Looks like Auburn is after a bunch of our recruits:
How Jim McElwain’s departure could benefit Auburn’s recruiting class
https://www.seccountry.com/auburn/auburn-recruiting-jim-mcelwain-helps-tigers
4-star DE/OLB Richard Jibunor, Athens, Ga.
When the Jim McElwain news dropped at Florida, Richard Jibunor seemed like the most-affected prospect that would benefit Auburn. The Tigers have always been perceived as the most-likely landing spot, but that belief has waned some in recent months.
Jibunor insisted his decision was down to Auburn, Florida and Tennessee — a tough decision because of hot seat conversations. Butch Jones’ job security appears to be a ticking time bomb. McElwain is already out. Gus Malzahn is in the safest place right now, but there are plenty of doubts there, as well, depending on how Auburn closes out the 2017 season.
Leading up to this week, all my sources close to the Jibunor recruitment felt Tennessee was trending backward in a hurry. Auburn and Florida were likely to battle until the end. But the McElwain firing caught Jibunor off guard. He wants to have a decision made by the middle of November, and it’s tough to think Florida can get its coaching staff confirmed in time to both do their own evaluation on Jibunor and build a strong enough relationship to convince him Florida is still the place to be.
Obviously the Auburn staff has some doubts, too, but Jibunor also had Auburn on his mind prior to meeting the staff. His friendship with Prince Tega Wanogho made the Plains a home-like feel before he developed his strong relationship linebackers coach Travis Williams and defensive line coach Rodney Garner.
I expect the McElwain “parting of ways” to be the final straw that results in Jibunor’s commitment to Auburn.
4-star WR Anthony Schwartz, Plantation, Fla.
Last month, Anthony Schwartz told SEC Country his college decision was down to Auburn and Florida. Those were the two schools he liked the most — and felt liked him the most. Since then, he’s stated his intention to consider Houston, as well, potentially on just a track scholarship to learn from the great Carl Lewis.
But, in a weird way, this news could have an adverse effect on Auburn’s chances with Schwartz. Part of Florida’s problem with Schwartz is that the Gators are out of wide receiver room in their 2018 class. It’s always been possible for guys like Jacob Copeland and JaMarr Chase to flip to other programs, but that possibility increases dramatically now. If that were to happen, the new coaching staff would need to work quickly to find high-level receivers interested in the Gators.
Schwartz would top that list, as far as uncommitted prospects go.
With that said, if the new coaching staff wanted taller, more physical wide receivers, this could prove to be a benefit for Auburn. Kodi Burns and Schwartz have perhaps the 4-star wide receiver’s strongest coaching relationship. As the Tigers search for their third — and potentially fourth — wide receiver in the 2018 class, their push for Schwartz will rev up now that Florida looks as vulnerable as ever for a prospect who once seemed guaranteed to land in Gainesville.
4-star RB Dameon Pierce, Bainbridge, Ga. (UF commit)
When Dameon Pierce committed to Florida, it came as a bit of a surprise. He’d always stated he’d likely wait until the end of his senior season to focus on his recruitment going forward. Once he wrapped that up, he’d tackle recruiting head on. Then, he decided to commit to Florida on a whim this summer.
Pierce hasn’t said or done anything to indicate his intention to look elsewhere. The retention of running backs coach Ju’Juan Seider will have an effect on that.
Regardless, it’ll be a dangerous game for Auburn to play if Pierce were to open things back up. There’s no doubt the Tigers would be at or near the top of Pierce’s preferences if that were to happen. In the summer, I had multiple sources tell me they felt Pierce was the best running back Auburn was recruiting, but they also didn’t expect his commitment to come when it did.
Since then, Asa Martin has committed. He’s become one of the most vocal recruiters in the class, and he’s also having one of the best senior seasons of any running back in the entire country. Pushing for Pierce could cause some issues with Martin that may be better left alone.
