Auburn Recruiting Thread 2013

[Mr. Hoopah!]

I'm a bit late in the game for this . . . but we lost something like 7 recruits after Chizik Trooper left, which is always to be expected after a HC is ousted.

So far, Gus has signed two top JUCO players, Devonte Danzey, the top rated JUCO guard in the country, and 3 star RB Cameron Artis-Payne.

Our guys who have remained committed promised to help recruit some of the guys we lost, namely Reuben Foster.

[CrimsonKat]

The JUCO ranks have been good to Auburn in the past few years. Will be interesting to see how many more Gus takes.

[Mr. Hoopah!]

Despite his many faults, Chizik hit several home runs with JUCO kids. Hopefully these two will have a big impact - Gus loves to run the ball, these two will help that.

[Mr. Hoopah!]

http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2012/12/auburn_in_play_for_several_rec.html

Each week until National Signing Day, al.com will take an in-depth look at the top remaining targets for the Auburn Tigers with updates on where Auburn stands with each player and who stands as the top competition for the Tigers. Take a look at this week's Tiger Targets.

Montravius Adams

Defensive Tackle

Dooly County (Vienna, GA)

One of the most fascinating recruiting battles in the country just got even more interesting. Shortly after Adams announced where he would take four official visits in January (Florida, Clemson, Alabama and Georgia), Auburn's hiring of Rodney Garner earned the Tigers a closer look and likely the five-star lineman's final official visit on February 1.

Top Competition: Georgia, Alabama, Clemson and Florida

De'Runnya Wilson

Wide Reciever

Wenonah (Birmingham, AL)

This fast-rising wide receiver picked up an offer in December from Auburn and is close friends with AU commit Jeremy Johnson (both are also star basketball players). Wilson will take an official visits to Auburn and Mississippi State in January and likely won't make a decision until after those visits. Wilson says he wants to play both football and basketball in college

Top Competition: Mississippi State

Zach Cunningham

Outside Linebacker

Pinson Valley (Pinson, AL)

After a stellar senior season, Cunningham has picked up several late offers, including Auburn, and has been elevated to a four-star rating by recruiting services. Cunningham has scheduled official visits to both Auburn and Oregon in January and will likely wait until after the visits before making a decision.

Top Competition: Oregon, Tennessee

Carl Lawson

Defensive End

Milton (Alpharetta, GA)

The five-star defensive end's father revealed last week to Auburn Undercover that Auburn is not likely to be among the five schools Lawson will officially visit, though the star defender and his family are impressed with the Tigers' decision to hire Rodney Garner. The star target's commitment to Auburn still appears to be a tenuous situation.

Top Competition: USC, Tennessee, North Carolina

Dee Liner

Defensive Tackle

Muscle Shoals (Muscle Shoals, AL)

The four-star defensive lineman refuses to comment publicly on the status of his recruitment but has been in communication with the coaching staff at Alabama and will also take an official visit to Miami in January following the Under Armour All-America Game.

Top Competition: Alabama

Reuben Foster

Inside Linebacker

Auburn (Auburn, AL)

After opening up his recruitment recently, Foster announced he was still considering Auburn and was impressed with Malzahn upon meeting him for the first time. Foster has set up official visits to Washington, Georgia, LSU and Miami but will have plenty of opportunities to unofficially visit both Auburn and Alabama before Signing Day.

Top Competition: Alabama, Georgia

MacKensie Alexander

Cornerback

Immokalee (Immokalee, FL)

This four star defensive back had a close relationship with Charlie Harbison at Clemson and is now considering Auburn thanks to Harbinson's new job as the Tigers' co-defensive coordinator. Alexander will likely decide on National Signing Day.

Top Competition: Clemson, Florida

Kyrin Priester

Wide Receiver

Brookwood (Snellville, GA)

A three-star wide receiver and former Georgia commit, Priester, who is currently committed to NC State, has not received an AU offer to date but could flip to the Tigers if he gets one.

Top Competition: NC State, Ole Miss

Khari Harding

Safety

Santa Fe (Edmond, OK)

A three-star defensive back currently committed to Arkansas, Harding picked up an offer from Auburn recently and is now considering the Tigers. Harding was recruited by Malzahn at Arkansas State and that pre-existing relationship could be a major asset for the Tigers in their attempt to steal the three-star prospect from the Hogs.

