Auburn gave South Carolina commit Isaiah Jatta something to think about.
The JUCO offensive lineman out of Snow College took his official visit to Auburn this weekend. He was hosted by his former teammate at Snow who now plays for the Tigers, Keionte Scott.
During those conversations, Scott mentioned something that hadn't crossed Jatta's mind.
"He was just telling me you can come in and have an immediate impact on this offensive line," Jatta said. "I didn't really think of that because any school that’s been recruiting you, you gotta work for what you’re doing. Coach [Jake] Thornton told me you’re still gonna have to work for it, but as far as evaluating everyone, it’s gonna be an open opportunity, which is very important to me."
Jatta also spent time with head coach Hugh Freeze, but one thing stuck out to him about the visit.
"Just the family atmosphere for real," Jatta said. "Coach Freeze did a really good job of just telling his mission and what’s up next for Auburn. I enjoyed myself, me and my family all enjoyed ourselves."
The 6-foot-6 offensive tackle also spent time with newly-hired offensive line coach Jake Thornton.
"He’s the real deal," Jatta said. "Just getting to sit with him and go over the o-line talk, seeing his vision in his first year and what his plans are at Auburn. I feel really confident about what he’s got going on."
Still firm in his commitment to South Carolina, Auburn and BYU are still in the mix. He's down to those three and a final decision will come before signing day.
"[Auburn]’s pretty up there for sure," Jatta said. "We’re gonna see what happens coming up soon and my visit with South Carolina, my at-home visit and stuff like that, so we’ll see what happens."
He'll visit BYU tonight and South Carolina will make its in-home visit this week. He's not sure if Auburn will make an in-home visit.
Do the Tigers have a chance?
"Most definitely does," Jatta said. "Most definitely got a chance."