Auburn quickly grabbed the attention of Da'Ron Parks during his weekend visit.

One that he wasn't expecting.

The four-star offensive lineman from Sarasota, Fla., made the trip the Plains for the first time over the weekend, two months before returning for an official visit.

"I didn't know what to expect from Auburn," Parks said. "I was just driving and like next thing you know, it's like, whoa, there's Auburn. The facility was just crazy."

Parks arrived on campus Friday night, had dinner and then talked football back at the Woltosz Football Performance Center — something that he took notice of immediately.

"It's crazy, it's like one of the best facilities I've ever been to and I've been around," Parks said. "It's crazy, it's like its own place, man."

The next morning, Parks attended practice and saw how offensive line coach Jake Thornton works with his players.

"He's real, I feel like the guys listen to him a lot," Parks said. "He doesn't come at them too aggressively. He understands, so that's kind of what I like about him...Personality wise, Coach Thornton is my guy, you know, we have been talking a lot here recently. The message in those meetings really was just keep working, you know. He thinks that I'm a good fit for Auburn. He thinks that I'm the type of player that Auburn's kind of looking for."

Auburn "100%" made a big impression on him, and while the facilities blew him away, it was the people around the program that made the trip.

"Everybody here is good people," Parks said. "It's like I've known everybody here for a long time and they treat me like family here. I truly feel that way."

Parks plans to return in two months for an official visit to Auburn May 30-June 1. He's also got an official visit locked in with Penn State and Kentucky, with plans to also check out Nebraska, Oregon and Miami.

Where does Auburn stand with him?

"They're up there," Parks said. "I don't really talk about that, but like, they're up there for sure."