National Signing Day 2011: Auburn Tigers Gun for Top 5 Recruiting Class in 2011

Entering the month of January, the coaching staff at Auburn University had a lot on its plate, especially considering the Tigers were playing for a national championship.

While the benefits of winning a national title are evident, Auburn has not had the luxury of contacting some of their top recruiting targets.

January brought not only a national title, but a boon in recruiting as well. Auburn added four 4-star and one 5-star player to this year's recruiting class.

Athletes like Quan Bray and Kris Frost bring multiple skills to the class. Taking Brent Calloway from Alabama was a surprise to most and a victory for the staff.

Christian Westerman too was a huge pickup for the offensive line.

As Auburn sets to host its national championship celebration today, recruiting will be its focus. With fans expected to pack the stadium, it will be a great atmosphere for recruits to see.

The majority of the official visitors this weekend already have committed to Auburn. Here is the official list for this weekend:

Jan. 21 Official Visitors

Jaylon Denson - WR Commit        

Kiehl Frazier - QB Commit

Kris Frost - ATH Commit 

Keymiya Harrell - DE Commit            

Chris Landrum - LB Commit

JaBrian Niles - DE Commit  

Anthony Swain - S Commit

C.J. Uzomah - TE Commit

Kyle Crofoot

Ellis Smith

As is pretty obvious from the list, there are not a lot of big names on the plains today that haven’t already committed.

However some big news for the day is that Erique Florence has decided to forgo his official visit to Alabama today to be in Auburn for the championship celebration. Florence has always been thought to be an Auburn lean, but this almost surely seals the deal for the Tigers.

This weekend is more or less to solidify some commits and get some juniors on campus as well.

As it stands right now, today will usher in a huge finishing week for the 2011 recruiting class. No one knows what surprises this staff may have in store for this weekend.

Jan. 28 is shaping up to be one of the biggest recruiting weekends in recent memory for the Tigers.

This will be the last weekend before signing day hits, so Auburn will be looking to get some big talent on campus. The official visit list as it stands today is as follows:

Jan. 28 Official Visitors

Isaiah Crowell - RB

Cyrus Kouandjio - OL

Xzavier Ward - OL

Gabe Wright - DL

Other possible recruits are expected on campus that weekend. If the week pans out the way it is expected to, Auburn should be able to bring in some top-level talent between now and next Saturday.

Jermaine Whitehead is one of the unofficial visitors scheduled for Jan. 28.

With the addition of Christian Westerman on Friday, the Tigers find themselves in the Top 10 of every major recruiting service.

Looking forward, Auburn is in good position for 5-star recruit Ray Drew and 4-star recruit Gabe Wright.

It would be a surprise if Wright didn’t end up at Auburn. Drew is still in the air between Georgia and Auburn. With Georgia being the in-state school, it looks like they may be the favorite, but Drew has had great things to say about Auburn.

Drew has played his cards close to his chest, however, and is set to announce his intentions this Friday.

If he chooses the Tigers, look for Drew to be in Auburn that weekend to help finish off the Tigers' soon-to-be top-five class.

With the apparent lean of Gabe Wright to the Tigers, Auburn could be in great shape.

Landing a 5-star running back for the second year in a row would be huge for this staff and a much-needed position to bring in guys that could contribute immediately.

Crowell has been rumored to be high on Georgia and Alabama, but Auburn has made a great case for itself in the past month.

Assuming a commitment from Wright, it will help the Tigers even more with Crowell, but in no way will it mean that Crowell will bring his services to the plains.

The running back position is of huge importance, and Auburn has positioned itself well enough that they will sign two more backs in this class.

Four-star recruit Tre Mason is a player that has been mentioned frequently this recruiting season. He is expected to be on the Auburn signing list Feb. 2. If the Tigers fail to sway Crowell to Auburn, look for another 4-star running back to come into the fold.

Another set of 5-star recruits looking at Auburn are linemen Cyrus Kouandjio and La'El Collins.

Collins has been a commit to LSU for a while. Switching his commitment would be a big shift in recruiting momentum. Gene Chizik still has the opportunity for an in-home visit with Collins. I would assume it to happen sometime this week and that would give the Tigers a great shot.

Kouandjio is the brother of an Alabama offensive tackle and is rumored to be following in his brother’s footsteps to the Tide.

One of the issues that Kouandjio seems to have with that scenario is that his brother and himself play the same position. With D.J. Fluker already set at one tackle spot, the brothers would be competing against one another for playing time.

At this point, I see Kouandjio signing elsewhere. Auburn has positioned itself quite well and an official visit could be all it needs to seal this one up.

With Chizik and the coaching staff having some in-home visits left, look for the Tigers to make some waves in the coming weeks as recruiting finishes out.

With 19 recruits already on board for the 2011 class, Auburn will likely look to finish with commitments from around eight to nine more guys.

With what has been discussed previously and with the in-home visits that the staff has left, I would expect Auburn to close out the recruiting season extremely strong. Expect the unexpected. I am sure the coaches have some good things left up their sleeves.

Projections

There aren’t many questions left in this class, but Auburn would like to pull another one or two guys from the “hopefuls” list.

Here is my breakdown of who should sign for Auburn:

4-star Erique Florence - S

4-star Tre Mason - RB

4-star Brandon Fulse - TE

4-star Marcus Roberson - CB

4-star Gabe Wright - DL

3-star Devaunte Sigler – DL

The additions Auburn hopes to make on signing day:

5-star Ray Drew - DE

5-star Isaiah Crowell - RB

5-star Cyrus Kouandjio - OL

5-star La’El Collins - OL

Assuming Auburn closes as expected and snags a few surprises along the way, the Tigers will look to have an overall class in the top five and the leading class in a few positions.

If the offensive line commits were done today without the addition of any more recruits, Auburn should finish with the No. 1 class. Auburn has a shot at the No. 1 DB class as well, with the assumed addition of Florence and Roberson.

The final position for Auburn to shine would be the running back position.

With Brent Calloway expecting a shot at running back and the addition of Mason and possibly Crowell, Auburn would lead the nation at the running back position as well.

No one knows what the future holds for the Auburn Tigers and this year’s recruiting. A lot can change in a week’s time, especially with these young athletes.

With that being said, Auburn fans should be excited about the future come signing day.

***UPDATES***

Players on unofficial visits 1/21/11

4-star Christian Westerman - OL Commit

4-star Brent Calloway - RB/LB Commit

4-star Greg Robinson - OL Commit

3-star Devaunte Sigler - DL