Big Cat Weekend Visitors

[Zeek 16,617]

https://247sports.com/Article/Auburn-Big-Cat-Weekend-Desmond-Tisdol-Javion-Cohen-Jeremiah-Pegues-132460616/

Quote

Blue-Chippers lining up for Big Cat Weekend
ByCHARLES POWER 4 hours ago
0

(Photo: Keith Niebuhr, 247Sports)
On this week's 247Sports Recruiting Podcast, 247Sports national analyst Greg Biggins and I were joined by 247Sports Director of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong. In previewing some of the biggest upcoming visit weekends across the nation, we discussed Auburn's loaded visitor list for the annual Big Cat Weekend with Wiltfong giving his insight on a few of his recent Crystal Ball picks made in Auburn's favor.

POWER: "Auburn is having a ton of guys in for their annual Big Cat Weekend. In tracking your Crystal Ball, you put in three picks for Auburn. Looking at the visitor list, there’s several top 100 players that we’ve loved over the spring- Trenton Simpson, Wesley Steiner, guys like that. Going into this weekend with Auburn, who are some that you’re tracking and what are you looking at from a reporting standpoint?"

WILTFONG: "It’s always one of the coolest weekends and one that not enough colleges are emulating. Auburn was one of the innovators of having one of these weekends where it’s about bonding over backyard games, pie eating contests and just getting to know the coaches in a laid back environment that wasn’t a tour of the facilities and BS’ing about football and ‘your potential future here.’ Bringing in top targets who already understand that and just giving them a chance to be laid back around the coaches and their families and get to them better.

"The list keeps growing. Keith Niebuhr at Auburn Undercover is working his ass off confirming visitors with the latest being the number one player in Mississippi, McKinnley Jackson the Top247 defensive tackle who visited Auburn before the Atlanta Opening regional, so he’s coming back per Keith Niebuhr. It’s a huge list. I made three Crystal Ball picks- Javion Cohen a four-star offensive lineman that our colleague John Garcia is high on, Jeremiah Pegues a four-star tight end who we just saw in Nashville last weekend and then Desmond Tisdol a Top247 linebacker. I think you can put Cohen and Tisdol on commitment watch. If they were to commit this weekend I wouldn’t be surprised.

"Xavion Alford, a Top247 safety from Texas at one point was trending heavily to LSU. Now I think Auburn and Florida are right in the middle of that one. So it’s a big visit for Xavion Alford.

"A couple linebackers who Auburn is in the mix for- Wesley Steiner who you mentioned, who is as athletic a player in the country as there is at the position, Phillip Webb. Those guys have great relationships with Travis Williams.

"Lawrance Toafili is a running back from Florida that we shouldn’t sleep on Auburn for. I think he saw what Kenny Dillingham was able to do with running backs in the offense at Memphis and that excites him about a potential future at Auburn.

"If Tate Johnson an offensive lineman from Georgia makes it to campus, he’s another that I have an old Crystal Ball pick for Auburn on. He took an official to Georgia Tech over the weekend. He’s been on the Yellow Jackets’ campus this spring but I’m still hearing Auburn the one to beat for Tate.

"Those four Crystal Balls are the ones I’m eyeing going into the weekend though I don’t think Pegues would commit and then they’ll try to make a move with Wesley Steiner, Phillip Webb and Lawrance Toafili. Then other names- EJ Williams, the top receiver in the state, I still like Clemson for him but Auburn keep chopping wood."

 

 

[beaumak 174]

23 hours ago, Zeek said:

Not confirmed yet at least. KN said there are some guys that have asked him not to reveal their presence until they're already on campus.

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/b61ceabf-d965-4524-9ffb-94ae95f233ed

Edited May 31, 2019 by beaumak

[ellitor 33,062]

On 5/28/2019 at 7:19 AM, gc2525 said:

Does anyone have a preliminary list of the expected visitors to Big Cat Weekend? 

Official lists don't come out til Fridays of the event as they always do. Basically may have to wait til Al.com posts the list they get.

