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re: 2019 Football Recruiting Thread - Auburn Goes 4/7 & Land Brothers
Posted on 2/8/18 at 11:23 am to TigerPaw1
Posted on 2/8/18 at 11:23 am to TigerPaw1
Behind-the-scenes look into Auburn-relevant commitments on National Signing Day (SECCountry)
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3-star defensive lineman Caleb Johnson — Auburn
- Caleb Johnson didn’t expect to be an Auburn Tiger before the calendar turned to 2018. When I went to go see Johnson in September — shortly after putting him in my August class projection (humble brag) — all he wanted to talk about was Georgia and Tennessee. Those were the two schools he really liked. Those were the two schools he wanted to visit. As for Auburn, well, he didn’t know enough about that staff even though he’d visited there a few times and held an offer.
- Fast forward a couple weeks, Johnson started showing up on campus with more regularity, but it was almost exclusively for game days. That’s not always the best opportunity to get to know coaches because they’re doing their standard game day routines that involve recruiting after the game, which is generally a mad house. With five game visits in the 2017 season, Johnson became much more comfortable with the environment and atmosphere, but he was still yearning for more of a relationship with the coaching staff.
- That picked up in January. They weren’t making regular in-home visits, but Johnson set up an official visit. That’s when Auburn took the lead for good. Johnson and his mother spent a lot of time with the coaching staff, not just Rodney Garner, and the home feel started to creep in. It was Johnson’s last official visit, but he still didn’t know how scholarship space would shake out. In the end, Auburn came in and confirmed the spot. Johnson didn’t hesitate.
- Here’s a little anecdote on Johnson worth noting, as well. I spoke with a source after the Iron Bowl about defensive line prospects at that game intriguing to Auburn. The source rattled off a couple names there, but given the confidence at the time with Andres Fox — who was later accepted to Stanford — it was possible the Tigers didn’t add anymore. Right before the conversation concluded, I asked what the thought was on Caleb Johnson. The source stopped to prepare for a well-thought answer on the subject. In summation, Auburn was really high on Johnson: High character and supremely athletic for his position. Johnson was always a prospect Auburn planned to circle back around on if Fox went a different direction.
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Posted on 2/8/18 at 11:23 am to TigerPaw1
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4-star wide receiver Justyn Ross — Clemson
- As much as everyone tried to turn this into an Alabama-Clemson battle, Auburn was very much in this. Ross didn’t have a decision by Tuesday night and stayed in touch with all schools throughout that night and the following morning. Auburn coaches were aware there was a fighting chance, which is why the Tigers didn’t throw out any late offers (more at the third subhead). In fact, Auburn has been given reason to believe, by Ross, that the Tigers were actually the program to finish second in this recruitment.
- A lot was made late of the two in-state schools. Alabama and Auburn were the only ones to host him on official visits in January. Ross hadn’t been to Clemson since November. But that shows what kind of impression those Tigers made on Ross since the beginning. I wrote it throughout the fall — and it’s what led me to putting in the first Crystal Ball for Ross to Clemson — but every time Ross talked about Clemson and his visits there, he gushed in a way he didn’t about the other two.
- At the end of the day, Clemson tends to open up its offense more for wide receiver. That program has a much better NFL pedigree at wide receiver recently than the other two schools. Ultimately, that helped ease Ross into his decision.
Posted on 2/8/18 at 11:24 am to TigerPaw1
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4-star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase — LSU
- Here’s another decision that wasn’t made until the 11th hour. Chase made up his mind Wednesday morning, but again, his final decision came to late to alert a prospect such as Cam Taylor about a potential offer. Chase stuck with the home-state school.
- Chase’s father suggested to SEC Country that Auburn could’ve made a stronger push if not for some factors out of its control. Auburn fought hard at the end for the last official visit weekend, but Chase’s father admitted that every time they tried to visit the Plains, something came up to prevent it from happening. The Chase family saw that, more or less, as a sign.
