AUBURN | It’s pretty clear Auburn made quite the impression on Jack Pyburn.
The 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive end from Bolles in Jacksonville, Fla., spent the weekend in AU with his parents on an official visit.
“The visit was great. Everything about it was amazing,” said Pyburn. “Obviously, the new facilities being built are amazing. The stadium is amazing. The dorms, coaching staff — I was very impressed.”
Pyburn, a former Minnesota commit, was asked where the Tigers stood after his visit?
“They are very high,” he said,
And what are some things you like most about Auburn?
“Everything.”
One specific area that stood out to Pyburn was the time he spent with AU’s coaching staff including head coach Bryan Harsin and outside linebackers coach Bert Watts.
“The vision that Coach Harsin has for the program is really special and I really like the way he’s moving the program and the things he believes in and embodies,” said Pyburn. “It’s similar things to what I believe in.
“Also Coach Watts, the way he coaches, the way he goes about things is really, really impressive to me. Also, just the culture and the creed of Auburn is unlike anything else.”
Pyburn also likes how the Tigers use their edge players. T.D. Moultry, Derick Hall and Eku Leota combined for 20 sacks last season. Moultry is now preparing for the draft while Hall and Leota are returning for their senior seasons.
“Coach Harsin calls it their ‘Weapon X.’ It’s the weapon of the defense,” said Pyburn. “I love that the defense is kind of centered around that edge position and they use it so well. You can have two edges on the field, three edges on the field, one edge. The opportunity to get on the field as an edge player is very great. The room is thin as well, so I’m excited. That’s good news for me.”
Pyburn was headed straight to Miami from Auburn for an official visit. He may set up a couple of more before making a final decision.
“I’m considering West Virginia, Virginia, and there’s a few other schools that want me to visit next week,” he said. “I’ll see if things come to term but I really do like it here.”
Signing Day is Feb. 2 but Pyburn is reluctant to wait that long for a final decision.
“I’m looking towards late next week to early next week,” he said. “I have a big wrestling tournament and I have wrestling kicking up so I would rather not drag this out and not have to stress about it and worry about it. I want to make my decision here pretty soon.”
Pyburn finished his senior season with 109 tackles, 32.0 tackles-for-loss and 15.0 sacks. His grandfather’s cousin was former Auburn football All-American and baseball All-SEC standout Jim Pyburn, who played MLB for the Baltimore Orioles from 1955-57.
