5-star LB visits AU, leaves with Tigers in top group
AUBURN, Ala. | Nate McBride in early January didn’t plan to visit Auburn in the spring. The five-star recruit and No. 1 inside linebacker was focused more on other schools, namely in-state Georgia and Alabama.
That changed later in the month when Travis Williams, Auburn’s first-year linebackers coach, made a detour through Vidalia, Ga. to inquire about McBride. The visit from Williams in January resulted in Auburn receiving a visit from McBride on Saturday.
“(Vidalia High) wasn’t on his schedule,” McBride said of Williams’ recruiting visit. “But he came anyways. That’s what got me wanting to come here and see what they have to offer. I probably would not have come had Coach Williams not come to see me.”
McBride and his parents arrived in Auburn Friday night and spent Saturday touring the campus and facilities and meeting with the coaches. The McBrides spent a lot of time with Williams and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele.
“I got to see everything,” McBride said. “I got to go to the rec center, the academic center and the field, and I got to spend a lot of one-on-one time with the coaches, especially Coach Williams.”
McBride and Williams are developing a good relationship, one that started in Vidalia in January and continued Saturday in Auburn.
“Coach Williams is a great guy,” McBride said. “He’s straightforward and that’s what I like. He’s bought in on me. He really, really is excited about me. He’s young so we can connect a lot better. He also played linebacker in the pros and in college so he knows what it’s like.
“I’ve got a good feeling he’s going to be a really, really good coach.”
McBride is considering finding out first-hand. Auburn now is in McBride’s top group,
“It was one of the best times I’ve had at a college in a while,” McBride said. “It was a great experience. I’ve been to Georgia and Alabama multiple times, but this was only my second visit to Auburn, really my first, and I was impressed. They’re probably up there with Georgia and Alabama.”
McBride, who is 6-foot-2 and 228 pounds, plans to return to Auburn for a practice in the spring.