AUBURN | Nick Eason played guitar. The coaches sang Happy Birthday to his mom. She teared up and Kaleb Artis may have found his future home.

“It was an amazing feeling,” said Artis following his first official visit to Auburn. “So it felt like a real family experience. That’s what I’m looking for, man. So it was great.”

Artis, a 6-foot-5, 291-pound defensive tackle from St. Francis Prep in Queens, N.Y., spent a lot of time with Eason, Auburn’s defensive line coach, during his visit.

Eason joined AU’s staff after playing in coaching in the NFL for 17 years.

“When he first offered me, he told me I was one of the first guys he offered at the D-line spot,” said Artis. “You guys know he just transitioned here from being an NFL coach. He just said he’s seen me perform on my film and he know he can utilize me very well. We talk about life or anything. He’s a great guy.”

And Eason’s NFL experience could prove to be a big factor in Artis’ recruitment.

“Oh, it’s important because I want someone that’s been around the game, that has knowledge, that can get me to the next level,” he said. “I want to be one of the greatest and I’m going to be one of the greatest so I need great people around me.”

Artis also connected with Auburn defensive GA Gary Walker and current AU freshman defensive lineman Lee Hunter. The group made sure Artis knew how much they liked him as a future SEC defensive lineman.

“Actually, we just got done in a meeting talking about where, how he would utilize me, and he said up and down the line because I’m so bendable and flexible with it,” said Artis. “He said that he would never see my on O-line. We actually spoke about it. He loves me at the position I’m at right now.”

Artis plans to go on official visits to Penn State, Virginia and Florida State the next three weekends before making a decision in July. One of the key things he’ll be looking at during each visit is the business school. His dinner with his family and AU’s coaches was atop AU’s business school.

“A place I know I can get where I want to be, not only football-wise, but academically as well. That’s super huge,” he said. “My intended major is going to be business and I want somewhere that has one of the top business schools in the nation. That’s going to be huge.

“On top of that, a family feeling, no matter what. Someone that cares for me and my whole family and that’s real genuine.”

Auburn, Artis said, certainly hit the mark on both counts this weekend.

“I felt great, especially after what they did for my mother,” he said. “Even when I came off that plane and got picked up for that car ride, that whole conversation between me and Coach Walker was great.”

Artis is rated a four-star and the nation’s No. 21 defensive tackle.