Top Competition: Arkansas, Arizona State

Jordan Wilkins

Running Back

St. Benedict (Cordova, TN)

A four-star running back ranked among the top ten all-purpose backs in the nation, Wilkins expressed concern over the coaching change at Auburn but remains committed to the Tigers while looking around at other schools. He has an official visit to Arkansas scheduled in January and could also visit Vanderbilt and Ole Miss.

Top Competition: Arkansas

[Ransack]

Carl Lawson

Defensive End

Milton (Alpharetta, GA)

The five-star defensive end's father revealed last week to Auburn Undercover that Auburn is not likely to be among the five schools Lawson will officially visit, though the star defender and his family are impressed with the Tigers' decision to hire Rodney Garner. The star target's commitment to Auburn still appears to be a tenuous situation.

Top Competition: USC, Tennessee, North Carolina

That's just an outright lie.

[SacFalcFan]

Carl Lawson

Defensive End

Milton (Alpharetta, GA)

The five-star defensive end's father revealed last week to Auburn Undercover that Auburn is not likely to be among the five schools Lawson will officially visit, though the star defender and his family are impressed with the Tigers' decision to hire Rodney Garner. The star target's commitment to Auburn still appears to be a tenuous situation.

Top Competition: USC, Tennessee, North Carolina

That's just an outright lie.

yep that is a complete and utter lie..

[Mr. Hoopah!]

Don't shoot the messenger brose.

[SacFalcFan]

Don't shoot the messenger brose.

of course not.. we are shooting the moron who did those updates originally.. listen there are mistakes in following recruiting and all analysts make them, but that piece you put up the person who wrote just outright lied. the person literally wrote the exact opposite of the truth.. that's just pathetic.

[Mr. Hoopah!]

He's an auburn beat writer for some random newpaper, AL.com occasionally publishes his articles.

[Isosceles]

Hey! Well, all I can contribute to this discussion is that I saw a report (reputable, it was) that ranked Auburn’s 2013 recruits No. 9 in the nation.

I would like to see them get good again. But no so good as to beat Bama you understand.

J

[Ransack]

Don't shoot the messenger brose.

I know you didn't write it.

[SacFalcFan]

He's an auburn beat writer for some random newpaper, AL.com occasionally publishes his articles.

he needs to change the team he covers then. he is too biased to cover auburn if he feels the need to tell blatant lies in his updates.

[Ransack]

He's an auburn beat writer for some random newpaper, AL.com occasionally publishes his articles.

Carvell is moonlighting as an Auburn beat writer too?

[SacFalcFan]

the guy is a sports producer at al.com..

twitter link

https://twitter.com/MattScalici

[CrimsonKat]

the guy is a sports producer at al.com..

twitter link

https://twitter.com/MattScalici

Matt is actually an Alabama fan and previously worked for the Alabama sites on Rivals and 247. He usually does a really good job covering recruiting -- sharp guy who does not really try to stir the pot and just tells it like it is. I would just chalk this up to Matt getting some misinformation -- he is impartial in his reporting, sometimes to a fault, but he certainly would not slant toward Auburn purposefullly.

[SacFalcFan]

Matt is actually an Alabama fan and previously worked for the Alabama sites on Rivals and 247. He usually does a really good job covering recruiting -- sharp guy who does not really try to stir the pot and just tells it like it is. I would just chalk this up to Matt getting some misinformation -- he is impartial in his reporting, sometimes to a fault, but he certainly would not slant toward Auburn purposefullly.

thanks for that information. i have seen too many jeff lee's out there for auburn that lie to subscribers so i thought he was just another guy who did that. he just got some bad information, i wonder if his source though is an auburn guy like jeff lee..

[CrimsonKat]

thanks for that information. i have seen too many jeff lee's out there for auburn that lie to subscribers so i thought he was just another guy who did that. he just got some bad information, i wonder if his source though is an auburn guy like jeff lee..

He still has a lot of connections with the Rivals and 247 crowd so I would bet on Phillip Marshall or Bryan Matthews. From what I hear, Jeffrey Lee had to sell his interest in the Rivals site after the suspension earlier this year -- I don't frequent the site but that is what some people on BOL were saying a few weeks ago. You probably know better than I do whether he is still a contributor on the Bunker.

