Auburn football: Could Arik Gilbert’s SEC journey continue on the Plains?

Bryan Harsin has brought a lot of change to the Auburn football program since making his way to the Plains this past January.

Gone were both fan-favorites like Travis Williams and fan-…uh…least-favorites in Kevin Steele. Harsin brought the Boise State blueprint while also stealing South Carolina’s staff.

The on-field product has improved too, at least through the lens of what this team is projected to look like relative to how it has looked the last few seasons. A 2021 recruiting class that was dangerously close to falling out of the top 50 in the nation has jumped into the top 25 since the former 3x Mountain West-winning HC left his pawprints on the Tigers.

With Auburn snatching up every local product this recruiting cycle and adding 4-star potential superstars on both sides of the ball in Holden Geriner and Dylan Brooks, the narrative has changed in the Yellowhammer State.

Nick Saban will still get the majority of the recruits, especially after a National Championship. The titles sold themselves over Zoom.

Saban’s delivery in his speeches to recruits sure didn’t seem to be the reason.

The Auburn football program is a legitimate option too, though, overhauling a regime that had lost the drive to deliver the same results that it did when it began.

Perhaps recruits notice. If they do, then a major potential addition just hit the recruiting market in former LSU and (more recently) Florida commitment Arik Gilbert, who never suited up for the Gators after opting out of LSU’s season in December:

The tight end position is currently shallow after transfer Grant Calcaterra reneged on his commitment. Calcaterra was a solid option at the tight end, having hauled in 637 receiving yards and nine touchdowns with Oklahoma, but he’s SMU-bound now.

There appears to be an opening and an opportunity to start anew with a program doing the same. Gilbert could provide depth at a position Harsin values and continue his SEC journey with Auburn football.

That is if he is up for the challenge of trying to reclaim the state of Alabama from the Crimson Tide, of course.