Georgia OG visits Auburn, receives offer

AUBURN | Tate Johnson’s visit to Auburn on Saturday paid off.

The offensive guard from Callaway (Ga.) spent the day on campus and left with an offer.

“Coach (Gus) Malzahn called me up to his office and told me he thought that I’m a player that can come in and really impact their o-line room early,” Johnson said. “He said he thought I was an outstanding player and that he loves my nastiness, how I love to compete, how I move and my character.

“He said he loves everything about me and wanted me to be an Auburn Tiger, and then extended the offer.”

The offer was one Johnson had been waiting to receive.

“It felt like a relief,” Johnson said. “Auburn is a top-five program in the country, a huge SEC West program. I feel like this is my standard, where I’m supposed to be at, which is why it is a relief. I finally feel like I made it.”

Johnson arrived in Auburn Saturday morning. He met up with former high school teammate Keiondre Jones, an Auburn signee, and current Auburn commitment Avery Jernigan. Johnson left after watching the Tigers scrimmage inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“There are a lot of good things at Auburn for me,” Johnson said. “It’s only 40 minutes away from home. It’s a big SEC West program. It has the opportunity for me to play early and compete. It’s a really good situation.”

Johnson, however, stopped short of naming Auburn his leader.

“They are really high up my board,” Johnson said. “But I haven’t named a leader. I truly love the atmosphere at Auburn. It truly is a family atmosphere and the guys like to have fun and work hard and love to compete. It’s a great city and there are a lot of things to like about it.”

Johnson said other schools high on his list including Florida State, Florida, Michigan State, Missouri and Georgia Tech.

“I have had really good visits to all of those places,” Johnson said. “They are all recruiting me pretty hard and there are other schools that haven’t offered that are really interested.”

Johnson is an early enrollee, but isn’t in a rush to make a commitment. He still has more visits to take and offers to consider.

“I want to be 100 percent comfortable,” he said. “I don’t want to rush anything. I want to make sure that whenever I make my decision, it’s the right one.”