Posted on 2/8/18 at 11:24 am to TigerPaw1
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3-star athlete Cam Taylor — Nebraska
- Cam Taylor held out for an Auburn offer until National Signing Day, just as he always said he would. But in the end, he didn’t feel he needed to wait any longer than he already had. That’s why he went ahead and chose Nebraska during his school’s 9 a.m. CT ceremony. The timing of that ceremony became quite interesting given the ultimate decisions made by Ross and Chase.
- Taylor was made aware by defensive coordinator Kevin Steele what the deal was with his pending offer. As it was relayed to Taylor, there were two wide receivers still out there who could fill the scholarship spot potentially being left open for Taylor. Those two wide receivers were Chase and Ross who, as mentioned above, were much closer to picking Auburn than many realized. While Taylor appreciated Steele’s transparency, he felt it wasn’t worth waiting to see what other prospects decided.
- According to my sourcing, this one caused an internal discussion within the Auburn coaching staff. Several on the defensive side were pushing to offer and take Taylor early in the morning before Ross and Chase announced. The final decision went the opposite direction. Whether or not that will be viewed as a regret is irrelevant. Hindsight is 20/20.
Posted on 2/8/18 at 11:25 am to TigerPaw1
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4-star defensive lineman Malik Langham — Florida
- This decision was relayed to all three Auburn, Alabama and Florida coaching staffs on Tuesday. However, that didn’t stop each of them from continuing to recruit Langham until he signed the dotted line. From my understanding, despite Langham telling everyone it was Florida, Alabama tried to make a much bigger late push than Auburn did.
- Langham is a perfect example of relationships being everything in recruiting. Alabama offered in December and didn’t start its push until late. Auburn came in a month after that and really scrambled to get involved in this one. Ultimately, it was Florida who won out, but it had more to do with Dan Mullen than the Gators. Mullen offered Langham way back in the spring while at Mississippi State and re-offered immediately after taking over at Florida. That long-standing relationship helped the Gators win out.
Posted on 2/8/18 at 11:28 am to GoCrazyAuburn
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Kid reminds me a lot of Darvin Adams, maybe a little bigger than he was coming out of HS.
Love that comparison. I graduated with Darvin at Harrison High and loved being able to watch him in HS and College. Just like you said, he was one of those guys that wasn't the most physically gifted athlete in HS, but made up for it with route running, hands, and competitiveness. Pretty much same height and weight out of HS as Quinton.
As Paw mentioned, we might end up with some bigger names we are going after, but he seems like one of those guys that would get on campus and make a name for himself.
Posted on 2/8/18 at 2:54 pm to TigerPaw1
Funny Bo Nix has to beat out Stidham(If he doesn't go to the NFL), Willis, and Gatewood
Posted on 2/8/18 at 3:24 pm to hudjam11
Yo mods, what's it gonna take to get this thread stickied? I am gonna just keep spamming requests but that doesn't appear to be working
Posted on 2/8/18 at 5:53 pm to TigerPaw1
LSU just lost commit of top ranked player in state of MS for 2020 class...
He last visited AU
He last visited AU
Posted on 2/8/18 at 6:20 pm to TigerPaw1
And no names were mentioned.
