Auburn Recruiting: 5 Bold Predictions For National Signing Day 2015

Jan 2, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Team Highlight defensive end Byron Cowart (99) rushes Team Armour quarterback Kyler Murray (1) during the first half of the 2015 Under Armour All-America Game at Tropicana Field. Team Highlight defeated Team Armour 46-6. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

National Signing Day 2015 is February 4 – just 23 days away. Between now and then, the 2015 Auburn recruiting class will go from work in progress to finished product. As we look ahead to the finish line, it’s time to make some bold predictions.

Bold Prediction No.1: Auburn Will Sign Five-Star Defensive End Byron Cowart

One of the top players in the nation, and the one that is most likely to have the biggest impact on the Auburn football program as a true freshman if he signs, is five-star defensive end Byron Cowart.

The bad news is Cowart hasn’t committed to Auburn. The good news is he hasn’t committed anywhere else.

“I didn’t know where I wanted to go,” Cowart said while explaining why he did not make an announcement during the Under Armour All-American Game. “So I’m still looking forward to figuring out where Byron Cowart is going to play.”

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Cowart, who won MVP honors during the aforementioned high school all-star game, was seen as a long shot to sign with the Tigers until recently. Florida and Florida State were once believed to be the only two teams with a real chance to land him.

However, thanks to the additions of former Gators head coach Will Muschamp as new defensive coordinator and ace recruiter Travaris Robinson as defensive backs coach, Auburn is now very much in the mix – enough so that he will be on campus January 16 for an official visit.

Unfortunately for Auburn, both the Gators and Seminoles will receive visits prior to National Signing Day.

The Tigers desperately want Cowart. He’s the top player on the team’s big board, according to Keith Niebuhr, and for good reason. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound defensive end is the third ranked player in the 247Sports Composite, and he’s a perfect fit for the Buck hybrid defensive end/linebacker in Muschamp’s defense.

Cowart has had a lot of great things to say about Muschamp in the past, and his relationship with Coach Boom (as well as his mother’s comfort with Muschamp) was a big reason the Gators became the favorite to sign him. And it’ll be the primary reason he joins the 2015 Auburn recruiting class instead.

Next: Bold Prediction No. 2