Recruitment never ends.
Auburn coach Bryan Harsin made a point of saying that four times during his National Signing Day press conference on Wednesday afternoon, taking home an important note when it comes to the Tigers’ 2021 class: Auburn is not finished yet .
Auburn hired six players on Wednesday, bringing his recruiting class from 2021 to a total of 17 players – 11 of whom signed in December, with six of them already enrolled in classes this spring. But the Tigers’ off-season bid is not complete, at least not yet, with Harsin noting that the program still has “multiple slots” on the list that needs to be filled.
“Recruitment never ends and the opportunities for boys to be part of this program are still available,” said Harsin. “As a technical team, we will continue with our process of finding the right fit for guys who want to be part of that culture, fit in with that culture and guys that we can develop.”
Harsin did not specify how many vacancies were available, but based on what Auburn is bringing from last season’s list and the 17 signatories, Tigers should have approximately five or six scholarship vacancies available to reach the NCAA limit of 85 scholarships in 2021 season. Auburn’s first-year coach expects to have these vacancies filled by summer, so that the entire list is ready for summer conditioning and the start of autumn camp in August.
As things stand, Auburn’s 2021 class includes six offensive players and 11 on the defensive side, with Harsin not expecting further additions on Wednesday. The Tigers hired a quarterback, two wide receivers, two forwards and a tight end on that side of the ball. Defensively, the program picked up three safeties, two cornerbacks, five defensive linemen and a linebacker.
“Things always change,” said Harsin. “I would say that we will not finish in the next 48 hours, let me say that. I think, as I said before, recruitment never ends. This will be a process throughout this semester and will continue. And that is only part of where we are now, and it will always be the case. I don’t see that changing ”.
As for the “next 48 hours”, it should be noted that Auburn is recruiting two candidates who will announce their decisions on Friday: the three-star running back Jarquez Hunter and the junior college offensive Jordan Moko. Hunter is the 36th running back in the country and was a highly productive running back at Neshoba Central High in Philadelphia, Mississippi, where he ran for more than 5,800 yards and 78 touchdowns during his high school career. Moko, a 6-foot, 5- and 335-pound fighter from Australia, is classified as the country’s best offensive JUCO tackle and plans to announce his appointment at 2 am CT on Friday.
There may still be surprises coming to Auburn’s class, too, but beyond this week Auburn will likely turn to the transfer portal to fill the remaining vacancies on his list and meet his positional needs for this season. Harsin said Wednesday that among Auburn’s remaining needs are running back (which now has three stock market players after Devan Barrett chose to return and moved to his former position), offensive line and defensive back.
“The way recruitment is going now, it never ends,” said Harsin. “You have your two subscription periods, but there is always an opportunity. There may be friction, there may be things that change the program. And you’re still trying to find the right people to be a part of it. So no, our team now, we feel good about the position we are in, we feel good about the work being done, the guys who were hired, who are in this program now. But it will continue and we need to finish this class. We need to finish and make sure that we have our numbers filled in and we have our depth and competition in those positions. And then we go on, and if things change, we adjust from there. “
Tom Green is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.