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Early Signing Period primer: Auburn’s recruiting class needed help even before Gus Malzahn was fired. Now what?
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If you think Auburn has struggled on the field in 2020, you might want to skip the start of the Early Signing Period, which starts Wednesday.
Auburn hasn’t hosted a recruit on campus in 10 months, and the impact has had a clear negative effect on recruiting. The Tigers stand with just 12 commits and sit 42nd in the nation in 247sports.com’s rankings.
And that, of course, was before Auburn fired Gus Malzahn on Sunday.
Who knows what this class will look like.
Auburn’s class ranks 12th in the SEC ahead of only Vanderbilt and South Carolina, but the Tigers fare far better in terms of overall talent. Auburn’s average recruit rating of 89.26 is 6th in the SEC and would move Auburn back into the top 15 nationally.
The good news is, the Tigers have time and scholarships to dramatically improve this class by February’s traditional signing day.
Depending on whom the Tigers hire to replace Malzahn, there could be a late surge.
Over the last 7 years, Auburn has signed 5 top-10 classes, and the other 2 ranked 12th and 11th in the country. Again, Auburn’s Class of 2021 should improve greatly on National Signing Day, so no need to panic just yet.
Let’s take a closer look at Auburn’s Class of 2021 as it stands heading into Wednesday:
By the numbers
- SEC rank: 12th
- National rank: 42nd
- 5-stars: 0
- 4-stars: 5
- 3-stars: 7
Top player: Lee Hunter, defensive tackle, 4-star (No. 80 overall)
Hunter sent Tigers’ fans into a bit of a craze a few days ago when he tweeted that his recruitment was still open and changed his profile picture to him wearing different jerseys of schools he had visited. Later that same day, however, he reaffirmed his intention of signing early with Auburn.
Up thinking about my future and I’m thankful for it IM EXHAUSTED ! 💜I THINK THIS A SIGN GOD GIVING ME MY RECRUITMENT IS STILL OPEN💜
— Lee_Hunter7 (@The_Fridge7) December 7, 2020
The 6-5, 292-pound prospect out of Eight Mile, Ala., is the No. 6 defensive tackle in the nation. Hunter committed to the Tigers the week after Auburn beat Alabama in 2019 and will be on campus for January. He is expected to be an early contributor on a defensive line that was just abused by Texas A&M.
Class strength: Linebacker
This is a bit of a leap, given that Auburn doesn’t have a single commit from a linebacker yet in this class, but that is very likely to change Wednesday with 2 huge commitments.
Terrence Lewis is the nation’s No. 1 inside linebacker and 15th overall recruit. Auburn is believed to be the lead program for the 5-star talent, but Florida may swoop in late to land the in-state recruit.
Trevin Wallace, a 4-star LB, is all but a sure thing to choose Auburn. He’s the No. 13 inside linebacker and 230th overall recruit. Wallace is from Jesup, Ga., and may also choose Florida in the end, but the Tigers seem in a far better position to land him. Wallace may delay signing until February.
Class weakness: Wide receiver
Wide receiver and offensive tackle were 2 of the biggest holes Auburn needed to fill, and the Tigers seem satisfied with using the transfer portal to address to tackle issue. Eric Wilson from Harvard will be immediately eligible to play in 2021.
Auburn has already secured pledges from 3-star receiver Hal Presley and 3-star athlete Tar’varish Dawson who could play receiver or corner, but the Tigers are still lacking a pass-catching talent that Auburn fans can get excited about.
The only real hopes Auburn has at improving this need is landing 3-star Roc Taylor. Taylor previously committed to Tennessee, but is believed to be flipping from the Vols and looking to stay at home in the state of Alabama.
Grading the QB class: B-
Auburn has landed the commitment of 4-star QB Dematrius Davis out of Houston. He is the No. 8 dual-threat QB and 224th best overall recruit. He’s scouted as a better runner than a passer, which lines up with Malzahn’s history, but for Auburn fans looking for a more reliable passer than Bo Nix, Davis probably isn’t the guy.
Someone to keep an eye on moving forward is 4-star Ty Simpson in the Class of 2022. He’s the No. 2 dual-threat QB and 48th overall recruit. He recently announced his top 10, and Auburn was included on the list.
Did they close the borders?
It’s obviously always an uphill battle to out-recruit Alabama in the state, but Auburn only secured 1 player in the top 15 of Alabama. Of recruits ranked in the top 15 in the state, 4 committed to the Tide and 3 committed to Tennessee.
Lee Hunter was a big commitment, but Auburn has no other commitment from players in Alabama. Auburn has 5 commitments from Texans and 4 from players from Florida.
Final thought …
This won’t be one of Auburn’s best classes, but the amount of criticism about this year’s group of recruits is a little undeserved. The Tigers prioritized quality over quantity this cycle. They may only have 12 pledges, but the ones they do have are talented.
By the time this recruiting cycle closes in February, Auburn will be much closer to a top-20 class. The new coach will figure heavily into which way this goes. There are several blue-chip prospects that are still considering the Tigers. Finishing the year near the bottom of the SEC West won’t help, but the future is still not so bleak.
