Auburn appears to be back in the race for a Texas commit.

Four-star tight end Emaree Winston, who had previously shut his commitment down, was in town for an official visit over the weekend. Following the trip, Winston is looking at possibly making a return later this summer.

"It was good, I really enjoyed myself," Winston said. "The environment of everything, I’ll be back."

Winston committed to Texas six months ago and shut his recruitment down. There wasn't any communication between Auburn and Winston for months, until Ben Aigamaua showed up at one of Calhoun's spring practices.

"I just started talking to them when Coach Ben came to my spring practice," Winston said. "I had shut my recruitment down. We never talked and now we talk everyday. I wake up and I get a bible verse in the morning. My mom loves that, I love it and that means a lot."

The relationship with Aigamaua gets stronger with each passing day.

"That’s my dog," Winston said. "He’s just good energy always. I like the way he coaches, how he talks to his players. We got a good relationship."

Development has been the center of Winston's recruitment since the beginning. With the tight end usage that Auburn's established, it now has his attention.

"When I first made my decision, it was toward the development of the tight ends," Winston said. "A couple years ago, they didn’t really use them and it’s two hours from my house."

Does being close to home matter to Winston?

"It didn’t at first, but now I see a place that’s using tight ends," Winston said. "Coach Ben showed me how they use them. [Rivaldo Fairweather], really a standout guy on the team, basically the same thing I do."

Aside from hearing about Auburn from players on the team, Winston hears plenty about what the Tigers are doing from his good friend and Auburn commit Ryan Ghea.

"I met Ryan my ninth grade year at the Georgia camp actually," Winston said. "We’ve just been close ever since then. We talk almost everyday. Then he committed to Auburn and I committed to Texas, he still wants me to come to Auburn. Ryan, we got a good relationship."

Winston is hearing from UCF as well, but only has one visit planned — his Texas official visit for June 21-23. Auburn is hoping together Winston to return later this summer, as the Tigers' coaching staff continues to press for the Texas commit.

"They’re ready to do anything to help you and that’s what you need going to college," Winston said.