Auburn Football: What Tigers Need to Do to Close Strong on National Signing Day
National signing day is one of the biggest days on the college football calendar for any program, but it's become monumental for Auburn in the last several years.
The Tigers are one of the top recruiting powerhouses in the SEC and, by extension, the entire country. It's virtually impossible for teams to compete for championships without winning big on signing day, and Auburn has maintained an elite level of recruiting over the past decade.
Auburn is currently No. 14 in 247Sports' composite team rankings, which is still impressive considering the Tigers' underwhelming seasons in 2014 and 2015 and recent coaching turnover. No matter the records, Auburn is still an appealing destination for some of the nation's top recruits.
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The Tigers also have a chance to close inside the Top 10 of the rankings with a strong showing on national signing day. Bleacher Report's Damon Sayles named Auburn as one of nine teams that could win big Wednesday.
What do the Tigers need to do to close strong and wrap up an outstanding 2016 recruiting class? Here are three target areas to watch this Wednesday.
Sign two of the remaining Top 100 defensive targets
Auburn's best chance at pushing into the Top 10 of the overall team rankings—and perhaps a run at a potential Top 5 class—resides with four defensive Top 100 recruits:
| Rashan Gary | DT | Paramus, New Jersey | 6'5", 293 | 1 |
| Derrick Brown | DT | Buford, Georgia | 6'4", 317 | 9 |
| Ben Davis | ILB | Gordo, Alabama | 6'3", 240 | 10 |
| Nigel Warrior | S | Suwanee, Georgia | 6'0", 186 | 58 |
These four players are the bulk of the biggest targets remaining for Auburn, and the Tigers have a strong chance with at least three of them.
Rashan Gary, the No. 1 overall player in the country, is the longest shot. Auburn had some good momentum with the New Jersey native during the 2015 season, but the departure of former defensive coordinator Will Muschamp didn't sit well with Gary's mother, who has played a vocal role in his recruitment.
Head coach Gus Malzahn and defensive line coach Rodney Garner visited Gary over the weekend—before the nation's most coveted recruit made his official visit to Clemson. The ACC's Tigers and Michigan appear to be the leaders for Gary, but one can't completely rule Auburn out.
Fellow defensive tackle and Top 10 recruit Derrick Brown, however, has a much better chance of signing with Auburn. His last three weekends were official visits to—in order—Auburn, Georgia and Tennessee.
According to Keith Niebuhr of 247Sports, "Auburn likes its chances" of signing the elite Georgia native. Niebuhr put Auburn's chances of signing Brown at 55 percent.
Over the weekend, Auburn's chances at signing 5-star linebacker Ben Davis surprisingly rose. The nation's No. 1 inside linebacker, the son of Alabama all-time tackles leader Wayne Davis, made his official visit to Auburn and told reporters he didn't have a leader after his trip to the Plains.
"I got to see a lot of things that I was wondering about, answered a lot of questions," Davis said, per Tom Green of the Opelika-Auburn News. "Coach Malzahn and Coach Steele, they’re great coaches. I’m just glad, like I said, that I got down here to see them. It’s going to be tough on signing day for me."
As Green reported, the top factor in Davis' recruitment is his chance at early playing time. That's something Auburn can offer more than Alabama. While Davis picking anyone but the Tide would still be a signing day surprise, the Tigers are very much in the hunt for the star linebacker.
Finally, Auburn is also in the running for 4-star safety Nigel Warrior. Tennessee, where his father, Dale Carter, played, is said to be the leader, but the Tigers could snatch him from the Vols on signing day.
Warrior officially visited Auburn on Jan. 21, and a host of Auburn coaches visited him on Jan. 19 and Jan. 27. New defensive backs coach Wesley McGriff has been a key figure in Auburn's late push for Warrior.
Signing one of these Top 100 recruits would obviously be huge for Auburn, but the best-case scenario involves the Tigers snagging at least two of them—most likely Brown and either Davis or Warrior.
If Auburn signs two of these four, it's a strong signing day finish that would put the Tigers firmly into the Top 10. If Auburn signs three of the four, it's one of the biggest hauls in recent memory.
If Auburn signs all four, the world might stop spinning on its axis. Then again, much stranger things have happened with this program in recent years.
