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Auburn Football Recruiting: Star Studded Visitor List Expected Today

A top ten battle in Jordan-Hare means plenty of big time prospects will be on campus to bear witness.

By AUNerd
4* WR Ja’Marr Chase
Student Sports

Auburn finally returns home today and gets to welcome plenty of top talent back to the Plains. This week and Iron Bowl week should attract some of the biggest names in the 2018, 2019 and even the 2020 class. There’s always a chance a surprise or two show up along with a few names listed here not making it. But this should give a good idea of the type of talent Auburn will have a chance to impress on Saturday. This list comes from 247’s Keith Niebuhr and SECCountry’s Benjamin Wolk who both do an awesome job covering Auburn recruiting. Both are a must follow if you aren’t already.

Official Visitors

Starting with the official visits, Auburn has two planned for this weekend. The big one to watch is Tutt who has had a recruitment that has taken many twists and turns but it could end up with an Auburn commitment. He was once considered a major Nebraska lean but with the expected coaching staff turnover coming there, Auburn could be in a place to capitalize. Ohio State might also make a late run as well. Tutt is an early enrollee, so a decision could come soon. A home run visit could help the Tigers steal a talented cornerback late in the game.

The other official visitor is longtime Auburn commit Jamien Sherwood. Sherwood has spent a lot of time in Gainesville this fall which could make you nervous but with the drama unfolding there it doesn’t sound like the Gators are a real threat. Miami is making a strong late push but unless Auburn has their own coaching staff changes, I fully expect the talented Florida native to sign with Auburn. He’s a REALLY good football player.

2018 Unofficial Visitors

The list is so long that I decided to break it up by year. Here’s a look at who from the 2018 class is expected on campus as an unofficial visitor this weekend.

There are so many names on this list that I could probably write a whole article breaking down who is all planning on making the trip. I did want to highlight three important names from the list: Trey Hill, Ja’Marr Chase and Dylan Wonnum.

Auburn is locked in a battle with Georgia for the #34 player in the country, Trey Hill. This will be something like the twelfth or thirteenth trip to the Plains and the Tigers are very much a contender in this fight. However, recent winds seem to be shifting towards Athens so this is a very important visit for Auburn with Hill being an early signee. He’s made it clear he wants on the field early and he wants to play for a competitor. Auburn has a clear early playing time sell with Braden Smith graduating but it’s that second part they still need to show. Winning today would certainly help solidify their pitch.

The other big time offensive lineman is Dylan Wonnum. The Tigers desperately need to add more tackles this cycle as that position has long been a struggle for depth in recent seasons. Wonnum once looked like an Auburn lean but with South Carolina’s strong season they seem to have surged back ahead. Still, this is still a fight and a win Saturday might give Auburn some late needed momentum. Adding the pair of Hill and Wonnum to Jalil Irvin and Kameron Stutts would make for an outstanding offensive line class.

Finally, the big surprise of the day is the expected visit of 4* WR Ja’Marr Chase. Chase has had a fascinating recruitment that has included a shocking commitment to Kansas, a not so shocking decommitment from Kansas eight days later, a botched attempted commitment to TCU on NFL Network (network’s fault not Chase’s), a second shocking commitment to Florida and a recent not so shocking second decommitment. LSU and TCU have always been the consistent threats to land Chase but for whatever reason he and the Bayou Bengals have continued to dance around each other. The Horned Frogs are probably the real leader though Michigan is making a strong late push. I am honestly shocked Chase is visiting Auburn as the Tigers have never really factored into his recruitment up to this point. Chase is an elite playmaking wideout who I personally believe should have a fifth star. Considering Chase’s history of making spur of the moment decisions, a home run visit could put Auburn firmly in this race. The Tigers want at least another wide receiver but would probably take two more if that second included someone of Chase’s calibre. Definitely a name to track this Saturday and I will be interested to see if he actually makes the visit.

2019 Unofficial Visitors

Games like this can really have a big impact on next year’s class in comparison to the current recruiting class. Many kids in the 2018 cycle have really focused in on a select number of schools and built relationships with coaches that wins and losses don’t have a huge impact on their recruitment. Obviously there are still some recruits (someone like Tutt for example) who are still all over the place and a strong performance Saturday could make a major difference in signing or not signing them. But for the most part, the biggest payoffs for winning today would be in next year’s class. Which is good considering the amount of elite 2019 talent that is expected on campus.

Auburn is expected to play host to two 5* prospects in Owen Pappoe and Clay Webb. I will start with the bad news first. As of today, Auburn is probably on the outside, looking in for both top prospects. Pappoe recently dropped a top three that did not include Auburn. The Bulldogs appear to be surging as his leader. As for Webb, Alabama appear to be the top team with Auburn needing to make up some ground. The good news is 2019 signing day is far away and things can and will change over the next year. Both are far from lost causes and a strong performance Saturday might show both that the Tigers are a program still very much apart of the elite in the SEC.

The 2019 QB recruiting is pretty easy to breakdown for Auburn. It’s Bo Nix. Sure you will see other names probably show up for visits but that’s the guy Auburn wants and it’s hard to not see him landing with the Tigers right now. Nix to me has the potential to have a Justin Fields like offseason where he blows everyone away at camps and sees a major ranking bump. Nix is a true dual threat QB who can do it all with both his arm and legs. He’s missed most of his junior season with an ankle injury but is back now to help his team to the state finals and had a career night last night throwing for 368 yards and five touchdowns. This kid is elite and a must sign for the Tigers in next year’s class.

Expect more breakdowns of names on this list in the coming weeks as the 2018 recruiting cycle wraps up and the 2019 cycle begins. The 2019 recruiting class is expected to be one of the best to ever come out of the southeast and the state of Alabama is loaded. A strong finish to the 2017 football season could help the Tigers sign a truly elite 2019 class.

2020/2021 Unofficial Visitors

Recruiting starts early people and even freshmen in high school begin taking visits. So goes the wild world of recruiting.

File the name Quanderrious Robinson away. He attends Jackson-Olin which has produced Auburn signee Tadarian Moultry and Auburn commit Coynis Miller. He already holds an Auburn offer and I fully expect him to be a top target in two years for Auburn’s coaching staff.

They might be sophomores but there is some real elite talent in this list. Bailey, Hudson, Worsham, Bigsby and Boykin all have 5* potential and will be hotly contested recruitments. Looking ahead, the 2020 class has the early look of one that will boast some truly elite, early impact type of talent. Winning today might help Auburn get a head start on some of these elite players.

Bottom line is Auburn has the chance to show some big time prospects that this program is headed in the right direction. Currently Alabama and Georgia are hand picking who they want in their classes and both being undefeated is only reiterating that they are the class of the SEC. Winning today can hault that type of thinking and help the coaching staff sell Auburn as a school truly in the hunt for championships. It would also silence the hot seat talk, something that does the most damage on the recruiting trail. An Auburn win will have major ramificatinos on not only the 2017 season but future recruiting classes as well. Let’s get it done Gus!

War Eagle!

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