AU Had A Good June On The Recruiting Trail

ellitor · June 30, 2019

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For Auburn recruiting, it was a June to remember

By Keith Niebuhr 23 hours ago

Trenton Simpson, Tigers commit. (Photo: 247Sports)
When the month of June began, you could feel a bit of angst setting in on the Auburn message boards. The Tigers had only six commitments and sat at No. 29 in the rankings.

But then, the booms started to come. One after the other.

The first, a commitment from 4-star offensive tackle Javion Cohen of Phenix City (Ala) Central on June 1 during Big Cat Weekend, got the ball rolling. Four more verbals followed this month and while Auburn still is only at No. 23 in the rankings the Tigers are not as far away from being in the top 10 as one would think -- and important needs are being met at offensive line, linebacker receiver.

The bottom line: Auburn will exit June in better shape than when it entered it. Much better.

And yet, the Tigers still have much work ahead. Even though having 11 commits is better than having six, it's still not a lot. Can Auburn keep the momentum going in July, August and beyond? It will need to if it wants to have any shot of making the top 10 of the recruiting team rankings.

But we'll worry about those months later. For now, let's take a look back at 10 memorable moments for Tigers recruiting in June ...

Javion Cohen, Auburn commit. (Photo: Keith Niebuhr, 247Sports)
Javion Cohen commits: When the 4-star (247Sports) tackle gave Auburn his pledge the morning of June 1, it not only gave the Tigers a boost as the month began it kick started what became an extremely productive Big Cat Weekend. The second he announced for Auburn via 247Sports, Cohen began recruiting for the Tigers. The many connections he made that weekend combined with his popularity among other recruits has paid big dividends already.

Trenton Simpson, Auburn LB commit. (Photo: 247Sports)
Trenton Simpson jumps in the boat: If there has been one truly eye-opening verbal to Auburn in the 2020 cycle it was the one Simpson, a 4-star linebacker and top-100 recruit from Charlotte (N.C.) Mallard Creek, gave the Tigers on June 14. For some time, many thought in-state North Carolina would be tough to beat. Even Georgia made a push. But in the end, Simpson's affection for Auburn and his connection with linebackers coach Travis Williams was the difference.

Cameron Riley was commitment No. 11 for Auburn. (Photo: Jason Caldwell, 247Sports)
A double boom thanks to Cameron Riley: The day after Simpson committed to the Tigers, things were quiet. Or so it appeared. But Auburn had something else up its sleeves and it was the fact Riley,a 4-star prospect from Evergreen (Ala.) Hillcrest, would commit June 15. When the week began, Auburn didn't have a single linebacker committed. But when Simpson and Riley verbaled to the Tigers on back-to-back days, it put them in a great spot.

Brenden Coffey, the No. 2 junior college OT in the country. (Photo: Mark Murphy, 247Sports)
Auburn moves to No. 1 for a coveted offensive tackle: After his official visit to Auburn ended June 9, Brenden Coffey, a sophomore at Butte College in Oroville, Calif., and the No. 2 junior college tackle in the country, named the Tigers his leader. With Auburn set to lose both starting tackles after the 2019 season, this was a huge development. To land him, the Tigers will have to hold off Oregon and possibly Utah. But last week, he said Auburn's lead was "pretty big."

Tank Bigsby, Auburn running backs target. (Photo: 247Sports)
Four trips to Auburn for Tank Bigsby: Is Auburn in it with 4-star running back Tank Bigsby of Hogansville (Ga.) Callaway? The visits say they are. At one point, he looked like a lock to South Carolina. But then the top-50 recruit visited Auburn early in the month for his official. He was back the following week for 7-on-7 camp, then again that weekend. Then, he returned to Auburn on June 24. Now, it seems the Tigers are very much a factor and possibly even the leader.

Tate Johnson. (Photo: Jason Caldwell, Inside the Auburn Tigers, 247Sports)
Tate Johnson commits: Only one player publicly committed to Auburn during Big Cat Weekend and that was Cohen. But as we would later learn, Johnson, a 4-star guard/center, gave the Tigers a silent pledge that day. He went public with his decision June 10 as Auburn beat out Florida, Florida State and Georgia Tech. In the two weeks since he committed, Johnson has been an active recruiter for the Tigers.

Elijah Canion will be a Tiger. (Photo: Andrew Ivins, 247Sports)
Auburn dips into south Florida for a verbal: In the end, it came down to Auburn and Florida for 3-star receiver Elijah Canion, a former teammate of Auburn running back Shaun Shivers at Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna Prep. But Canion's ties to Shivers, Auburn receiver Anthony Schwartz, receivers coach Kodi Burns and area recruiter Larry Porter ended up being a huge factor in Canion committing to the Tigers on June 7. He had more than 500 receiving yards last season. Canion had attended Big Cat Weekend on June 1 and told the staff that day he would be a Tiger.

Four-star receiver Ze'Vian Capers. (Photo: 247Sports)
A big de-commitment: Ze'Vian Capers, a 4-star receiver, attended Big Cat on June 1. Then, he returned to Auburn for camp June 6. A day later, he de-committed from the Razorbacks. He has since returned to Auburn for his official and Capers plans to announce his commit decision Monday. While his verbal to Arkansas had been shaky for awhile, the timeline of events would seem to indicate Auburn is in a very good spot.

Andy Boykin (red). (Photo: 247Sports)
Former commit puts Auburn back on top: When 4-star defensive lineman Andy Boykin of LaGrange (Ga.) Troup de-committed from Auburn last August, many forgot about him. But last week, he told Auburn Undercover the Tigers were back in front -- ahead of programs such as Georgia Tech and Tennessee. That comes after Boykin made a multi-day visit to Auburn for Big Cat Weekend.

TE JJ Pegues at Ole Miss Camp (Photo: Yancy Porter, 247Sports)
A surge with a 4-star: Tigh end Jeremiah Pegues of Oxford, Miss., has visited Auburn multiple times, most recently June 16. That day, we reported that according to our sources the Tigers had moved in front of Ole Miss (he later went on the record and confimed that news with another site). That was his fourth known visit to Auburn. That's the good news. The bad news: Pegues doesn't seem to be in any hurry to commit. Right now, though, the arrow is pointing toward the Tigers.