Auburn Football Recruiting: June 4th Official Visitors Preview

The first official visits since the end of the year and half long dead period are scheduled for this weekend.

It’s been a busy week on the Plains already. The Tigers have hosted highly rated prospects from the 2022, 2023, 2023, and beyond over the past three days and more are expected on campus this weekend. However, all of those visits so far have been unofficial. Prospects have paid their own way to come spend a day on campus with the staff. This weekend, things start to get serious as Auburn hosts their first official visits in over a year.

Here’s a breakdown on who is expected to officially visit this weekend.

4-star WR Darrius Clemons | 6’3” | 205 lbs | Portland, OR

Recruitment

Not often you see a kid from Oregon take an official visit to the Plains but it’s a new day in Auburn and new head coach Bryan Harsin isn’t afraid to go anywhere and everywhere to find talent. It helps that Clemons has known Harsin and some members of his staff for years now as they were recruiting him when previously at Boise State. They very quickly offered Clemons after moving to Auburn and the Tigers immediately became a legit contender. This is a truly national recruitment featuring Auburn, Notre Dame, Penn State, USC, and others. Despite the distance, I do think Auburn has a legitimate chance to win this race.

Scouting Report

I am just a pretend expert but I will be genuinely surprised if there are 150 football players better than Clemons. To me he’s a five star talent possessing everything you want at the wide receiver position. He’s got great size at 6’3” 205 lbs allowing him to win 1 on 1 matchups and get off press coverage. But he’s also fast, with a reported sub 4.4 forty time allowing him to take the top off the defense. He needs more polish as a route runner as his athleticism dominates at the high school level but he’s without question a day 1 impact player at the next level. This would be a monster recruiting victory for Auburn’s new coaching staff if they could eventually snag the explosive playmaker.

3-star DL Kaleb Artis | 6’5” | 270 lbs | Fresh Meadows, NY

Recruitment

Not long after Nick Eason was hired he sent out two offers. Both of those players will be on campus this weekend for official visits starting with Kaleb Artis out of New York.

Prospects from Oregon and New York coming in for official visits on the same day? What the heck is going on?

Artis blew up this spring landing offers from Auburn, Florida State, Texas, and Texas A&M. He’s already scheduled all five of his official visits for the month to June with trips booked to Penn State, Virginia, Florida State, and Indiana following his trip to the Plains. This race seems wide open so let’s see what the Tigers can do.

Scouting Report

Artis is a tough eval given his abbreviated junior season and the fact he plays against subpar competition. However, you can see the tools in his tape that have colleges across the country working to get him on campus. He’s got a great frame at 6’5” 270 lbs capable of adding more muscle without losing any quickness. Shows good use of his hands to win not relying just on his strength and moves well for his size. Artis is a great fit for what Derek Mason and Nick Eason are looking up front in Auburn’s new scheme. Wide bodied, versatile athletes capable of lining up as a 4i in Auburn’s base 3-4 personnel on one snap and sliding inside to take on double teams in the interior in Auburn’s 2-4-5 nickel package. Artis has the skillset to play that hybrid DE/DT role for the Tigers.

3-star OT Jacob Hood | 6’8” | 342 lbs | Nashville, TN

Recruitment

Flashy wide receivers from Oregon and athletic defensive lineman from New York is all well and good but I know what my readers really want. What all Auburn fans want: an offensive tackle. Meet Jacob Hood.

This giant out of Nashville, TN immediately became a priority for the Tigers following Will Friend’s hiring. Auburn will get the first crack at the big man knowing that an official visit to his childhood favorite program Georgia is lurking next weekend. This is a big chance for the Tigers new staff to put Auburn in a position to survive that official visit and hopefully land the big time impact player at a major position of need.

I imagine depth charts will be discussed at some point over the weekend.

