Published Apr 9, 2015
3-star shines in CB class
Jeffrey Lee
AuburnSports.com Senior Editor
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AUBURN | Auburn secondary coach Travaris Robinson expects one of the cornerback signees to arrive in May more polished at the position than the others.
Auburn signed three cornerbacks in February, including two four-star recruits, but it's the lone three-star of the group, former American (Hialeah, Fla.) High standout Jeremiah Dinson, that should be more fine-tuned.
"He is a really, really good player," Robinson said. "Coming in as a freshman he'll probably be the most fundamentally sound."
There are reasons for that, none more important than Dinson's experience at the position. He'll be a rookie at Auburn, but a veteran to the cornerback position.
That goes a long way.
"He's played the position for so long," Robinson said. "He's not a guy who played a bunch of different (positions). He's been a corner for a long, long time."
That's allowed Dinson to hone his skills, and it is those skills Robinson is excited to add to his secondary.
"He plays with good technique, good eye control," Robinson said. "And he competes."
Dinson, listed at six feet tall and 180 pounds, was set to sign with Kentucky until Robinson took the Auburn job in early January. Dinson took an official visit to Auburn Jan. 23-25 and two days later flipped his commitment to Auburn.
Robinson is glad he did. With a little more weight, Dinson could be a true freshman contributor in 2015.
"He's getting a lot bigger," Robinson said. "He's probably now about 178, 180.
"If he can get to 185, he'll have a chance (to play early)."
Second big, last-minute flip
Carlton Davis, a Rivals250 corner from Norland High in Miami, entered January thinking he would sign with Ohio State. No reason not to. He'd been committed to the national champs since August.
He was wrong.
Following Robinson's hire at Auburn, Davis reconsidered his decision. He took an official visit to Auburn on Jan. 23-25. He had Robinson and Will Muschamp travel to him two days later for an in-home visit.
Davis, 6-foot-1 and 182 pounds, made his switch from Ohio State to Auburn the following week on Signing Day.
"I had no idea (about the flip)," Robinson said with a grin. "I thought he was going to Ohio State."
Robinson's glad he didn't.
"He is a long, long athlete," Robinson said. "He can really, really run. He's a track guy. He's got great line-of-scrimmage abilities, pressing and doing different things like that, and he has good ball skills down the field.
"I think he's going to be a really, really good player."
Versatile speedster
Javarius Davis, a four-star athlete/cornerback from Ed White High in Jacksonville, Fla., is a good candidate to be a contributor as a freshman.
He's too fast to be sitting down.
"He can fly," Robinson said. "He has some tremendous, tremendous speed and he has great skills. He can play offense and defense, and he'll be able to help us immediately on special teams."
Davis is just as versatile in the secondary.
"He can go inside and play nickel. He can cover the slot," Robinson said. "I'm excited about him and what we can do with him.
"He's a hungry dude who loves to compete."
Early start(er)
Former Westminister Christian (Palmetto Bay, Fla.) four-star safety Tim Irvin announced Jan. 3 that he planned to enroll early at Texas, choosing the Longhorns over in-state Florida.
Irvin's plans changed days later when learning that Robinson had taken a job at Auburn under defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.
"Me and Tim had a great relationship the entire time," Robinson said. "I thought he was coming to Florida, but when I left, it shook things up for him. He went on to the Army (All-America) Game and committed to Texas."
Robinson didn't give up.
"I kept working on him, and good things happen for a reason," Robinson said. "Texas started school late. We started school early so he had a chance to come that one weekend to visit."
Irvin visited Auburn Jan. 16-18. When he showed up that Friday, Robinson knew Irvin would be a Tiger.
"He told me he couldn't (visit), but I knew if we got him down to visit that it would be tough to go back to Texas," Robinson said.
He was right. Three days after leaving the visit, Irvin returned and enrolled at Auburn. He'll practice this afternoon at safety and is expected to compete for a starting spot.
More info needed
Two secondary signees Robinson isn't as familiar with are Montavious Atkinson and Jordan Colbert, both longtime Auburn commits before signing in February.
Atkinson, 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, played linebacker at Langston Hughes (Fairburn, Ga.), but could get a look at safety at Auburn. It depends on what the coaches see when he arrives in May.
"He'll play some safety," Robinson said. "We've got to see his skill set when he gets here. I haven't seen him in camp. There are a lot of guys I haven't seen, so we don't know exactly how they'll fit to what we're doing.
"When they get here, we'll get a chance to evaluate them early."
That also goes for Colbert, who is working overtime this spring to make sure he's eligible to report to Auburn in the summer.
"I haven't seen him in camp, but he's a really, really talented dude," Robinson said. "He's got some stuff he's got to do off the field. He has to clean up some things to get here and all that kind of stuff, but he likes to ball and he's coming into a position of need."