Auburn Football Recruiting Roundup (May 16)

Auburn football ended its near-nine-month drought on the recruiting trail on May 6 with the commitment of Tadarian Moultry (No. 167/Scout) out of Jackson-Olin in Birmingham, Ala. Just one week later, the Tigers would add another linebacker to the commitment list with Chandler Wooten (No. 216/ESPN) of Georgia’s North Cobb High School.

Wooten was being evaluated by Michigan, Ohio State, and more. His relationships with future position coach Travis Williams and area recruiter Tim Horton were key in the Tigers beating out Wooten’s other favorite, Tennessee.

Elsewhere on the trail . . .

» Auburn is likely running third behind Georgia and Tennessee, in that order, for wide receiver target Jeremiah Holloman (No. 77/ESPN) of Covington, Ga., but Auburn had him on campus May 7 for the second time this year. He seems especially fond of Williams and Kodi Burns. He plans to attend Big Cat Weekend in early June.

» Another highly ranked receiver prospect that was recently on Auburn’s campus and is likely to be at Big Cat is Jhamon Ausbon (No. 41/247Sports) of Florida’s IMG Academy. The former Baylor pledge is originally from Houston, and Texas A&M is therefore likely to be a major factor. Rhett Lashlee and Burns are in frequent contact.

» On the offensive line, Auburn is looking into potentially making a late addition to its 2016 class in three-star Alex Losoya from a community college in Orange County, Calif. If they decide to go all-in on Losoya, they’ll have to fend off Arkansas and Arizona State for his services.

» There is some talk that linebacker Markail Benton (No. 44/247Sports, ESPN) of Phenix City may not be the sure-thing to Auburn that many had perceived. That may or may not have anything to do with Monty Rice (No. 269/ESPN) of Madison, Ala., recently receiving increased contact from the Tigers coaching staff. If not Benton, it would very likely have to do with yet another in-state Tiger linebacker target, Will Ignont (No. 55/Rivals), stating that he has recently given a silent commitment to a school and the odds favoring that school not being Auburn (and being Alabama).

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» Madison Academy offensive tackle Austin Troxell (No. 74/247Sports) continues to struggle with a decision between two schools: Auburn and Alabama. While he has thought about committing to one school or the other multiple times, he has always decided against it. The Tigers have recruited him the longest, but he grew up rooting for the Crimson Tide.

» Auburn presently seems to be on the outside looking in for offensive tackle Trey Smith (No. 1/ESPN) of Tennessee, but they’re hoping to get him to visit for Big Cat and, if they do, Horton will be a big reason why — Smith sees him as genuine and not merely a salesman.

» With former Auburn quarterback commit Lowell Narcisse (No. 38/ESPN) committing to in-state LSU, Baylor pledge Kellen Mond (No. 48/ESPN) continues to be a high priority for Auburn. Mond, though, continues to claim he is very firm to the Bears. Ohio State and Texas A&M are also after the dual-threat quarterback.

» Herb Hand had two Florida targets visit Saturday in Alabama commit Alex Leatherwood (No. 9/ESPN) of Pensacola and Nick Brahms (No. 69/247Sports) from Navarre. Leatherwood seems locked in with his Alabama verbal currently, but Brahms was offered in-person and hopes to visit again for Big Cat.