Big Cat Weekend still paying dividends

Richard Morand Trovon Reed at Big Cat Weekend

After receiving verbal commitments from the top players in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas and 18 talented others, the Tigers now have the nation's eighth-best 2010 recruiting class, according to Rivals.com.

After receiving verbal commitments from the top players in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas and 18 talented others, the Tigers now have the nation's eighth-best 2010 recruiting class, according to Rivals.com.

In the final seasons of the Tommy Tuberville era at Auburn, in-state recruiting struggled. Perhaps a big hire on the other side of the state had something to do with that.

With Gene Chizik and his entourage of recruiting heavy-hitters, in mid-November Auburn already has a "yes" from nine players who call Alabama home. The Crimson Tide have a total of eight in-state commits.

Since Nick Saban's first year at Alabama in 2007, Auburn signed just two four-star Alabama natives in two years.

Saban's first signing class, 2008, saw 18 Alabama natives join the Crimson Tide, three of whom were five-stars and nine four-stars. That year Auburn signed a total of 10 Alabama boys. The sole five-star Auburn commitment was defensive back Raven Gray. Who? Exactly. Gray took a redshirt 2008 and is no longer enrolled at Auburn University.

Auburn hasn't signed a five-star player since 2006 in defensive tackle Greg Smith. Despite being one of the most sought-after recruits in the country, Smith's weight issues as well as academic problems led to him dropping out of school before playing a single snap as an Auburn Tiger.

Because of injuries, academics, attrition, among other reasons, Chizik had 35 of Auburn's 84 signees from the 2006-2008 signing classes to work with before his first season began.

With football recruiting basically being a sport of its own nowadays, Chizik had to step up Auburn's game so the Tigers could compete for some of the nation's top athletes.

After enlisting an entire staff of recruiting pros like Trooper Taylor, Curtis Luper and Tommy Thigpen, it appears Alabama no longer has the stranglehold on in-state recruiting. Auburn is also beating out other Southeastern Conference schools for their own native talent.

"All of the assistants have done a phenomenal job of going after the right fit guys, the guys that we think are the right fit for Auburn," Chizik said. "They're all great players, but they're also in our opinion the right fit, the right kind of guys for this place. It's really neat to see the response nationwide wherever we go."

Michael Dyer, the top Arkansas recruit and nation's No. 3 running back according to Rivals, recently became the first five-star commit for Chizik and the Tigers. The 5-foot-8, 200-pound back had reportedly been high on Auburn since early summer after meeting with offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

"I think it fits perfect for me with my running style and how he could use me," Dyer said after his June visit to Auburn. "It's probably one of the best systems I could be under in college football."

Last week the Tigers received even more good news when Louisiana's top recruit, wide receiver Trovon Reed, also gave Auburn the OK.

His announcement was an emotional one as he chose to make it on the birthday of his late mother. In front of his classmates and coaches, Reed accepted an invitation to play in the Army All-American Game before stating that he will attend Auburn next year.

Reed, at 6-foot, 175 pounds, said Malzahn's offense was a big reason why he chose Auburn over Oregon and LSU.

"It's a fast-paced offense," said Reed. "I'm not a big, possession receiver. The offense has reverses and is very fast-paced. I really like it. I could go in every now and then and make a play. There's also a chance for early playing time, and I think I could help Auburn out quickly."

Shon Coleman of Olive Branch, Miss., is the country's No. 10 offensive tackle and the top recruit out of his home state. The 6-foot-7, 285-pounder chose Auburn over Alabama.

With a new coaching staff came new ideas on Auburn football recruiting. Gone are the days of simple parent, coach and athlete meetings.

One of them is Big Cat Weekend. The two-day visit in late May saw almost two dozen high school and junior college prospects visit the Plains to get a preview of what being an Auburn football player would be like.

Add to that the installment of Tiger Prowl, a new tradition of sending Auburn-clad limousines to high schools to hold meet-and-greets between Auburn coaches and some of the state's top prospects.

Six months later, Auburn has commitments from nine of the 21 visitors that weekend.

With Reed's commitment, the entire group of wide receivers and all but two linebackers are included. More may be set to come before the Feb. 3 national signing day.

Five-star running backs Lache Seastrunk and Marcus Lattimore both have Auburn listed in their list of favorite schools after attending the weekend event.

Seastrunk and Lattimore are considered Rival's No. 1 and No. 2 running backs in the nation, respectively. Along with Dyer, a signature from either will make them the highest-touted running backs to become Tigers since Brandon Jacobs in 2003.

With Auburn's glaring depth issues this season, it is imperative to fill every available scholarship for 2010.

"Strategically, we're going to have to be right on with every decision we make recruiting-wise," Chizik said.

The Tigers can enroll up to five scholarship players in January. So far, linebacker Jessel Curry and defensive end Craig Sanders are planning to enroll in classes and go through spring practice.

With a rejuvenated program, the opportunity for early playing time and the devotion to return Auburn's program to a championship level is appealing to recruits.

"The future is very bright here, and I think everybody is seeing that," Chizik said.