Edited May 31, 2019 by ellitor

[fredst 9,064]

5 hours ago, beaumak said:

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/b61ceabf-d965-4524-9ffb-94ae95f233ed

That’s one of my favorite movies of all time....

[SlocombTiger 106]

Is The Jones you speak of our old friend Jonesy? Loved following Jonesy back in the day

WAR EAGLE!!!

Edited June 1, 2019 by ellitor
Removed VIP content

[gr82be 14,402]

1 minute ago, SlocombTiger said:

Is The Jones you speak of our old friend Jonesy? Loved following Jonesy back in the day

WAR EAGLE!!!

Wondering the same thing. He didn't seem to post for long after the merger. 

[SlocombTiger 106]

17 minutes ago, gr82be said:

Wondering the same thing. He didn't seem to post for long after the merger. 

Exactly. He was very informative with his posts. 

WAR EAGLE!!!

[beaumak 174]

3 hours ago, fredst said:

That’s one of my favorite movies of all time....

Ahh yes a classic indeed. Been a long time since ive been back to durham. looks a little different than the movie for sure. but not to derail the thread, looks like we got the list now!!

Go get em Gus. War Eagle!

[beaumak 174]

1 hour ago, Zeek said:

We can’t post this since it’s information they got from a VIP article. I had posted it earlier and E informed me this is VIP info.

Freedom of Information Act???! Possibly? 

[toddc 13,194]

I’m putting in FOIA request right now! The public has a right to know!!! Do it for democracy’s sake!

Edited June 1, 2019 by toddc

[GwillMac6 20,607]

 

[GwillMac6 20,607]

Nathan King • AuburnSports.com

@byNathanKing

Justyn Ross was once in 

E.J. Williams

 shoes. In fact, it was just a year ago.

Prior to bursting onto the scene at Clemson with a stellar true freshman campaign that culminated with a dominant performance in a national title win over Alabama, Ross was the No. 1 player in the state out of Central High School — just over 40 minutes from Auburn’s campus.

Now, Ross is guiding Williams along through the final stretch of the recruiting process. But Williams’s former teammate in Phenix City isn’t trying to persuade him one way or the other.

“I text Justyn probably every day,” Williams said after his attendance at Auburn’s 2019 Big Cat Weekend recruiting event. “He’s like big brother to me. He doesn’t just always push Clemson on me, either. He just says to go where I feel like I fit in best.”

Last week Williams narrowed his shortlist to Auburn, Alabama, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The 6-foot-3, 183-pound wideout said Saturday that list hasn’t changed, but he does now have a top 3 following Big Cat Weekend — and Auburn made the cut.

“I’d rate Auburn top 3 now, after today,” Williams said. “This is one of the best experiences I’ve had at Auburn, out of all the times I’ve ever come here.”

Although he did not disclose who the other two programs would theoretically be in this final trio of schools, the state’s No. 3 player reiterated that one of the prime factors in his decision will be early playing time.

“I at least want a chance to compete for a starting spot as a freshman,” Williams said.

He noted the success of Darius Slayton, Seth Williams and Anthony Schwartz recently as the Auburn offense has leaned more toward the pass over the last two seasons. In speaking with receivers coach Kodi Burns — his primary recruiter — E.J. Williams said he projects at the “9 receiver” at Auburn, also known as the boundary position. Slayton occupied that role last year, and Seth Williams is expected to take over there in 2019.

E.J. Williams said he spent a portion of Big Cat Weekend sitting down with Burns. Although the two have been in contact since the start of E.J. Williams’s recruitment, this visit was different.

“Really, we got a lot closer this weekend,” E.J. Williams said of his relationship with Burns. “He was telling me a story about his tough times… I told him my story about my dad. It was really a close moment for me and him.”

E.J. Williams said he plays in honor of his father, who passed away when he was 8 years old.

“It showed I was a tough young man at a young age that I could just fight through my dad passing away, not being there,” E.J. Williams said. “He didn’t get to see me play not one game in football pads… I kept working because I knew he would want to see me do good on the field.”

