AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn’s Gene Chizik endured a few anxious moments as signing day came and went, like any other coach.
Mostly, though, he got the results he wanted when the Tigers completed a haul of prospects Wednesday that was heavy on big men and included players ranked among the nation’s top quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers.
The Tigers’ 27-man class — plus five that have already enrolled and count toward last year — got a big signing-day boost when uncommitted defensive end Corey Lemonier of Hialeah, Fla., chose Auburn over Florida State. A couple of hours later, Louisiana wide receiver Trovon Reed stuck to his pledge to Auburn over home-state power LSU.
“I’m anxious until we get the fax in,” Chizik said, referring to the letters of intent that make recruits’ destinations official.
His first full-year recruiting effort resulted in a class that was picked third by Rivals.com and fifth by Scout.com in preliminary rankings.
It met pressing needs with six players each on the offensive and defensive lines, five defensive backs and four linebackers.
The 32 total players included junior college quarterback Cameron Newton, who is already on campus and is rated the nation’s top junior college prospect by Rivals.
Michael Dyer is rated the nation’s top running back by ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc., and the No. 5 overall player in the ESPNU 150. SuperPrep lists Reed, a high school quarterback, as the fifth-best receiver prospect.
The defensive line got a huge boost this week. Lemonier was rated the No. 3 weakside defensive end and fourth-best player in Florida by Rivals.
“Coach (Tracy) Rocker never told me anything bad or anything like that,” Lemonier said in an announcement televised by ESPNU. “He told me if I come I’ll have to work. That’s the truth, so I believe in him.”
On Monday, highly rated defensive tackle Jeffrey Whitaker picked Auburn over Georgia and Miami.
“It’s huge. Jeff is obviously one of the top defensive linemen in the country,” Chizik said. “He’s a physical presence in the middle of the defense.
“The better you are on defense is probably directly correlated to how good you are in the front four. That’s where it starts. We think Jeff really brings just a great deal of talent to that position. He’s going to have to get used to the college game but he’s exactly what we’re looking for here.”
