Inside Auburn: Big names still on recruiting big boardBy Charles Goldberg -- The Birmingham NewsJanuary 22, 2010, 8:10AMMarcus Lattimore: Still on the big board (AuburnSports.com photo)This story appears in Friday's Birmingham News:AUBURN - Some of Auburn's few remaining targets are visiting other schools this weekend, but one of the biggest names left on the national recruiting boards may check out the Tigers.Marcus Lattimore, the No. 1 high school running back in the nation according to Rivals and Scout, may make an unofficial visit, which would be at least his third trip to Auburn. The Tigers would like to impress him one more time, but they've already done a good job of that. Lattimore has narrowed his choices to Auburn and South Carolina, and he said he's going to think it over until Feb. 2, the day before national signing day, or when the Internet officially blows up.Auburn already has one No. 1 running back in Michael Dyer - his ranking comes from ESPN - and would certainly welcome Lattimore as well. Their size and style are different - Dyer is a little smaller - so Auburn is surely selling the idea that they could happily coexist.Lattimore is from South Carolina, where Auburn grabbed much-desired offensive lineman Eric Mack this week, so the Tigers know the recruiting way. Dyer knows the way to Auburn, that's for sure. He dropped in on for an unofficial visit last weekend, which was his fourth trip to Auburn.Lattimore has a spot if he wants it, but the Tigers don't have many slots open, especially if most everybody they sign is academically qualified. Coach Gene Chizik, knowing that he couldn't miss on many players as he replenishes the roster, put a high priority on qualifiers throughout the recruiting process.He also put a high priority on big-time athletes, and when opportunity presented itself, Auburn jumped. That's how it got the No. 1 junior college player in quarterback Cameron Newton.Auburn moved into the Top 5 nationally on ESPN's recruiting board this week, giving the Tigers a Top 5 ranking on all three of the big players - ESPN, Rivals and Scout.Breaking it down farther, Auburn is tied with Oklahoma for the No. 1 class of offensive linemen, according to Rivals.Auburn took steps to hold the class together earlier in the week when offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn squashed the notion he was somehow linked to the head coaching position at Louisiana Tech. He wasn't.What's next? Auburn enters this weekend like it entered last weekend. It would like a couple of more defensive tackles. The Tigers played host to Jeffrey Whitaker and Byran Jones last week. They both left saying they were favorably impressed, but neither committed.This weekend they'll be visiting home-state schools: Whitaker will be at Georgia and Jones will be at Arkansas. Should one, or both, not chose Auburn, the Tigers will likely still try to sign at least one more defensive tackle.Offensive lineman Shon Coleman arrived in Auburn last weekend as a ``soft'' commitment and left saying he's 100 percent behind the Tigers, though name-dropped as few other schools on the way out. Coleman landed on Scout's top 100 players in the nation in a revised listing this week. He's No. 22 nationally according to Rivals.Auburn also likes defensive end Corey Lemonier of Hialeah, Fla. He says it's down to the Tigers, Tennessee, Florida State and Miami. He says he'll announce his decision Feb. 3, national signing day.
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