National Signing Day 2011: Will Ray Drew Head To Auburn When He Announces?
Ray Drew's list of schools of interest has been pretty fluid through his recruitment, yet he looks to be trimming things down and slated to announce his choice this Friday.
National champion Auburn is one of the schools on Drew's final list and eagerly awaits to learn if they are indeed the stud defensive end's choice.
Let's check out the schools Drew is looking at and if Auburn sits pretty as at the front runner.
Who Is Ray Drew?
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Drew is a 6'5", 245 pound defensive end out of Thomas County, Georgia. He is one of the elite players not only in Georgia or the South, but the country. Rivals has Drew as its number nine player overall.
Drew plays with very good strength and athleticism. He has a very quick first step and fires out of his stance with power and speed as a rusher. He's strong enough to effectively convert speed to power during a rush and can play the strong or weakside.
He's got a great frame that even at 245 pounds can easily hold an extra 25 pounds or so.
Drew's Weaknessess
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Drew will need to continue filling out his frame and gain strength in college. He needs bulk so he can anchor consistently against the run vs. power tackles in the run game.
He also needs to be stronger at the point of attack to grab, read, react and shed blockers. Drew also can play too high which causes him to be moved off his spot by blockers.
Drew To the U?
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Drew added Miami into the picture a bit late in the race, but took a visit to Coral Gables earlier this month.
He hit it off with Canes assistant coaches Jethro Franklin and Michael Barrow, who like Drew is a deep man of faith and an ordained minister. Drew also loved hanging out with the players on the Hurricanes' squad.
Al Golden and company are recruiting everyone hard and selling them on the idea of changes at Miami, and Drew could decide to head down to sack quarterbacks on South Beach.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Clemson On the Trail
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Drew just got back from Clemson yesterday, and he didn't arrive on his visit to the Tigers' campus until 5am Saturday morning, as he had a basketball game on Friday night.
Though he may have gotten to Clemson later than expected, Drew almost didn't want to leave. He was joined by Sammy Watkins and Charone Peake, two Clemson commits, and hosted by Tahj Boyd. Drew spent time with Dabo Swinney playing darts and H.O.R.S.E. and also defensive coordinator Kevin Steele.
Drew loved his visit, had a ton of fun, and learned that Clemson program is a great family atmosphere.
Drew Was Already a Tiger Fan Before Visit
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Drew tripped to LSU in early October and said the game atmosphere was electric and impressive. The game itself ended on a controversial play and the Tigers beat Tennessee 16-14.
Current Tiger commits La'El Collins, Jarvis Landry, and Anthony Johnson all were on hand and took time to ensure LSU was the place for Drew, who has admitted to being a fan of the Tigers for a long time.
Drew also met current players, took tours, ate gumbo and met with head coach Les Miles, ends coach Brick Haley and defensive coordinator John Chavis.
Can Georgia Keep Him Home?
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Drew tripped to UGA in December and the Dawgs are doing all they can to keep him home and from escaping out of their backyard.
Mark Richt took him fishing in freezing weather during his visit, where Drew caught a cold, yet Drew loved his trip to Athens. Drew kept using the the word "great" about everything during his visit to Georgia when recalling.
He really appreciated the fact of Georgia fans not yelling and urging for him to sign with Georgia or sign autographs during his trip and appreciated the laid back feeling overall during the visit.
Drew seemed to really love his trip to Athens, which is a high priority for Richt and company.
Not Tame On the Tigers
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Drew took a visit to Auburn in November and the champs are among the finalists who are going after him extremely hard.
Coming off a magical season and capping it off with BCS National Championship, the Tigers are poised to close out the recruiting cycle with a top five recruiting class, in which they want Drew to be a part of.
A major factor in why Auburn sits pretty with Drew is they have always remained constant in his list. Schools have come and gone with Drew and he's been linked everywhere, but Auburn is among the most consistently mentioned schools with Drew. He loved his visit, loves Gene Chizik, the Tiger defense, campus and feel at Auburn.
This could bode well for the Tigers this Friday.
Who Will It Be?
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This is a tough call with Drew, as we he seems to really love everything about each of his finalist.
He was initially scheduled to wait until National Signing Day, but recently decided to move his decision date up to Friday, January 28th.
He seems to be pretty close to many of the Georgia recruits including Malcolm Mitchell, Jay Rome and Christian LeMay. He is also very close with Gabe Wright and Isaiah Crowell, whom UGA is hot after as well.
Georgia could win this one, but he could easily end up at LSU, Auburn, or Clemson too. Also, don't count Miami out just yet either.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
