2024 4* CB Jalyn Crawford Commits to AU!

[toddc 13,194]

[SumterAubie 3,031]

[WVR 818]

1 hour ago, ellitor said:

4-star CB Jalyn Crawford commits to Auburn over Florida and LSU

Chad Simmons•about 3 hours

Article written by:Chad Simmons

Photo by Chad Simmons/On3

There wasn’t a lot separating the top three for Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview four-star cornerback Jalyn Crawford. He knew he was going to pick between Auburn, Florida and LSU.

While each school had it’s positives, there was just something different Auburn. That feeling was something Crawford couldn’t get over as he announced his pledge to Hugh Freeze and the Tigers.

“After my visits, I thought about it for a while, then I made a decision in late June,” Crawford told On3. “I went back and forth and I went over my pros and cons. It came out with Auburn on top. I’ve visited Auburn four or five times, I like the new staff a lot and the crowd at Auburn is always jumping.

…The fans show great support and the new staff will get the program going strong again. I love the player-coach connection, the bond the coaches have shown with the players and how it feels like family there. Everywhere I go on the Auburn campus, it feels like family and you hear a lot of War Eagle so the support there makes it feel like home.”

What factors drew Crawford to Auburn

That feeling of being at home starts first with the Tigers’ coaching staff.

Crawford said that his relationships with Auburn’s secondary coaches in Zac Etheridge and Wesley McGriff played a pretty significant role in his recruitment. Those two in particular had been after him for awhile making Crawford feel like a priority to the class.

 

It didn’t hurt for Crawford to hear from friends like Kaylin Lee and Terrance Love who constantly how much they love Auburn.

With all of those factors checked off, a strong relationship with the head coach was all Crawford was looking for. He got that with Hugh Freeze.

“I like coach Freeze a lot,” said Crawford, the No. 174 player in the 2024 class. “We talk about every day. He checks on me a lot and has gotten to know my dad so I like what he is about. He’s a chill dude, easy to talk to and made a big impression on me and my family.

“It’s clear that he wants me and has shown he can win as a head coach. I see Coach Freeze taking Auburn back to the top because I know about his history. I’ve seen him at practice and I like his plan for the Auburn program once he gets his recruits on campus.”

“It’s clear that he wants me and has shown he can win as a head coach. I see Coach Freeze taking Auburn back to the top because I know about his history. I’ve seen him at practice and I like his plan for the Auburn program once he gets his recruits on campus.”
 

It is nice to hear this again from a top recruit. I believe the future is very bright for Auburn again!!

[Zeek 16,657]

Another solid win

[toddc 13,194]

Auburn gets commitment from Jalyn Crawford, 2024 4-star rated corner from Georgia

By 

Matt Cohen | mcohen@al.com

4-star rated defensive back Jalyn Crawford (second from left) poses with his defensive backs coach Brian Miller (left) and teammates at a Parkview High School game. Crawford committed to Auburn on Sunday.

If it was up to Jalyn Crawford’s coach the whole time, there hardly would have been a recruiting process. Brian Miller, defensive backs coach for Crawford at Lilburn, Georgia’s Parkside High School, is an Auburn fan. His brother, Brad Lester, played at Auburn. Miller joked he certainly had a bias throughout Crawford’s recruitment process.

As a Georgia native, playing football in Athens was Crawford’s dream growing up. But on Saturday, Crawford -- a class of 2024 4-star rated cornerback -- committed to Auburn. He picked Auburn over Florida and LSU. Georgia wasn’t one of his finalists.

At his commitment announcement at a church in Lilburn, Crawford said the coaches made Auburn feel like home when he made his multiple visits to campus.

Crawford is the 11th commitment in Auburn 2024 recruiting class and the fourth defensive back. He is currently the third highest rated player in the class per 247Sports ratings and the best ranked of the defensive backs.

Even as recently as a few days before Crawford’s commitment, Miller said he was deciding between Auburn and Florida. As his commitment date approached, multiple experts submitted “Crystal Ball” predictions for the Tigers.

Auburn heavily began pursuing Crawford after head coach Hugh Freeze was hired in November. The Tigers offered him a scholarship in December and he had three unofficial visits to The Plains in 2023 before taking an official visit in June.

Miller said he felt a more committed effort to land Crawford from Auburn’s coaching staff under Freeze compared to previous coach Bryan Harsin.

“They love the kids, they love the process totally different from the previous staff recruiting wise,” Miller said. “They’re very visible. They are going to make a statement in the recruiting process.”

It was never going to take much convincing Miller to be comfortable sending one of his players to Auburn after a coaching staff he didn’t appear to believe in, but Miller said Auburn coaches including secondary coaches Zac Etheridge -- one of the few holdovers from the Harsin staff -- and Wesley McGriff quickly sold him again on the program.

Parkview defensive backs coach Brian Miller and 4-star cornerback Jalyn Crawford pose on the sideline during a Parkview game. Crawford committed to Auburn on Saturday.