Posted on 2/8/18 at 7:22 pm to JamalSanders
Posted on 2/8/18 at 7:52 pm to TigerPaw1
KN put up a list of 25 names to know in 2019 class earlier today. Will post quick summary
5* RB Noah Cain - LSU & OHST 2 teams to watch early but AU is becoming a factor. Already bonding with Bo Nix
4* RB Derrian Brown - High on AU & apparently his coach now was Malik Willis's old coach. Says he's a name to watch (Wiltfong has already CB'd him to AU)
4* WR Jashawn Sheffield - Gus visited school in January, AU trending up (his coach posts on 247 & says he's clicked with Burns)
4* WR Ramel Keyton - Visited AU a bunch, early AU/CLEM battle
5* WR Jadon Haselwood (UGA Commit) - visited AU twice since November (KN said later in comments he loves Burns but that flipping him will be hard)
3* TE Jackson Lowe - High on AU's board but CLEM will be tough to beat (teammates with Trevor Lawrence)
NR TE Luke Deal - Recently offered by AU & more SEC programs could too. KN says his stock is rising
3* TE Sean Brown - Recently visited AU, still waiting on AU offer which could come soon
4* OT Darius Thomas - ARK native that is high on Gus. Has visited twice already. KN says key is for AU to keep getting him on campus (opposed to other guys that you don't want to visit
)
4* OT Wanya Morris - AU recruiting hard (decommitted from FSU after visiting AU)
3* OL Carter Colquitt - Very high on AU & has visited a bunch
5* C Clay Webb - BAMA very confident but has visited AU a bunch & is close with Nix
4* DE Curtis Fann - Recently visited for Junior Day
4* DE Nathan Pickering - took first AU visit to recent Junior Day & will return. Very close with Marcus Woodson
4* DE Justin Eboigbe - KN says Garner is really high on this kid
4* DT DJ Dale - Visited for Junior Day, probably will be AU/AL battle
5* LB Nakobe Dean - LSU might be early leader but AU/BAMA/OM/MSST all factors
5* LB Owen Pappoe - Heavy UGA lean but AU going after him hard
4* LB Kalen DeLoach - Has moved up AU's board in a hurry
4* CB Brandon Turnage (Bama Commit) - Grew up AU fan & recently visited
4* CB Kaiir Elam - nephew of Matt Elam, Gus visited his school in January
3* CB Raydarious Jones - Dean's teammate who recently visited & landed offer
4* CB Christian Williams - Probably top CB in state of AL recently visited for first time
4* S Cortez Andrews - High on AU & recently visited
5* RB Noah Cain - LSU & OHST 2 teams to watch early but AU is becoming a factor. Already bonding with Bo Nix
4* RB Derrian Brown - High on AU & apparently his coach now was Malik Willis's old coach. Says he's a name to watch (Wiltfong has already CB'd him to AU)
4* WR Jashawn Sheffield - Gus visited school in January, AU trending up (his coach posts on 247 & says he's clicked with Burns)
4* WR Ramel Keyton - Visited AU a bunch, early AU/CLEM battle
5* WR Jadon Haselwood (UGA Commit) - visited AU twice since November (KN said later in comments he loves Burns but that flipping him will be hard)
3* TE Jackson Lowe - High on AU's board but CLEM will be tough to beat (teammates with Trevor Lawrence)
NR TE Luke Deal - Recently offered by AU & more SEC programs could too. KN says his stock is rising
3* TE Sean Brown - Recently visited AU, still waiting on AU offer which could come soon
4* OT Darius Thomas - ARK native that is high on Gus. Has visited twice already. KN says key is for AU to keep getting him on campus (opposed to other guys that you don't want to visit
) 4* OT Wanya Morris - AU recruiting hard (decommitted from FSU after visiting AU)
3* OL Carter Colquitt - Very high on AU & has visited a bunch
5* C Clay Webb - BAMA very confident but has visited AU a bunch & is close with Nix
4* DE Curtis Fann - Recently visited for Junior Day
4* DE Nathan Pickering - took first AU visit to recent Junior Day & will return. Very close with Marcus Woodson
4* DE Justin Eboigbe - KN says Garner is really high on this kid
4* DT DJ Dale - Visited for Junior Day, probably will be AU/AL battle
5* LB Nakobe Dean - LSU might be early leader but AU/BAMA/OM/MSST all factors
5* LB Owen Pappoe - Heavy UGA lean but AU going after him hard
4* LB Kalen DeLoach - Has moved up AU's board in a hurry
4* CB Brandon Turnage (Bama Commit) - Grew up AU fan & recently visited
4* CB Kaiir Elam - nephew of Matt Elam, Gus visited his school in January
3* CB Raydarious Jones - Dean's teammate who recently visited & landed offer
4* CB Christian Williams - Probably top CB in state of AL recently visited for first time
4* S Cortez Andrews - High on AU & recently visited
Posted on 2/8/18 at 8:01 pm to TigerPaw1
Why JUCO transfers are less of a priority for Auburn football under Gus Malzahn (SECCountry)
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AUBURN, Ala. — Few teams in the country have benefited more from junior college recruiting than Auburn football. The team that snagged Cam Newton and Nick Fairley from those ranks kept it going strong after Gus Malzahn became head coach ahead of the 2013 season.
