FANTASTIC FINISH?: Auburn still at 15/16 commitments

Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post

Eddie Goldman (93) is the biggest player remaining on Auburn's wish list.

Hey everyone.

These are interesting times for the Tigers’ 2012 recruiting enterprise, which is nearing its conclusion with a truckload of questions. Auburn currently has 15 or 16 commitments (depending on how you view Illinois transfer Jay Prosch) and has room to sign a total of 25 if chooses.

And considering Auburn is well below the 85-player limit, a full class makes perfect sense.

This seems like a tall order. Two of the Tigers’ targets — OL/DL Arik Armstead (Oregon) and OL Alex Kozan (Iowa) — walked away from Auburn offers Sunday night. That development isn’t necessarily a hindrance, but it created more pressure on coach Gene Chizik to finish strongly. He needs more high-quality signees.

This isn’t a hit piece. The major scouting services have Auburn’s current array of commitments and early enrollees in the No. 19-22 range, but the quality of Auburn’s current array of commitments puts it in the top 10. There just aren’t enough of them.

How can Auburn change that? Here’s a look at the big-name, uncommitted guys on Auburn’s board:

CREME DE LA CREME: Five-star guys
• DT Eddie Goldman (also considering Florida State)
• WR Stefon Diggs (also considering Florida, Southern Cal, Cal-Berkeley, Maryland)
• CB Ronald Darby (also considering Florida State and Notre Dame)
• WR Cordarrelle Patterson (also considering Georgia, Tennessee, LSU and Ole Miss)
• DE Leonard Williams (also considering Florida ans Southern Cal)

THE NEXT TIER: Four-star guys
• OL Avery Young (also considering Florida and Georgia)
• LB Kwon Alexander (also considering LSU)
• WR Ricardo Louis (also considering Florida State)
• OL Jordan Diamond (also considering Ohio State, Michigan and Arkansas)
• OL Will Adams (also considering Georgia Tech)
• ATH Jeremy Liggins (also considering Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Alabama)
• S Jordan Moore (also considering TCU)

Can Auburn sign a bunch of guys off those lists? It’s possible. Adding more than one guy off the top list surely will jump the Tigers into the top 10. Unlike many programs that already have a full array of commitments, Auburn has plenty of room to add players at will.

Wednesday on the Plains should be a shocker: A huge rally or a huge disappointment.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE FORUMS