Martin continues to visit elsewhere. He’s already been in Tuscaloosa for a game. He’ll likely take official visits to Alabama and Clemson. So it wouldn’t be surprising to see Auburn stay in contact with Pierce as a security blanket, but it’d be shocking to see both guys end up in Auburn’s class.
3-star OLB David Reese, Vero Beach, Fla. (UF commit)
David Reese isn’t a name that has been mentioned in this space often. To my knowledge, he doesn’t hold an Auburn offer, and he hasn’t publicly indicated his displeasure with the McElwain departure yet. But there’s a key reason Reese is a part of this conversation, and it goes back to Jibunor.
Jibunor has a few guys in the recruiting process that he considers close friends. Reese might very well be atop the list. In fact, Jibunor’s primary reason for taking his only Florida visit was at the request of Reese, who told him he’d love Gainesville. Reese was right.
Likewise, Jibunor told Reese he’d like Auburn, but Reese has yet to make that visit to the Plains, and there’s no telling he ever will. But if there ever were an opening, it’s now.
Auburn remains in search for at least one more linebacker in the class. Quay Walker tops the wish list, but flipping prospects from Alabama isn’t an easy task, nor a common occurrence. Auburn will be in search of alternative plans, which will include testing the waters with guys like Channing Tindall and others, but also passing out offers to uncommitted prospects such as La’Dedric Jackson or trying to dip into the committed pool of other programs.
Reese would be an interesting place to start, but that would require a lot of communication in a short order when there hasn’t been much up to this point. Travis Williams will be a busy man these next few months.
4-star OL William Barnes, Apopka, Fla. and 4-star OL Richard Gouraige, Tampa, Fla.
I’m pairing William Barnes and Richard Gouraige into one subhead because their Auburn-related recruitments serve a similar purpose. Barnes and Gouraige have both visited Auburn in the past, but they both planned to come back throughout the summer/fall, which never happened. Auburn’s first goal would be to get one or both back on campus as the Tigers try to finalized the offensive line group for the 2018 class.
For starters, these are both long shots.
Gouraige committed to Florida on Oct. 20, so this news came at an unfortunate time for him. If he were to step off his Gators pledge, Clemson would be the favorite. But Auburn would work to get the big offensive tackle back on campus. There was a time in the summer when Gouraige visited and made Auburn one of his top three. He planned a return, but never made the trip.
Barnes hasn’t committed yet, and while he hasn’t done much to publicly narrow his choices, Florida and North Carolina have always been the two schools most closely linked to Barnes. That won’t necessarily change with the coaching change, but when other coaching staffs smell blood, they attack.
Auburn has a need on the offensive line. Gouraige and Barnes will be at or near the top of that wish list. Don’t be surprised to see both or either end up taking official visits to Auburn down the stretch.
Others prospects of note
- Auburn commit Jamien Sherwood has been flirting with Florida since committing to Auburn. He’s visited Gainesville at least two times for games. Sherwood always stated the Tigers shouldn’t worry too much about those visits, and this announcement will only enrich that stance. All Auburn needs to do, as it pertains to Sherwood, is keep its own coaching staff in place.
- Auburn commits Coynis Miller and Asa Martin both chose the Tigers despite showing strong interest in Florida. Both even had experiences strong enough they said they would’ve felt comfortable committing to the Gators at times. This news helps eliminate any potential flip scares for both.
- Florida commit Divaad Wilson has entertained a few schools, including South Carolina, while being committed to Florida. He retweeted something that indicated he’s still firmly committed to the Gators, but he reported an Auburn offer last week (same day his teammate Rashad Wildgoose claimed one, as well). As Auburn searches for its cornerbacks in the class, Wilson is a name to watch.
- Florida commit Jacob Copeland once had Auburn high on his list, but communication plummeted. If Copeland were to flip somewhere, and it appears likely it would be to Alabama. In a way, that would help Auburn because Alabama’s wide receiver spots would start to fill up for guys like Seth Williams and Justyn Ross.
