Big Week, Big Results For Auburn Football Recruiting

The final week of July proved to be enormous for Auburn as two extremely promising top 100 national recruits pledged to the Tigers football program.

Tray Bishop (No. 98/247Sports) of Dawson, Ga., committed to Auburn on Monday and gives Gus Malzahn his likely quarterback for the 2017 class. Landing one of the better pure athletes in the country is a nice way to regroup at signal-caller after the Lowell Narcisse decommitment combined with the miss on Kellen Mond sent the Tigers scrambling at the position.

Three days later, another electric athlete was added to the class when Tampa running back Devan Barrett (No. 71/Rivals) made his intentions known. The Tigers have gone above and beyond in preparing for the loss of ultra-talented senior Jovon Robinson after the 2016 season by landing Barrett, Alaric Williams (No. 121/247Sports), and Octavius Matthews, a promising junior college transfer.

Elsewhere on the trail . . .

→ Junior college wide receiver target Brandon Martin (4-star/Rivals, Scout), an ex-LSU signee and former Under Armour All-American, long had the Tigers atop his list of favorites. When he committed to kick off July, it was hardly unexpected. When he would rescind that pledge less than a week later, that was surprising. The Tigers could, however, still be his leader. In fact, he had a strong visit to The Plains last weekend for the War Damn Barbecue event and plans to return for Auburn’s opening game against Clemson.

→ A major junior college defensive line prospect, Isaiah Buggs (5-star/Rivals), enjoyed Big Cat Weekend in June. Then, he was back for the War Damn Barbecue this month. Now, Buggs plans to announce his commitment on August 24. But one thing working against the Tigers in this recruitment is that Buggs is originally from Ruston, La. — and getting a Louisiana kid with an LSU offer to leave the state is never easy. See: Lowell Narcisse. Still, Auburn is more of a contender for Buggs than many had believed they could be.

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→ While Auburn’s interest in linebacker Monty Rice of Madison, Ala., has grown as time has marched on, the Tigers are locked in on no one at the position more than Kenney “K.J.” Britt (No. 122/Rivals) out of Oxford. Auburn was perceived to be Britt’s leader early on, but then things seemed to shift toward the Georgia Bulldogs. As he has visited each of the schools, things have tilted back and forth — or at least that’s the perception. Britt visited last weekend for the big Auburn recruiting event and brought his parents along — and the visit was positive. An early August decision is possible.

→ The Tigers had to move on after missing on tight end target Tre’ McKitty, who opted for Oregon at The Opening. It appears they have done so with Kurt Rafdal of Carmel, Ind. Rafdal recently camped on The Plains and received an offer. Auburn will battle Nebraska and the in-state Hoosiers for the tight end.

→ The recruitment of safety Jordyn Peters of Muscle Shoals seemed to take off out of nowhere, with Auburn offering roughly two weeks ago. Peters, who grew up a Tigers fan, has been a regular on the Auburn campus as of late. Officially, the Tigers are in his top six — with Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Virginia Tech, among others — but the reality is that Peters is Auburn’s to lose. He could announce in August.

→ Speaking of recruitments escalating quickly, Auburn recently pulled the trigger on an offer to Blount High standout and Florida commit Kadarius Toney (No. 235/Scout). Toney, a gifted athlete and dual-threat quarterback, always sought an offer from the Tigers, and, needless to say, his recruitment has just gotten interesting. He isn’t likely to play quarterback at Florida or for Auburn necessarily, as he’s being recruited as an athlete by the Tigers. Ultimately, it may be hard for the Gators to hang on to the Mobile native.