Auburn Football Recruiting: Addition of 4-Star RB Is Fantastic Pickup for Tigers

The big news in the south has been SEC Media Days, but even though the coaches are out glad handing and entertaining questions, the beast that is recruiting never sleeps. Fresh off flipping Reuben Foster from Alabama to Auburn, the Tigers' staff has now grabbed a big-time commitment from four-star running back Jordan Wilkins. As The Birmingham News tells us, he's a first for the 2013 class of Tigers:

"He's the first running back to commit for Auburn's 2013 signing class."

"In the end, Wilkins, who is from Cordova, Tenn., near Memphis, chose Auburn over Tennessee and Vanderbilt. He also had offers from  Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Michigan, Nebraska, Texas Tech and Wisconsin, among others. Wilkins is Auburn's 17th commitment."

A great get for the Tigers as they push towards the front of the heap for the nation's elusive and mythical "Recruiting National Championship." Auburn has elbowed their way into the Top Ten and are with the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Texas A&M and LSU to make over half of the 10 best classes linked to SEC schools. A scary proposition for the rest of the league as the rich get richer and schools like Florida, Texas A&M and Auburn look to rebuild for success.

On the football side of things, we can take a look at the Wilkins' commitment and what it means to Auburn. For starters, the Tigers are going to need some running backs to fill out the roster as losing on TJ Yeldon late and Michael Dyer leaving for Arkansas State hurt their depth a bit. Onterrio McCalebb is a senior, and we'll see who amongst the backups proves themselves out of the backfield this season.

At 6'1", Wilkins is taller than Dyer or McCalebb and already pushing 210; he's got a clear size advantage on the small scatback leading the rushing attack for Auburn in 2012. What Wilkins brings to the table is more of that pro-styled, down hill rushing look that Gene Chizik and Scot Loeffler are looking to move to as they get deeper into the scheme. 

As always with recruiting, the onus is on Gene Chizik and his staff to keep Wilkins interested. With a player as highly touted as Wilkins, and his home state schools of Tennessee and Vanderbilt both desperately wanting to get talent into their programs, the marathon of keeping the commitment in the boat starts now.