It's been seven years since Brian VanGorder last stepped foot in a high school prospect's house to recruit them to a college program.

Since then, VanGorder has been a head coach at Georgia Southern, and has notched six years of NFL experience as a linebackers coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons, and spent the last four years coordinating the defense for the Falcons.

VanGorder believes his ability to pitch prospect development is a change from his past recruiting days at Georgia, and will benefit Auburn. His recruiting philosophy is centered around honesty and the ability to present facts, as opposed to selling fiction.

"I'm looking forward to being honest and upfront about the opportunity a young man has here at Auburn and what we think we can do in terms of their development which they a lot of times, the development part of it that's so crucial, they don't really factor into their decision," said VanGorder. "I'll be able to sell them that particular idea that they will be the best they can be here at Auburn."

VanGorder's defenses in Atlanta showed improvement from start to finish, helping the franchise record four straight winning seasons. Under VanGorder's leadership, corner Brent Grimes reached the Pro Bowl in 2010.

In 2011, VanGorder helped the Falcons to a 10-6 regular season record in 2011, VanGorder's defense finished the regular season second in the NFL in red zone defense, sixth in rushing defense (97.0 ypg), and 12th in total defense (333.6 ypg). His developmental skills were in full display as the Falcons' started six players with five years of experience or less against the New York Giants last Sunday in the their playoff loss.

VanGorder's ability to pitch development isn't the only advantage he has gained since his last stint in the college game. VanGorder currently has three kids in college, and he believes his understanding of the high school-aged kid has only grown over the years.

"As a father of five, and I understand a 17-18 year man much better than I did seven or eight years ago. I've got three in college right now at the same time," said VanGorder. "I think also in understanding them, I also understand you have a responsibility in recruiting a young man that involves factual things. Auburn has a lot of great things to present to a young man and to me that's where I am."

During VanGorder's tenure at Georgia, the Bulldogs placed five players on the All-SEC First Team Defense, including Boss Bailey, David Pollack, and Thomas Davis. From 2002-2004, VanGorder helped Georgia land 20 four-star defensive prospects, 18 of which hailed from the state of Georgia.

"They had really good recruiting classes when he was there. He was really involved as a closer for the defensive prospects, and they had a lot of success in the state of Georgia with defensive prospects, and I know he played a part in that," said Rivals national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell. "As far as a guy who goes out and finishes things off or closes on campus, I know he has that ability because he did it back then when Georgia was a recruiting juggernaut."

Since Gene Chizik's arrival, Auburn's recruiting in Georgia has been high priority. In the 2012 class alone, the Tigers' have four pledges from Georgia, including three four-star prospects. Auburn lost an asset when Georgia native and former assistant Tracy Rocker left for the Tennessee Titans, and VanGorder's past connections and reputation will be a welcomed site.

"He'll help their recruiting in the state of Georgia, which is already very strong," said Farrell. "He has a lot of connections to a lot of schools there. I think in that respect as a recruiter, that's going to be a help. He knows the landscape and he knows how to do it. He knows how to recruit Georgia kids to Georgia, and I'm pretty sure he'll figure out pretty quick how to recruit Georgia kids to Auburn.

"When you add a guy like this to staff that's already hitting Georgia hard and has so many commitments from Georgia, it can only help."