The former Auburn defense team was eyeing a pair of defenders who impressed in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star game in December. One of them was 3-star AD Diamond, which Kevin Steele offered as an interim coach and hired during the initial hiring period. The other was S Juwon Gaston, 3-star, who entered the month of January without an offer in Auburn.
This changed quickly as soon as the new Tigers team was added. Auburn offered on January 20 and immediately became a leading candidate. This afternoon, he chose the Tigers over South Carolina and Tennessee.
Auburn’s social media made a false start earlier today, tweeting that they had received their National Letter of Intent before deleting it. Although this confusion stinks at Gaston, who expected a little drama before his announcement, fortunately has not changed the outcome.
lights
Scouting Report
First, Gaston has a chance to make an immediate impact on Auburn in 2021, even though he doesn’t see a single defense snap. Carver’s highlight is one of the best 2021 class returners. He returned an astonishing SEVEN kicks for touchdowns in 2020 and added three more touchdowns in punt returns. His patience combined with his explosion and vision make him a nightmare to cover in the kickoffs. I have to think that Auburn’s team will at least give him some chances in the return game this fall.
Gaston, however, is not just a player on special teams. He recorded 96 tackles, 5 TFL and 5 INTs in defense last fall. Given his tackle size and capacity, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him working with both nickel and Tigers safety. A solid late addition to this 2021 class.
The class
Gaston is the last expected commit of the day, as 3-star RB Jarquez Hunter will not make the announcement until Friday and 3-star CB Dontae Balfour must choose North Carolina today. However, there is still speculation that Auburn will add another player today, probably a flip. Who it may be remains a mystery, but my theory is that it will be a corner backwards, as the Tigers will likely lose Balfour and have decided to leave the South Carolina signatory 3 star CB La’Dareyen Craig. We will see.
War Eagle Juwon!