Scouting Report

It all starts with that frame. It’s hard to ignore 6’8” 342 lbs of raw power. Given that size though foot speed is a concern. It’s all well and good to be a hulking giant but in the SEC if you want to play offensive tackle you better be able to move. Luckily, Hood is an excellent athlete. He consistently shows the ability to get in space and reach 2nd level defenders in his tape along with being quick enough to hold up in pass protection. He can sometimes get off balance due to bending at the waist too much but that’s something that can be coached. Being able to move like Hood at 6’8” 342 lbs cannot.

3-star DL Maxie Baudoin | 6’3” | 290 lbs | Lafayette, LA

Recruitment

Baudoin was the other lineman Nick Eason offered shortly after being hired. The big man out of Louisiana has also had a good spring landing offers from Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Texas A&M and many others. As of now, he’s only scheduled an official visit to the Plains which should give you an idea of where the Tigers sit in this recruitment right now. Not sure I would put him on commit watch just yet but he’s definitely someone to watch this month. The big wildcard is whether that LSU offer ever comes. If it does, things could get very interesting. As of today though I think the better looking Tigers are the clear team to beat.

Scouting Report

A quick, physical presence in the interior, Baudoin has one of the more impressive first steps of any interior defensive lineman in this class. He excels at shooting gaps and making plays behind the line of scrimmage. He plays with a great motor and has the versatility needed to fit into Mason’s scheme. It wouldn’t surprise me if he bulked up to 300+ lbs and spent time at the nose for Auburn given his penchant for stuffing the run.

3-star DB Emory Floyd | 6’0” | 165 lbs | Powder Springs, GA

Recruitment

Given the fact campuses have just reopened, I think most recruits are hesitant to commit this quickly. They’d rather use this month to get a chance to actually evaluate programs in person before making a decision in July or August. However, if there were someone that decided to pull the trigger after this weekend, my money would be on Emory Floyd.

Not that long ago UGA looked to be the clear team to beat for Floyd but Auburn didn’t relent. The Tigers have made the versatile defensive back a top priority this cycle and that persistence appears to be paying off. He visited the Plains for A-Day and left with the Tigers in front. Now Auburn has a chance to extend that lead and maybe even lock down the Georgia native.

Scouting Report

Floyd is listed as a safety but prefers to play cornerback. If there’s anything we’ve learned so far about Derek Mason is that he loves having guys capable of doing many different things on his defense and Floyd fits that mold. A lanky athlete who will need to put some weight on at the next level, Floyd can cover a lot of ground quickly. When wannabe scouts like myself call someone rangy this is the type of player they are thinking. Someone who can play all over the field. I think Floyd’s skillset actually make him an ideal nickel at the next level where he’s combination of cover skills, athleticism, and tackling ability could make him an impact player.

K Alex McPherson | 5’10” | 155 lbs | Fort Payne, AL

Recruitment

This is quietly one of the more heated recruitments this cycle. The #1 kicker in the 2022 class, McPherson is receiving interest from most every major SEC program. He has official visit set to Auburn, Florida, Georgia, and Texas A&M. His older brother Evan had an excellent career in Gainesville and the Gators are believed to be Auburn’s top competition. But McPherson grew up an AU fan and I think it’s going to be tough for him to pass up on that childhood dream. Needless to say though this is far from a slam dunk given the competition.

Scouting Report

Look, I pretend like I know a lot of things on this site but even my fake expertness has limits. So instead of trying to come up with enough buzz words to sound like I know what I am talking about here’s a scouting report from Kohl’s Kicking.

McPherson had a dominant showing at the 2021 Southern Showcase winning the kickoff competition. He also won Kohl’s Underclassman Challenge in multiple competitions. He separated himself from everyone else by winning multiple competitions and hitting a 65-yard field goal with ease. McPherson comes from a family of very good specialists and has multiple SEC offers. He has made long field goals throughout his high school career and has the talent and mind frame to be successful at the next level as a kicker who can punt in college. McPherson has a quiet confidence which should help him throughout his career. He will be fun to watch in the coming years!

War Eagle!

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2021/6/4/22517981/auburn-football-recruiting-june-4th-official-visitors-preview