ATLANTA | When Obinna Eze received invitations to the Rivals100 and The Opening, two prestigious recruiting camps that feature the nations’s best college prospects, one of the first coaches he heard from was Herb Hand.

Auburn’s first-year offensive line coach texted Eze congratulations and that he was proud of him.

“That meant a lot for me because not many coaches have said that to me. That lets me know he has his eyes on me,” said Eze, a four-star offensive tackle from Davidson Academy in Nashville, Tenn.

Eze has maintained a strong relationship with Hand since visiting Auburn in March. He also attended a game at Jordan-Hare Stadium last fall.

“I’ve got a guy that was coached by Coach Herb, Joe Townsend. He played center at Vanderbilt. He coaches me every Sunday where I workout and he has great things to say about him. That’s one,” Eze said.

“Two, they have a Nigerian kid, Prince Tega. He told me, ‘Dude, I know I play defense but I can testify to who this guy is. He’s a cool dude. This place is a good school. They take care of you. They treat me like they care about me.’ All you need is an inside guy to tell you that they care about you, so Auburn is high on my list.”

That list remains long for Eze, who is 6-foot-7, 283 pounds. He says all 18 of his offers remain in play including Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, LSU, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisville, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Michigan.

“There are schools I like but I don’t want to put it out there because I respect people and I believe if you offer me, I am grateful for that,” Eze said.

He hopes to commit to one of 18 schools before the start of his senior season. He has no plans to narrow his list before then.

“I’d like to get it out of the way before my season but I’m not sure if that’s going to happen,” he said. “If that doesn’t happen, I’m going to be patient because it’s my future, man. I have to patient enough to be sure of everything.”

Eze, who turns 18 Sunday, has been in the United States for 14 months. The move has had its ups and downs for the Nigeria native.

“Tough, hard, homesick — those are the three words I would use but I’m getting used to it,” Eze said. “I’m happy but I miss my mom. I miss my mom’s cooking.

“I’m having a lot of success in the U.S. and I see my future being paved and being molded in the right way so I couldn’t be more happy for myself.”

Eze is still developing his football knowledge and skills. He tries to put in extra work on the field and then spends his spare time watching some of his favorite NFL tackles on-line.

“There’s a lot for me to learn. That’s one of my motivations. I feel like I’m still behind. That’s why I keep working and working and working,” Eze said. “I’m trying to see every single thing that they’re doing and when I’m working out, I’m trying to concentrate on doing it like they do it. The tackles who are successful are tall like me. They’ve got those NFL frames like me.”