Auburn football: What the newest commit means for the Tigers

The Tigers landed one of their top targets in the class of 2021 but…there’s a twist.

In the words of Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, “Boom!” It was a big day for Auburn football recruiting as the Tigers were able to land the commitment of four-star wide receiver prospect Malcolm Johnson Jr. on Friday.

Per 247Sports’ Composite rankings, Johnson is rated as the No. 191 player in the class of 2021 and the No. 36 receiver in the class.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound wideout chose Auburn over an SEC-heavy list of schools such as Alabama, LSU, Florida and Georgia. In recent weeks, the Tigers gained a ton of momentum for Johnson and predictions were beginning to slide in Auburn’s favor.

Johnson’s commitment gives the Tigers’ three 2021 commits in the past two weeks which gives Auburn 13 commitments in the class of 2021 and moves their class ranking up to No. 16 in the nation.

However, while Johnson’s recent decision gives Auburn a big boost in the 2021 class rankings after a slow start, there is a positive twist to this story.

Rather than coming to Auburn in 2021, Johnson announced via his Twitter that he would be enrolling early at Auburn next week.

So, what does this mean for Auburn exactly? A few things.

First, whether there ends up being a college football season in 2020 or not, an early start for a talent like Johnson is never going to be a bad thing. That extra bit of experience is only going to benefit a player whom the Auburn staff seems to have a lot of confidence in.

Second, while Johnson would be the only wide receiver in Auburn’s 2021 class (as of now), his reclassifying means that the Virginia native will join a group of incoming Auburn freshmen that includes four other wide receivers — three of whom where four-star prospects in the 2020 class.

With Auburn also returning their top three receivers from last season (Seth Williams, Anthony Schwartz and Eli Stove) and also bringing in a bunch of younger wideouts, early playing time may not be in the cards for the Tigers’ newest commit.

Nonetheless, a possible redshirt year could be perfect for enacting the real reason Johnson’s commitment to Auburn is such a big deal: as a replacement for Schwartz.

Schwartz is famous for being quite possibly the fastest man in all of college football and the speedster enters his junior season with high expectations after being hindered by a hand injury last season.

Well, Johnson has a similar background as an absolute burner on the football field. Like Schwartz, Johnson is a superstar track athlete and was actually a track All-American for St. Stephens & St. Agnes high school in Alexandria, Virginia this past season.

Johnson ran 55 meters in 6.26 seconds last year and could be a dual-sport athlete like Schwartz and Auburn RB Shaun Shivers. With Virginia high school football being off the table in 2020, Johnson’s reclassification and early enrollment makes total sense.

Getting compared to Schwartz is nothing new for Johnson as the high school standout has stated that Auburn used Schwartz as a big part of Johnson’s recruitment.

"“They talked about Anthony Schwartza lot,” Johnson said per Adam Friedman of Rivals.com. “It showed me that being a football player and track athlete is capable of being done. He’s like the frontrunner of the guys trying to do both and still being able to hold his own in each sport. He’s doing it really big in both so that was important. He’s probably going to go to the Olympics and the league."

Unless Schwartz has a major breakout season this year, I expect him to be a four-year player at Auburn. If that’s the case then that would mean Johnson could step in with a few years under his belt as a RS sophomore in 2022.

Johnson’s big decision is also a positive sign for Gus Malzahn and his staff after a slow start in recruiting had many worried. Malzahn has yet to put together a recruiting class that finished lower than 12th in the nation. Auburn has already jumped up the team rankings quite a bit in August and the team’s recent momentum could push them even further.

Ultimately, adding Johnson will just give Auburn quarterback Bo Nix more weapons to throw to and another versatile weapon for Malzahn and new offensive coordinator Chad Morris to work with.