Under Armour Game Thread (Jan. 1, Noon CT)

[ellitor 33,062]

Preview from AU 247

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., — At the Under Armour All-America Game this week, many of the prospects taking part will face their stiffest competition to date during practices at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Truth be known, as entertaining as the actual game is likely to be, the real action happens at practice.

That’s because events such as this give you the rare best-vs.-best look in multiple one-on-one sessions — something you don’t typically see at the high school level in football. And they will get after it for three consecutive days.

As you might expect, the future of Auburn football will be well-represented.

Here’s a look at the program’s commits and targets who will take part in the event, which begins with practice No. 1 on Wednesday and culminates with Sunday’s noon CT game on ESPN:

COMMITS

-OT, Calvin Ashley: The 5-star Auburn commit is back in his native Florida this week (he attended his senior year at St. John’s College High in Washington, D.C.), coming off a strong 2016 season. Maryland has pushed, but the Tigers remain confident he’ll stick. At this event, Ashley, a prototypical left tackle, will look to solidify his 5-star status. He tends to be more focused and play better against top-level competition, but defensive ends will be amped at the prospect of facing him this week. As for Ashley’s recruitment, he’ll official to Auburn on Jan. 20.

-K, Anders Carlson: One of the top kicking recruits in the country, not to mention Daniel Carlson’s younger brother, Carlson was 13 of 23 on field goals during his senior season. But that’s misleading as many of his misses came on kicks from 55 yards or longer. What kind of leg does Carlson have? We’re told it’s extremely strong, but we’ll find out this week.

-OT, Austin Troxell: The 4-star tackle is solid with his Tigers commitment and probably will not take other officials. He’s still recovering from ACL surgery and won’t be able to play in the game. But he’ll still get to make the trip.

-LB, Chandler Wooten: A 4-star backer from Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb, Wooten was the defensive player of the year in Cobb County. He can play multiple linebacker positions, giving coaches a lot of options this week. Wooten is capable of doing everything from rushing the passer to lining up against receivers. Additionally, he looks great in pads. For Wooten, this week will be a major test. 247Sports recently gave him a fourth star. Will he do enough for others to follow? As for his commitment, he’s rock solid and will enroll in January.

TARGETS

-BUCK, Markaviest Bryant: The 4-star pass rusher is Auburn’s top prospect at that spot. Right now, Auburn and Georgia stand out from the pack. The Tigers will have him on campus Jan. 20 for his official. Bryant had 13 sacks in 2016 — not bad considering he’s still fairly new to playing on the edge. Bryant is extremely quick and athletic, but still a little raw. This should be a good challenge for him, not to mention a good chance to go home with some knowledge. Look for him to improve throughout the week as he gets his feet a little wet.

-CB/S Deangelo Gibbs: The 4-star defensive back from Georgia recently made an official visit to Auburn but the Tigers seem to be running third at best with Georgia as the favorite and Alabama possibly close behind.

-OT, Kai-Leon Herbert: The 4-star Michigan commit from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage plans to officially visit Auburn the weekend of Jan. 13. His commitment doesn’t seem solid, but Auburn probably is sitting in fourth behind the Wolverines, Florida and Miami.

-CB, Chris Henderson: The Miami, Fla., product officially visited Auburn during the season, but was always a long shot. Now that secondary coach Wesley McGriff is leaving to be defensive coordinator at Ole Miss, one would think Auburn’s chances are below 5 percent. Florida appears to be the team to beat.

-DE, Ryan Johnson: A standout from Mobile (Ala.) St. Paul’s Episcopal, Johnson probably is one of Auburn’s top two or three overall targets. Not only is he talented, but he can play multiple positions. That gives him added value. Auburn is battling Alabama, Stanford and Texas, among others, and it will be a dogfight. But the Tigers are recruiting Johnson as hard as anyone —and he grew up a Tigers fan. The 6-feet-3, 240-pound Johnson is listed on the Under Armour Roster at end. He’ll be facing some truly elite tackles, including Alabama 5-star commit Alex Leatherwood in practice — and Ashley, the Auburn commit, in the game.

-DE, Tyree Johnson: The Texas A&M commit is a high school teammate of Ashley’s. Auburn recently offered and visited him during the contact period. He’ll officially visit Jan. 13.

 

 

[ellitor 33,062]

Some check in notes...

 

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***TUESDAY NOTES ***

-(4:55 p.m.) -- Talked at length with Auburn 5-star Auburn commit Calvin Ashley. It really sounds like he is extremely solid to the Tigers. In fact, the Jan. 20 official visit to Auburn probably will be his last one. Sounds like nobody else will even get an official. 

Ashley says he was excited about Auburn's pickup of touted quarterback Jarrett Stidham.

He wants to do some recruiting this week. Four-star defensive end Markaviest Bryant will be a major target.

We will have a full video interview posted later in the day.

-(3:38 p.m.) -- Four-star linebacker commit Chandler Wooten just arrived. He will room with Nick Brahms, the 4-star offensive guard commit, at Auburn -- once the two enroll in college. Wooten has been talking to another early enrollee, linebacker Kenney Britt. Says Britt is real excited about having been able to practice with the Tigers in preparation for the bowl. Wooten hopes to do some recruiting this week.

Wooten says he has talked to the four Auburn defensive back commits -- and feels all of them will stick, even though secondary coach Wesley McGriff is leaving for Ole Miss.

Wooten has not heard any chatter about who might replace McGriff.

-(11:46 a.m.) Four-star corner Christopher Henderson says his final three is Florida, Miami and Alabama. He officially visted Auburn in the fall, but the Tigers are now out with secondary coach Wesley McGriff headed to Ole Miss. In reality, this was always a long shot for the Tigers. Of McGriff's departure, he said, "I wasn't expecting that."

