Auburn Recruiting: Tracking The Tigers Until Signing Day 2012

As for which way he’s leaning, it’s anyone’s guess. Auburn seems to be the most durable pick, but there’s plenty of thoughts out there that could lead him in another direction. Florida State currently has three five-star defensive ends committed, so that might work against them.

This 6’5”, 260-pound defensive end out of Daytona is just scratching the surface. Williams is a tough player who could grow into one of those jumbo defensive ends in a 4-3 defense that never lets the tight end off the LOS and into his route, or who simply walks the opposing offensive tackle back into the quarterback, all while consistently shutting down the run.

Arik Armstead, a top rated lineman from Elk Grove (Calif.) Pleasant Grove High School has committed to Oregon. Armstead stands 6’8” and weighs in at 285 pounds. He holds offers from all of the top programs in the country, including Alabama, Cal, Auburn, Notre Dame, USC, Texas and Washington. Armstead is rated five-stars by most of the major recruiting services, and is widely regarded as a top-ten prospect nationally.

Armstead had previously committed to and decommitted from USC. Armstead was reportedly unhappy with USC’s handling of his brother, Armond, after the older Armond had suffered an injury playing the the Trojans. Arik would like to play college football with Armond.

National Signing day is coming up on February 1st and no team is better poised to close strong than the Auburn Tigers. The Tigers have had a tumultuous season, both on and off the field. And that tumult extended to the recruiting trail.

Auburn started off extremely strong on the recruiting trail, following its national title. Then came the five-loss football season without Cam Newton and Nick Fairley, the relegation back to the status of Alabama’s little brother as the Tide rolled to its 14th title, and the loss of both coordinators to lateral moves.

Arik Armstead will announce his college choice Sunday, January 29, at 3:00 PST, according to ESPN’s Greg Biggins. Armstead’s college announcement will take place at The House Christian Church. One of the top recruits in the country, Armstead is considering Cal, Oregon, Auburn and Notre Dame.

Arik Armstead has been one of the most interesting recruits to follow in this cycle. From his commitment to and subsequent decommitment from USC, to his desire to play with his brother Armond (who is at USC but is looking to transfer because he doesn’t like the way USC handled his medical clearance), to his supposed imminent commitment to Cal, to Cal losing the main reason Armstead would choose the Golden Bears (with defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi moving to Washington), to him enrolling at multiple schools (but not attending classes) to speed the process up of setting the schedule at the school he does eventually choose, it’s been a wild ride.

“He committed yesterday, to coach Trickett to be exact. He can’t want to get on campus and get started as he knows he has catching up to do. He played two years for me at the Canarias Basketball Academy in Spain. He was my team captain and one of the best kids I’ve ever been around. Coach Trickett told him the difference between his first and last game at Saddleback was amazing. Jimbo was out there to see him as well, and felt the same way (that the physical set Menelik had, very few people in All of football had!),” said Rob Orellana, Watson’s basketball coach and close friend from his playing days in Spain.Head to Tomahawk Nation for more on Watson for Florida State recruiting!

Louis stars for Miami Beach High School. He is 6’2”, 205 pounds. The four major recruiting services rate him four-stars and most have him as one of the top 200 players in the country. Louis holds offers from 15 BCS teams. Florida State had its eye on Louis for a while, and for good reason. Auburn is still without an offensive coordinator as well, which certainly did not help the Tigers’ chances of keeping Louis.

Louis is an explosive athlete with an impressive vertical leap. He lacks track speed, but has excellent body control. He is very quick and hits his top speed immediately. Louis is a very aggressive player and a special athlete. He’s raw as a receiver, but has all the physical tools. Louis is also capable of playing defensive back.

Eddie Goldman is the top defensive tackle recruits in the country. Starring for Washington D.C.‘s Friendship Academy, Goldman holds more than 40 offers from BCS schools, including Alabama, LSU, Florida State, USC, Ohio State, Clemson, Penn State, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, Miami and Florida. Goldman has handled the recruiting process in a professional manner and recently spoke with SB Nation about his recruitment.

Goldman recently participated in the Under Armour All-America Game. “There’s been so much competition. It’s been great,” said Goldman.

Update: Reporter Shea Dixon says this is related to LSU not having scholarship space for Miller to enroll early. LSU’s loss is Auburn’s gain.

Original Story: In a shocking development, top LSU recruit Patrick Miller has enrolled at Auburn, per Bryan Matthews of 247 Sports:

Kwon Alexander is one of the best linebacker recruits in the country. Starring for Oxford (AL), Alexander has been on the radar of recruiting experts since his sophomore season, earning a four-star rating from most recruiting services. And he’s narrowed his college choices to the schools that have won four of the last five national titles -- LSU, Auburn and Alabama:

One interesting development in his recruitment is Auburn’s hire of defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder. VanGorder’s reputation as a recruiter and developer of defenders is stellar from his days with the University of Georgia.

Latu, originally from the Bay Area, attended Gibbs High School. He didn’t qualify out of high school and went to the College of the Canyons. He then committed to West Virginia before decommitting and committing to Auburn.

Latu is 6’5”, 320 pounds and has good power and quickness for his size.

Pretty sure Cleveland Heights, OH wide receiver Shelton Gibson’s operating with NCAA 12 recruiting math here, not actual math:

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Auburn currently has a solid class of 16 commitments, eight of which are considered four-star players. And that’s a fine class, but recruiting at this level doesn’t give Auburn much of a shot of competing with the likes of Alabama and LSU. And Tiger fans are justifiably worried about the current class.

That anger only grew when T.J. Yeldon flipped to the Crimson Tide, marking the third such flip in the last two years.