More AUSOME Recruiting news...

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We are gonna have a banner recruiting year due to our prfect season and soon to be SEC Championship!!!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/foot....100/index.html

and

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/foot...atch/index.html

ENJOY AND WAR EAGLE!!

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From an E-mail:

Recruiting Watch

Expect Auburn to see a windfall as a result of on-field success

Posted: Monday November 29, 2004 1:04PM; Updated: Monday November 29, 2004 2:28PM

By Jamie Newberg, Scout.com

Auburn will be looking to replace Carnell Williams (24) and Ronnie Brown with a top-flight prep running back.

AP

What do an 11-0 record, a berth in the SEC title game and a shot at the national championship mean for the Auburn Tigers? It means they're likely to see a windfall in recruiting. The Tigers could very well clean up between now and National Signing Day on Feb. 2.

It's strange to see how much has changed in one year, from the school's president and athletic director trying to dump head coach Tommy Tuberville in 2003, to an undefeated '04.

Auburn has plenty of high-profile players who were high-profile recruits when they came out of high school -- guys such as Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown and Jason Campbell. Auburn has always recruited well, especially under Tuberville, but the Tigers haven't been among the nation's best for the past four or five years. It's time for the Tigers to take it up a notch.

"Obviously the season Auburn had this year will really help them in recruiting," said Scott Kennedy of Scout.com. "They are finding themselves in the hunt with players they wouldn't have had a chance on at the beginning of the year."

The Tigers are sitting on 11 commitments thus far and some top names are headed their way: defensive end Alonzo Horton, cornerback Aairon Savage, defensive tackle Rudy Odum, linebackers Patrick Trahan and Rex Sharpe, offensive linemen Michael Harness and Oscar Gonzales, running back Alief Sharrief and wide receiver Montez Billings.

This is a solid group that really exemplifies what the Tigers look for in recruiting. They have a very simple formula: They draw a nucleus of players from the state of Alabama and then go to the surrounding states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida to pull additional recruits. Horton, Odum and Trahan are from Louisiana; Harness and Savage are from Georgia; Gonzalez is from Florida; and Sharrief and Billings are two in-state standouts.

Some very big recruiting battles loom ahead. The biggest one just may be for one of the nation's top defensive prospects, Tray Blackmon of LaGrange (Ga.). He hails from the Peach State, but Auburn is much closer to LaGrange than is Athens, Ga. It's only about 45 minutes from Blackmon's hometown to Auburn. The Tigers and Dawgs will really go at it for Blackmon, the nation's No. 2 linebacker prospect according to Scout.com. He will likely make his decision before Christmas.

Another major battle for Auburn is for running back Antone Smith from Pahokee (Fla.). The Tigers will try to steal him from the Big Three in Florida. Very rarely do FSU, Miami and Florida lose one of their own to an out-of-state school. Smith, the No. 4 rated running back in the nation by Scout.com, had been leaning toward Miami. But the Hurricanes have a young stable of backs and the Tigers will be losing both Williams and Brown. Don't be shocked if Smith ends up at Auburn when it's all said and done.

Heading over to Mississippi, Auburn finds itself in the hunt for one of the country's elite defensive line prospects in Jerrell Powe from Waynesboro (Miss.) Wayne County High School. Powe, the nation's No. 3-rated defensive tackle, will likely sign with Tuberville's Tigers. Powe also likes Ole Miss, Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M.

We can't ignore the state of Tennessee, where Auburn is fighting an uphill battle for linebacker prospect Todd Cox. Cox, from Memphis' Harding Academy, is the nation's No. 9-rated LB prospect. The Volunteers currently lead the chase for Cox. But when a team is hot on the field, as Auburn is now, you never know. The Tigers are also in on defensive lineman Barry Turner from Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy. Turner really likes Auburn as well as Tennessee, Georgia, Ole Miss and Nebraska.

It wouldn't be natural in the state of Alabama if there wasn't a huge Auburn-Alabama fight for the state's top prospect. Tommy Trott, from Montgomery (Ala.) Trinity Presbyterian School, is one of the top tight end prospects in the country. He grew up a Crimson Tide fan but has family ties to both schools. This one will get real interesting before it's all said and done. Miami is also in the hunt for Trott, but odds are he stays in state. To which school is anyone's guess, but both Auburn and Alabama feel like they have a great shot at at him.

The Auburn recruiting board has more elite prospect names on it: linebackers Eugene Hayes (Fla.), Darius Dewberry (Ga.), and Spencer Adtkins (Fla.); defensive backs Avery Atkins (Fla.), Dorian Munroe (Fla.), and Jerraud Powers (Ala.); tight ends Jeff Cottam (Tenn.) and Gabe McKenzie (Ala.); defensive linemen Corey Moon (Ga.) and Stacy Jones (Miss.); wide receiver Taurus Johnson (Fla.) and offensive lineman Calvin Wilson (Miss.).

Notice the names and where they are from -- Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi. This is the blueprint for Tiger recruiting and it has been very successful. Will they land all of these prospects? No. But they will certainly get their share. Auburn will ride its great season on the field and reap the rewards when it comes to recruiting for this season and beyond.

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