2017 3* HB Thomas Johnston

[Gowebb11 9,321]

32 minutes ago, kd4au said:

I guess I'll have to take that as he is not a take right now at lb'er.I just hope they are right because he looks good to me,hate to see him go else where and be a stud LB'ER when he could have been a TIGER.Maybe we can still get him at h-back,he just seemed more interested in lb'er the way he talked.

I find comfort in the fact that other top  schools like Bama, FSU, LSU, UGA,  and UF haven't offered him a LB spot either. He's had an amazing high school career at LB and seems to be a great kid. I hope he ends up at AU but it seems like it's HB or bust, and I bet he'd be a great one. 

[autan 737]

Just doesn't make sense unless Gus doesn't want anything to adversely affect recruiting of TT.  I've heard that Britt and Moultry raved about  Johnston LB play at All-Star game. All AU reporters could write about was how dominant the 4 AU commits were for AL defense.  For whatever reason none of them won MVP.   IMO "The Tackling Machine" will start for 4 years at Ole Miss or Arky and wreak havoc on AU offense.

[ellitor 33,093]

1 hour ago, autan said:

Just doesn't make sense unless Gus doesn't want anything to adversely affect recruiting of TT.  I've heard that Britt and Moultry raved about  Johnston LB play at All-Star game. All AU reporters could write about was how dominant the 4 AU commits were for AL defense.  For whatever reason none of them won MVP.   IMO "The Tackling Machine" will start for 4 years at Ole Miss or Arky and wreak havoc on AU offense.

Again. Gus is not involved with defensive recruiting personnel. Steele & T-Will make those choices in this case at LB.

[Mikey 16,597]

13 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Again. Gus is not involved with defensive recruiting personnel. Steele & T-Will make those choices in this case at LB.

I think what is being said here is that NOT looking at him at LB is a big, big mistake. At least Gus wants him on board, which apparently is  more than we're getting from the defensive assistants.

[ellitor 33,093]

8 hours ago, Mikey said:

I think what is being said here is that NOT looking at him at LB is a big, big mistake. At least Gus wants him on board, which apparently is  more than we're getting from the defensive assistants.

That may be true but it's on Steele & T-Will. Gus has made many mistakes but as fans we don't need to attribute believed mistakes to him for something he's not involved with.

[autan 737]

Good point Mikey.  If TJ gets on board things could change with Injuries, academics, discipline, etc. Who knows? I just don't believe Johnston will jump on the bus with that offer unless there are discussions off the record that things can change down the road like a couple of LBs maybe becoming rush ends.  I just can't understand why you don't just say we're recruiting this guy as an athlete and see how it works out with position  TBD.    It looks like the deal is only take a chance with one of of TJ and CL. We'll see.

[ellitor 33,093]

21 minutes ago, autan said:

Good point Mikey.  If TJ gets on board things could change with Injuries, academics, discipline, etc. Who knows? I just don't believe Johnston will jump on the bus with that offer unless there are discussions off the record that things can change down the road like a couple of LBs maybe becoming rush ends.  I just can't understand why you don't just say we're recruiting this guy as an athlete and see how it works out with position  TBD.    It looks like the deal is only take a chance with one of of TJ and CL. We'll see.

Teams rarely have more than 2 scholly HBs on roster. We have 1 with Cox already. Just sayin.

[TigerWar 82]

2 hours ago, ellitor said:

Teams rarely have more than 2 scholly HBs on roster. We have 1 with Cox already. Just sayin.

Are we not the favorite to land the kid out of Florida that looks like another Chandler Cox at HB? I'm assuming no since Gus was encouraging Johnston to commit on the spot at the position.

[ellitor 33,093]

21 minutes ago, TigerWar said:

Are we not the favorite to land the kid out of Florida that looks like another Chandler Cox at HB? I'm assuming no since Gus was encouraging Johnston to commit on the spot at the position.

Actually it's yes. Looks like it's first come first serve between the 2.

[autan 737]

The problem with that is TJ could commit today in which case AU would have to tell Lasiter to cancel the visit. But we all know (or assume at least) that TJ will not commit until after the Ole Miss visit in which case CL will already have committed.  At least that's the way it looks to me.

[TexasTiger 12,858]

I'd give this guy a shot a LB. Some guys can just play.

[ellitor 33,093]

1 hour ago, autan said:

The problem with that is TJ could commit today in which case AU would have to tell Lasiter to cancel the visit. But we all know (or assume at least) that TJ will not commit until after the Ole Miss visit in which case CL will already have committed.  At least that's the way it looks to me.

None of this is a given. TJ said yesterday he is committing on January 26th. To my recollection there has never been a date set for Lasater to commit.

[AuburnNTexas 7,145]

Apparently both have a lot of potential as HB and both are also very solid LB. Sign them both one wins out at HB and one wins out at LB. WIN WIN as far as I am concerned.

[beagle34 72]

Sounds like situation similar to Jonathan Walton 4 or so years ago and he turned out to be a very good linebacker at South Carolina 

[autan 737]

2 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Apparently both have a lot of potential as HB and both are also very solid LB. Sign them both one wins out at HB and one wins out at LB. WIN WIN as far as I am concerned.

That's exactly what needs to happen Tex.

[TigerWar 82]

4 hours ago, autan said:

That's exactly what needs to happen Tex.

Yeah, I wouldn't say either of those two guys would be a wasted scholarship because they both can easily play both sides of the ball and absolutely can provide quality depth at either HB or LB.

E, would you foresee a situation where Auburn accepts a commitment from both of them or is the likely scenario one or the other?

[fredst 9,064]

1 hour ago, TigerWar said:

Yeah, I wouldn't say either of those two guys would be a wasted scholarship because they both can easily play both sides of the ball and absolutely can provide quality depth at either HB or LB.

E, would you foresee a situation where Auburn accepts a commitment from both of them or is the likely scenario one or the other?

I could see one or both being special teams demons too, a la Craig Sanders.

[ellitor 33,093]

8 hours ago, TigerWar said:

Yeah, I wouldn't say either of those two guys would be a wasted scholarship because they both can easily play both sides of the ball and absolutely can provide quality depth at either HB or LB.

E, would you foresee a situation where Auburn accepts a commitment from both of them or is the likely scenario one or the other?

From the intel available right now 1 or the other is my guess.

[milehighfan 1,240]

On 1/16/2017 at 1:07 PM, AuburnNTexas said:

Apparently both have a lot of potential as HB and both are also very solid LB. Sign them both one wins out at HB and one wins out at LB. WIN WIN as far as I am concerned.

Sounds like a good plan but as they sometimes say, the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray. I was listening to Auburn's recruiting podcast and both of those guys liked him at LB.

[Maverick.AU 13,279]

 

[au_bsci_04 407]

Bc we are focused on signing TT to the 4th LB spot ( likely occurs next wk) and have shored up a commitment from Lassiter as a HB/FB. TJ was a backup plan.

[bigbird 60,523]

Hope it doesn't come back to bite us. Oh well, our LB class is great. Good luck.

[auburnphan 6,050]

This one disappoints me.  Not sure any other LB had better instincts or passion for the game.

[NoALtiger 3,860]

This whole thing just really disappoints me, this kid should be an AU Tiger and be playing LB. 

[gctiger 931]

Being from Spanish Fort I'm a little disappointed to see him decide to go elsewhere but I understand his decision and I think it plays to his strengths.   IMO he's going to have to gain a lot of weight in order to be an effective LB in the SEC.