Derek Mason steps in as the new Auburn football defensive coordinator and looks to keep up the momentum Kevin Steele had on the recruiting trail as he left Auburn after the 2020 season. We have heard that Nick Eason has been dominating the trail for Auburn football, but now Jeff Schmedding looks to be making his mark with a highly touted 3-star out of Georgia.
EJ Lightsey is a 3-star linebacker out of Fitzgerald, GA, and ranks as the #447 overall prospect and the #44 linebacker in the 2022 class. Lightsey played linebacker and defensive end for Fitzgerald High School last season as they made a run in the Georgia AA State playoffs and ended up finishing as the runner-up. Lightsey was a 1st Team All-Region selection in Georgia this season and looks to be the leader for Fitzgerald this fall.
Keith Niebuhr from Auburn Undercover caught up with Lightsey this week to talk about his recruitment and had this to say about the Tigers:
"“I’ve talked to them (Auburn) like four or five times. The last time was like three days ago. At first, they went a little while without talking, but now it’s kind of picking up. I really like Auburn, it’s one of my top schools.”"
Lightsey also spoke about his official visit schedule and his opinion on new LB coach Jeff Schmedding:
"“He (Schmedding) just talks about how I fit well there and well in their scheme. We have talked about one (Official Visit) but haven’t set one up. If they want to set one up, I’m pretty sure they’ll get one.”"
Right now Lightsey has officially visited Florida State and Georgia Tech, while unofficially visiting Auburn, Florida, and Georgia in the past few weeks. Lightsey tweeted Tuesday and hinted that his Top-6 schools would be released very soon and Fly War Eagle completely believes that Auburn football will find itself in the race for Lightsey.
https://twitter.com/EjLightsey8/status/1407466099197857792
Right now, Auburn football’s LB room may be the deepest in the country with Owen Pappoe and Zakoby McClain leading the way, but they will be on the way to the NFL sooner rather than later. Lightsey could have an opportunity to immediately contribute next season for the Tigers and offers the versatility that Derek Mason could use in his defensive scheme. This will be a recruitment to watch down the stretch, but the Tigers are in a good place right now to land the talented LB.