Bryan Matthews
AuburnSports.com Publisher
Talk about it in The Bunker
Each year more and more high school football prospects are choosing to delay their decision until National Signing Day or even days later. This year, Auburn will be on the clock with a number of prospects.
As many as 12 of Auburn's top targets are expected to announce their final decision on Wednesday. A couple, including top running back targets David Oku and Bryce Brown, won't announce their decisions until sometime after Signing Day.
AuburnSports.com
Jones is a tall, athletic DT Auburn is hoping to add to the '09 class.
While the wait will continue for Oku and Brown, there will be plenty of action for Auburn on Signing Day as some of the nation's top prospects announce their final decisions including Tampa (Fla.) Chamberlain four-star running back Dontae Aycock, Olive Branch (Miss.) four-star offensive tackle Aubrey Phillips, Austin (Tex.) Texas four-star receiver Emory Blake and Bastrop (La.) four-star defensive tackle DeQuinta Jones.
All four are among AU's top remaining targets and list the Tigers among their final two or three schools.
Aycock, who visited Auburn last weekend, told AuburnSports.com Sunday that he had narrowed his list to Auburn and Georgia Tech. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday, however, that the Yellow Jackets had pulled Aycock's offer following his AU visit, leaving the Tigers as the clear favorite.
The 6-foot-6, 310-pound Phillips also visited AU last weekend. Phillips, who entered the weekend as a Tennessee commitment, said Sunday to expect a change in his commitment. A source close to Phillips told AuburnSports.com Tuesday night he expects his final decision to come down to Auburn or Florida State.
Blake and Jones visited Auburn Jan. 16. The 6-foot-1, 194-pound Blake said he will choose between Auburn, Texas Tech and possibly Colorado following a trip to Auburn that was better than expected.
The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Jones is currently committed to Michigan but sources indicate his final decision will likely come down to Auburn or Tennessee. He visited Knoxville last weekend but left Auburn two weeks ago saying the AU visit exceeded his expectations.
Another top prospect Auburn is hoping to close with Wednesday is Memphis (Tenn.) Melrose three-star linebacker Greg King, who visited Auburn last weekend. King has narrowed his list to Auburn and Tennessee after telling AuburnSports.com he had a blast during his official visit to Auburn.
Auburn is also expecting a decision from former Bastrop and Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy receiver Deangelo Benton who was rated a five-star and the nation's No. 3 prep school prospect in the 2008 class.
Benton signed with LSU out of high school in '07 and prep school in '08, but failed to qualify and officially visited Auburn Jan. 23.
Auburn could also add a JUCO cornerback or two on Signing Day. Milledgeville (Ga.) Georgia Military four-star Taikwon Paige and Scranton (Pa.) Lackawanna College's Mike Eargle both visited Auburn Jan. 30 and are hoping to pick up an offer from the Tigers in the next 24 hours.
Stevenson (Ala.) North Jackson four-star linebacker Tana Patrick and Montgomery (Ala.) Carver four-star lineman Brandon Moore both visited Auburn Jan. 16 and will announce on Wednesday. Auburn is a longshot for both in-state prospects.
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