Two quick krootin' notes

1. Maybe the strangest aspect about the whole "the top three running backs in the country all have Auburn as their leader" is that Auburn fans who last year would have been holding all-night disco parties over the legitimate interest of Michael Dyer--for God's sake, a five-star, No. 3 RB in the country--have instead been ... well, there's been excitement, of course. A Dyer commitment would probably still result in Kool and the Gang getting tossed onto the turntable and 2 a.m. taxi rides. But to date, the response has nonetheless seemed like more of the "even if Seastrunk or Lattimore don't commit, we could still get Dyer!" variety.

Which isn't quite right--when splitting hairs as fine as "The No. 1 or 2 RB vs. the No. 3 RB, as ranked in April before their senior years," it doesn't make a lick of difference. Dyer could very, very easily turn out to be the best back of the three.

So this is good to hear:

Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn made a good impression on Under Armour All-American running back Michael Dyer (Little Rock, Ark./Little Rock Christian) simply by showing up at his school, according to ESPN affiliate AuburnUndercover.com.

"It meant a lot to me and showed me that he cares," Dyer said.

He went on to praise the Tigers program. Auburn is believed to be in excellent shape with the talented back at this point.

What is there to say other than "dude, sweet"? Signing Day remains ages and ages away, but so far, the other shoe on the RB front has yet to drop. (I should note that I have a special interest in Dyer's commitment for the potential "Dyer Mak'er" puns that could ensue. Consider yourselves warned.)

2. Rivals released their position rankings and first comprehensive star ratings yesterday. Auburn by Beaver has your comprehensive rundown of where Auburn's current commitments and current/future targets landed.

Worth noting is that while the three ranked Auburn commitments* were all given three stars, all three are also high enough up the ladder ranking that they might earn a fourth star with a big senior season. (I think?) Jake Holland is the No. 9 inside LB (top five are 4-star), Shaun Kitchens is the No. 34 athlete (top 27 are 4-star), and Shon Coleman is the top-rated three-star tackle on the list. So these aren't the three-stars of the "commit a week before Signing Day when Auburn offers because otherwise I'm going to UAB" variety. (Not that those guys aren't welcome, of course.)

*Cody Parkey was apparently ranked the No. 5 kicker and got three stars for a little while ... but now the kicker rankings have vanished and Parkey has yet to receive a rating. This does not matter at all and I probably should not have even bothered to tell you.