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JUCO OL joins the Tigers class

AUBURN | Just days after receiving a scholarship offer from Auburn, Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) Xavier DampeerClick Here to view this Link. verbally committed to the Tigers Sunday morning following his official visit. He is the No. 15 commit for the Tigers 2014 recruiting class.
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"First I want to give honor to God for the opportunity that he gave me," Dampeer told AuburnSports.com.
"The visit was nice. I enjoy the people here. They showed me a lot of love. That's what I was looking for. Just goes to show, keep God first, stay humble and you can do anything."
The 6-foot-3, 300-pound Dampeer watched intently as Auburn handled No. 24 Ole Miss 30-22 Saturday in a night game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. He was more than impressed as Auburn rushed for 282 yards and averaged six yards per carry.
"It was electric," he said.
"My ears were ringing from the beginning of the game to the end of the game. Especially in the fourth quarter. I really loved that and I wanted to be a part of it. I'm glad to be apart of the Auburn family."
Tigers' offensive line coach J.B. Grimes is Dampeer's lead recruiter. He believes the two are going to have a strong bond moving forward.
"I said when I got ready to leave Copliah that I was going to miss my old coach, but he is just like him so it's like he is following me here," he said.
"I really think Coach Grimes and I are going to get a long pretty well because I know I am going to be coached hard and pushed to my limits."
Auburn's offensive line coach wasn't the only one trying to land Dampeer's commitment. He said it was team effort - the fans included.
"First of all they showed loyalty to me," he said.
"I'm big on loyalty. They showed a lot of effort in recruiting me. When I get here, it was everything that I dreamed of. Lively college atmosphere. A lot of fan support - you know playing in front of 100,000 plus fans every weekend. That's what I was looking for."
Dampeer plans to graduate for Copliah-Lincoln in December which will allow him to go through spring practice at Auburn. That's something he believes will aid in his goal to make an immediate impact.
"Coming through spring practice I'll be able to learn the playbook," he said.
"Obviously. I get to bond with my teammates and I get to see where I'm at and how much farther do I need to go."
During his visit, Dampeer watched Auburn center Reese Dismukes.
"He has a chance to go the NFL after this year," he said.
"He is like one of the top five centers in the league right now heading into the draft. That would be great. Learning from someone like him would be a big experience."
Dampeer holds offers from UAB, Western Kentucky and Troy. But his commitment to the Tigers is more than solid.
"I'm extremely excited right now," he said.
"I can't ask for more. I always wanted to play SEC ball. The fact that one of the top colleges in the nation, they came and offered me out of old, small Mendenhall, Miss., which is were I'm from. They came and offered me. It's pretty awesome right now."
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