Posts Tagged ‘recruiting’
Jabrian Niles: Auburn's new Defensive End
The process has been a bit more methodical this summer, but Auburn’s 2011 class of commitments is beginning to come together.
Mobile defensive end Jabrian Niles became the Tigers’ eighth commitment Tuesday, announcing to Auburn’s multiple scouting websites that he has ended his recruiting and will sign with the Tigers in February.
Niles, a 6-foot-2, 265-pounder, had offers from most of the Southeast’s top programs, including Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Florida and Florida State.
ESPN ranks Niles as a four-star recruit and the nation’s 19th best at his position. Rivals.com considers him a three-star and the 29th best.
Spanish Fort center Reese Dismukes
Three of Auburn’s current commitments and several of its targets are more famous today than they were yesterday. They’re official members of the new ESPN 150 rankings, which were released today for the first of many more times before Signing Day.
Auburn’s newest commitment, quarterback Kiehl Frazier (Springdale, Ark.), ranks the highest among Tiger commitments, coming in at No. 39. Among quarterbacks on the list, Frazier is ranked fourth.
Spanish Fort center Reese Dismukes (52) and Marietta guard Thomas O’Reilly (145) also represent Auburn—for now—on the list.
Auburn wrapped up its second edition of Tiger Prowl on Thursday — just in time to start obeying the NCAA’s new twist on spring evaluations that will effectively prevent it from ever happening again.
The NCAA passed legislation Thursday that appears as if it were written directly in response to the Tigers’ collaborative limousine treks across the state.
The new amendment to NCAA Bylaw 13.5.1 prevents schools from sending their coaches in “limousines and extravagant buses” to visit schools during the six-week window for spring evaluations, a time where contact between university coaches and student-athletes are banned.
Valley High football coach Mike McCombs figured he would be hearing plenty of hoots and hollers from students Tuesday when six Auburn assistant coaches pulled up in a white, stretch Hummer limousine, walked through the school’s front doors and down the hallways.
He didn’t realize that the teachers and administrators would be just as guilty.
“They’re coming down through the halls and you hear a lot of ‘War Eagles’ being screamed down the hallway,” McCombs said. “I don’t know who’s worse: the kids or the faculty.”
Big Cat Part Deux
When LaDarius Owens arrived on campus with a bevy of other highly touted prospects for the infamous Big Cat Weekend, he didn’t know exactly what to expect.
When he found out that a home run derby and a pie-eating contest was on the agenda, and football wasn’t, he was relieved.
“We did nothing football,” Owens said. “That’s what made it so great.”
Auburn is hoping this year’s crop of recruits will have the same experience when it hosts Big Cat Weekend II on the weekend of May 28.
Approximately 25 of the Tigers’ top targets will be on campus for the invite-only weekend, according to AuburnSports.com.
(Photo credit: Todd Van Emst)
Redshirt freshman quarterback Tyrik Rollison, who rocked the Auburn football world with a startling Facebook status this morning, is transferring to Sam Houston State, according to a report on AuburnSports.com.
I’m still waiting on word from Auburn to officially acknowledge the transfer.
Rollison’s motivating factor, apparently, was to get closer to home, according to the report. Sam Houston State is roughly four hours from Rollison’s home in Sulphur Springs, Texas.
Lets hope Auburn doesn't have a bad Gene
By: Kevin Strickland
If you were one of the ones two weeks ago demanding apologies from anyone who had the audacity to doubt new Auburn head coach Gene Chizik, how do you like your crow?
If you were one of the ones penning sonnets to the genius of new Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, it’s time to start singing a different tune.
If you were one of the ones marveling at the transformation of Auburn quarterback Chris Todd, further examination is now due.
A Big Bite for the 2009 Tigers?
by Townhallsavoy
While Tommy Tuberville had one of the most successful tenures in Auburn football history, he left the cupboard bare when it came to talented young players. The attitude that our coach could turn two stars into five stars was flawed. In essence, Tuberville had a knack for finding diamonds in the rough or players that were overlooked by recruiting websites and other schools. Through attrition, the talent level at Auburn dwindled, and it showed on the field. Tuberville’s lazy recruiting tactics and his belief that he could win by finding hidden talents led to his demise. 5-7 and a 36-0 tromping by archrival Alabama ended his career on a sour note.
I always thought I should be treated like a star.
By: Tiger Wench
The buzz of the audience quieted and then was silenced as he took a seat at the table. The only sounds were the clicking of cameras and the rustle of cameramen jockeying for a better angle. As he adjusted the microphone, and cleared his throat, grown men shifted nervously in their chairs, fingers poised over their laptop keyboards. As he began to speak, the tension in the room was palpable. Had a decision finally been reached? What would it be? Lives, careers, fates hung in the balance. Stomachs clenched, foreheads beaded with sweat, nerves taut, the audience strained to hear the words they came for. Just say it already, dammit…!!!
