Auburn Football Recruiting: Tigers Must Get Arik Armstead to Solidify 2012 Class

The Auburn Tigers are still in the race to add the behemoth offensive tackle prospect Arik Armstead to their top-ranked recruiting class.

Their best chance to get him comes from the fact that they will let his brother Armond, a former starting defensive lineman for the USC Trojans, come to school with him and have a chance to play together.

The Armstead matriarch, Christina, told Joe Davidson at The Sacramento Bee that is a major factor in Arik’s decision.

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"Our whole motto, our whole thing, our goal...our kids love each other and Arik would do anything to help Armond and vice versa," Christina continued. "We'd love to have them play together and they really love that too. It'd be so hurtful to the heart if they're not together, and that's why we're holding off on a decision because they really don't know. We're looking into all the options of playing together first."

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It’s obvious that whatever school is willing to keep the two together is the one with the best chance to land the 5-star OT.

They visited Auburn last weekend and the only problem foreseeable is the Southeastern Conference officials possibly delaying or blocking Armond’s transfer.

According to Davidson, Christina said,

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“We have to petition the SEC for that transfer and that can take two days or three weeks and we're thinking, 'Oh Lord...let this nightmare end.’”

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Auburn already has the No. 15 class in the nation, with nine 4-star recruits and seven 3-star players committed to join the Tigers next season.

They would certainly move up in the rankings and have a brighter future by adding a tackle that would anchor the line for a few years.

The team is at the mercy of the SEC officials to grant Armond’s transfer request and are hoping it will be expedited in order to give them a solid leg to stand on when pitching their program to the family again.