Big Cat Visitor Thread (June 2nd)

[ellitor 33,080]

1 hour ago, WFE12 said:

His Mom must be a REALLY busy woman. Visit could be this weekend or next...Who knows. He's ours anyway so whatever.

Not this week. Our next big recruiting weekend is in two weeks and he is expected in them.

[SumterAubie 3,031]

Is there a better given name than Roydel?

Edited June 3, 2018 by SumterAubie

[AUbehemoth 30]

Why haven't we heard much about George Pickens? Other than seeing him in a group photo and on the visiting list I wouldn't have known he was in town for big cat.

[ellitor 33,080]

1 hour ago, AUbehemoth said:

Why haven't we heard much about George Pickens? Other than seeing him in a group photo and on the visiting list I wouldn't have known he was in town for big cat.

There haven't been any articles posted on him yet. There were 31 guys there. It takes time to post articles on all of them. Plus for AU 247 Keith has done an article & had a number of articles on him the past 2 weeks so I imagine he's down the line on article posting order. Also articles usually are written on uncommitted guys before committed guys for events like these.

[ellitor 33,080]

Wolk's notebook today from BCW

 

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Nation’s No. 1 receiver admits Auburn making push

When Jadon Haselwood arrived at Auburn this weekend — for his third visit this spring — he brought along several family members. Haselwood’s mother, his siblings, a couple of cousins and his mentor accompanied him for the Big Cat Weekend visit. It was a big group, especially for someone committed to a rival school.

Haselwood, who has made a few trips on his own, wanted the people closest to him to experience the family vibe often associated with Auburn.

“Because they’re family. That’s what the whole trip was about,” Haselwood said. “That’s what Big Cat is all about. It was fun, man. I’m glad to be here. Everybody got treated like family today.”

Haselwood has been committed to Georgia since March 16, 2017. As the nation’s No. 1 receiver, he’s a staple of the Bulldogs’ class. The multiple return trips to Auburn raise interest, however.

Haselwood visited for a junior day earlier this spring. He joined Owen Pappoe and Wanya Morris on a multi-day trip a couple of months after that. Then Haselwood returned for Big Cat Weekend.

He hasn’t had many conversations with Georgia coaches about these Auburn visits, but he admits they’re likely conscious about them.

“I don’t think they’re really going check me, or say something to me about it, but I know deep down they feel something. But they’re probably concerned, yeah,” Haselwood said.

In terms of interviews I’ve done with Haselwood, his post-Big Cat comments were the most interesting by far.

Asked a question about the status of his recruitment, Haselwood elected to ask for the next question. After saying Pappoe regularly asks him how solid he is to Georgia, Haselwood said “no comment” about his response to those questions.

He gave a simple answer when asked if Auburn is making him think hard about his college choice.

“Yes, they are,” Haselwood said.

Haselwood’s visits to Auburn won’t stop, either. He hasn’t scheduled a date yet, but Haselwood knows already that he’ll take an official visit to the Plains this fall.

A big reason for his continued interest: his friends.

Haselwood has a strong bond with a few Auburn commits — Pappoe, George Pickens and Bo Nix. While Pappoe has taken on a leadership recruiting role, it’s actually Haselwood’s 7-on-7 teammates who he said recruit him the hardest.

“Owen asks me how solid I am to Georgia. I say George and Bo would be on me the hardest. I could. Me, George and Bo already play together in 7-on-7. It really don’t affect anything, but it’s fun. It’s fun playing with them two guys,” Haselwood said. “They really want me to go wherever. I’m not going to pressure anybody to go to Georgia, you know. I tell everybody to be selfish because [picking a college] should be a selfish decision.”

Another Georgia commit makes multi-day visit

Haselwood wasn’t the only Georgia commit at Big Cat Weekend.

Bulldogs linebacker commit Trezmen Marshall arrived at Auburn on Friday afternoon. He stayed through Big Cat Weekend and into Sunday. It was his second trip in three weeks, which is close friend Owen Pappoe made sure to point out when talking about the weekend.

“It’s his second time here in a month, so that says a lot,” Pappoe said.

It has been reported that there’s a gentleman’s agreement brewing between Pappoe and Marshall. Marshall, who didn’t show much interest in Auburn until Pappoe’s commitment, would start to visit Auburn if Pappoe agreed to take an official visit to Georgia. Pappoe isn’t 100 percent certain whether or not he’ll take that official visit, saying Saturday he doesn’t think he will at this point.

With that said, that hasn’t deterred Marshall’s interest in Auburn, per Pappoe.

“He still tells me he wants to play college football with me, so I’ll let you have that,” Marshall said.

Owen Pappoe names recruits trending toward Auburn

Owen Pappoe has quickly become the face of the 2019 recruiting class.

He came to Big Cat Weekend intent on helping add more to the Auburn class. So when he left, he wanted to make sure he alerted the public as to which fellow prospects he thinks are trending toward the Tigers.

