Garner, Woodson strike again
AUBURN | Rodney Garner and Marcus Woodson have hit the Mississippi jackpot once again.
The Auburn assistant coaches teamed up to land a commitment from four-star defensive lineman Jaren Handy from Hattiesburg (Miss.) High School Monday, just two days after securing a verbal pledge from defensive lineman Jamond Gordon from Meridian (Miss.) High.
Handy, 6-foot-5 and 273 pounds, chose the Tigers over numerous other offers including Georgia, Florida, LSU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Miss. He previously committed to LSU March 3 but backed out of that less than two weeks later as he wanted more time to evaluate other schools.
Handy recently spent four days in Auburn culminating in Big Cat Weekend, the first of two elite recruiting events the Tigers hold each summer.
“Thank you to all those that told me I couldn’t do it and drove me to prove against the odds,” Handy posted in a statement on Twitter. “I don’t look at offers as numbers, but an opportunity to have a FREE education and play the sport I love. I’m announcing my commitment to THE Auburn University.”
Handy, rated the nation's No. 12 strongside defensive end and No. 131 overall prospect, is Auburn's 11th commitment for the 2019 class and second defensive lineman. Garner, Auburn's veteran defensive line coach, has sent more than two dozen of his former players to the NFL. Woodson, who joined Auburn's staff in January, has a number of ties to the state of Mississippi including playing at Ole Miss.
Handy had 86 tackles, 27 tackles-for-loss and 10 sacks as a junior at New Augusta (Miss.) High School.
