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2019 5* LB Owen Pappoe commits to AU!!!

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WFE12 Founding Father

WFE12 9,191

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How 5-star Owen Pappoe’s decision could have positive impacts for Auburn on field, with recruits

By Benjamin Wolk, Auburn Recruiting Reporter
 

Much like Justin Ferguson does on the Auburn team side, recruiting reporter Benjamin Wolk will answer the Recruiting Question of the Day. You can ask him questions on Twitter or Facebook. Look for our Question of the Day each weekday. Go here to see our previous answers. 

 

Georgia fans are people too, and their questions deserve an equal response.

Clearly, there’s some fretting from the Bulldogs faithful. It’s understandable. Five-star linebacker Owen Pappoe has been a priority No. 1 recruit since he was in eighth grade. At various points in the process, Georgia’s lead has been substantial. There’s no question Pappoe-to-Auburn decision would be a disappointing miss for the Bulldogs if he announces later Tuesday that he’s chosen a school other than Georgia.

(To the likely very few Georgia fans reading this: I’ve been wrong before, and I’ll be wrong again. Hold on to that hope. And as easy as it is to say, Pappoe can’t sign until December, so there’s always the possibility of a change of heart in recruiting, though it’s not what I’d expect to see).

Pappoe’s decision will be one of the most-watched choices in the Auburn sphere in recent memory.

That’s for good reason.

Pappoe joining the Tigers would have a major effect for Auburn in two facets — building the 2019 class and adding a realistic Day 1 starter to the Class of 2019.

The recruiting effect of Owen Pappoe

To shoot it straight, Auburn didn’t win many, if any, recruiting battles against Georgia in the 2018 cycle.

By the end of the cycle, the Bulldogs likely would’ve been thrilled to have linebacker Michael Harris and safety Quindarious Monday. Those weren’t players Georgia was heavily in on at the time of their decision, but the Bulldogs had both near the top of their recruiting boards and likely would have made last-minute pushes if the players weren’t committed to Auburn.

Still, there were plenty of head-to-head wins for the Bulldogs from prospects in Georgia: Justin Fields, Kearis Jackson, Adam Anderson, Azeez Ojulari. You get the point.

Auburn can’t afford to be squeezed out of Georgia, perhaps its most vital recruiting territory.

The Tigers recognized early on this year that Pappoe might be the most important target to land to return that Georgia recruiting dominance narrative to a much more comfortable equilibrium.

Assuming Auburn lands Pappoe on Tuesday — and that is the prediction here — it will catch the attention of other prospects from the state of Georgia. He has close relationships with other Peach State products, such as wide receiver Jadon Haselwood, cornerback Andrew Booth, defensive end Nolan Smith, defensive end Curtis Fann and athlete Jashawn Sheffield.

Other prospects will take notice. That’s not to say other players will simply follow Pappoe to Auburn. It’s possible his teammate at Grayson High School in Loganville, Ga., Wanya Morris, won’t even do that. Most recruits really do make individual decisions in their own best interest.

Should Pappoe choose Auburn or a school that isn’t Georgia, other recruits will be much more comfortable with the idea of leaving the state. That’s not something that could’ve been said often one recruiting cycle ago. If Georgia were to land him, however, it would be a big way for the Bulldogs to secure their borders — and likely strike fear in many SEC fan bases.

The on-field effect of Owen Pappoe

Camp numbers don’t tell the full story of the kind of football player someone is, but they’re still impressive to check out. They say something at least.

Last month at Nike’s The Opening Charlotte regional, Pappoe posted the highest SPARQ rating score in regional history. That SPARQ number measures a wide range of athletic traits that add up to give a full picture of a player.

His numbers looked like this:

  • 40-yard dash: 4.47 seconds
  • Vertical leap: 40 inches
  • Peak power: 8,410 watts
  • Agility: 4.00 seconds
  • Power ball: 45 feet

Pappoe finished in the 99th percentile among all 2019 prospects in every category.

On top of that, for Auburn, there probably will be no bigger position of need after the 2018 season. Deshaun Davis, Montavius Atkinson and Darrell Williams will leave after their senior seasons. K.J. Britt and Chandler Wooten will be there to step into those roles, but Pappoe’s speed at the linebacker position is unmatched.

He’d be a potential Day 1 starter, and ultimately, it’s that sales pitch that probably has separated Auburn from Georgia.

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The Plainsman Founding Father

The Plainsman 948

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2 hours ago, ellitor said:

Injecting some facts here. Of those top 10 AU only wants 6. We have the QB we want so no need for little Tua. We haven't offered Diabate. We aren't going hard after Bentley at all (Not that it matters if we did given Clemson's work on him). DJ Dale doesn't fit into our DL scheme. Bama will likely get 4 of the 6 we want but it's not 2-8 bad as your post implied.

Let’s keep what we have instate and own MS this year.  

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GwillMac6 Founding Father

GwillMac6 20,688

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45 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Somebody just became @GwillMac6's favorite recruit.

 

new girl.gif

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weathergeakal Experienced

weathergeakal 283

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8 minutes ago, The Plainsman said:

Let’s keep what we have instate and own MS this year.  

Instate is huge this year, might be the best class we have had instate since I can remember. 

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ellitor Founding Father

ellitor 33,107

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Just now, weathergeakal said:

Instate is huge this year, might be the best class we have had instate since I can remember. 

2016 had more 4*s.

Of the 14 5 or 4*s this year too bad AU only wants about 6 of them.

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Samau Collaborator

Samau 110

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23 minutes ago, ellitor said:

2016 had more 4*s.

Of the 14 5 or 4*s this year too bad AU only wants about 6 of them.

Why is that? Do are coaches think they are overrated?

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ellitor Founding Father

ellitor 33,107

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3 minutes ago, Samau said:

Why is that? Do are coaches think they are overrated?

4 are QBs. We are only taking 1 as of now. I have explained Diabate, Bentley, & Dale in another post. They have some out of state kids higher on the board than Bridges & Hill at their positions.

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Auburn 6 Proficient

Auburn 6 101

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I'm excited!  I work in The Battery and am planning to attend his announcement since it appears to be going our way.

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Auburn 6 Proficient

Auburn 6 101

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4 minutes ago, AidiAU said:

So is it at 5, 6, or 6:30 EST? I've seen all three times in this thread. 

This article says 6:51 PM Eastern. https://247sports.com/Bolt/Owen-Pappoe-Kenyatta-Watson-commitment-Ceremony-start-time-TV-channel-and-streaming-options-117877999

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tbone1430 Veteran

tbone1430 1,346

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The OT Morris. Still waiting on Pappoe 

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doc4aday Founding Father

doc4aday 1,887

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I thought the LB was going to make it public today. Any news yet?

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