Three Star Athlete JaTarvious Whitlow Commits, Signs With Auburn

Earlier this morning, Auburn picked up a surprise commitment from JaTarvious “Boobie” Whitlow, a 3* athlete from Lafayette. Although he was ready to sign with Tulane as recently as this week, Whitlow drew the eye of new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey. He had not received much recruitment from any Power 5 schools, but Whitlow reportedly got a call from Coach Steele earlier this week, saying “The new OC wants you.”

Whitlow is pegged to play WR and return punts for Auburn after playing all of the offensive skill positions in high school. He threw for 2,300 yards and 29 touchdowns while running for another 2,100 yards and 30 touchdowns as a senior at Class 2A LaFayette, part of a high school career which involved over 8,000 yards and 70 touchdowns. He certainly knows how to make big plays, although he will have to make a big adjustment to the competition in the SEC.

Whitlow also excelled in sports besides football, with track state titles in long jump, triple jump, 200 meters, and 400 meters, as well as being an all-state basketball player.

I’m curious to see if Whitlow redshirts or not this upcoming year. The fact that he’s being considered a punt returner already makes me think he could be the heir-apparent to Marcus Davis. So long as he has good hands, I’d be all for seeing what he can do there. I also think he could step into the oft-used jet sweep role on offense. Eli Stove played well there early last year, but he seemed to become more of a priority as a true wide receiver later in the season. At 6’0”, 200 lbs, he’s already bigger than Stove, but guys like Ricardo Louis and Corey Grant made big plays there, too.

War Eagle, JaTarvious! We’re all excited to see what you’ve got!