Recruiting Megathread

USA TODAY

With signing day just eleven days away, Auburn has 20 commitments already on the board — four of whom have already signed their letters of intent. Here’s a list of those commitments, and I expect each and every one to sign the dotted line on National Signing Day if they haven’t already.

Already Signed:

• 5-Star RB Jovon Robinson (Milledgeville, GA)
• 4-Star ATH Tim Irvin (Miami, FL)
• 4-Star ATH Jason Smith (Perkinston, MS)
• 4-Star FB Chandler Cox (Apopka, FL)
• 4-Star OG Tyler Carr (Gadsden, AL)
• 4-Star OT Bailey Sharp (Marietta, GA)
• 3-Star DT Maurice Swain (Perkinston, MS)
• 3-Star QB Tyler Queen (Kennesaw, GA)

Commits:

• 4-Star RB Kerryon Johnson (Madison, AL)
• 4-Star S Jordan Colbert (Griffin, GA)
• 4-Star OLB Richard McBryde (Troy, AL)
• 4-Star OLB Darrell Williams (Birmingham, AL)
• 4-Star OG Marquel Harrell (Fairburn, GA)
• 4-Star C Kaleb Kim (Hoschton, GA)
• 4-Star RB D’Anfernee McGriff (Tallahassee, FL)
• 4-Star ILB Montavious Atkinson (Fairburn, GA)
• 3-Star OLB Elijah Sullivan (Tucker, GA)
• 3-Star DT Jauntavius Johnson (Lincoln, AL)
• 3-Star TE Jalen Harris (Montgomery, AL)
• 3-Star P Ian Shannon (Marietta, GA)

Now, let’s take a look at the targets for the Auburn coaching staff as we wind down on this recruiting season.

5-Star OT Martez Ivey (Apopka, FL):

Martez is an interesting prospect because, before last weekend, the Auburn coaching staff certainly didn’t like its chances to land the talented tackle from Apopka High School in Florida. However, after spending time around six other five-star recruits during his visit, the race for the signature has come down to Florida and Auburn. Most say that it’s split about 50 – 50 for him to land at either school, but a huge role in his recruitment is Auburn commit, Chandler Cox. Cox, a fullback commit for the Tigers, is best friends with Ivey, and spent last weekend recruiting his high school teammate to join the 2015 class. At this point, it seems to be a matter of distance from home. Ivey, a native of Florida, could certainly make the easy choice by picking the hometown Gators, so it will be interesting to see where he ends up playing ball next year. 

5-Star DE Byron Cowart (Seffner, FL):

In another Auburn – Florida race, Cowart is an extremely talented defensive end from the Sunshine state who, by all accounts, had a wonderful visit to the Plains last weekend. The Auburn coaching staff at least has to like its chances to land either Cowart or Ivey for the 2015 class.

5-Star DE CeCe Jefferson (Glen Saint Mary, FL):

The last but certainly not the least of the five-star trio, Jefferson is expected to choose between Ole Miss and Auburn on signing day. This will be a race to the absolute finish, because Ole Miss has recently gained some traction with the 5-star end from Florida. However, all week I’ve heard of a potential “package deal” between Ivey, Cowart, and Jefferson following their visits to Auburn last weekend. All three would like to play in college together, and if that remains to be the case, Auburn would be the most likely to welcome all three into the 2015 class. This would be absolutely huge.

5-Star ATH/WR Terry Godwin *UGA Commit* (Hogansville, GA):

A current Georgia commit, but the Tigers are in fact rising in threat level for Godwin’s signature. However, Georgia still remains the team to beat at this point. 

4-Star WR John Burt (Tallahassee, FL):

Used to be considered a heavy Auburn favorite, Burt is now being pursued extremely hard by Texas. Now, the Longhorns are slowly inching their way into the lead for the 4-star’s services. Burt will visit Austin this weekend, so this could be huge for the Longhorns and very, very bad news for Auburn. Only time will tell.

5-Star WR Preston Williams *Tennessee Commit* (Hampton, GA):

The Vols commit will be visiting the Plains today, and with the recent shakeup at the Tennessee OC position, things could get very interesting with a solid visit this weekend.

4-Star CB Carlton Davis *Ohio State Commit* (Miami, FL):

Considered to be Auburn’s #1 cornerback prospect at this point, the Tiger coaching staff was pushing hard to get a visit out of Davis, which is exactly what they managed to do for this weekend. Being a high priority for Muschamp’s coaching staff, a good official visit this weekend is absolutely crucial.

4-Star DE Arden Key (Atlanta, GA)

A former South Carolina commit, Key is being pursued heavily by both Auburn and Georgia for his final official visit. Chances are good that he will in fact visit the Plains on January 30th, so landing that last official is always nice, and the coaching staff feels fairly confident of its chances if this is, in fact, the case.

So, these are the primary Auburn targets at this point, to give you a good sense of where we stand with some of the nation’s top athletes. Clearly, the hiring of Will Muschamp has drawn the attention of quite a few top defensive targets, which was to be expected, but maybe not quite to this magnitude. The coaching staff wants to sign, at most, 28 for this class, with a heavy emphasis on the cornerback position late in this recruiting season. Things will begin to really heat up following this weekend’s visits, and I’ll be sure to follow up next week with another signing day preview, so be sure to keep an eye out for that. Auburn sits at #12 in the nation with its 20 commitments for the time being, and with the potential of signing up to five more 5-star prospects to its class, the sky’s the limit for the Auburn coaching staff this season.