Rare to see someone talking about Auburn recruits actually GAINING stars. Yes, the author is just stating possibilities, but it's nice to see a take that we have some guys coming in that are sorely underrated. Plus, this gets me pumped for some high schools foosballz. Can't wait to see what D1 prospects are coming to our area.
Joshua Collins at si.com
With the excitement of a successful Big Cat Weekend still reverberating across the plains, I would like to take some time to highlight some of the current recruits in the 2024 class. These young men have their senior high school seasons ahead of them, and all are looking to develop as much as they can in preparation for their arrivals as freshman at Auburn University.
The question we ask is this, out of the current 2024 recruiting class who could perform well enough in their senior seasons to earn another star from the various media outlets who cover college football? The main players of course are On3, 247sports, Rivals, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN. We will make the case for six young men who could reasonably earn an additional star this upcoming 2023 high school season.
The Case for Joseph Phillips:
Leading off our list is Joseph Phillips, a consensus 4-star inside linebacker, who hails from Tuskegee, Alabama. Phillips verbally committed to the Auburn Tigers on June 15th of this year and will be suiting up this fall for Booker T. Washington High School for his senior season. This young man is built like a traditional “thumper” style inside linebacker standing at 6-foot-2 and 250-pounds. Phillips will be looking to increase his high school career stats from his already impressive performance during his junior season. During his junior season Phillips put up 75 total tackles with 19 tackles for a loss and 9 sacks.
This young man has a solid first step off the snap providing him the ability to be a solid pass rusher. He has a nose for the ball and has decent play recognition that could be developed at the next level with solid coaching. With Phillips rating out currently as a consensus 92.82 4-star recruit per On3, this young man could easily gain his fifth star with a solid senior season.
The Case for Walker White:
Next up on our list is the electric dual threat quarterback from Little Rock, Arkansas Walker White. Walker was one of the first to commit to the 2024 recruiting class led by Coach Hugh Freeze & Co. verbally committing on February 3rd of this year. White is currently preparing for his senior season with Little Rock Christian Academy, looking to increase his stat lines as well, all before joining the roster at Auburn. The 6-foot-3 225-pound quarterback posted some impressive numbers his junior year, throwing for a total of 1,975 yards to the tune of 20 touchdowns through the air, while also putting up 837 total yards on the ground to the tune of 16 rushing touchdowns.
Walker has great pocket presence with the ability to throw consistently and accurately under pressure. This young man has a solid arm with the ability to air the ball out deep. White also has great pass rush recognition and is explosive out of the pocket when he is forced to use his legs to extend a play. Should Walker put up equally impressive numbers this coming senior season, this young man could see his consensus stock rise significantly from its current 92.51 rating per On3.
The Case for Jaylen Crawford:
Third on our list is the Lilburn, Georgia native and Parkview high school senior Jaylen Crawford. The 6-foot-1 180-pound cornerback verbally committed to the Auburn Tigers on July 15th of this year and is looking to increase his stat lines this upcoming 2023 high school season. During his junior year at Parkview this young man put up some respectable numbers as a defensive back putting up 29 total tackles and 3 interceptions.
Crawford is an intelligent coverage player capable of performing press and off-man coverage. He is a smart tackler looking to force fumbles frequently with actively targeting the ball during his open field tackles. This young man has solid hands from his experience as a wide receiver and has excellent speed off the snap. Look for him to work hard this season to earn a possible fifth star.
The Case for J’Marrion Burnett:
Last but certainly not the least of our 4-to-5-star candidates is Andalusia, Alabama native J’Marrion (Phat) Burnett. The 6-foot-1 225-pound running back will be playing his senior season with Andalusia high school this fall and he provided his verbal commitment to Auburn on March 24th of this year. Burnett put up some solid numbers during his junior season averaging roughly 133.9 yards rushed per game, with an average of 7.9 yards per carry. This young man will be looking to better these numbers this upcoming season to further develop his craft as a ball carrier.
Burnett is a bruiser of a running back with incredible north to south movement. He has a decent first step off the snap, however this could be developed much further with the tutelage of Coach Cadillac Williams. He also possesses decent after first contact skills with the ability to power through defenders. Look for him to also be working hard to earn an additional star by National Signing Day.
The Case for anyone else in the 2024 recruiting class:
While we have mainly focused upon our highly rated four star commits thus far, it is important to mention two young men whom I believe have been criminally underrated by the various media outlets. These two young men are Kensley Faustin and Malik Blocton.
Kensley Faustin, a consensus 3-star free safety verbally committed to the Tigers on June 13th of this year by way of Naples high school. The Naples, Florida native stands at 6-foot 175-pounds and will also be looking to raise his star rating his senior season as well. Faustin put up some extremely impressive numbers his junior season garnering 46 total tackles, 7 interceptions, 6 pass break ups, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 forced fumble. With this type of production, one wonders why he is only currently a 3-star recruit.
This young man has great speed off the snap and is excellent in man-to-man coverage. Faustin has great play recognition from the secondary and uses his great hands to capitalize on interception chances. He is also a solid and powerful open field tackler. Kensley will definetly be one to watch this fall.
Malik Blocton, also a consensus 3-star player, is an Auburn legacy recruit as his older brother is Marcus Harris. The 6-foot-4 275-pound defensive lineman verbally committed to Auburn on July 8th of this year by way of Pike Road high school. Looking to continue his sterling junior performance where he posted 54 total tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, and 6 sacks, keep an eye peeled for his senior performance to peak those numbers.
This young man is decent pass rusher with a solid first step off the snap. Although he has a tendency to false step, he still has decent ball pursuit skills. He is a powerful tackler and has an eye for the quarterback on each down. Look for him to earn a fourth star this upcoming season.
Although these young men have already committed to the Auburn Tigers and are looking forward to becoming newly minted plainsmen, they still have a lot of work left in front of them both on the field and in the classroom. I would wager each one of these players are looking to raise their stat lines and their star power this coming season.
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