2.15.24 Football Articles

[aubiefifty 16,793]

247sports.com

Auburn football adds two key offfield staffers

Jason Caldwell

4–5 minutes

Auburn has added Maurice Harris and Kenyatta Watson in off-field roles.

AUBURN, Alabama—After rounding out his on-field staff last week, coach Hugh Freeze made two big off-field additions on Wednesday with the hirings of Maurice Harris and Kenyatta Watson, a source confirmed to Auburn Undercover.

The offensive coordinator at Jackson State last season and the co-coordinator at Liberty with Freeze for the previous four seasons, Harris is another coach that has strong ties to Freeze and also adds another big name in Mississippi as a recruiter.

Harris spent seven seasons at Ole Miss (2012-18) working as a tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator. Harris, who also spent the 2006 season at Ole Miss as Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations,  helped the tight ends play a part in the high-powered and up-tempo offensive style run by Freeze. Additionally, Harris helped mold tight end Evan Engram into a first-round NFL Draft pick in 2017 after finishing his career with the Rebels with 2,320 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. Engram, who finished his career with a school record 162 receptions, was a first-team All-American in 2016 and was awarded the Ozzie Newsome Award (nation’s best tight end).

Prior to working at Ole Miss, Harris was tight ends coach at Arkansas State (2008-11), and began his collegiate career at Alabama State as running backs coach (2004-05).

A familiar face in Georgia high school football circles, Watson will join the Auburn staff as Director of Recruiting Research and Strategy after spending the last two seasons at Georgia Tech as the Director of Scouting for the Yellow Jackets. Before that, Watson was at Florida State for nine months as the Director of Player Relations.

Before his college career began, Watson was a big part of one of the strongest high school programs in the country when he served as director of football operations and recruiting for Grayson H.S. (Loganville, Ga.). During his five years at Grayson, he helped nearly 120 football student-athletes earn collegiate scholarships.

Additionally, he has served as coordinator for the Under Armour Middle School All-American Game and the UA Next Middle School Camp Series, as well as director of the adidas Middle School Showcase, the Rivals NextGen Showcase, MVP Middle School Showcase and Elite Talent Middle School Football Showcase. His vast resume also includes developing and overseeing the Coach K Middle School Showcase for top sixth-through-eighth graders from across the country in 2017 and founding the Gwinnett Chargers youth football organization in 2010, a nationally prominent program that featured nearly 500 players by its third year.

[aubiefifty 16,793]

al.com

Auburn’s Marcus Davis ranked No. 6 recruiter in the nation with historic crop of WRs

Published: Feb. 14, 2024, 12:40 p.m.

3–4 minutes

Auburn Football

Auburn’s Marcus Davis ranked No. 6 recruiter in the country by 247Sports after historic WR haul

Hugh Freeze breaks down Auburn's 2024 signing class

Auburn wide receivers coach Marcus Davis put in work on the recruiting trail last season as he helped his alma mater land a historic haul of wide receivers during the 2024 recruiting cycle.

And now, Davis’ efforts are being recognized as he finished the cycle ranked as the 6th-best recruiter in the country, according to 247Sports.

Davis’ No. 6 ranking comes after he helped Auburn land a quartet of wide receivers in 5-stars Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson, in addition to 4-stars Bryce Cain and Malcolm Simmons. Together, Davis’ crop of signees average a player rating of 95.47.

“It’s no secret, we needed to get some difference-makers at the receiver position,” Freeze said during his National Signing Day press conference. “To land two of the top 10 in the nation in Perry and Cam and then two others that I think are sleepers. But they are ranked in, what, the top 150 in the country? Bryce and Malcolm.”

The four wide receivers Auburn brought in during the 2024 recruiting cycle made for a class of wide receivers that is, undoubtedly, the best in program history.

Prior to the 2024 recruiting cycle, Auburn had only ever secured one 5-star wide receiver.

Come December’s Early Signing Day, the Tigers signed two in Coleman and Thompson — a pair in-state receivers who Davis helped Auburn flip from Texas A&M and Alabama, respectively.

Landing at the No. 6 spot after the 2024 cycle, Davis finds himself as the third-best recruiter in the SEC behind Texas A&M’s wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins, who landed nine commits with an average player rating of 94.23, and LSU associate head coach Frank Wilson, who helped LSU reel in nine commits with an average player rating of 91.14.

Syracuse head coach Fran Brown holds the top spot as the No. 1 recruiter from the 2024 cycle after he helped the Orange land eight commits with an average player rating of 96.06.

Looking ahead to Auburn’s 2025 class, the Tigers’ recently elevated defensive line coach Vontrell King-Williams currently sits as the third-ranked recruiter as he’s helped Auburn earn the commitments of four 4-star defensive linemen in Malik Autry, Antonio Coleman, Jourdin Crawford and Kalen Edwards.

With the commitments of those along the defensive front leading the way, Auburn’s 2025 recruiting class currently ranks as the seventh-best in the country with a long ways to go.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

[aubiefifty 16,793]

 

[aubiefifty 16,793]

 

[aubiefifty 16,793]

 

[aubiefifty 16,793]

 

[aubiefifty 16,793]

 

[aubiefifty 16,793]

 

[aubiefifty 16,793]

 

[aubiefifty 16,793]

al.com

Report: Auburn’s Hugh Freeze to hire Kenyatta Watson as director of recruiting research

Updated: Feb. 14, 2024, 2:00 p.m.|Published: Feb. 14, 2024, 1:58 p.m.

2–3 minutes

Hugh Freeze is expected to make another addition to Auburn’s staff, this time adding Kenyatta Watson as Auburn’s director of recruiting research and strategy.

CBS Sports’ Carl Reed Jr. was the first to report the news Thursday.

The hiring of Watson will come after he spent the past two seasons as Georgia Tech’s director of scouting and pro liaison. According to his profile on Georgia Tech’s website, Watson was “heavily involved in the Yellow Jackets’ recruiting efforts, evaluating both high school student-athletes and those that have entered the NCAA Transfer Portal.” Watson also oversaw the relationships between Georgia Tech and pro scouts.

The report of Watson’s addition comes on the heels of Freeze having already beefed up Auburn’s recruiting staff with the additions of Will Redmond in a general manager-like role, as well as TJ Randall in a player personnel and scouting role.

Prior to his time at Georgia Tech, Watson spent nine months at Florida State, where he served as the Seminoles’ director of player relations.

With the expected addition of Watson, Auburn’s program is getting a well-known name the Atlanta area as Watson previously spent a decade developing players there. From 2014-18, Watson served as director of football operations and recruiting for Grayson High School in Logansville, Ga. During his time at Grayson, Watson helped nearly 120 student-athletes earn college scholarships.

A native of Deerfield Beach, Fla., Watson spent his playing career as a wide receiver at Boston College from 1993-96. Watson’s son, Kenyatta Watson II, is currently a defensive back at Georgia Tech.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.