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Man did Auburn need this one. As has been hashed out over and over again, Auburn’s struggles to recruit prep offensive line talent has been beyond frustrating. The Tigers have two outstanding OL prospects already signed but honestly need at least four in this class to make up for small numbers in previous cycles. Last night, it looked like maybe that wasn’t going to happen and Auburn would again sign a 2 man OL class.
But Auburn just got some huge news as 3* OG Kamaar Bell announced today he plans to sign with the Tigers.
13 Packers sign their national letters of intent to continue their careers at the next level:
— John Barron WALB News 10 (@JohnWALB) February 6, 2019
Big time signs:
Ryan Fitzgerald- FSU
Jay Ward- LSU
Kamaar Bell- Auburn
Brian Merritt- FAU pic.twitter.com/nDimCg0sBo
This turned into a fierce Auburn-Florida State battle down the stretch. The Tigers felt good about this recruitment for the past few weeks but after his official visit to Tallahassee last weekend, those good vibes ebbed. Last night, there was buzz Auburn was going to strike out completely on their remaining targets. But it appears the Tigers rallied and Bell will end up signing with the program he’s been linked to for quite awhile. A big win for Auburn today.
Highlights
Scouting Report
Bell is a big fella at 6’3” 320 lbs. He played left tackle for his high school team but is projected to slide inside for the Tigers. In fact, he might start out at center. Bell is one of those interior maulers JB loves so much. Despite his girth, he can get out in the open field and make blocks to spring long plays while also getting great movement at the point of attack. He will probably need a redshirt season to rework his body some but should have a chance to challenge for playing time in 2020.
The Class
Auburn is more than likely going to have to replace its whole starting offensive line next season. That means they need as many quality OL in the pipeline as they can get. That’s why winning this battle for Bell was so important for the Tigers. It’s also why it would be huge if they could also close on 3* OT Ira Henry in 30ish minutes.
Recently, there’s been talk of a package deal with those two but Henry has been trending FSU since last night so we will see what happens. Either way, striking out on all of their offensive line targets after losing Pickens this morning would have made this NSD much tougher to swallow. While the Pickens miss is obviously still huge, it’s been buffeted a bit with two top 100 signees and now one of the top remaining OL targets jumping on board. Let’s see if they can swipe Henry as well.
War Eagle Kamaar!