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AUBURN | Horace Spencer signing a National Letter of Intent to Auburn on Wednesday did more for the Tigers than solidify a top 15 recruiting class.

It changed the timeline of the Tigers' turnaround under Bruce Pearl.

"We realized the turnaround wasn't going to happen overnight, and it didn't," assistant coach Chuck Person said of Auburn's 15-20 record in 2014-15. "But in terms of getting it turned around quickly, we made a huge step in the right direction by signing Horace Spencer."

Spencer, ranked the No. 69 overall prospect in 2015, is the type of player that can change a program. More importantly to Auburn, he's the type of person that is drawn to the challenge of changing one and welcomes it.

Especially when he feels the fans deserve it.

"He loves it here at Auburn," Person said. "He loves the people, the fans, and wants to make them proud of their basketball team. He wants to help make Auburn basketball great again.

"He's more excited about that, about having a major impact on the rebirth of this basketball program and making these fans proud, than anybody. That really means a lot to him, and it also says a lot about him, too."

Spencer, 6-foot-9 and 215 pounds, is scheduled to report to Auburn on May 25. His impact on the team, on the program, could be instant.

Spencer is a leader, an energetic one, and a versatile player. He has the size and leaping ability to play against a center and the athleticism to defend a guard. He can score, rebound and block shots.

"He doesn't need a position," Person said. "When a guy is as good as he is, you just put him on the floor. He makes everybody around him better with his energy and enthusiasm for the game.

"We're excited to be able to mold him into what we think he can be, which is one of the best players in the SEC, and possibly one of the best in the country."

That's high praise coming from Auburn's all-time leading scorer, a former first-round draft pick and the NBA's 1987 Rookie of the Year. But Person sees something special in Spencer. He sees heart, character, rare athletic abilities and the desire to be great.

He sees a bright future for Spencer, and more wins for Auburn as a result.

"Horace absolutely will help us win more games," Person said. "Without a doubt, he is a difference maker."

But not the only one in the 2015 class.

Spencer was one of six players Auburn signed, a group ranked No. 11 in the country and No. 3 in the SEC. He was joined by fellow Rivals150 power forward Danjel Purifoy, shooting guards T.J. Dunans and Bryce Brown, point guard New Williams and early enrollee center Trayvon Reed.

"You can't replace what (outgoing seniors) KT Harrell and Antoine Mason provided for us, but when you bring in some athleticism, some long, angular-bodied guys that can do multiple things, although they're young they will have a significant impact on wins and losses next season," Person said. "This is a fantastic class. Auburn has never put together a recruiting class of this magnitude. That tells you the quality of recruiter and leader Coach Pearl is, and that his desire is to be one of the best programs in the country.

"The class was already great without Horace, but when we got his fax, it took it to another level. It made this class better than any we've ever had here at Auburn. He completed it."

Getting Spencer's signed National Letter of Intent was one of the final pieces to the Tigers' 2015 recruiting puzzle, and it was a piece the Tigers had to wait on for months.

Spencer committed to Auburn in the early morning hours of Aug. 24, just minutes after Pearl's show-cause penalty ended. He remained solid to the Tigers, but elected not to sign in November's early period. That made for several anxious months for Auburn.

"You're always concerned when a player of Horace's abilities commits and then doesn't sign early," Person said. "You worry if he's going to de-commit, if other schools are going to come in and try to steal him away from you.

"And we were worried. We worried for a long, long time."

The worrying ended Wednesday at 12:57 p.m. CT. That's when Spencer's signed Letter of Intent rolled through Auburn's fax machine. The basketball offices on the second floor of Auburn Arena erupted.

"We weren't expecting it until later that afternoon," Person said. "When it came in after lunch, it was really special in the (basketball) offices.

"We were excited. He completed us, and I know we completed him."