“I feel pretty good about Andrew Booth, Colby Wooden and Keiondre Jones. I’d say those three,” Pappoe said, unprompted. “It’s just how they’re talking to me. They’re always telling me they like it a lot. Whenever I’m asking, what’s the move? They’re always giving me looks, so I feel really good about them.”

Pappoe’s sales pitch to those guys?

“Come be a part of something different,” Pappoe said. “We’re doing something special here. I think we’re going to have a top-5 class, so I keep throwing that out to them. I’m telling them to come be a part of it.”

His Big Cat Weekend experience wasn’t all about recruiting others, though that was a big focus.

Instead, Pappoe wanted to bring as many family members as possible — about 10 joined him — so he could prove to them why Auburn was the smart choice for him. He was able to do that and more during the fun, family-oriented recruiting weekend.

“My mission today, I brought a lot of my family, so I just wanted to see them have a good time. I wanted them to see why I love Auburn so much,” Pappoe said.

 

 

[ellitor 33,080]

 

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Auburn has ‘definitely got a shot’ for Maryland safety Nick Cross after official visit

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn is known for its recruiting territory of Alabama, Georgia and Florida. The Tigers typically only step outside of that coverage area for prospects they see as elite-level talents.

For Big Cat Weekend, Auburn only hosted one official visitor: Nick Cross from Maryland.

Cross knew when he heard from Auburn coaches about an official visit that he needed to take a trip to the Plains. It’s not often coaches from the Southeastern Conference make their way to Maryland in search of top defensive backs.

“Just because [safeties] Coach [Greg] Brown and the staff expressed interest in me. As a kid up north, you don’t see them come up north too often. They offered me an official, so I wanted to take it and test out the environment,” Cross said. “It definitely raised their chances. It exceeded my expectation of what it would be. Auburn’s definitely got a shot.”

Cross’ official visit intersected with Big Cat Weekend. He had his own schedule somewhat separate from the event, but he took part in some of those festivities, as well.

Cross felt that helped Auburn’s chances because it allowed him to see coaches and players in a different light than he’s seen at other universities.

“It’s just the family environment,” Cross said. “I never talked to assistants as much as I do here. The GAs and assistants are all great people to hang out with. The players carry themselves very well. It was nice to see the players and how they carry themselves.”

This marked the second official visit for the DeMatha Cathloic (Md.) safety. He had already been to Florida. Cross will return to the state of Alabama next weekend to check out the Crimson Tide. The week after that he’ll be back down south again for an official visit to Florida State.

Those are the four schools to keep an eye on right now.

He would like to make a decision before his senior season.

If Auburn has a chance, which Cross is adamant it does, it’ll be because of the relationship and national acclaim.

“Big stage. The SEC West is the best conference in college football. They send a lot of players to the league. It’s a great environment. It should be good football. I just want something different than what I’m used to seeing up north,” Cross said. “Auburn’s definitely there with some of the top schools.”

 

 

[ellitor 33,080]

 

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Auburn 'No. 1' for 4-star athlete Zion Puckett

After his latest visit to the Plains, Zion Puckett says Auburn is at the top of his list of potential destinations for college.

The four-star athlete out of Spalding (Ga.) took his third trip to Auburn for Big Cat Weekend.

"Where it stands with Auburn is very high, I just got done talking with coach (Gus) Malzahn. I believe they are No. 1 for my priority," Puckett said. "No. 2, I would say right now would be Alabama.

"What sticks out from Auburn is I feel like this is a good fit for me."

Puckett spent some time with former high school teammate Brodarious Hamm, but Auburn is mainly recruiting him as a defensive back, primarily at corner. Though he's listed as a receiver by most recruiting services, Puckett will play on either side of the ball.

"Right now, it's still athlete but I'm mainly focusing on defense," he said. "I prefer to play is really anything that's good for the team, that'll help the team out."

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound prospect is not planning to make his commitment until the "middle" of his senior season and has an unofficial visit planned for Tennessee later this month and Ohio State is also in the mix.

Puckett is planning to come back to Auburn again and intends to graduate in December and be an early enrollee.

 

 

[ellitor 33,080]

 

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Marshall remains committed to UGA, but Auburn is 'close'

AUBURN | Auburn has made a big move for Georgia four-star commitment Trezman Marshall and used its Big Cat Weekend to do so.

Marshall spent four days in Auburn, arriving on Thursday and leaving on Sunday, and left with the Tigers not far from the top.

“I would say they have moved up to No. 2,” Marshall said. “I can’t say that I’m ready to de-commit or anything like that, but it’s close. They are still behind Georgia because I have better relationships with Georgia, but it’s close.”

Marshall, who is from Clinch County in Homerville, Ga., spent a lot of time during his visit with Auburn linebackers coach Travis Williams. The two began building a bond in April and strengthened it over the weekend.

“I like Coach T-Will period, and not as a coach, but as a person,” Marshall said. “He started recruiting me about two months ago, so I’m building a relationship with him. He can relate to a lot of stuff that I say. Our relationship is getting better.”

