MARIETTA, Ga. — Tate Johnson visits Auburn more than anywhere else.

That's a byproduct of a few factors. Namely, the convenience from Callaway (Ga.) to Auburn makes for regular visits. His friendship with Auburn signee Keiondre Jones and fellow 2020 target Tank Bigsby help matters. But Auburn was also one of the first programs on Johnson, a prospect whose stock continues to blossom this spring.

Johnson has been recruited by Auburn for a while, and the message is getting stronger. He most recently attended the Plains last weekend for A-Day. Johnson sees Auburn's senior-laden line heading into this season, and the 2020 lookahead leaves a lot of promise for incoming linemen interested in early playing time.

"Auburn really needs to rebuild the offensive line. They're losing a lot of guys. They've got everyone back, but they're losing a lot of guys next year," Johnson told AuburnSports.com. "So coach [Gus] Malzahn and coach [J.B.] Grimes are saying they think I'm one of the best in the nation. They think I'm a guy who can really come into their O-line room and make an impact for them and their program. That's what they're really looking for. They need me to take the next step."

The immediate need is evident at Auburn.

But it's not the only program stressing need. The two other programs sending Johnson a similar message are two that have come up quite a bit with Auburn recruiting overlap: Florida State and Georgia Tech. Johnson said those two schools seem to have more need than Auburn in 2019, but the the 2020 outlooks appear similar from a depth-chart standpoint.

Here's what Johnson said about the need at those two programs:

• On Georgia Tech: "Definitely Georgia Tech. They’re switching offensive styles. Coach [Brent] Key wants to get back to what he had at Bama, which is big athletic guys."

• On Florida State: "Florida State, they need a new offensive line. Coach Cohens has preached that they need to rebuild that offensive line to really bring Florida State back to what they once were."

• On both: "Those are the two schools that mainly tell me they need the most help."

His relationship with Auburn is strong, as well.

"Coach Malzahn, I’m on the phone with him regularly. Coach [Travis] Williams. Coach Cadillac [Williams]. They’re all really great guys," Johnson said. "They are really big about building a relationship. It’s been really good building a relationship with those guys."

Those won't be the only programs Auburn has to fight off for Johnson.

Florida was involved earlier than anyone, and the Gators will be a factor. Michigan State is an out-of-territory team that has a chance with the Georgia offensive guard. Missouri will be in play. Johnson wore a Missouri hat to the Rivals camp on Friday. Johnson's camp circuit performance and increasing intrigue will likely cause him to be patient with programs that haven't offered such as Alabama and Georgia.

Johnson's plans will start to narrow over the next few months.

He wants to take some official visits late spring or early summer. He doesn't have any kind of set timeline for a final decision-making process. But he would like to take some official visits before his senior football season ends to start pointing himself in the right direction.

"The timeline is I just want to be comfortable somewhere," Johnson said. "So whenever I feel comfortable somewhere, 100 percent sure in a decision, then I’ll make that decision whenever that may be."