2018 National Signing Day Running Post

For the NINTH consecutive year, War Blogle will be THE PLACE to get all of the no-frills Auburn info on National Signing Day. The early signing period has severely diminished the already-waning excitement of the actual National Signing Day, but there’s still some ‘croots to be had.

As always, this post will be updated constantly throughout the day, so don’t get inundated with the same announcement 400 times, just keep hitting refresh on this post and you’ll see who signed. It’s simple. It’s straight-forward. It’s all you need.

6:00 pm – In the earliest time ever, I’m calling it. National Signing Day is over. There won’t be a live chat because it’s basketball season. The rankings likely won’t change too much, and I’ll have a list of the entire class posted tomorrow. Good day. Thank you for coming.

3:46 pm – I’d say the class is done with 24 signees. 15 were already in, 8 were committed and did not waiver, and 1 made his decision known today. As of right now, these are the rankings from the big three:

• ESPN – #12
• Rivals – #10
• 247 – #12

Gus has spoken to the media, and I hope to have the video and transcript soon. I’ll post the entire class in a separate post once the day is completely over.

2:55 pm – Auburn’s last remaining commitment has finally figured out the fax machine. Kolbi Fuqua (3-star ATH, Cordova, AL) is in. There was talk that he may be grayshirted due to an injury, but Auburn has a spot so why not?

1:51 pm – Auburn has their first (and probably only) hat of the day. Caleb Johnson (3-star DE/LB, Columbus, GA) has picked the Tigers over Georgia and Florida. I’m not 2-4 on my predictions.

12:20 pm – Ja’Marr Chase (4-star WR, Metairie, LA) has chosen to stay in-state and go to LSU. I at least predicted that one successfully to take me up to 1-4 on the day.

12:15 pm – Justyn Ross (5-star WR, Phenix City, AL) has picked Clemson. Dang it. 0-4 on predictions.

12:05 pm – As of right now, these are the rankings from the big three:

• ESPN – #9
• Rivals – #9
• 247 – #11

Those have all dropped a spot or two, but mostly because Notre Dame has made a big jump.

10:35 am – Wasn’t expecting Quay Walker (4-star LB, Cordele, GA) to go to Auburn. Wasn’t expecting him to go to Georgia either, but he is. Flipped from Alabama. Tide can’t win. 0-3 on my predictions today.

9:52 am – Two guys with Auburn hats on the table (Caleb Tannor – 4-star DE/LB, Cameron Taylor – 3-star DB) have already picked up Nebraska hats instead. Is that how it’s going to be Scott Frost? Check my predictions and the other announcement times down at the bottom.

9:39 am – The next last commitment is in. Coynis Miller, Jr. (4-star DT, Birmingham, AL) is faxed in his intent to attend Auburn University in the Fall.

9:30 am – Per usual, a good many of the hard commits have already faxed in their letters of intent way before I’m up and going. It starts with the Aussie punter, Arryn Siposs. Did you know the last five Ray Guy winners have been former Australian football players? Good sign. Here is the full list of all the guys that are already in and that we expected to be in.

1. Arryn Siposs – 2-star K, Australia
2. Matthew Hill – 4-star ATH, Snellville, GA
3. Richard Jibunor – 4-star ATH, Athens, GA
4. Harold Joiner – 4-star ATH, Mountain Brook, AL
5. Roger McCreary – 3-star ATH, Mobile, AL
6. Anthony Schwartz – 4-star WR, Plantation, FL

That leaves us with two more commitments left to fax their information in, which alone would set the class at 23 signees, and then there’s the few possible guys listed way down at the bottom. Check their schedule to see when they are announcing.

Given that we already have most of the class signed and in the barn, it only makes sense to split this initial post into three sections: those we have, those that have said they’ll have us, and those that we may have by the end of the day.

First, let’s go with what we have. This class is good enough by itself, and combined with the verbal commitments (more on those later), it ranks as so: ESPN – #8, Rivals – #7, 247 – #10.

