Krootin' 9/30

Dee Ford: fast as a Mustang?

Not a ton going on on the 'Krootin front ... this may be the calm before the storm we've been promised in July.

--First, this is more "reportin'" than "krootin'," and it's not new news, but might as well note here that Dee Ford and Jamar Travis joined Tyrik Rollison in reporting to Auburn's campus last week. Not that either one was a surprise, but given that Auburn couldn't really afford for its defensive line commits to not make it through the clearinghouse, it's good to hear.

If you weren't around when Google got to surveying those two, the Ford post is here and the Travis post is here.

--While we're on the subject of reporting, there appear to be more whispers that LaVoyd James isn't going to make it, but of course those whispers have been around for months now and there still hasn't been anything official, so we'll see.

--Cue the "in-state" caterwauling: Jarrick Williams has committed to 'Bama as expected, the winds from Corey Grant still seem to be blowing in either Florida's or 'Bama's direction (though he's still got a visit to Auburn on the docket), and even Auburn legacy recruit Davis Dudchock took Auburn's evident apathy towards tight ends in this class at face value and committed to Vanderbilt.

As I said last time out, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it so long as the out-of-state recruiting continues to bear fruit, Auburn closes on the in-state recruits it wants and earns a lead with, and there's some kind of step forward next year. But at some point, it would be nice to start seriously competing for the likes of Williams or netting an early commitment from a local stud like Grant.

--Then again, from one recently-released perspective, Auburn's not doing half-bad in-state. The Mobile Press-Register released its preseason "Elite 18" list, and unlike the Scout list several Auburn commits and leans figure prominently. Jeremy Richardson comes in at No. 6, Jawara White at No. 9, Jake Holland at No. 12, and potentially heavy Auburn lean D.J. Howard at No. 13. There's also this:

4. LaDarius Owens, LB, Jess Lanier (6-2, 225, 4.49). Physical freak made 92 tackles and 18 sacks in his first year of organized football last year. Uncle James Owens was the first black scholarship player at Auburn. Considering offers from Alabama, Auburn and LSU.

Knowing that the Register's list is put together with the assistance of the Rivals guys (who get quoted a couple of times, mostly about how the level of talent in-state has dropped), it's fair to say they're pretty damn high on Owens. If Auburn sews up Owens (as, again, even some well-connected 'Bama fans expect them to) and Howard, that's a third of this top 9 and as many as five members of the Register's top 13. For a first real crack at it for this staff, that'll do nicely. (If Auburn misses on Owens--for my money, as important a recruit as there is in the class--well, then things are much less encouraging.)

--Your every-other-weekly "offensive linemen, please" update has some good news: according to ESPN, Arkansas line prospect Dakota Mosley came away from a visit to Illinois saying the following:

Auburn's going to still be my No. 1 even after I leave here. They've been my No. 1 for a while now and I don't see that changing even after this visit.

Mosley doesn't have much of an offer sheet--La. Tech and Tulsa are his only other listed offers--and neither Rivals nor Scout have rated him yet, but a) he was graded a 79 at ESPN (albeit as a tight end) b) Auburn can't afford to picky about their offensive linemen, can they? c) at this stage of the game, if Auburn's coaches like him enough to come across with a firm offer, that's good enough for the benefit of the doubt. I know most you will file that last part under "Duh," but just for the record, if Georgia can take a commitment from a linebacker whose next-best offer was either Duke or Buffalo, we really shouldn't hear anything from the peanut gallery about Auburn taking an offensive lineman they're as high on as they seem to be. (I'll also admit here that the fact that Mosley is teammates with Michael Dyer might have something to do with Auburn's interest as well.)

One other note on the in-state thing: for a team in desperate need of offensive line help, man, did Auburn have some bad luck with the state's 2010 crop of linemen. The Register article mentioned 35 different players, and Chase Hughes is the only offensive lineman among them. At least Auburn's in good shape with him.

--Via Auburn by Beaver, future visitors to Auburn could include Wes Rea, Tim Jackson, and Jeffrey Whitaker. Georgia DT prospect Mike Thornton will also visit if this header is accurate, though I think he's expected to stay in-state.