BMatt has his musings and Stultz has his ramblings. Now it is my turn.
I saw a game Friday night between two undefeated rivals, Moody and Leeds, that featured a pair of important 2024 recruits for Auburn, one on each team.
Moody has cornerback A'Mon Lane, the first Auburn commit in the 2024 class who committed about three weeks before Big Cat. He waited until the recruiting event to formally announce his plans.
There were not a ton of opportunities for Lane to really contest his offensive matchup, mostly because Leeds rarely passes. Probably for good reason, too.
In one instance the quarterback threw it directly at the defensive end on a poorly executed screen pass attempt. The end dropped what would have been a potential equalizing pick-six.
I don't think he expected it to be that easy, but if he had pulled it off I think it would have been one of those plays that you talk about for the rest of your life.
On the opposite sideline, Leeds has the No. 1 player in the state of Alabama for the 2024 class, Kavion Henderson. Friday night presented a good challenge for him, as he matched up with Arkansas State offensive line commit Mason Meyers.
Henderson won most of the battles and was in the backfield a lot. Moody's quarterback was quick with his feet and was able to scramble out of the pocket more times than not, but most of his passes outside of the pocket fell incomplete or were thrown away.
Impact made.
Henderson all along has promised to make a decision on Nov. 6. He will choose between Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Oklahoma.
Auburn and Alabama appear to be the favorites to land him. He was wearing Arkansas gloves last night and had on an Auburn undershirt. Just a kid enjoying his recruitment.
Speaking of a kid enjoying something, a Leeds player got flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after scoring a touchdown by lifting his jersey up and showing a message on his undershirt, which was written in Sharpie.
I believe it said "411 who?," in reference to U.S. Highway 411, which starts in Leeds and goes straight through Moody. Gotta love those rivalries that are focused on a road. Another favorite of mine is the Battle of Highway 14, which features Notasulga and Loachapoka.
Moody ended up losing the game in bizarre fashion. It scored a touchdown with 2:05 left to make it 14-13, but when setting up for the extra point, the center snapped the ball into himself and the PAT attempt was unsuccessful.
In other news, Clay Wedin is now the newest member of the 2023 recruiting class and this is big step in the right direction for Auburn.
Obviously there is still loads of work to do, but if Auburn could pull off a couple more big commits or flips, this recruiting class could end up being somewhat decent. Wedin is now Auburn's top-rated recruit at No. 131 in the nation overall.
Number 130 is Karmello English. Isn't that poetic?
Among the Tigers' offensive line commits, Wedin is most likely to earn early playing time. He can play either guard or tackle. He's also a true team player.
"Wherever the team needs me," Wedin said recently when asked about which position he prefers. "Where I can contribute the most to the team is where I’ll be."
Some big targets for Auburn were in the Sunshine State yesterday, both in Gainesville and in Tallahassee.
Edge target Keldric Faulk, who is committed to Florida State, was originally going to Alabama's game at Tennessee. Instead, he changed plans and went to Tallahassee to watch the Seminoles come up just short of an upset over No. 4 Clemson
Auburn is staying on Faulk, who is out of Highland Home, Ala. That's a guy who could really bring the class to the next level. Until he signs with Florida State, do not consider Auburn completely out of it.
Another visitor to Florida State this weekend was Miami native Rueben Bain, who listed Auburn, Alabama, Florida State, Louisville, Miami and Oklahoma as his top schools a couple days ago.
He visited Auburn for the LSU game on Oct. 1 and noted that it's near the top of his list, with early playing time an attractive feature for the edge rusher.
The Tigers are also high in the running for the defensive duo of James Smith and Qua Russaw out of Montgomery. Smith and Russaw were on an official visit to Florida this weekend.
Their top six schools consist of Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, Georgia and Alabama State. I think the first three listed — Florida, Alabama and Auburn — are the serious contenders to land them.