Auburn Football Recruiting: Tigers' Top Remaining 2015 Targets

With just over two weeks to go until national signing day, Auburn's 2015 recruiting class is looking pretty good. But it can still get a lot better.

The Tigers just picked up their 21st signee on Tuesday, with 4-star safety Tim Irvin flipping from Texas just over two weeks after making that commitment. This has lifted the overall class to 10th best in the country, according to 247Sports, though that's still only No. 5 among SEC schools.

Auburn is still hot on the trail of several other notable players to fill out the 2015 class, including several 5-star prospects. Here's a look at the ones who will matter most if coach Gus Malzahn and his staff can convince them to come to the Plains this season.

John Burt

Position: Wide receiver

Height, weight: 6'3", 180 lbs

Ranking: 141st

Main competition: Florida State, Texas

Auburn has secured commitments for 2015 at nearly every position except wide receiver. John Burt figures to be the one to change all that, as his recent decommit from Texas makes it look like he's headed to the Tigers.

Burt, who had been pledged to the Longhorns since the summer, backed off on that commitment on Jan. 6. According to Bleacher Report recruiting analyst Tyler Donohue, the Tallahassee resident made several visits to Auburn (as well as Florida State) during the 2014 season. However, Burt's last public comment about his recruiting, made via Twitter, indicated Texas is still his leader.

Burt went to Auburn in October for his official visit, but coaches have remained in contact with him. The Tigers lost Sammie Coates and Quan Bray from their receiving corps, and he could step right in and get some snaps as a true freshman.

Byron Cowart

USA TODAY Sports

Position: Defensive end

Height, weight: 6'4", 250 lbs

Ranking: 3rd

Main competition: Florida, Florida State

Auburn ranked 94th in sacks this past season, with no player recording more than 3.5 on their own. There's an immediate opening on the defensive line with the graduation of Montravius Adams, a spot that Byron Cowart would fit just nicely into.

The nation's top-rated strong-side defensive end would provide some sorely needed speed and power to the Tigers' edge. Cowart showed these skills throughout workout sessions and one-on-one drills leading up to the Under Armour All-America Game in St. Petersburg, including flattening Arizona offensive line pledge Keenan Walker and blowing past Ole Miss commit Drew Richmond.

Cowart is part of a three-prospect group that Auburn is hoping to land as a group, according to Wesley Sinor of AL.com. Along with linebacker Jeffery Holland and defensive end CeCe Jefferson, the trio is shopping itself as a package deal.

"We'll all play at the same school, because we know we can make an impact," Cowart told Sinor after visiting Auburn on Jan. 16. "One guy can't make a difference at a school, and I don't think people understand that."

If those three do all pledge to the same school, Auburn might have some work to do. 247Sports has Florida as the clear front-runner, while Florida State is third behind the Tigers in the pecking order. Cowart is scheduled to visit Florida this weekend and go to FSU on Jan. 30.

Jeffery Holland

247Sports

Position: Outside linebacker

Height, weight: 6'2", 230 lbs

Ranking: 117th

Main competition: Florida

One of three Florida prospects (along with defensive ends Cowart and Jefferson) who plan to attend school together in 2015, Holland is the lowest rated but might be the most important get of the trio. Auburn's linebacker corps will have a number of seniors this fall, which means depth needs to be established beforehand, or the Tigers could be in trouble in future years.

Auburn has three other outside linebacker commitments, but none are rated higher than Holland, who ranks eighth overall at that position.

Holland had eight sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss as a senior, per 247Sports, showing off great speed and power. He's one of several players that new Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp was recruiting while still head coach at Florida, making him part of the SEC's hot new recruiting rivalry between the Tigers and Gators.

Martez Ivey

247Sports

Position: Offensive tackle

Height, weight: 6'5.5", 275 lbs

Ranking: 2nd

Main competition: Florida

Named the 2015 U.S. Army Player of the Year, Martez Ivey is the top-rated offensive tackle in the country and has spent time as the No. 1 overall recruit in 247Sports' composite rankings. His great run- and pass-blocking skills were on display during the All-American Bowl earlier this month, where he held his own admirably against some of the nation's top defensive recruits.

The Apopka, Florida, native would make a great addition to the Tigers line, which has a pair of rising juniors in Shon Coleman and Avery Young set to start again at the tackle spots this fall but can always benefit from having depth in the trenches. Ivey figures to get thrown into the rotation right away, though.

"Given the importance of the left tackle to the offensive line, Ivey is a prospect who has an NFL-type frame with the agility and strength necessary to handle elite pass-rushers on the college level," Bleacher Report recruiting analyst Sanjay Kirpalani wrote.

Ivey made an unofficial visit to Auburn on Jan. 16, while his official trip there was in November. He's listed the Tigers and Florida as his top two choices, though 247Sports' Crystal ball gives the Gators an 82 percent chance of landing the in-state prospect.

CeCe Jefferson

Position: Defensive end

Height, weight: 6'2", 275 lbs

Ranking: 7th

Main competition: Florida, Ole Miss

Another top-notch defensive end prospect and the third piece of the proposed "package deal" with fellow Florida residents Cowart and Holland, Jefferson is coming off his official visit to Auburn last weekend. During that trip, he told Keith Niebuhr of 247Sports that "I got that family feel" from the coaches he spent time with.

That group included former Florida coaches Muschamp and Travaris Robinson, now on the Tigers' staff. They've been on Jefferson for four years and hope to lure him out of the state.

It appears Jefferson is leaning toward playing outside of Florida, though in late December he declared that Ole Miss was his leader. That was before visiting Auburn, however, so these next two weeks will likely require him to spend a lot of time thinking about his future.

Arden Key

Position: Defensive end

Height, weight: 6'5", 230 lbs

Ranking: 82nd

Main competition: Georgia, LSU, Miami (Fla.), South Carolina

If it wasn't evident that Auburn is in desperate need of defensive line help, the fact that four of the top six uncommitted prospects the Tigers are still trying to land are edge-rushers should drive that point home. Arden Key is the lowest rated of that lot but no less important.

Key, a Georgia native, is being chased by roughly half of the SEC. He had previously committed to South Carolina, though he backed off that pledge on Jan. 6 and has since made visits to LSU and Miami. He's set to check out the Gamecocks again this weekend and has his final visit lined up for Jan. 30 at Auburn.

247Sports puts Auburn's chances of pulling in Key at only 17 percent, with South Carolina (42 percent) and Georgia (38 percent) the co-favorites.

Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.