Crawford began working with Miller in his sophomore year at Parkside. In his first time seeing Crawford play, Miller remembers a 7-on-7 game where he dominated playing both sides of the ball and making multiple one handed catches. While Crawford is a cornerback, he knew the receiver route tree so well that Miller often saw running routes for receivers as he covered them.

Miller described Crawford as a leader on the field, especially because of his football intelligence. Crawford consistently knew where both he and his teammates in the secondary needed to be on the field at all times. He is a polished cornerback, Miller said.

That can especially be seen in practice, where Miller said Crawford often stands out more than in games.

At one practice -- before the sun rose and with heavy rain pouring down -- Crawford was coming up on a run. The grass surface wasn’t complete on the field yet, Miller said, so the rain turned the ground quickly into mud. That didn’t matter for Crawford.

“They ran a toss play for J’s side, and J just straight cleans the dude, almost takes his helmet off,” Miller said. “Next play, they come at him with a slant route and he breaks it up. It was just stuff like that where it’s okay, he has that ‘it’ about him.”

Introducing Crawford to Auburn fans, Miller described his corner as an approachable person. He believes Crawford is someone who will work on and off the field. And he believes the highlights like the ones he saw in practice will come to The Plains, too.

“He wants to win, I’ll tell you that right now,” Miller said.

If Georgia used to be Crawford dream school, his list of finalists didn’t show it. Georgia didn’t offer Crawford a scholarship. Now that he’s committed to Auburn, he’s going to line up again Georgia every year.

“Georgia slipped on this one, that’s how I feel,” Miller said.

[W.E.D 11,070]

Quote

Miller said he felt a more committed effort to land Crawford from Auburn’s coaching staff under Freeze compared to previous coach Bryan Harsin.

 

“They love the kids, they love the process totally different from the previous staff recruiting wise,” Miller said. “They’re very visible. They are going to make a statement in the recruiting process.”

 

It was never going to take much convincing Miller to be comfortable sending one of his players to Auburn after a coaching staff he didn’t appear to believe in, but Miller said Auburn coaches including secondary coaches Zac Etheridge -- one of the few holdovers from the Harsin staff -- and Wesley McGriff quickly sold him again on the program.

 

Thanks, Bryan

[TeamZero77 1,784]

31 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

 

Thanks, Bryan

I still shake my head when I read these stories from high school coaches talking about how nonexistent Harsin was on the recruiting trail. Coach Miller loves Auburn and his brother was a very good RB for us, so when he is even mentioning how lackadaisical Harsin and his staff were on the recruiting trail, then you know it was pretty bad. 

This program was in a complete nosedive when Harsin was fired and I'm certain it would've completely crashed and burned if he was given another year. 

Edited July 16, 2023 by TeamZero77

[W.E.D 11,070]

3 hours ago, TeamZero77 said:

I still shake my head when I read these stories from high school coaches talking about how nonexistent Harsin was on the recruiting trail. Coach Miller loves Auburn and his brother was a very good RB for us, so when he is even mentioning how lackadaisical Harsin and his staff were on the recruiting trail, then you know it was pretty bad. 

This program was in a complete nosedive when Harsin was fired and I'm certain it would've completely crashed and burned if he was given another year. 

Amazing ppl supported him even in the end and want to believe Auburn did some nefarious during their investigation 

[toddc 13,194]

 

[rophle 256]

8 hours ago, TeamZero77 said:

I'm certain it would've completely crashed and burned if he was given another year. 

I think what happened the first half of this past season was a complete crash and burn, couldn’t imagine it getting any worse before he was asked to leave. 

[southern_sports 58]

What a solid pick up. Now he needs to do some recruiting on his own next weekend.

[Paladin 3,305]

 

[bigbird 60,567]

11 hours ago, Paladin said:

 

NGL, I'd have abused that ref the rest of the night for calling that a TD

[wareaglefan444 85]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

NGL, I'd have abused that ref the rest of the night for calling that a TD

I agree, my son and I were watching the game last night on NFHS, I couldnt believe they called that a TD. That was a physical football game, and fun to watch

[AUinGA44 265]

2 hours ago, bigbird said:

NGL, I'd have abused that ref the rest of the night for calling that a TD

Watched it live and just shook my head

[bigbird 60,567]

11 minutes ago, AUinGA44 said:

Watched it live and just shook my head

Just brutal

[toddc 13,194]

Love seeing this.

 

[Sizzle 3,916]

@AUwentnot trying to be nitpicky but you've got Crawford's name spelled wrong in the title.

[Sizzle 3,916]

Seems as if about half our class has shut their recruitment down. Freeze must be doing the same thing Clemson does. When you commit to Clemson they tell you to shut your recruitment down to honor the commitment 

[WFE12 9,191]

W song choice 

[WFE12 9,191]

20 minutes ago, Paladin said:

 

I beat you this time man