That’s not the case anymore for Malzahn and the Tigers. Of Auburn’s 24 signees in the class of 2018, only one — defensive lineman Daquan Newkirk — came from junior college.
Over time, junior college signees have become less of a necessity and more of a luxury for Auburn. And that’s because Malzahn doesn’t have to rely on bringing in experienced players to fill gaps.
“We’ve had solid recruiting classes one after another,” Malzahn said Wednesday. “So if we have a junior college player that is a need for that position for that year, we’re definitely going to recruit them if they fit. But I think it probably says more about just how stable we are from a recruiting standpoint for depth.”
The lone signing of Newkirk marks the lowest JUCO influence in an Auburn recruiting class under Malzahn. That number has dwindled from what were large classes in 2013 and 2014:
2013: 6 of 23 signees (26.1 percent of class)
- Ben Bradley, Nick Marshall, Cameron Artis-Payne, Kenny Flowers, Devonte Danzey, Brandon King
2014: 6 of 27 signees (22.2 percent)
- Duke Williams, DaVonte Lambert, Derrick Moncrief, Joseph Turner, Devaroe Lawrence, Xavier Dampeer
2015: 3 of 27 signees (11.1 percent)
- Jovon Robinson, Jason Smith, Maurice Swain
2016: 2 of 23 signees (8.7 percent)
- Paul James III, John Franklin III
2017: 2 of 21 signees (9.5 percent)
- Jarrett Stidham, Sal Cannella
2018: 1 of 24 signees (4.2 percent)
- Daquan Newkirk
Now that a full class has come through Auburn, the Tigers are fully relying on Malzahn’s recruits. Auburn hasn’t had many glaring holes, outside of quarterback ahead of Jarrett Stidham’s arrival last year.
Even Auburn’s lone JUCO signee in 2018 is a special case. Newkirk was originally a 2016 commit for the Tigers, but he failed to qualify academically. Auburn continued to recruit him through his junior college days with the intention of adding him after his time at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
“Daquan Newkirk [is a] defensive lineman that has been committed to us for a long time out of high school,” Malzahn said in December. “He had to go to junior college. He played running back in high school. Very athletic, big guy. Really excited about him.”
Junior college signees can be important pickups, as Auburn has seen at quarterback with Newton, Marshall and Stidham.
But going almost exclusively the high school route is the best way to build a program for the long haul. Malzahn will be able to point to the shrinking JUCO influence on his roster as another positive sign for the future.
Posted on 2/8/18 at 8:21 pm to TigerPaw1
An early look at Auburn's recruiting needs for National Signing Day in 2019 (AL.com)
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With its 2018 recruiting class, which ranked No. 12, completed, Auburn now turns all of its attention to the 2019 class.
Following the 2018 season, Auburn will lose 11 scholarship seniors, with several underclassmen, including Jarrett Stidham, Darius Slayton, Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson, Jamel Dean and Javaris Davis, eligible for the NFL Draft.
Two players are already committed to Auburn's 2019 recruiting class: four-star quarterback Bo Nix and four-star wide receiver George Pickens.
Here is a position-by-position look at what Auburn will need on the recruiting trail for National Signing Day in 2019.
Posted on 2/8/18 at 8:21 pm to TigerPaw1
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QUARTERBACK
Completing eligibility after 2018 season: n/a
Eligibility remaining after 2018: Jarrett Stidham, Malik Willis, Joey Gatewood
What Auburn needs in 2019: Assuming Jarrett Stidham leaves for the NFL, there will be just two returning quarterbacks and a third on the way in Bo Nix. That's a great foundation and probably the best collective talent Auburn will have at the position in a long, long time.
