4-star Thompson Warriors defensive back Junior Tu'upo recently opened up about his relationships with the various coaching staffs that he's been establishing in his recruitment. Tu'upo acknowledged that he's just getting to know Alex Golesh and some of the Auburn Tigers coaches. He's visiting the Plains this weekend.
It was undeniable that he sounded extremely enthused about his visit to Austin with the Texas Longhorns, which took place last weekend. Tu'upo admitted that UT took the lead after that visit and said he loves Texas.
“As far as Texas, I love the coaches over there,” Tu’upo said. “I especially love coach BG (Blake Gideon). I feel like he’s a young coach, has a lot of energy, same with (Steve) Sarkisian and coach (Will) Muschamp. I love Texas. It was just a lot of energy over there. We did karaoke night. That was funny. We went out with players, got around the players, got around the recruits. They showed a lot of love.”
As for the Alabama Crimson Tide, Tu'upo said he loves them for "all the right reasons." Tu'upo also shouted out how long he's been talking with Kane Wommack's staff.
“They were the first team to see me, especially at the camp when I first came down here. They had eyes on me for a while. I built a long connection and a strong connection with them," Tu'upo said.
Auburn has hit the typical high-notes that the Loveliest Village tends to hit -- treating Tu'upo's family with respect, nailing the hospitality game, basically everything the Tigers have been noted for among travelers to Lee County, Alabama -- but there was a noticeable enthusiasm gap about what AU has been so far compared to his two main blue blood suitors.
How much should we be looking into that? Well, not much at all, quite frankly.
Alex Golesh is getting recruits interested in Auburn
Where there wasn't previous interest, Golesh has been able to drum it up with others, like 4-star Annapolis EDGE Rion Jackson's commitment. Tu'upo is on his official visit this weekend and hasn't gotten the full experience yet. After he laid out the blueprint for what he enjoyed in Texas, Auburn has a chance to respond and show him the benefits of staying home.
For what it's worth, DJ Durkin has been in the Tigers' defensive coordinator seat for as long as the Crimson Tide's staff has been on Tu'upo's trail. Still, Golesh is a different voice, and there's going to be a different locker room culture. Perhaps he can sell Tu'upo in a way Hugh Freeze couldn't. Don't forget longtime Tennessee Volunteers DC Tim Banks is now the safeties coach too. That's another new voice who could resonate differently.
Golesh has been crushing the recruiting game of late, particularly focusing on the mid-Atlantic region. He's been drawing talent from the Peach State, but it'd be nice to add even more in-state recruits. Especially from Thompson High School, a historical Bama stronghold.
We'll see how this weekend affects Tu'upo's decision. The Tigers, Tide, Longhorns, Oregon Ducks, and Indiana Hoosiers are the teams he's considering, as of right now.
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