AU Recruiting: How Will We Finish?

Perhaps it is only the beginning of August and most fans are focuses intently on the kickoff of fall practice, justifiably so, but today Auburn just landed their 15th commitment of this 2011 recruiting class and spots are filling up quickly. Let's take a look at what the class looks like so far...

QB - Kiehl Frazier
WR - Jaylon Denson
WR - Sammie Coates
OG - Thomas O'Reilly
C - Reese Dismukes
DE - Keymiya Harrell
DT - JaBrian Niles
DT - Angelo Blackson
LB - Chris Landrum
LB - Anthony Swain
LB - Justin Garrett
CB - Jonathan Rose
CB - Devin Gaulden
ATH - Izauae Lanier
ATH - C.J. Uzomah

Also we can add WR Jeremy Richardson to this list who is planning on resigning out of JUCO after being the lone non-qualifier from last year's class and OT Shon Coleman who will resign after being unable to report this year while fighting acute lymphocytic leukemia (and winning the fight so far! Go Shon!).

Where does that leave us? With the 17 guys I'm currently counting in our class that would leave us with only 8 or 9 spots to fill out this class. The positions we are likely finished at are quarterback, wide receiver, guard, center, and linebacker. Auburn will likely be looking to add one true running back, one H-Back or tight end, another offensive tackle, one more defensive end and tackle, one more cornerback and safety and maybe another athlete or two. So who are the likely candidates to fill out these final spots? This is where it gets exciting...

To fill out the true runningback position the number one target on our board is Mike Blakely from Bradenton, Florida. The 4-star prostect and #22 overall player in the nation has waivered between Auburn and Florida as his leader with South Carolina consistently being mentioned among the leaders. This will be a good battle for his signature down to the end but Auburn has firmly entrenched themselves as a legitimate contender to sign him in February. Some of the other running backs on the board are Javorius Allen, Andrew Buie and Demetrius Hart.

At H-Back Auburn has one primary target that is standing out far above the rest and that's Rodney Coe. The Edwardsville, Illinois product has been high on Auburn since early in the process and working in Auburn's favor is Coe's head coach who has very good things to say about Gus Malzahn's offense and Coe's potential in it. At 6'3" 230 lbs with a 40 time clocked at 4.54 Coe is an intimidating sight with the ball in his hands. He would be an ideal fit to learn under Eric Smith during his senior season in 2011 and be ready to take over that roll as a starter in 2012.

At tight end Auburn also has one prospect that seems to have distanced himself from the other prospects on the board and that's Brandon Fulse. While Auburn is still pursuing Valdosta's Jay Rome, we have not consistently be mentioned as a favorite and it may be tough to pull this one from the 'Dawgs. Fulse, a 4-star prospect who hails from Fort Meade, Florida and the same high school as Onterio McCalebb, is an impressive 6'4" 247 lbs with very impressive ball skills for a player his size, much like current Auburn tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen. Fulse just narrowed his list of favorites down to 10 but already declared that Auburn and Miami would make the next cut down to 5 as well.

With so much overlap in Malzahn's offense at the H-Back and tight end position, this spot will likely go to whichever prospect commits first but it isn't out of the question that Auburn would take both if given the opportunity.

At offensive tackle Auburn is once again looking to go into Thibodaux, Louisiana where last year they stole Louisiana'a top prospect, Tovon Reed, this time trying to get Reed's former teammate Greg Robinson. At 6'5" 296 lbs and his dominating run blocking style Robinson appears to be an ideal fit at right tackle. The 19th ranked prospect in the country has already declared that this will be a two team battle between LSU and Auburn and infact named Auburn his leader after a week long visit earlier this summer. Getting Reed out of Thibodaux last year was extremely difficult with the local pressure kids in that part of the state are under and Robinson's situation will be no different. For that reason, I don't expect Robinson to make any type of public commitment until much closer to signing day. That being said, the coaches and other commitments who communicate with Robinson are very opptimistic of our chances to land his signature. Florida lineman Terry Bell who sports offers from Clemson, FSU, UGA and others, is likely the fall back plan if things fall through with Robinson and he has already declared Auburn his current leader as well.

