May 11, 2009FREE: AU recruiting rolling into summerBryan MatthewsAuburnSports.com PublisherTalk about it in The BunkerAuburn has plenty of recruiting momentum as summer begins. The Tigers have already secured commitments from four top targets and are among the leaders for a number of the nation's top prospects.No position holds as much promise as running back where Auburn is in great shape for the nation's Top 3 tailbacks in Temple (Tex.) High's Lache Seastrunk, Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes' Marcus Lattimore and Little Rock (Ark.) Christian's Michael Dyer.Seastrunk gave rave reviews to his Auburn visit this spring.All three are rated a five-star and among the nation's Top 11 overall prospects.Seastrunk visited Auburn in April and left saying it was his best visit ever. Seastrunk already has tentative plans to return to Auburn later this summer. Lattimore also raved about his visit a week later, naming Auburn his top school. He's continued to list AU No. 1 in subsequent interviews.Dyer, who visited AU in late March, called it his favorite visit. While he hasn't narrowed his list, Dyer consistently names AU as one of the schools that standout.Auburn also remains in solid shape for several other top running back prospects including Opelika (Ala.) High's Corey Grant, who has made a number of trips to Auburn this spring.Auburn is also in great shape to bring in a top-ranked wide receiver class. The Tigers already have a commitment from athlete Shaun Kitchens, who is expected to play receiver at Auburn, and is the early leader for Springville (Ala.) High four-star Jeremy Richardson, who named Auburn his leader after a visit to the Plains Apr. 26.Atlanta (Ga.) Washington receiver Antonio Goodwin, who is rated a four-star, has visited Auburn twice this spring and recently told UGASports.com that Auburn stands out among his large list of offers.Thibodaux (La.) High four-star Trovon Reed joined Seastrunk on his visit to Auburn in April, the two are close friends, and left with the Tigers up there on his list. Kitchens is a big and fast ATH who projects as WR at AU.Auburn is also among the leaders for Tulsa (Ok.) Central four-star athlete/receiver DeMarco Cobbs, Mobile (Ala.) Murphy receiver Solomon Patton, Prattville (Ala.) High's Sam Gibson and Dothan (Ala.) Northview's B.J. Chitty, and actively recruiting several other top targets including Fort Worth (Tex.) Dunbar five-star Darius White and Hillside (Ill.) Proviso West four-star Kyle Prater.At 6-foot-7, 248-pounds, Columbus (Ga.) Brookstone's Brian Vogler will play tight end on the next level. The four-star, who hasn't narrowed his list yet, visited Auburn this spring and the Tigers are expected to be a finalist.Other tight end targets include Birmingham (Ala.) Oak Mountain's Davis Dudchock and Ocean Springs (Miss.) High four-star Travis Dickson.Filling big needsAuburn's two biggest needs for the 2010 class are the offensive line and linebacker positions. The Tigers already have commitments from top targets at both spots.Olive Branch (Miss.) High's Shon Coleman committed to Auburn after visiting for the A-Day game and the Tigers would like to sign at least three more.Some of the top targets on AU's list include Nashville (Tenn.) Maplewood four-star James Stone, who visited Auburn this spring, St. Matthews (S.C.) Calhoun County four-star Eric Mack, who said Auburn felt like home after a visit in April, and Olive Branch's Damien Robinson, Coleman's teammate.Auburn is the leader for Springville (Ala.) High's Chase Hughes, who is being recruited by AU as a center. Stone was impressed with his visit to Auburn on Apr. 4.The Tigers are chasing several other top offensive line prospects including DeSoto (Tex.) four-star Evan Washington, Rockwall (Tex.) four-star Austin Woods, Navasota (Tex.) High's Aleon Calhoun, Memphis (Tenn.) Manassas four-star O.C. Brown and Fullerton (Ca.) Community College's John Cullen.Auburn is off to a great start at the linebacker position with an early commitment from Pelham (Ala.) High's Jake Holland and a number of other in-state targets high on their list including Holand's teammate, Nigel Terrell.Terrell nearly committed to Auburn after visiting a couple of weeks ago.Four other in-state linebackers are also strongly considering Auburn in Jess Lanier's LaDarius Owens, Theodore's C.J. Mosley, Charles Henderson's Jawara White and Williamson's Barry James.Owens, the nephew of AU's first African American football player James Owens, has visited Auburn three times this spring and has developed a close relationship with AU's new coaching staff.Auburn also has several out-of-state linebackers high on its list including Stamford (Ct.) five-star Khairi Fortt, Dallas (Tex.) Skyline's Corey Nelson and Stone Mountain (Ga.) Stephenson's Tyrone Cornileus.Quick-hitters:***AU is in position to sign a strong DL class. Some of the top targets include Ariton (Ala.) High four-star Craig Sanders, McDonough (Ga.) Union Grove four-star Anthony Williams, LaGrange (Ga.) Troup County four-star J.C. Copeland, Decatur (Ga.) S.W. Dekalb four-star T.J. Stripling, Warner Robins (Ga.) four-star Jeffrey Whitaker, Wesson (Miss.) Co-Lin's Ken Adams, Columbus (Ga.) Carver's Corey Crawford and Hoover (Ala.) Spain Park's Jeremiah Jackson.***Some top DB targets include Millbrook (Ala.) five-star DeMarcus Milliner, Newnan (Ga.) four-star Alec Ogletree, Mobile (Ala.) Blount's Jarrick Williams, Tuscumbia (Ala.) Deshler's Deion Belue, Douglasville (Ga.) South Paulding's Ryan Ayers, Decatur (Ga.) S.W. Dekalb's Jonathan Mincy, Gadsden (Ala.) City's Dale Trimble and College Park (Ga.) Banneker's Demetruce McNeal.***AU commit Cody Parkey is ranked by chrissailerkicking.com as the nation's No. 1 kicker in the 2010 class.***AU's coaching staff began the third of four weeks on the road Monday as they spread out around the South visiting schools of top targets. The coaching staff will use much of the final week to visit in-state schools including second trips to all the stops on the first week's Tiger Prowl.***AU's camp season gets started June 5 with the first of two passing camps. Most of the top prospects will attend the Senior Camp June 13-14 and/or the Senior Elite Mini-Camp July 18. In addition to prospects visiting for camps this summer, AU will continue to bring in plenty of top targets for unofficial visits as they did throughout spring.****************************************
"The coaching staff will use much of the final week to visit in-state schools including second trips to all the stops on the first week's Tiger Prowl."
I, for one, certainly wouldn't want to be lining up against this guy:
2 Replies
1178 Views