Emerging Auburn sophomore sends calming message on recruiting losses

Emerging Auburn football sophomore running back Damari Alston had a calming message for Tiger fans in the wake of two major recruiting losses — Red Morgan to Florida State and Cameron Coleman to Texas A&M to be exact — on July 4.

Of course, no recruitment is closed until a letter of intent is signed, and even then there are times when players will still back out of their commitments. It’s possible that Hugh Freeze simply needs to do more work repairing the AU-Central-Phenix City relationship Bo Nix’s Plains departure may have caused with Red Devils head coach Patrick Nix.

But, even if those players don’t renege and decide to choose the Auburn football program after all, Freeze has certainly proven capable of finding fits for his Tigers roster far and wide on both sides of the ball.

Auburn football just netted a highly-reviewed recruit

Speaking on the defensive side of the ball, Auburn football netted itself a highly-reviewed recruit on July 4 in Clay-Chalkville LB DJ Barber. Barber’s head coach Drew Gilmer raved about the Cougars star to AL.com.

“DJ Barber is one of my all-time favorites,” Gilmer said in May. “He’s a dude. He has played ‘mike’ linebacker for us since he was a sophomore. … He can run, he can cover, he makes all of our calls. He’s very intelligent, and he will strike you. He’s that old-school linebacker with new-school tools. He can get sideline-to-sideline. He’s fun to watch. Whoever gets him will get a heck of a player.”

While much attention will be put on the negatives of AU losing in-state recruits in the same region to programs like Florida State and Texas A&M, there should also be recognition that the Fourth of July holiday wasn’t full of losses.

A win was had for Freeze and a coaching staff that is still trying to establish itself around the state; and it was in Alabama’s most talent-rich area.