'Freak' LB leads strong group of Auburn commits
MONTGOMERY | Tadarian Moultry was a late addition to the Alabama all-star roster and he may have been the best player on the field during Saturday’s 25-14 win over the Mississippi all-stars.
Moultry finished with nine tackles, 1.0 tackles-for-loss and 1.0 sacks. He also had numerous quarterback pressures that weren’t recorded in the postgame statistics.
“He is a freak. He is a freakish athlete with tremendous upside,” said Pell City head coach Keith Etheredge, who coached the Alabama linebackers this week. “You hear the word raw but I’m going to tell you, he’s got great instincts. When he’s coming off the edge, he’s hard to block.
“You can put him at middle and teach him something one time and he’s got it. His speed, he has such explosion off the ball and when he turns to go, he gets there in a hurry.”
Moultry was one of five Auburn commits in the game. Several more could be joining the class in the coming weeks.
“I was just happy to be here and I wanted to go out there and play my best for the state of Alabama and my teammates and coaches,” Moultry said. “It was fun just knowing when I get to the Plains that we will do our thing. We’re the future.”
Another standout linebacker was K.J. Britt, who is set to enroll at Auburn in January and go through winter workouts and spring drills. Britt had 10 tackles, 1.0 tackles-for-loss. 0.5 sacks and one forced fumble.
“He’s an awesome young man and a great guy to have in the locker room. He flies to the football,” Etheredge said. “One of those guys who is a leader from day one. He led all week long. Everybody gravitated to him.
"I said it about day three, ‘Man it’s going to be nice down there on the Plains for about three or four years because they’ve got some good ones.'”
Malcolm Askew, who will also be enrolling at Auburn in January, made the transition from high school quarterback to defensive back this week, the position he’ll play for the Tigers. Askew finished with three tackles and had an interception late in the fourth quarter to help seal the win.
“It’s kind of mixed emotions because high school just blew by for me,” Askew said. “I’m kind of nervous (about going to Auburn) but it’s the next step.”
Askew said he and his fellow Auburn commits were helping to recruit during the week and feels especially good about the Tigers chances with Mississippi safety C.J. Avery, who announces Wednesday, and Alabama defensive lineman Alec Jackson.
“I was in those guys ears all week,” Askew said. “We had a lot of commits here and we were saying ‘War Eagle’ all week.”
Safety Jordyn Peters, another Auburn commit, added five tackles and a tackle-for-loss.
Offensively, Noah Igbinoghene was Alabama’s leading receiver with four catches for 44 yards. The standout from Hewitt-Trussville committed to Auburn a few weeks ago.
Spanish Fort linebacker Thomas Johnston was named Alabama MVP after totaling 16 tackles and 1.0 tackle-for-loss. He was two shy of the all-star record 18 tackles by C.J. Johnson in 2010
“He just makes plays,” Etheredge said. “He’s a great ball player and is where he’s supposed to be all the time and he makes plays.”