Looking to improve greatly in 2019, Auburn turns to the recruiting trail to keep building contending teams. Can the Tigers rope in high-caliber recruits during the early signing period?
2018 was a huge letdown for Auburn, who was thought to compete in the Top 10 all season. After beating #6 Washington in their opening weekend, things were looking promising. But after losing in Starkville to an unranked Mississippi State team and later to an unranked and struggling Tennessee team, the wheels fell off.
The Tigers will be losing star quarterback Jarrett Stidham to the NFL Draft, taking away a major piece of their offense. The spot won’t be vacant for long, as four-star Bo Nix (Pinson, AL) plans to sign early with Auburn. Nix is the number one dual-threat quarterback of the 2019 class and the fourth-ranked prospect out of the state of Alabama.
Expected to join Nix are Owen Pappoe (Loganville, GA), a five-star recruit and top-ranked outside linebacker in the nation. The Auburn defense recorded 35 sacks, T-15th in the country, and the addition of stout Pappoe fortifies the next line of pass rushers. The only other recruit expected to sign early is offensive guard Keiondre Jones (Hogansville, GA).
Gus Malzahn remains as one of the SEC’s best recruiters, assembling the 12th ranked recruiting class of 2019, on par with last season (also ranked 12th).
Auburn struggled to put points on the board against ranked opponents, mustering just over 18 points per game. They also scored 24 against Group of 5 opponent Southern Miss and FCS opponent Mercer. The addition of Nix should help the offense get back on track, which ranked T-71st in the nation in scoring (among the likes of Baylor, Minnesota, and Eastern Michigan).
All three expected early signees are on the offensive side of the ball and expect the Tigers to continue going offense-heavy this recruiting class.