As we continue our march to kickoff, we take a look at the top 100 recruits to sign with Auburn of all-time*. The rankings are based on 247’s composite recruit rankings, which unfortunately only date back to 2000.

THE RECRUIT

Diamond has a nice frame with long arms and a solid base in his legs. He’s a naturally strong kid who drives defenders down field and does a nice job finishing his blocks. He has experience in pass protection and does a nice job of using his arm length and locking out on pass rushers. Would like to see him keep working on getting quicker and more nimble. Likely a right tackle or possibly even a guard in college. - Allen Trieu (247 Sports)

The crown jewel of the state of Illinois recruiting class in 2012, Diamond was a heist for the OL coach Jeff Grimes and the Tigers. The Chicago native was a part of a huge offensive line class for Auburn in 2012, which included eight players and four of the top eight rated recruits in the signing class. Diamond signed with the Tigers over offers from Arkansas, Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, and several others.

THE PLAYER

Diamond was another in a long list of college athletes whose potential was never reached due to injuries. Due to a shoulder injury, Diamond was forced to take a redshirt for his freshman season, though he likely would have redshirted anyways. His most action as a Tiger came during the magical 2013 season, when, as a backup to Chad Slade at right guard, Diamond got in on four games.

Poised to further entrench himself as one of the top backups on the offensive line in 2014, Diamond again suffered an injury. He required a back surgery which knocked him out for the rest of the season after seeing snaps in both of the first two games, and wouldn’t play in a game again until late in 2015 against Idaho.

Having been at Auburn four seasons, Diamond saw the writing on the wall that he was not going to be among the Tigers starting five lineman in 2016. Instead, as a graduate transfer, Diamond left the program on good terms to go play at Miami (Ohio). As far as I can tell, Diamond must have qualified for a medical redshirt in either 2014 or 2015, because he played two season with the Redhawks. Finally healthy, he was able to start all 13 games of the 2016 season.

Whether due to injury or performance, Jordan’s sixth and final year of eligibility only saw him start four of the eleven games he played in. However, he did earn the team’s Soaring Hawk Award. I’m not sure what that’s awarded for (Google searches weren’t terribly helpful), but Diamond was well-known amongst his peers for being active in connecting to the youth in his communities, particularly in inner-city Chicago where he grew up.

Diamond is now a high school offensive line coach at his old stomping grounds of Simeon High School. Perhaps someday he’ll join the college ranks as a part of Gus’s coaching tree.