Marshall also spent time with Auburn linebacker commitment Owen Pappoe. The two are close friends and have talked about playing together in college, but neither is pressuring the other about which college it could be.

“We don’t really try and recruit each other,” Marshall said. “It’s all love.”

Marshall has taken two visits to Auburn in the past month and plans to return at least once more.

“Auburn is most definitely in it (for me),” Marshall said. “And I’ll most definitely take an official visit to Auburn. This was my second time (at Auburn) and I started getting better relationships with the coaches and players. I just have to keep building those.”

Marshall also plans to visit Tennessee and Alabama, in addition to Georgia.

Rivals ranks Marshall the No. 13 athlete in the 2019 class and No. 15 overall recruit in Georgia.

 

 

[jared52 4,354]

Is BCW considered an unofficial visit for all the players coming? Do they have to pay their own way for everything?

[ellitor 33,080]

Booth slipped out yesterday without doing interview but Keith had this nugget FWIW...

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Did some digging ... .sounds like AU is happy with how that went yesterday with him. REALLY happy.

 

[ellitor 33,080]

17 minutes ago, jared52 said:

s BCW considered an unofficial visit for all the players coming?

With the new rules allowing OVs in the Spring not necessarily. Nick Cross was on an OV this weekend for example.

19 minutes ago, jared52 said:

Do they have to pay their own way for everything?

On OVs the school pays for everything. On UOVs family pays for most including transportation. Not sure how stuff like the watermelon, pie eating contests, & lunch work out. Not sure AU compliance would answer me if I ask.

[jared52 4,354]

2 minutes ago, ellitor said:

With the new rules allowing OVs in the Spring not necessarily. Nick Cross was on an OV this weekend for example.

On OVs the school pays for everything. On UOVs family pays for most including transportation. Not sure how stuff like the watermelon, pie eating contests, & lunch work out. Not sure AU compliance would answer me if I ask.

Yeah, that’s what I mean. The fun stuff has to have a limit or something as well as food and who can eat on the school’s dime and such. Just curious and all, no need to get the legal team involved. ?

[ellitor 33,080]

From Keith in the same thread linked a couple posts up...

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Wooden is gone .... No verbal.

I'm pretty sure Auburn leads.

 

 

[AUbehemoth 30]

1 hour ago, ellitor said:

There haven't been any articles posted on him yet. There were 31 guys there. It takes time to post articles on all of them. Plus for AU 247 Keith has done an article & had a number of articles on him the past 2 weeks so I imagine he's down the line on article posting order. Also articles usually are written on uncommitted guys before committed guys for events like these.

I feel you. I just know I had seen them mention Pappoe being interviewed. Maybe they're saving that info for premium

[ellitor 33,080]

Post on Pickens...

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Haselwood says he recruits him.

AU feels good ... but he's going to keep taking visits.

 

 

[ellitor 33,080]

Just now, AUbehemoth said:

I feel you. I just know I had seen them mention Pappoe being interviewed. Maybe they're saving that info for premium

Well Pappoe is the alpha of all alpha dogs. He is the most important recruit in the class because he's been the most noted player from his class in the nation since his 9th grade year. He's essentially the 11th recruiting coach on staff. He will be interviewed any time he is on campus & post shortly after.

[ellitor 33,080]

From Keith this morning on Haselwood...

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I still don't think this will be an easy flip. That's my opinion.

But Jadon, for the first time, sounded a little iffy with his pledge yesterday. We'll see what happens.

 

 

 

[bigbird 60,460]

Appreciate all the links and quotes, @ellitor. Thanks

[ellitor 33,080]

4 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Appreciate all the links and quotes, @ellitor. Thanks

[AUApostle 7,651]

4 minutes ago, ellitor said:

How many commits did we get this weekend, E?

[ellitor 33,080]

1 minute ago, AUDevil said:

How many commits did we get this weekend, E?

0 Publicly. Privately TBD. Just gotta hold them & properly work on them to go public.

[abw0004 10,110]

10 hours ago, ellitor said:

On OVs the school pays for everything. On UOVs family pays for most including transportation. Not sure how stuff like the watermelon, pie eating contests, & lunch work out. Not sure AU compliance would answer me if I ask.

Watch Auburn get in trouble for giving out too much free watermelon.  #watermelongate

Edited June 4, 2018 by abw0004

[Zeek 16,643]

15 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

Watch Auburn get in trouble for giving out too much free watermelon.  #watermelongate

We have to be careful. If Big Cat gets too successful they'll do what they always do and the NCAA will tell us we can't do it anymore ?

[abw0004 10,110]

21 minutes ago, Zeek said:

We have to be careful. If Big Cat gets too successful they'll do what they always do and the NCAA will tell us we can't do it anymore ?

What actually goes on when they tell us there was a watermelon eating contest:

 

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

What actually goes on when they tell us there was a watermelon eating contest:

 

Oh goodness, I hope that pretty lady's okay