Perhaps Auburn looks to add a second signal caller in its 2019 class, though it's not necessary.
Posted on 2/8/18 at 8:22 pm to TigerPaw1
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RUNNING BACK
Completing eligibility after 2018 season: n/a
Eligibility remaining after 2018: Malik Miller, Kam Martin, Devan Barrett, JaTarvious Whitlow, Asa Martin, Harold Joiner, Shaun Shivers
What Auburn needs in 2019: With a wide open competition for the starting job entering the 2018 season, it's difficult to project the running back picture in 2019 and beyond.
Even if one of the returning backs has a breakout 2018 season and were to enter the NFL or transfers in the offseason, Auburn will realistically have anywhere from five to seven returning backs.
Conservatively, Auburn will need at least one in its 2019 class. Without a departure it's hard to project anything beyond two.
Posted on 2/8/18 at 8:23 pm to TigerPaw1
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H-BACK/TIGHT END
Completing eligibility after 2018 season: Chandler Cox, Jalen Harris, Tucker Brown
Eligibility remaining after 2018: Sal Cannella, John Samuel Shenker
What Auburn needs in 2019: Auburn needs at least one H-back/tight end and likely two. A graduate transfer is plausible due to what will be at best limited playing experience for John Samuel Shenker as he enters his redshirt-sophomore season in 2019 and Sal Cannella plays more receiver than true tight end.
Posted on 2/8/18 at 8:23 pm to TigerPaw1
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WIDE RECEIVER
Completing eligibility after 2018 season: Ryan Davis, Will Hastings
Eligibility remaining after 2018: Darius Slayton, Nate Craig-Myers, Eli Stove, Marquis McClain, Noah Igbinoghene, Matthew Hill, Shedrick Jackson, Anthony Schwartz, Seth Williams
What Auburn needs in 2018: How high a priority receivers will be depends partially on whether Darius Slayton has a good enough season to consider leaving for the NFL. George Pickens is already is the class and at 6-foot-5 he's a natural fit for split end in the future. Auburn should look at add a second and possibly a third.
Posted on 2/8/18 at 8:24 pm to TigerPaw1
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OFFENSIVE LINE
Completing eligibility after 2018 season: n/a
Eligibility remaining after 2018: Bailey Sharp, Marquel Harrell, Tyler Carr, Kaleb Kim, Mike Horton, Prince Tega Wanogho Jr., Prince Michael Sammons, Brodarious Hamm, Calvin Ashley, Nick Brahms, Austin Troxell, Jalil Irvin, Kameron Stutts
What Auburn needs in 2019: Failing to fill its needs via the high school ranks in back-to-back years has Auburn in an unusual spot of having no outgoing players on the offensive line after next season. Of course, graduate transfers could change that but it doesn't alter picture of who's slated to return in 2019. Gus Malzahn has once again stated the position will be a high priority, so look for Auburn aim for at least four. Any offseason departures could see this increase.
Kinda weird to have no senior OL on the roster. Good thing we didn't hire the guy that put us in that situation originally....
Posted on 2/8/18 at 8:25 pm to TigerPaw1
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DEFENSIVE LINE
Completing eligibility after 2018 season: Dontavius Russell, Andrew Williams, Paul James III
Eligibility remaining after 2018: Derrick Brown, Nick Coe, Marlon Davidson, Jauntavius Johnson, Tashawn Manning, Markaviest Bryant, Alec Jackson, Tyrone Truesdell, Richard Jibunor, Daquan Newkirk, Caleb Johnson, Coynis Miller, Kayode Oladele
What Auburn needs in 2019: Assuming Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson both leave for the NFL, Auburn will have to replace at least five defensive linemen, including three starters. Nick Coe, Markaviest Bryant and Tyrone Truesdell should be the core of the 2019 line, which should add at least three but more likely four or five players.
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