LSU will host the 4-star receiver next week, but Auburn will receive an official visit later this month, he said. As the clock winds down toward his August 24 scheduled commitment — the day his father passed away — E.J. Williams said schools will have to “really come after” him to earn his favor.

“You’ve got to show that you want me,” he said. “… Auburn’s shown me everything I want to see. Not one bad thing I can say about Auburn.”

[GwillMac6 20,607]

 

[GwillMac6 20,607]

 

Jay G. Tate • AuburnSports.com

@JayGTate

Phillip Webb

 heard nothing new at Big Cat Weekend Saturday.

That's not surprising.

The four-star linebacker/end hybrid from Buford, Ga., said he's visited campus "more times than I can count" and already has a sharp understanding of what the Tigers have to offer. So why does he keep visiting?

"I really like Coach (Travis Williams) and the family feel I always get at Auburn," Webb said Saturday afternoon. "They have a good tradition here. They've been talking with me for a long time and I've enjoyed getting to know these coaches and the program here. I like it here."

Webb seems like an ideal fit for the Buck position in Kevin Steele's defense — a player who can serve as a stand-up linebacker on first and second down, then put a hand in the dirt and provide pass rush on third down. His versatility and length (Webb stands 6-foot-4) makes Webb one of the most coveted defenders around.

He'll soon be entering his senior season at Lanier High. He'd prefer to commit before then, but Webb said Saturday that may miss that deadline due to his desire to visit schools several times before making a decision.

Webb said he's been talking most often with Auburn, Alabama, Clemson, LSU and Florida during the past few months. He declined Saturday to name a leader, or even a top group of schools, but said Auburn "for sure" will be in that group once it's formulated.

"Coach T-Will is one of the best coaches I've talked to as far as the way he explains things and just his personality," Webb said. "He's intense. I really like that about him. I want to play for someone like that."

[IronMan70 3,277]

On ‎5‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 9:47 PM, SlocombTiger said:

Is The Jones you speak of our old friend Jonesy? Loved following Jonesy back in the day

WAR EAGLE!!!

One and the same.

[Auburn Kev 1,653]

 

[GwillMac6 20,607]

 

[GwillMac6 20,607]

 

[GwillMac6 20,607]

 

[GwillMac6 20,607]

 

[GwillMac6 20,607]

 

[provibe 261]

Dang what a weekend! Football and basketball, I'm pumped!

 

[GwillMac6 20,607]

 

[GwillMac6 20,607]

 

[GwillMac6 20,607]

Nathan King • AuburnSports.com

@byNathanKing

Four-star defensive tackle

 Nazir Stackhouse

 is “100 percent” with his commitment to Georgia, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a close second.

Following a Big Cat Weekend visit from Stackhouse, a top-20 player in the Peach State, Auburn is closing in on the Bulldogs.

“Auburn is actually No. 2,” Stackhouse said with a smile. “It’s real tight.”

Stackhouse committed to Georgia on the day of the SEC title game between the Tigers and Bulldogs in 2017. In 2019, however, he’s been on Gus Malzahn’s campus more than Kirby Smart’s.

“I visit Auburn more than I visit Georgia,” Stackhouse said. “This year I only went to Georgia once. This is my third time here.”

Stackhouse visited for a basketball game in Auburn Arena and April’s A-Day spring game in addition to this year’s Big Cat recruiting event. After talks this weekend with Auburn assistants Rodney Garner and Larry Porter, the former of which has had a relationship with Stackhouse since his freshman year, the interior defender said he’ll return for an official visit later this month.

Georgia and Tennessee will get officials, too, before Stackhouse’s scheduled commitment date of January 2020. As of now, he said he has no plans to enroll early in college. He instead hopes to graduate with the rest of his senior class at Columbia High School (Decatur, Ga.).

“When I come down here, I’m actually excited to meet some new recruits, talk to some more coaches,” Stackhouse said. “Coach Garner and Coach Porter -- they showed me a lot of love. They want me to take my official here, and that’s what I’m going to do.”