When you bring in guys like Sharife Cooper, the No. 22 player in the class of 2020, and JT Thor, the No. 55 player, it’s easy to lose track of center Dylan Cardwell, who didn’t commit until May 7.

While Auburn went fishing for big-name recruits like Jalen Green and Greg Brown, ultimately missing out on them, life-long Auburn fan Cardwell stayed patient and waited for Bruce Pearl to bring him on board.

Finally, it was Cardwell’s time to join the program he grew up cheering for. After all, he is the nephew of Auburn defensive line coach Rodney Garner.

Cardwell was a 4-star center out of McEachern high school — the same as Cooper — but was forced to sit out his senior season due to state transfer rules.

He was still ranked as the No. 131 player in the class of 2020, but Pearl believes that ranking might be a little low.

“Dylan Cardwell could wind up being one of the steals of the draft in the sense that he is 6-foot-11, 260 pounds, and he moves as well as any 6-foot-11, 260 pounder, he moves like the best of them,” Pearl said. “I’m not saying he’s better than the rest, but for a big man he runs, he moves his feet, he gets open, he can handle the ball a little bit, he shoots it a little bit. I think he’s got really, really great upside.”

It would’ve been easy for Cardwell to complain and be upset about missing out on playing his senior year.

Instead, he attended every practice and every game looking to help the team and improve along the way.

In March, Cooper tweeted his support for the big-man.

“I have more respect than ever for that man,” Cooper said. “Senior year is one of the most important years in not only basketball but in life. Never did he pout, complain, cry, anything. He practiced every day. He came on time. He was a leader. Was the loudest person on the bench every game!”

Now that he’s arrived on campus, he’s continuing to bring that same energy.

Devan Cambridge, who’s working on progressing for his sophomore season, has been impressed with the freshman.

“He’s the most energetic person in the world. He has great energy no matter what,” Cambridge said. “He’s always up. His energy’s great. Great rebounder, he’s ready to work and ready to listen and learn from everybody.”

With 10 underclassmen on the roster and without a clear leader, Pearl knows high-character and high-energy players like Cardwell will be valuable for the team.

“Terrific student-athlete. Terrific human being,” Pearl said of Cardwell. “I really like the character of my team, very much so. We’re gonna need to have some of that character because we’re gonna be challenged.”

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