[SacFalcFan]

He still has a lot of connections with the Rivals and 247 crowd so I would bet on Phillip Marshall or Bryan Matthews. From what I hear, Jeffrey Lee had to sell his interest in the Rivals site after the suspension earlier this year -- I don't frequent the site but that is what some people on BOL were saying a few weeks ago. You probably know better than I do whether he is still a contributor on the Bunker.

that makes sense.. i could see bryan or phillip telling him that as well. i saw one update from them (the 247 site) that was completely ridiculous regarding recruits being solid and not looking around and then a few hours later they lose 3 and ended up losing 7. they were trying to make their subscribers happy instead of being honest about the situation. also they were putting out false info on auburn for a year plus now even though they knew what the issues were, but they didn't want to alienate their sources and they heard back from a number of their subscribers on how angry they were with being fed stuff that wasn't true this entire time. regarding jeff lee, i know about 3 months ago i went over there and his email was still part of the site, but i checked a week or so ago and it was removed and i haven't seen him post on there in a while which is a win for them. he was literally one of the worst people involved with recruiting coverage, chris ard is a close 2nd to him.

[Mr. Hoopah!]

::cough cough:: Ahem . . .

Back on topic,

AUBURN, Alabama -- When asked where his head is at in regard to recruiting, Auburn High's Reuben Foster recently revealed things have been quite difficult and confusing.

"I want the best for me and my family, but it's confusing right now," Foster told The Opelika-Auburn News. "I don't know what to do."

Foster recruiting past is littered with uncertainty. He originally committed to Alabama over Georgia in 2011 before flipping to Auburn prior to the 2012 season. He then decommitted Dec. 7 after the university dismissed head coach Gene Chizik and his staff.

Since decommitting, Foster has opened his recruitment back up, and is now considering Alabama, Auburn and Georgia as well as LSU, Miami and Washington.

Foster also spoke about his family and 4-year-old daughter, A'Ziya Blackmon, in the wide-ranging Defensive Player of the Year interview.

"My daughter means the world to me," he said. "Just to know that I'm trying to support her and my family. It makes me go harder. It makes me want to die for the sport because if you want to die for the sport, you want to die for your family because I'm doing it for my family."

The 6-foot-2, 242-pounder is considered to be one of the top high school football players in the country. 247Sports rates him as the No. 2 linebacker in the country and No. 10 player overall, while ESPN has Foster sitting at No. 24 on its list of the top 150 players.

He is set to compete in the Under Armour All-America Football game next week in Orlando, Fla., which will be covered extensively by AL.com.

Read the full interview from The Opelika-Auburn News.

[SacFalcFan]

Also, Carl Lawson was a speaker at Thursday’s event. He’s ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect by ESPN. While Lawson said he was “humbled” and “blessed” by the ranking, he also said “it’s not all it’s cracked up to be” and made it clear he is ready to end the recruiting process as soon as possible (he’s committed to Auburn but looking at a few other schools, including Clemson, Ole Miss, and Tennessee). Lawson also had a Q-and-A session with a reporter while on the stage; when asked about the status of his commitment to Auburn, Lawson smiled and said “no comment” while exiting to his seat.

[ditchdoc57]

really dont like the newer rules where a kid commits as a soph, junior then changes his mind. When I was that age I was not really mature enough to make that big of a choice without changeing my mind 15 min later. I wish it went back to graduating seniors with the min GPA signing on signing day. This new deal creates potential for shady dealings, and takeing advantage of 14/15 year olds. I signed at 17 and still had no real clue.

[Mr. Hoopah!]

Reuben Foster took an unofficial visit to Auburn this weekend and hit it off with Ellis Johnson, though I'm not holding out much hope.

4 star JUCO DT Ben Bradley will announce his decision today, it's between Auburn and Kentucky.

Several big name recruits are still mentioning Auburn, not sure what our chances are with any of them.

[CrimsonKat]

Reuben Foster took an unofficial visit to Auburn this weekend and hit it off with Ellis Johnson, though I'm not holding out much hope.

4 star JUCO DT Ben Bradley will announce his decision today, it's between Auburn and Kentucky.

Several big name recruits are still mentioning Auburn, not sure what our chances are with any of them.

I thought I saw where another JUCO kid committed to Auburn last week. Maybe a safety? Malzahn is using the Bill Snyder model.

[Mr. Hoopah!]

I thought I saw where another JUCO kid committed to Auburn last week. Maybe a safety? Malzahn is using the Bill Snyder model.

Yeah, forgot his name but a good sized, 2 star JUCO safety.

[SacFalcFan]

there is a rumor and it was started by ben that if he commits to auburn toby johnson goes with him.. he is stretching that package deal.. kinda of like foster and matthews being a for sure package deal.. we will find out since he is scheduled to visit auburn on the 18th (toby). the dline hire was recruiting toby and is close to toby as well.