Auburn Football Recruiting: Tigers Not Slowing Down Yet

It has been quite the summer on the Plains. May feels like a distant memory when Auburn had barely more commitments than they did decommits. It is understandable if you have lost track of all that has happened with whom so here’s a quick rundown of the last 65 days on the recruiting trail

• Now 4* OT Javion Cohen commits to AU before the start of Big Cat Weekend
• Auburn hosts a number of top targets for Big Cat Weekend, laying the groundwork for the next couple weeks of booms
• A few days after BCW 3* WR Elijah Cannion pops
• Three days later 3* OG Tate Johnson commits to AU over FSU
• The big boom drops four days later when 4* LB Trenton Simpsons chooses AU over UGA & UNC
• AU goes back to back on LBs with 4* LB Cameron Riley jumping on board the next day
• Auburn starts July off with a boom landing former Arkansas commit 4* WR Ze’Vian Capers
• The very next day 4* LB Wesley Steiner keeps things rolling picking AU over Stanford
• Near the end of July, the nation’s top ranked JUCO offensive tackle pulls a stunner and commits to Auburn over UCLA
• In state 3* OT Jeremiah Wright goes public with his commitment to Auburn following the War Eagle Picnic
• On Tuesday following the picnic event AU lands their 2nd 2021 commit in the form of 4* QB Aaron McLaughlin
• Not long after McLaughlin’s announcement, news breaks that AU just landed their first 2022 commit in DB Andre Stewart
• On Saturday, JUCO 4* CB Marco Domio chose Auburn over LSU and Texas A&M
• The next day, 4* S Chris Thompson Jr pulls a stunner spurning the instate Longhorns for the Tigers

That’s 13 commits in 65 days over three different classes. Not bad at all. Oh and Auburn might not be done just yet...

Top RB Target Sets Commit Date

There’s been some huge booms this summer thus far, most notably Auburn landing Trenton Simpson, stealing Kielan Zierer and the big surprise yesterday in Chris Thompson. But those might be topped by the end of the week. Auburn’s top RB target and the nation’s #31 player per 247 Composite, 4* Tank Bigsby, is set to make his commitment this Friday at 6:30 ET.

Just a few months ago I thought Auburn had no shot. South Carolina was in the driver’s seat but the real threat looked to be Georgia. When the Dawgs made their move in June, I didn’t think Auburn could prevail. But Carnell Williams ain’t used to losing. He’s reportedly done an incredible job building a relationship with not only Tank but his mother as well. Nothing with Bigsby is easy to predict but as of today insiders for Auburn, Georgia and South Carolina have all put in Crystal Ball picks for Tank to AU. That’s usually a pretty good sign.

4-Star Safety To Announce Soon

Just a few days ago Auburn had 0 commits, now they have 2 and spots might continue to fill up fast. 4* S Ladarius Tennison has been one of Auburn’s top DB targets for much of this cycle. The former Miami commit visited for the War Eagle Picnic at the end of July and it appears the Tigers might have put this one away for good. Not long after Thompson’s commitment he posted on Twitter that he planned to have a decision soon too.

If Tennison does pick the Tigers that would leave two spots in the class at DB. The three names to watch would be JUCO 4* CB Brian George, 4* CB Kendall Dennis and 4* CB Ethan Pouncey. Auburn is thought to be the leader for all three so it will be interesting to see if any of them decide to speed up their commitment timelines.

New DL Target?

The one position clarity continues to be hard to come by is on the defensive line. Auburn once had four commits at this spot but now only sit at one in Daniel Foster-Allen. However, they could bring one of those former commits, 4* Andy Boykin, back into the fold this fall. It has also been reported by AuburnUndercover’s Keith Niebuhr and Rivals’s Chad Simmons that Auburn might currently be the team to beat for 4* DL BJ Ojulari. Then there is 4* DT McKinnley Jackson whose recruitment is expected to go all the way to February but is someone Auburn is very much in the hunt to land.

There might be a new name to add to the watch list. Official offers went out this past Friday. “Offers” are such a loose term in recruiting but that changes on August 1st when teams can send out written offers to prospects. Now an official offer still doesn’t mean it’s “committable”. A school might not be ready to take a prospect’s pledge because of grade concerns or waiting on the decision of someone higher on the board. However, an official offer is a step up from a verbal offer and can often reveal insight into whom teams are truly targeting. The only way you know a prospect has received an official offer though is if they decide to share it. One social media post caught my attention last week.

That’s JUCO 3* DL Justin Jackson out of Northwest Mississippi Community College. He’s currently committed to Colorado but apparently has been offered by the Tigers. I don’t have any sort of inside info to say whether or not this is kid is flippable but I think Rodney Garner choosing to offer a JUCO DL prospect is something to watch given all the uncertainty around Auburn’s DL recruiting in 2020. Just something to file away as we head into the fall.

War Eagle!