Possibly the most impressive looking prospect remaining on Auburn's board is Thomasville, Georgia defensive end Ray Drew. Ranked the #1 player in Georgia and 15th nationally, Drew is a qualitiy individual who may be as impressive off the field as he is on it. With offers from nearly every program across the country, Drew has yet to narrow down his list and has said he likely wont until he picks which schools he will take official visits to. By all indications Auburn is going to be one of those schools and with an impressive season on the field we will be in a great position to sign arguably the top defensive lineman in the country. This recruiting battle reminds me a lot of Corey Lemonier in that while Auburn was consistently mentioned among his favorites, few in the national media gave Auburn much of a shot despite those closest to Auburn feeling opptimistic about our chances. Landing Drew would be an enormous recruiting win. Behind Drew on the board at defensive end are 4-star prospects Xzavier Dickson and Jermauria Rasco.

On the inside of the defensive line the top prospect is Columbus, Georgia Carver's Gabriel Wright. Auburn has been among Wright's favorites from the beginning and on a visit with his family this spring his mom fell in love with what Auburn had to offer. Auburn will be in a tough battle for his signature with its to primary rivals, Alabama and Georgia. If it looks like Wright may be going in another direction look for Auburn to put more pressure on in-state prospect Devaunte Sigler. Sigler is listed as an outside line backer at 6'4" 250 lbs but is projected by this staff to grow into an interior lineman. Auburn may also look to bring in a JUCO defensive tackle and the top target is Gulf Coast C.C. tackle Jonathan Jenkins who is a massive 6'4" 340 lbs.

In the defensive backfield Auburn is in terrific shape to sign the top defensive back class in the entire country. In addition to Rose and Gaulden, Auburn is in great shape to land Marcus Roberson who is ranked the #5 cornerback in the country. Roberson's uncle is former Auburn defensive back Otis Mounds and Roberson has also already named Auburn his leader ahead of in-state Florida. Even if we get a commitment we will likely have to battle the Gators until February but we are in great shape to land two of the top five cornerbacks in the nation. If things fall through with Roberson look for Auburn to push for a commitment from Bruce Dukes who this staff sees a lot of potential in.

At safety Auburn has long been the leader for the nation's #2 safety Erique Florence. He is playing out the process and may give Auburn fans some scares with his visits to Alabama but those in the know are very confident that Florence is all Auburn. If Auburn chooses to bring in a second safety one prospect who is high on Auburn's board is 4-star Dillard safety Wayne Lyons. So far Lyons has really liked what he is hearing from this staff and has declared he will take a visit up to Auburn and would like to continue to Dillard pipeline which includes guys like Junior Rosegreen, Stanley McClover, Pat Simms, and current Tiger Antoine Carter. Lyons is looking for a family atmosphere and few schools offer that as well as Auburn. If we can get him on campus it is very likely the #4 safety prospect in the nation could join this class.

If you are keeping track that is the #2 safety (Florence), #3 cornerback (Rose), #4 safety (Lyons) and #5 cornerback (Roberson) and none of them seem like a stretch.

The top prospects Auburn is pursuing at the Athlete position are 4-stars Kris Frost and Quan Bray. Both players likely project at wide receiver at Auburn but could also play on the other side of the ball if needed. Frost made multiple trips to Auburn this spring including one for Big Cat Weekend and has mentioned Auburn among his favorites ever since. Ranked the #2 athlete in the country, the Matthews, North Carolina product has his pick of schools. Michigan might be the primary competition for Frost's signature but this one will likely carry deep into the recruiting process. Bray, who is from LaGrange, Georgia, will likely pick between Auburn, Alabama and Georgia and his recruitment will also go down to the wire.

So there it is... eight or nine spots left and as it stands now Auburn should fill every one of them with a player rated at least 4-stars. Things always do change and change quickly in recruiting but with a solid year on the field there is no reason why Auburn shouldn't land another class ranked in the top 10 and could push to out do last year's 4th ranked class.