Auburn Football Recruiting: Three Auburn Recruits To Watch

With 14 current commitments, the Auburn football coaching staff has — even with the slow start — put together a strong foundation upon which to continue building the 2017 recruiting class.

Today, we look at three players who are possible — and perhaps likely — future additions.

Jarrett Stidham — No. 13 overall/No. 1 dual-threat QB (247Sports/2015)

When word leaked in early July that now former Baylor quarterback Jarrett Stidham was considering a transfer, offensive coordinators at high-profile programs no doubt immediately put their ears to the ground.

After all, Stidham, as a 6-foot-3, 210 pound true freshman, played in 10 games for the Bears, completing 68.8 percent of his passes for 1,265 yards on just 109 attempts. He posted 12 touchdown passes against just two interceptions and added two more scores via the run.

By late July, Stidham had, in fact, decided to look for another school, and, to the surprise of many, showed up at an Auburn practice on August 3, sticking close to Gus Malzahn.

Last weekend — just a month after his initial visit — Stidham returned to The Plains with members of his family for three days and took in Auburn’s season-opener against No. 2 Clemson.

If that wasn’t enough to show Stidham’s interest in the Tigers is more than legit, he may be back in a week-and-a-half when Auburn hosts Texas A&M, his other key school of interest.

The Aggies have to be careful, though, as they don’t want to upset top quarterback commit Kellen Mond.

Stidham hopes to make a final decision in December and enroll at the school of his choice in January. It’s early still, but Auburn has to feel confident.

Will Ignont — No. 189 overall/No. 6 ILB (247Sports)

The recruitment of Will Ignont was, at one point, all over the place.

He was long thought an Auburn lean before announcing that he had silently committed to a school, with everything pointing to that school being not Auburn but Alabama — something that was later confirmed.

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Then, he visited the Tigers for Big Cat Weekend in early June and followed that up with visits to Alabama and Georgia.

Just days later, Ignont stated that a decision would come that very week between Auburn, the Crimson Tide, and Bulldogs. Mere hours after that announcement, that plan was canceled.

After just one week passed, the New Market native was ready to claim that Georgia, Michigan, and Florida State led.

You get the drift.

But, now, after taking in the Clemson game, Ignont lists his favorites as Auburn and UCLA. If you’re the Tigers, you have to like the sound of that — Ignont touts the consistency and tenacity of Auburn’s recruitment of him as a main reason he has them out in front, and he has not yet trekked to Westwood.

Ignont could make a decision sometime this month.

D’Marcus Hayes — Four-star OT (Rivals/JuCo)

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College offensive lineman D’Marcus Hayes was first introduced to The Plains at Big Cat Weekend, as he accompanied teammate and then-future and now-former Auburn commitment Brandon Martin.

Originally from The Magnolia State, it should come as no surprise that Hayes has the in-state Bulldogs near the top of his list. But also there were the Tigers.

Now, after returning to Auburn for the Clemson game?

The Tigers stand alone . . . and Hayes has said that a decision could come as early as this week.

While there are no sure things in recruiting, it certainly seems like Auburn’s 2017 class is about to get a major boost.

The only question is: Who’s it gonna be?