Strikes and Gutters: AU's 2017 recruiting season

Auburn signed 23 players in its 2017 recruiting class, a group that ranked among the top 15 classes in the country.

There were loyalists among the signees, guys who committed to the Tigers nearly two years ago and never wavered. There were late additions to the class. There were multiple players who switched their commitments to Auburn. Multiple players switched their commitments from Auburn.

There were many highs and lows for Auburn in 2017. Many strikes and gutters.

SIGNING DAY STRIKE

Auburn needed a pass-rushing specialist in its 2017 recruiting class, but had zero commitments and only one possibility on the recruiting board. This was Tuesday, one day before Signing Day. Auburn had to have Markaviest Bryant, and received the news and his National Letter of Intent around 10:30 a.m.. “Big Cat” chose Auburn over LSU.

GUTTERS

Auburn’s start to the week of Signing Day got off to a rough start. The Tigers missed on in-state defensive end Ryan Johnson, who committed to and later signed with Stanford.

Auburn’s start to Signing Day didn’t get any better when Tyler Taylor chose LSU. Auburn had been the frontrunner for both Johnson and Taylor until mid-January.