Auburn football: Qua Russaw, James Smith talk Mercer visit

While Auburn football’s 2022 season has finally kicked off, head coach Bryan Harsin and his staff are still very much focused on securing a top-notch 2023 recruiting class. For a game against a smaller opponent, there were a lot of recruits in Jordan-Hare Stadium getting a look at the Tigers, and every one of them raved about the atmosphere.

Two of the biggest targets on the Tigers’ board during this cycle stopped by the Plains this weekend for a surprise unofficial visit to watch Auburn take on the Mercer Bears. In a last-minute decision, 4-star edge Qua Russaw and 5-star defensive lineman James Smith made their way to Auburn to see how the team has progressed since Harsin’s year one.

Russaw commented that he believes the team has improved and he’s a big fan of the defense, while Smith noted that the win over the Bears, despite being a smaller team, was “a hell of a good way to start” for Auburn football, per Auburn Live.

The lightning delay in the third quarter meant that the teams returned to the locker rooms and the recruits were ushered into the recruiting lounge, creating an opportunity for the prospects to speak with the coaches again. According to Auburn Live, edges coach Roc Bellantoni is like an uncle to Russaw, and he is continuing to build on his relationship with Harsin:

"“I have relationships with all of them,” Russaw said. “I’m pretty tight with Coach Harsin. I’ve started talking to him every Monday. We’re just building on to our relationship.”"

The pair stressed the fact that they were looking at the Tigers’ progression as a team, and they already have plans to be back on the Plains later this month for the matchup against the Penn State Nittany Lions.

While recruiting against the likes of Alabama and Georgia is never easy, getting the highly-ranked recruits on campus for a surprise visit is obviously a big deal, and the more time they spend around the Auburn football program, the better.