Say what you want about Auburn football’s yet-to-be-completed 2021 recruiting class–the likes of Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated already have–but you cannot blame the new coaching staff for not trying to make up for a down-year (by many Tiger fans’ standards) with a stellar 2022 class.
So far, Bryan Harsin’s support staff have been able to nail down three commits for the graduating class of 2022. The trio of Brian Dilworth (Hollywood, Florida), Jarell Stinson (Opelika), and Holden Geriner (Savannah, Georgia) all hail from SEC-territory.
For Nick Eason’s next act as the new defensive line coach, he has been able to garner interest from six-foot-five, 270-lb defensive end Kaleb Artis from St. Francis Prep in Fresh Meadows, Queens aka New York City’s most populated borough.
Auburn football extended an offer to Artis, per his Twitter account:
Truly blessed and honored to have received an offer from @AuburnFootball ‼️🦍‼️‼️🦅🦅🤞🏾 #AGTG @CoachWest5 @RivalsFriedman @CoachEason1 pic.twitter.com/t67C6yex0v
— kaleb Artis (@KalebArtis2022) February 12, 2021
Auburn joins Penn State, Wisconsin, Virginia, West Virginia, UMass, Boston College, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee, William & Mary, Pittsburgh, Texas, Syracuse, Fordham, Rutgers, Florida State, and most recently, Texas A&M as schools that have offered Artis a roster spot in 2022. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Artis has also shown interest in Alabama, even with Nick Saban’s drier-than-the-desert virtual recruiting pitch of the easiest football program to market in the COVID-19 era.
Artis is listed as the #2 recruit from the state of New York and the #30 defensive tackle nationwide on 247sports, even though he lists himself as a defensive end in his Twitter bio.
The towering defensive lineman showed his push strength with a bench press rep at 340 for one rep, and in the same tweet projected his excitement about the return of high school sports in the New York City area:
Season is a go can’t wait to get back on the field within a month!!! 340x1, Thanking the man from above🙏🏾‼️🦍🦍‼️ pic.twitter.com/IPmStmdBk2
— kaleb Artis (@KalebArtis2022) January 23, 2021
Auburn football will have its fair share of competition for the uber-athletic big man from Queens County, but with the end of the pandemic possibly on the horizon, perhaps an in-person visit to the Plains could be the impetus needed for Artis to join the Auburn family.