Auburn basketball: Tigers could have their next dual-sport star on their hands
https://twitter.com/mtrigg_23/status/1258399173193469957
2021 prospect Michael Trigg could be one of the most important targets for both Bruce Pearl and Gus Malzahn.
When thinking of dual-sport athletes at Auburn, most people’s minds automatically go to Bo Jackson as he is widely considered one of the best athletes in the history of sports. Jackson excelled at both football and baseball on The Plains and went on to play professionally in both sports.
Even Hall of Fame baseball player Frank Thomas played one season of football while he was at Auburn. Additionally, current Auburn football players such as Shaun Shivers and Anthony Schwartz have used their elite speed to excel at track and field.
But, if the Tigers can secure the commitment of four-star tight end Michael Trigg, they could possibly have their best two-sport athlete since Jackson.
While Trigg, who stands at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, has dominated on the football field, the nation’s No. 5 tight end per 247Sports also excels on the basketball court.
Trigg is also listed as a three-star shooting guard and has stated multiple times that he believes he can play both sports at the collegiate level and absolutely plans on doing so.
While the Tampa, Florida product isn’t the most touted prospect on the basketball court, his commitment would be one of the most important of the Bruce Pearl era simply due to the impact it would have on both sports.
And while Auburn football has stocked up on tight ends in recent recruiting class including three-star TE Landen King already committed in the class of 2021, Bruce Pearl and co. have yet to receive a commitment from any athlete in the 2021 cycle.
Gus Malzahn and his staff offered Trigg a football scholarship all the way back in January and as a football prospect, the tight end has already racked up 50 offers. On the other hand, the basketball offer from the Tigers came very recently.
https://twitter.com/mtrigg_23/status/1278070405304070144
Most schools that are recruiting Trigg have offered him in both sports. Schools like Kentucky, Florida State, Memphis and Alabama have all expressed heavy interest in bringing the dual-sport athlete to their respective schools.
Considering Auburn’s reputation as a football-centric school, it should be no problem convincing an elite prospect like Trigg that he can contribute on the football field. However, the recent success of Pearl and the Auburn basketball program has caught the attention of the shooting guard per Jeffrey Lee of AuburnSports.com
"“Auburn has a great basketball program,” Trigg said. “They went to the Final Four last year and had a very good team this year. I know they signed Sharife Cooper, and had Isaac Okoro last year. They’re very good.”"
The two-sport star from Carrollwood high school has yet to announce when he plans on commit to a school but he continues to rack up offers in both football and basketball.