More video at www.michaeldyer5.com, strangely enough. (Via Auburntron.)
The headlines kind of say it all: Michael Dyer had a very, very good visit to Auburn this past weekend. At least, I think that's what his repeated use of the word "perfect" would indicate. The really big news for yours truly comes in this snippet from Auburn by Beaver ...
He will make his decision sometime this summer. He also said his visit to Auburn this weekend will be his last visit.Emphasis added, because I think if this is one of those elementary-school logic tests where we're asked what comes next after
1. Names Auburn leader
2. Takes extended visit to Auburn
3. Says visit was "perfect"
4. Takes no more visits
5. Announces forthcoming commitment
the correct answer is "6. Commits to Auburn." It would be a peculiar thing indeed to take a visit to Auburn and decide that that "perfect" visit was enough to convince you that you'd seen enough to make a decision ... in favor a different school. So, yes, if Dyer's serious about not taking any more visits, it's hard for me to see how he winds up anywhere else.
That said: dude is a five-star, top-5 RB, top-20 overall certified stud. He can probably afford to wait (though I suppose the Seastrunk and Lattimore interest complicates things somewhat) and if he wants to take other visits, hey, if I'm in his position I want all the information I can get. So I wouldn't call it a done deal just yet.
That said, Auburn's obviously the team to beat at this point. Quote from ESPN:
"(Auburn's) No. 1, and have been No. 1 in my mind for a while. It's hard to say exactly how much Auburn is ahead of the others, but they are. Auburn is just a great place, and I like everything about it."If Dyer sticks to that "sometime this summer" timetable, he's probably Auburn's, since that's not a lot of time for our competitors to make up ground. As for what Dyer's commitment would mean, well, as much attention as Seastrunk and Lattimore have gotten (and as terrific a pair of prospects as they are), trying to split the hairs of the Nos. 2, 4, and 11 players in the country or the Nos. 1, 2, and 4 running backs in the country is silly. It would be a massive, massive commitment for Auburn, essentially equal to one from either of the other two big RBs on the board.
To sum up: this is very good news for Auburn indeed. But there's more where that came from.
Curry. Jessel Curry was committed to West Virginia. Then he came away raving after Big Cat Weekend, and after another visit he's now "in love with Auburn" and has decommitted from WVU. If he does commit in the next couple of weeks, it'll be quite the stunner if it's to anywhere but Auburn. Curry doesn't have a ton of love from the gurus, but 1. he's academically sound (hello, Wake Forest offer) 2. he's drawn interest from several other Big East schools in addition to WVU, so it's not like Auburn's snatching him away from the Sun Belt 3. he's the son of a former NFL linebacker, so there should be plenty of professionalism/coachability there 4. uh, not that I encourage the drawing of conclusions based on grainy Internet highlight films, but over at ESPN (hope you've got Insider) Curry looks like a surprisingly fluid athlete--plus, at 6-2, 200ish, he's got room to grow 5. most importantly, he's a linebacker. We need those, and we need 'em bad. If we can grab one with as many positives as Curry has, all the better.
Timetables? Lache Seastrunk and LaDarius Owens appear to be settling on commitment dates in the relatively (and I mean that "relatively") near future. Both are probably going to look around this summer (Owens will reportedly look at Florida State and Clemson, and I'm sure the Tide will make a serious pitch at some point) but still, with Auburn at least somewhat out in front for both, the sooner they make a commitment it's probably the better. (Note that the same article on Seastrunk is headlined very differently at the Texas ESPN affiliate.)
Hughes. Offensive lineman and Jeremy Richardson teammate Chase Hughes of Springville said after a weekend visit that "Auburn is still on top" though Vanderbilt, of all teams, is "right there." Yes, surprisingly enough the kid who's taking the 'Dores seriously is another academic all-star, with the requisite offers from Stanford, Air Force, and Tulane. (Don't overlook that Stanford offer, by the way--the Cardinal have an impressive commitment list and have generally received rave reviews on the recruiting circuit.) Hughes is even on track to graduate early. A smart kid who'll be in for next spring at a position where Auburn desperately needs bodies and his brother's at Auburn and his next-best choice is Vandy ... this is a commitment I'd like very much like to see Auburn grab.
TE talk. Last week we discussed why high-profile Columbus tight end Brian Vogler (potentially--though certainly not conclusively--the recruit referred to in this post) wasn't feeling more love from Auburn's staff, seeing as how he lives 30ish minutes from Auburn, holds serious offers from 'Bama and LSU, and plays a position where Auburn could easily be short-staffed in 2010. It appears one answer could be that Auburn's staff has decided they prefer Travis Dickson, a four-star TE from Ocean Springs, Miss. He seems to have some gotten some serious attention from Malzahn over the weekend. Long road ahead, though, with Georgia and LSU (who offered him first) in the hunt.
Vols to the wall. Not Auburn, but I can't help but pass on the developing krootin' story at Tennessee. A recap: when Lane Kiffin took over, he released No. 4 mobile QB Tajh Boyd from Boyd's commitment to the Vols, essentially saying he wanted a pocket passer and had no use for guys without bazookas for arms. Kiffin then essentially ran off promising rising sophomore B.J. Coleman, in order to--according to Coleman and many who follow the program--name senior Jonathan "Evil Brandon All the Time" Crompton the starter and leave the 2010 starter's position open for recruiting purposes. Here's where the catch comes in: not only the class of 2010 light on top-shelf quarterbacks (Rival's top QB, Tide commit Phillip Sims, only ranks No. 58 on their overall list), but the Vols have swung and missed on a couple of targets already, including BYU-bound Jake Heaps. Their half-hearted recruitment of Memphis product Barry Brunetti--basically Boyd, just not as good (according to the gurus, at least)--probably ended yesterday when Brunetti committed to West Virginia. Virtually all of Kiffykin's eggs are now in Jesse Scroggins' basket--and while Scroggins looks like an excellent prospect to the gurus and Tennessee certainly has his attention, what's going to happen if Scroggins goes elsewhere? (Well, we all have ourselves the heartiest of chuckles at Kiffykins' expense is what happens.)
2 comments:
Owens is going to end up at Auburn, I don't think you have to worry about that. He has taken eight visits thus far to Tuscaloosa, more than any other school, but even so he still has us behind both Auburn and LSU. He will stay in-state, and he's not coming to 'Bama, so that narrows it down. I think it's clear that we are intriguing him, but he grew up a big Auburn fan in a big Auburn family, and it looks like he is just one of those kids where the rivalry bit is too much to overcome. I don't know when it will happen, exactly, but I fully expect him to end up at Auburn.
The "good" news for us on Owens is that Auburn already has three linebacker commitments now, and Shaun Kitchens could possibly end up there as well (though he's currently being recruited at WR). Owens committing to Auburn in the next couple of months will give them at least four, and perhaps even five or more linebacker prospects already in this class, so that should really help us out with C.J. Mosley. At this point, Mosley looks to be the only top in-state prospect still on the board came late November.
Vogler is down to Alabama and Oklahoma now, but I wouldn't get my hopes up too much on Dickson. You can probably safely bet the farm that we will either end up at LSU, Ole Miss, or MSU. His older brother plays at LSU now, his grandfather played at Ole Miss, his Dad played at State, his sister is at Ole Miss, and he has visited those three schools umpteen times each. He's a good prospect, but there are just too many family ties for him not to end up at one of those three schools.
*guitar solos of celebration*
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