Talent…Enough Said
As I have stated before, it is very early in the recruiting year for the 2013 class, to be excited about the words of a seventeen to eighteen year old kid. In saying that though, recruits are beginning to realize what professional athletes have now begun doing, most recently in the NBA, in building teams together to win. It has had a trickling down affect and now I believe that this will become an even more popular trend in college athletics, especially football. There have been some murmurs on the recruiting trail and now I believe some of that was not just blatant rumors meant to be spread with little weight.
This past weekend the first annual Rivals 100 Five Star Challenge took place in Atlanta, Georgia and was as good as advertised. The top talent in the country at eighteen positions was represented and a few battles were as good as hyped. Four star OG Khaliel Rodgers (Eastern Christian Academy/Maryland) faced Five star WS DE Carl Lawson (Milton H.S./Georgia) and Lawson “beat” Rodgers twice according to the on-lookers and Lawson said, “WAR EAGLE! Come join me at Auburn!” Many of the recruits from the 2013 began to wonder why Lawson and LB Reuben Foster are not the two top talents in the country because it is starting to be said that Robert Nkemdiche may be a tad bit overrated in this class. Five Star SS DE Dee Liner (Muscle Shoals H.S./Alabama) also proved his worth at the camp and proved he is as advertised.
On the offensive side of the ball, Four Star WR Earnest Robinson (Pinson Valley H.S./Alabama) made impressive catches and may have helped his stock rise some. It is yet to be seen if he will gain a fifth star or remain as a highly graded four star. Four Star TE O.J. Howard (Autauga Academy/Alabama) was said to be uncoverable and is very fast for the TE position. As I spoke to a good friend tonight, I believe Howard might make the transition to WR before it is all said and done but we will have to wait and see. If that is the case, his recruitment from other schools could change significantly.
I have said all of these things to say this, we have heard of a few guys that could possibly flip from the schools they are committed to right now and sign with Auburn in February. It has been bouncing around on message boards and word of mouth but this weekend several names have surfaced and recruits have supposedly been talking a lot to one another about the potential of playing together and winning championships at the collegiate level. Mike Farrell of Rivals Sports was on Eyes on Auburn tonight with co-host Justin Hokanson and said he believes that there will be three to four recruits flip and sign with Auburn as of NSD 2013. Farrell also said if Carl Lawson was 6’4, Lawson would be the number one player in the country.
The three or four guys that I believe will flip and sign with Auburn are Alabama commits O.J. Howard and Five star ILB Reuben Foster. Three star Corner Shaq Wiggins, who is committed to Georgia, is the third guy. Three other possibilities, both of which have either made a surprise visit to Auburn or have said, on record, the current Auburn commits are recruiting them are Oklahoma commit Four star RB Greg Bryant, Florida commit Four star DT Caleb Brantley, and Four star Safety Tray Matthews, who is currently solid to Georgia. Brantley said that Lawson and Liner want him to join them on the defensive line which would make this defensive line class one of the most talented groups recruited together that I have seen at Auburn. As I have said before, I believe Reuben Foster and Tray Matthews truly want to try and play together in college.
It appears as though Van Gorder and Martinez are at least getting in the minds of these recruits and making interest in being a part of a special group and building a defense at Auburn. I believe also that Loeffler’s multiple styles of offense as well as the ability of it to adapt to the skill sets of the players in the offense, has generated interest from recruits. A lot of this season’s potential ruin or success will have a lot to do with the decisions of these recruits. Most of the kids are going to wait and see how the two systems are ran and how they can see themselves improve and make both systems run smoothly.