The NCAA recruiting dead period will finally be over on June 1, and the Auburn football team is gearing up to host prospects from all over the country. The Tigers’ summer schedule is packed with visits, both official and unofficial, as well as high school camps. Auburn traditionally does best with in-person recruiting, so the summer visits will be a major factor in recruiting for future classes.
Auburn Rivals reports that up until the dead period is over, all communication with recruits has been digital, through phone calls, text, or zoom meetings. However, head coach Bryan Harsin believes that there’s nothing like seeing it for yourself:
"“We’ve done virtual visits, and all those things are cool, but there’s nothing like being here on campus, in my opinion,” Harsin said. “So we can talk about it, but until you experience it, it’s just different. And so I think having them here on campus, having our coaches around them, which I think our coaches do a good job when they’re in person, and so that will help. And just being able to get face-to-face with people. At the end of the day, that’s where the relationships are built, right?”"
According to 247Sports’ Keith Niebuhr, the first unofficial visits to the Plains will begin June 1 with Eston Harris Jr., and OT from Opelika, and Tre Emory, and DT from Mount Pleasant, Texas. Both players are 3-stars from the class of 2022. In addition to Harris Jr. and Emory, there are 13 more known unofficial visits, including 4-star Qaeshon Sapp who just recently announced his plans to see the Plains for himself.
Official visits will kick off on June 4-6, beginning with defensive tackles Maxie Baudoin IV and Kaleb Artis, WR Darrius Clemons, cornerbacks Emory Floyd and Myles Pollard, OT Jacob Hood, and placekicker Alex McPherson.
More players are expected to schedule visits to the Plains over the summer, and having so many recruits face-to-face with the new helm of the Auburn football team could radically change the recruiting outlook for the class of 2022 and beyond.