest high school athletes in the nation, regardless of sport. He holds a youth record with a 10.15-second 100-meter dash. That will make him a deadly downfield option for Auburn’s quarterbacks. Throughout his senior season, Schwartz put to rest the “he’s a track guy playing football” narrative.

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Auburn defensive line coach has a track record of closing on National Signing Day. That’s exactly what happened with 3-star defensive lineman Caleb Johnson.

The 3-star prospect from Northside High School in Columbus, Ga., had interest in Auburn throughout his entire process. Dating back to the fall, Johnson had the Tigers in a top group with Tennessee and Georgia.

Garner never made a major push for Johnson until late in the recruiting cycle. Johnson visited for several games throughout the season, which is when Auburn revved up its efforts for the defensive lineman. Johnson left with a major impression after the Iron Bowl and doubled down on that following his Jan. 26 official visit.

On Wednesday, Johnson capped it off by committed to Auburn. He’s the 24th commitment in this class.

“Just getting to know the whole coaching staff instead of just Coach [Rodney] Garner and hanging out with more than just Derrick Brown, hanging out with more players on the team. Just making those close bonds,” Johnson said after his official visit. “This late in the recruiting process, that’s what it’s really about to me, that family thing. They just kind of told me their philosophy and vision. It stood out to me.”

Johnson had strong interest from Florida and Georgia, as well, the two other programs he officially visited.

It’s tough to make a position projection for Johnson. He was originally listed as an outside linebacker, but at 267 pounds, he’s already close to lining up as a down lineman. His position listing has since changed to defensive end. If he continues this trajectory of growth, he’s likely to turn into a defensive tackle by the time his college career comes to a close.

Johnson is ranked the No. 28 weakside defensive end in the country and the No. 580 overall prospect.

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