Auburn rolled out the red carpet for linebacker Adam Balogoun-Ali.
The Tigers made it clear that he's a priority target for them.
It's one of the main reasons why the four-star linebacker out of West Palm Beach, Fla., decided to take a visit to the Plains over the weekend for Big Cat. Following the visit, he has Auburn sitting high in his recruitment.
"They're definitely one of the top schools for sure," Balogoun-Ali said. "After all my spring visits, that's when I'm going to cut it down."
Balogoun-Ali knew he had to make a visit with the amount of interest that Auburn's been showing him lately. During his visit, he got to see the Tigers scrimmage, with true freshman linebacker JJ Faulk being one player that stuck out to him.
"The defense was flying around, making plays all practice," Balogoun-Ali said. "They were scrambling the whole time. So I got to see a whole lot of different looks that linebackers get and I think it was a good time."
Auburn is recruiting him as a versatile linebacker, specifically as a dime, to play man and blitz in DJ Durkin's defense.
"I think it's very linebacker friendly and I can definitely see myself playing something like that," Balogoun-Ali said. "The versatility that it brings is something that I think I can help with."
Not only is the defensive scheme something that is attractive about Auburn, but there's stability within his position coach Durkin, who also serves as the defensive coordinator and just signed a contract extension with the Tigers.
"It adds a sense of stability, too, because not all linebacker coaches are going to stay as long as a defense coordinator would," he said. "So it definitely helps."
Balogoun-Ali plans to take several officials in the summer, with maybe a couple more in the fall. Auburn is "definitely a possibility" for one, but he's in no rush to make a decision. What sticks out the most about Auburn to him?
"Probably Coach Durkin and the success he's had with developing linebackers," he said. "That's definitely something that stood out to me."
