Malzahn: 'Very big day' for Auburn
AUBURN | National Signing Day was rather uneventful for Auburn, and that’s fine with Gus Malzahn.
The Auburn coach signed 23 in December’s early signing period and added only three on Wednesday.
The group of 26 is ranked No. 10 in the Rivals.com team recruiting rankings, the highest Auburn has finished since the 2016 class, which ranked No. 8.
“Overall, it’s a very big day,” Malzahn said. “I really believe this is one of the best classes we’ve had since I’ve been here. We needed some guys that could come in and help immediately. We did that with some junior college players, but at the same time, we feel like the majority of these freshmen can come in here and help us immediately.”
Auburn signed five junior college players, which includes two defensive linemen and two offensive tackles. Both positions were high priorities for Auburn after losing nearly the entire starting units off the 2019 team.
“I really feel like we met our needs,” Malzahn said. “The offensive line, the defensive line, that really stands out, but we also got some playmakers on both sides and in the secondary. Some very athletic guys.”
Auburn likely isn’t done with the class. Malzahn said the Tigers could look to the graduate transfer market for another offensive lineman and/or cornerback. Auburn also needs a punter.
“We’ve signed 26 and we possibly could still take a grad transfer offensive lineman or a corner,” Malzahn said. “We’re looking for (a punter) also. We feel like we’ve got a real good plan (for a punter) already. I’m not ready to sit here and say what that is, but we have thought through that very extensively."
NEW ADDITIONS
Malzahn spoke about his three Signing Day additions: tight end Brandon Frazier, junior college defensive end Dre Butler and junior college defensive tackle Marquis Burks.
Malzahn believes all three could be immediate impact players.
"He’s got a 3.67 GPA. He’s 6-7, 250. This guy can really do some things after he catches the ball. Very athletic.
" I think he was the player of the conference last year in basketball. He’s a guy that was committed to Coach (Chad) Morris (at Arkansas) for a long time and of course came here. Real excited about what he can do with his physical attributes."
"We needed some guys that had experience losing the guys we had. Dre was a guy that was a big-time basketball player in high school himself. One of the best junior college players at any position this year.
"Just a wonderful person, wonderful family. We’re very excited about Dre and getting him here."
"He's another junior college player, more of an internal guy. Really felt like he’s got big-time athleticism. Very good athlete and really gets after the quarterback.
"We really think he’s got a chance to help us."
