No. 1 ranked kicker Alex McPherson: 'I love Auburn'
Alex McPherson’s been a fan of Auburn. In fact, he loves it. That’s no secret, he’s the first to admit it.
“I love Auburn, it’s not a hidden fact,” McPherson said after his official visit on Sunday.
McPherson is the No. 1 kicker in the class of 2022, according to Kohl’s kicker rankings. With just one season left for Anders Carlson, McPherson could immediately slide into the starting kicker role for Auburn.
Out of Fort Payne, McPherson has been to Auburn’s campus before, but getting an official visit in and being able to meet the new staff was big.
“It was awesome,” McPherson said. “It was great getting to see all the coaches face-to-face and getting to visit here officially for the first time with the coaches, the new staff and getting to see Auburn again with them giving us a tour again. So, it’s been a really fun experience coming down here again.”
Carlson was McPherson’s guide during his official visit to Auburn and the two were friends even before McPherson’s official visit, with McPherson citing the tight-knit kicker community.
McPherson spent a lot of the weekend with Bert Watts, who’s Auburn’s special teams coordinator. He also spent time with Bryan Harsin, who he liked.
“I loved him, he’s a great guy,” McPherson said of Harsin. “He’s always about family, about tradition, about culture of the game and that’s for me, that’s huge. Great special teams guy, which is great for me as a specialist. He’s a great guy, he’s genuine in what he says and every word he says.”
With former Tigers Daniel Carlson and Cody Parkey in the NFL, Auburn’s recent special teams NFL production is a factor for McPherson’s commitment.
“Yeah it’s definitely a factor, you know? Because that’s how they treat the specialists here,” McPherson said. “When they treat them good, it shows, they go to the league. It’s definitely a factor.”
McPherson has official visits to Texas A&M and Georgia, along with Florida where his older brother Evan was a kicker.
Though, McPherson says Evan is just helping guide him to where he feels right, not pushing him in a certain direction.
One big factor for McPherson is the churches available to him at the school he commits. Being in Auburn before, McPherson has had an opportunity to check out the local churches.
“I’ve gone to Auburn Community Church and I’ve gone to the Highlands here, they have great churches here,” McPherson said. “That’s a big part of it. A big part of my faith is definitely finding a good church where I can go and spend my time.”
McPherson doesn’t have a commitment date set, but is looking at an early- to mid-July timeframe.
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