1. Joey Gatewood – 4-star QB, Jacksonville, FL
2. Michael Harris – 4-star LB, Tucker, GA
3. Jalil Irvin – 4-star OL, Stone Mountain, GA
4. Asa Martin – 4-star RB, Decatur, AL
5. Zakoby McClain – 4-star LB, Valdosta, GA
6. Smoke Monday – 4-star DB, Atlanta, GA
7. Kayode Oladele – 4-star DE, Miami, FL
8. Jamien Sherwood – 4-star DB, Jensen Beach, FL
9. Shaun Shivers – 4-star Ath, Fort Lauderdale, FL
10. Christian Tutt – 4-star DB, Thomson, GA
11. Seth Williams – 4-star WR, Cottondale, AL
12. Shedrick Jackson – 3-star WR, Hoover, AL
13. Josh Marsh – 3-star LB, Decatur, AL
14. Daquan Newkirk – 3-star DL, Orlando, FL
15. Kameron Stutts – 3-star OL, Killen, AL

Next, we have the guys that have given Auburn their word that they will sign with them on National Signing Day. I suspect most will be faxed in before any of us really wake up.

1. Richard Jibunor – 4-star ATH, Athens, GA
2. Anthony Schwartz – 4-star WR, Plantation, FL
3. Harold Joiner – 4-star ATH, Mountain Brook, AL
4. Matthew Hill – 4-star ATH, Snellville, GA
5. Coynis Miller – 4-star DT, Birmingham, AL
6. Roger McCreary – 3-star ATH, Mobile, AL
7. Kolbi Fuqua – 3-star ATH, Cordova, AL
8. Arryn Siposs – 2-star K, Australia

And lastly, we come to the guys that Auburn has a shot at getting on this hallowed day. There aren’t too many spots left, and there aren’t too many guys left to pick Auburn. Most of these guys will go elsewhere, but if you count the stars above, these are just icing on the cake guys.

We do have the times they’ll be picking and the teams they’ll be picking from, and would you look that that, I even threw in my “I haven’t cared about recruiting until yesterday” predictions.

7:45 am: Caleb Tannor – 4-star DE/LB; Miller Grove HS, Lithonia, GA

• Teams: Auburn, Florida, Nebraska
• Prediction: Auburn – FAILURE (Picked Nebraska)

9 am: Cameron Taylor – 3-star DB; Park Crossing HS, Montgomery, AL

• Teams: Auburn, Nebraska, Missouri, Troy
• Prediction: Auburn – FAILURE (Picked Nebraska)

10 am: Quay Walker – 4-star LB; Crisp County HS, Cordele, GA

• Teams: Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee
• Prediction: Alabama – FAILURE (Picked Georgia)

12 pm (ESPN): Justyn Ross – 5-star WR; Central HS, Phenix City, AL

• Teams: Auburn, Alabama, Clemson
• Prediction: Alabama – FAILURE (Picked Clemson)

12 pm: Ja’Marr Chase – 4-star WR; Archbishop Rummel HS, Metairie, LA

• Teams: Auburn and LSU
• Prediction: LSU – SUCCESS! (but not really because he didn’t go to Auburn)

1:30 pm: Caleb Johnson – 3-star DE/LB; Northside HS, Columbus, GA

• Teams: Auburn, Florida, Georgia
• Prediction: Auburn – SUCCESS!

2:30 pm: Malik Langham – 4-star DE; Lee HS, Huntsville, AL

• Teams: Auburn, Alabama, Florida
• Prediction: Alabama – FAILURE (Picked Florida)

So keep it locked here. I’ll have every announcement, hopefully with video or some other media ganked from the internet. There will be a live chat at some point later in the day (follow me on Twitter to get updates on that), but feel free to talk about it all in the comments below or over in The Barn. Just for nostalgia, here’s how things went in past years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017.