-(9:48 a.m.) Four-star defensive end Ryan Johnson tells me he is not arriving until Thursday. He has a lingering ankle injury and will not be able to play in the game. Johnson's Auburn official visit is Jan. 20. Also officials to Stanford (Jan. 14), Texas (Jan. 26) and Alabama (Jan. 28). Potentially could official to Oregon or Notre Dame.

 

 

[auburn4ever 1,266]

I'd rather watch this game instead of uat and Washington.

[ellitor 33,062]

Thoughts from Rivals on Day 1 practice

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Auburn fans always pay close attention to the all-star season because it’s often a time when they can see their commits’ stock on the rise. On Tuesday longtime Tigers pledge Calvin Ashley, currently ranked in the Rivals100, looked very good during practice. Fans should be encouraged about the toughness he showed on the day. Uncommitted defensive end Markaviest “Big Cat” Bryant spoke openly about his affinity for the Tigers during interviews, a big factor considering he’s announcing his commitment sometime next month. The icing on the cake for Auburn fans on Tuesday was the play of their kicker commit, Anders Carlson, who routinely made 50-yard field goals in practice.

 

[McLoofus 35,182]

The Kickin' Carlsons. If he's even almost as good as his older brother...

[ellitor 33,062]

29 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

The Kickin' Carlsons. If he's even almost as good as his older brother...

I like Legatron & Legalvatron. You have to be an old time transformers fan to get the reference.

[McLoofus 35,182]

18 minutes ago, ellitor said:

I like Legatron & Legalvatron. You have to be an old time transformers fan to get the reference.

Yeah, hard to beat Legatron. I get that one, but not Legalvatron. Well, not until I googled it right after I typed my previous sentence. No arguments here!

[ellitor 33,062]

Scouting report by 247 on Ashley from Wednesday's practice. I can't paste the article because AU 247 has copy & cut disabled on slideshow articles but it's worth a read.

[McLoofus 35,182]

20 hours ago, ellitor said:

Scouting report by 247 on Ashley from Wednesday's practice. I can't paste the article because AU 247 has copy & cut disabled on slideshow articles but it's worth a read.

Thanks for sharing. Love to hear that he's got the physicality to match the talent. Also love to read about him getting schooled on one play by another uber talented guy. The best only get better by going up against the best. This is one reason why camps and all star games and such matter. Iron sharpens iron and all that. 

Btw, when I clicked the link there was no article, but I clicked the back arrow next to the video and voila, there it was. 

[ellitor 33,062]

29 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Btw, when I clicked the link there was no article, but I clicked the back arrow next to the video and voila, there it was. 

Thanks! Fixed link.

[aujeff11 6,243]

Apparently Ashley is playing at guard today.

[au_bsci_04 407]

From clips shown, looks much better inside than out. No way he is ready to start at OT from day 1.

[ellitor 33,062]

2 minutes ago, au_bsci_04 said:

From clips shown, looks much better inside than out. No way he is ready to start at OT from day 1.

He's been a mauler at practice in run blocking. He needs work on pass pro but given how much Gus likes to run it he could start next season.

[au_bsci_04 407]

2 minutes ago, ellitor said:

He's been a mauler at practice in run blocking. He needs work on pass pro but given how much Gus likes to run it he could start next season.

Feet look slow to me, but I'm no scout. Rather have him than not, just saying it's hard to imagine the Princes are further along in their development that we would need CA to start next year.

[fredst 9,064]

22 hours ago, ellitor said:

He's been a mauler at practice in run blocking. He needs work on pass pro but given how much Gus likes to run it he could start next season.

He looks like a total beast run blocking. Pass pro.... not so much. Cam Robinson started right away at Bammer looking the same way so I wouldn't write off CA as a potential game one starter.

[AlaskanFAN 1,665]

Did I missing something, UA homepage is showing Tony Gray OT from Lawrenceville GA, #78 on Team Highlight, is committed to us?

[ellitor 33,062]

8 hours ago, AlaskanFAN said:

Did I missing something, UA homepage is showing Tony Gray OT from Lawrenceville GA, #78 on Team Highlight, is committed to us?

No. They just screwed up. They've had him wrongly committed to us since they put the list up a long time ago.

[ellitor 33,062]

The game is at noon CT on ESPN. Feel free to discuss, post tweets, and such. I will likely be sleeping. I just got home from working a concert in Birmingham.

[Charhair 345]

6 hours ago, ellitor said:

The game is at noon CT on ESPN. Feel free to discuss, post tweets, and such. I will likely be sleeping. I just got home from working a concert in Birmingham.

Do we have no offensive recruits/targets in this game? 

[ellitor 33,062]

18 minutes ago, Charhair said:

Do we have no offensive recruits/targets in this game? 

Ashley, Carlson, & Troxell (not playing due to injury.)

[auburn4ever 1,266]

I wonder if any players will make their commitments during the Under Armour game.

[Rednilla 5,383]

2 minutes ago, auburn4ever said:

I wonder if any players will make their commitments during the Under Armour game.

Yes, four more. Don't have a clue if we're in on any of them.

[Charhair 345]

3 minutes ago, auburn4ever said:

I wonder if any players will make their commitments during the Under Armour game.

One just became a bammer

[Rednilla 5,383]

Just now, Charhair said:

One just became a bammer

Okay, three more. (I'm behind time in watching the game.)

[ellitor 33,062]

6 minutes ago, Rednilla said:

Yes, four more. Don't have a clue if we're in on any of them.

Nope.