Auburn Football: Top 5 recruiting targets for National Signing Day
With a good class already in tow, Auburn Football is pushing for a big finish to the 2019 recruiting cycle. Who are their top remaining targets ahead of National Signing Day?
Despite a decent bit of negative recruiting surrounding the uncertainty of Gus Malzahn’s future at Auburn, the Tigers pulled in a strong recruiting class during the early signing period. With several big fish still out there, Auburn is poised to make an even bigger run up the recruiting standings.
Currently, Auburn sits at No. 12 in the team rankings in the 247 composites. That sounds pretty good until you realize that that only puts them in sixth place in their own conference. Such is the life of an SEC program.
Still, the Tigers’ per-recruit average is higher than everyone not named Alabama or Georgia in the SEC. They have 18 guys currently in this class, and among those 18, 16 have already signed their letters of intent with 9 enrolling in school.
Auburn’s class is headlined by arguably the nation’s top QB prospect in Pinson Valley’s Bo Nix. 247’s composites have him as a four-star, and the No. 1 ranked dual-threat QB in this class. With Jarrett Stidham moving on to the NFL, Nix figures to push for the starting job immediately as a true freshman.
Many expected Auburn to be players on the graduate transfer QB market, but they have so far struck out on obtaining one. That would leave them with the incoming freshman Nix to compete with Malik Willis and Joey Gatewood for the starting job.
2019 is shaping up to be a make-or-break year for Malzahn on the Plains. He agreed to a reduced buyout to maintain his position for one more season, pushing his chips to the center of the table and betting heavily on himself.
Coming off an SEC West title in 2017, 2018 was a big disappointment for a program that expected to compete for their first berth in the College Football Playoff. Instead, Auburn finished the regular season 7-5. If there was any silver lining for a tough season, the Tigers blew the doors off of Purdue in the Music City Bowl to potentially signal their return to contention in 2019.
First things first, however, and Auburn must solidify this recruiting class as they look to fill some holes on the roster and add depth to a few positions in dire need of it.
Let’s take a look at Auburn’s top five remaining targets with National Signing Day right around the corner: