Auburn inches ahead of Miami for Florida linebacker after official

AUBURN — Perhaps no prospect has risen up Auburn's recruiting board as fast as Octavius Brothers.

The 6-foot-2, 228-pound linebacker (as he officially weighed in at Auburn) took an official visit to the Plains over the weekend. Brothers has quickly become one of linebacker coach Travis Williams' top targets.

Much like Brothers has risen up in the mind of Auburn, the Tigers have done the same for Brothers.

"Auburn's definitely the top team for me," Brothers said. "It's going to be hard to top this."

The other teams to watch: Miami and Georgia Tech.

Prior to the Auburn visit, Miami has been considered the team to beat for the Rockledge, Fla., linebacker. He will take his final official visit to the Hurricanes on Feb. 2. Georgia Tech is a relatively new emergence, and the Yellow Jackets will host Brothers on an official visit Jan. 25 weekend.

Miami files in behind Auburn right now. Georgia Tech's legitimacy in Brothers' recruitment will depend on that official visit.

"Miami is going to have to show me something different that Auburn hasn't," Brothers said. "I haven't taken a visit to Georgia Tech yet, so Georgia Tech probably has a chance to get up there."

Brothers said he wasn't all that surprised Auburn has risen to the top.

The linebacker's conversations with Williams the last few months indicated to him he would really like Auburn. His official visit to the Plains only validated that to him and his parents.

"Coach T-Will, he just showed me a lot of things that he was more like a father figure as a coach," Brothers said. "I've talked to a lot of the players about him. They all have great things to say about him and say he's going to take care of me if I come here. He's going to get me where I need to be. ... My mom and dad both found everything very interesting. They really loved it. They both loved the campus."

Brothers will announce his decision on National Signing Day on Feb. 6.