Three Star Safety Marlon Character Signs With Auburn

A big #WarEagle to Marlon Character! Welcome to the #Auburn Family! #WarEagle #AUNSD16 pic.twitter.com/jjgPdHHNAl

— Auburn Football (@FootballAU) February 3, 2016

Grady High School's Marlon Character stuck with the school he committed to rather than the coaches who pursued him from the start and signed with Auburn, today.

Character, a former South Carolina commit, was a key target of former Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and secondary coach Travaris Robinson. He ultimately decided to flip his commitment from the Gamecocks to the Tigers. This is what we said about him back when he chose the Tigers.

When Muschamp and Robinson left for South Carolina, there was some speculation that Character may go back to the Gamecocks. He did officially visit South Carolina and Virginia Tech, but made an unofficial visit to Auburn last weekend and reaffirmed his pledge to the Tigers.

Character stands at 6'0, 170 lbs, so while he's not the tallest of defensive backs, he's at least there at the six foot mark. Taller safeties has been something Auburn has made a priority in the last 2-3 cycles. Keeping him on board is thanks to the efforts of new coaches Travis Williams and Wesley McGriff.

Defensive Back is a much easier position for freshmen to break through into playing time than many other spots. Auburn had a few promising freshmen do just that this past season. With Blake Countess gone, Auburn will be looking to fill a gap in the secondary. Of course, there are plenty of others who have been waiting for their turns from previous classes. I could see Character seeing some action in 2016, though, even if it's just on special teams.

Welcome to the Plains! We're glad you decided to stick with the good guys, Marlon.