Auburn Recruiting: Brandon Martin, top JUCO WR commits to Tigers

Gus Malzahn added a big-time playmaker Friday with a commitment from the top wide receiver in junior college.

With firework celebrations in the cards for many on this Fourth of July weekend, the Auburn Tigers decided that they did not want to waste any time in igniting some of their own, landing a commitment from the nation’s top junior college wide receiver Friday, in 2017 four-star Brandon Martin from Mississippi Gulf Coast.

He announced this via Twitter earlier in the day and this was first reported by Kevin Flaherty of 247Sports.

Martin in the No. 6 player in the ’17 class, the top receiver, and the No. 6 player in the state of Texas per the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Martin received seven offers in total as Auburn, Arizona State, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa State, Louisville, and Mississippi State all extended ones his way.

He was recruited to the Tigers by Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee and assistant coach Kody Burns.

He was originally an LSU Tiger after signing with the program in 2015 but decommitted before he could call Baton Rouge home. He visited Auburn for the program’s Big Cat Weekend last month. As he told 247Sports, Auburn felt welcoming.

“It felt like home.” Martin told 247Sports’ Keith Niebuhr via text message.

With this commitment, the 2017 Auburn class is standing strong. With 11 commitments in total, the pledge of Martin makes the fourth four-star commitment of the group. That is good enough for No. 15 nationally and No. 7 in the SEC per the 247Sports Team Rankings.

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Right now, the Tiger ’17 class is very balanced with a good mix of offensive and defensive talent. It will be interesting to see if the class stays this way or if one side of the ball will prevail over the other.