"#Auburn's lack of depth in the secondary 'attractive' to four-star safety Nigel Warrior | https://t.co/M3BN6Ss7jg pic.twitter.com/waaqKHxbyW
— Chuck Kingsbury (@Kingsbury_AJC) January 25, 2016"
Land the Myers brothers
Offensively, Auburn's No. 1 target is a name that should already be familiar to Tigers fans—4-star wide receiver Nate Craig-Myers.
The Tampa native and former No. 1 wide receiver recruit in the 2016 class was widely expected to stay in-state after decommitting from Auburn last May. However, with just days remaining in the recruiting cycle, Craig-Myers narrowed his list down to just Auburn and North Carolina.
The 6'2", 205-pound Craig-Myers is an all-around receiver with the ideal body size to become a future No. 1 target in the Auburn offense.
The position is one of huge need for the Tigers—they've already gotten commitments from two other 4-star wideouts—and Craig-Myers has been Auburn's biggest target on this side of the ball for quite sometime.
North Carolina has made a strong push late for Craig-Myers, moving past Florida State and Ole Miss to land in the final spots with Auburn. Co-offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer is a big fan of his talents.
Auburn currently holds 70 percent of the 247Sports crystal ball predictions for Craig-Myers, and the Tigers have gotten all the experts' picks since late December.
Craig-Myers' brother, 3-star cornerback Jayvaughn Myers, is also deciding between Auburn and North Carolina. He officially visited Auburn with Craig-Myers on Jan. 15.
Myers is far from Auburn's top recruits left on the board, but he brings good size at 6'1" to the cornerback position—and the Tigers can always use additional depth in the secondary. He played at the Under Armour All-America Game and could be a high-potential pickup.
While the brothers haven't said they are officially a package deal, Myers' matching of Craig-Myers' two finalists is quite telling. It's hard to imagine one of them going to Auburn and the other one going to Chapel Hill at this point.
Auburn simply needs to close strong with these Florida siblings by edging North Carolina for their signatures on Wednesday. If that happens, the Tigers will have an instant-impact receiver and another quality defensive back for 2016.
Pick up another offensive lineman
After signing a large offensive line class last year, Auburn only has one current commitment along the front five for 2016—3-star tackle Brodarious Hamm.
That's not from any lack of trying on Auburn's part, though. The Tigers, who have a new offensive line coach in Herb Hand, are targeting a trio of 4-star linemen ahead of national signing day.
While the Tigers lag behind both Florida State and Tennessee at this point, they're still said to be factors in the recruitment of North Carolina tackle Landon Dickerson. A borderline 4/5-star recruit, Dickerson visited Auburn for the Iron Bowl.
Auburn has a better chance at landing Georgia tackle E.J. Price, who officially visited the Plains on Jan. 22. The Tigers are in the hunt with Georgia, who already has several offensive tackle commitments, and USC for his signature on Wednesday.
Price, a 2016 Under Armour All-American, is being recruited by Auburn to play left tackle. The Tigers lost starting tackles Shon Coleman and Avery Young to the NFL this offseason, making a blue-chip pickup like Price important for the future.
"Well, I ‘m sure everyone knows Shon Coleman and Avery Young left so it’s an amazing opportunity for me to come in and play early," Price said, per Niebuhr. "I have a great relationship with Coach Malzahn and Coach Hand. It’s just a great relationship overall as far as football."
"#Auburn is one of six finalists for the services of 4-star OG Landon Dickerson. https://t.co/8VFoKDOWhW pic.twitter.com/40Qlam6iOp
— Auburn Tigers Scout (@AuburnOnScout) January 22, 2016"
The final target is Nigerian-born Ohio recruit Prince Sammons, who can play both defensive end and offensive tackle at a high level.
Hand recruited the 6'8" Sammons at Penn State and wants him to join the Tigers—and Auburn is the only one to recruit him exclusively at offensive tackle, per Niebuhr. Sammons is raw, much like 2015 signing Prince Tega Wanogho, but his physical gifts make him a high-value target.
Again, with two star tackles leaving early for the NFL this offseason, the Tigers would love to add another recruit on the offensive line with Hamm.
Auburn most likely has the best shot at landing Sammons of the three, but a surprise pickup of Dickerson or Price would make for an exciting Wednesday on the Plains.
Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
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