Auburn Football Recruiting: Meet JaQuay Williams, the Tigers' Flagship Recruit

Auburn is heading into the home stretch of recruiting this week looking to close as strong as ever with the 2012 recruiting class. The Tigers are only 16 commits deep at this point, so there's a lot of room for Auburn to add some big playmakers in the next few weeks.

As it stands today, the flagship recruit of the Tigers 2012 class has to be JaQuay Williams. Williams is a big bodied receiver from Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Georgia. Williams is an elite pass catcher that's ranked No. 78 in the Rivals 100.

Williams rings in as Auburn’s highest-rated recruit according to Rivals.com, their No. 4 recruit according to ESPN.com and he's the No. 2 rated player in the class according to the folks at 247sports.com.

Williams has been able to take the Georgia high school circuit by storm as his unique size and speed has led to big performances at the high school level. When he gets to Auburn, the level of competition will be much higher than what Williams has seen but expect Williams to continue his game changing plays well into his collegiate career.

Williams will be looked upon to provide a spark to a meager receiving corps at Auburn. Emory Blake will be heading into his senior season this year and will be a big leader for this offense and his fellow receivers. Blake can’t carry the entire load of the passing offense however and the Tigers will be looking to find another big-play receiver.

Williams lists at the 6’3"-6’4" range and weighs in at around 200 lbs. Williams has the size and athleticism that could get him on the field early, giving him a shot at becoming a threat in the Auburn passing game from day one.

Auburn has had a wealth of inconsistency from its receivers this past season despite having a ton of talent on the sideline. There could have been a mixture of quarterback error and receiver miss reads, but at the end of the day, the Tigers need to find a way to move the ball down the field through the air.

With the addition of a new offensive coordinator and the implementation of additional talents like Williams, one has to expect that the Tigers can upgrade their passing offense this season markedly over the results that were witnessed in the 2011 season.

Very rarely does a freshman make it through the fall camp and avoid a redshirt, but considering the needs of the Tigers to find a big play outside man Williams may be an early starter in the orange and blue.

Williams took his official visit to Auburn this past weekend with a number of big-time recruits, most of which were uncommitted. The Tigers hosted names like Stefon Diggs and Arik Armstead. They also were able to host some of their bigger named commits and all four of their early enrollees.

Williams has been a big advocate for the Tigers on the recruiting trail and has not wavered in his commitment despite the departure of Gus Malzahn. There was an initial point where Williams lashed out at the move by Malzahn to Arkansas State, but after meeting with the Tigers' current coaches, he returned to the solid commitment line.

Williams came out around Christmas in response to rumors that his commitment to Auburn was beginning to waiver and cleared the air by standing by his current commitment despite the heavy recruitment that has continued by the likes of Georgia, Alabama and LSU.

Williams is not the most highly discussed recruit for the Tigers, that falls to Zeke Pike for a number of reasons, and his recruitment will likely continue to be one that does not carry a wealth of fanfare and news headlines. For Williams and the Tigers, that's a plus.

JaQuay Williams stands as the most highly rated and silent of Auburn’s current commits. Williams and Auburn seem to like it that way. It will likely be a loud arrival this fall.