Auburn Recruiting: Big Boom Weekend News & Updates
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
The Auburn recruiting event dubbed by many as Big Boom Weekend is now over, and the large group of high profile prospects have come and gone. (Note: if you missed our preview of those that would be in attendance, check it out here). What did the players think of their visit to the Plains and what did we learn?
The Five-Stars
DE Byron Cowart
The biggest star of the weekend was Byron Cowart, who is ranked No. 1 overall in the ESPN300 and Rivals 100 and considered the third best player in the nation in the 247Sports Composite.
Cowart is a very interesting young man that appears to have his head on straight despite receiving a ridiculous amount of attention for a high school senior. He maintains that one of the most important things leading up to National Signing Day is to have a plan in place to receive his degree within three years.
"Apparently, Cowart spent a lot of time asking commits and parents of commits about Auburn. As we’ve said before, he took this trip pretty seriously. Supposedly he really likes the environment at AU. Still has Florida and FSU visits coming up."
From a football standpoint though, one of the most interesting things that came out of this weekend is a seeming desire to create a package deal with CeCe Jefferson and Jeffrey Holland.
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“We’ll all play at the same school,” Cowart told reporters. “We know we can make an impact.
“One guy can’t make a difference at a school and I don’t think people understand that. You can be a great player but you can’t make an impact going to a school by yourself, you got to have a team, some guys that are going to go with you and change the whole program around.”
DE CeCe Jefferson
Jefferson also spoke with reporters about the potential package deal, though at the time it didn’t appear that he knew very much about it.
“Signing Day is near, so if (Cowart) wants to do that I’ll have to get with him and touch base,” Jefferson said. “He’s a great player, and in order to change a program you can’t do it by yourself. You have to have great players follow you. I wouldn’t mind doing that at all. If Jeff wants to come, he’s a great player too. I wouldn’t mind at all.”
The five-star defensive end has been considered a very long shot to land at Auburn, though this weekend may have changed that. He is still considering Florida, Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss with the Rebels believed to be the most recent leader.
“If we were to decide to go to the same place that would be huge,” Jefferson said. “Just like how Ole Miss had their huge recruiting class (in 2013), that would be huge for whichever program if we were to decide to play together.”
Jefferson also commented on the “family feel” he got at Auburn. The Tigers now appear to be squarely in the mix.
Next: The Five-Stars, Continued