Taylor narrows list, days away from announcement

AUBURN | Tyler Taylor has narrowed his list to two schools and will make his final decision this week.

Taylor, who is from Lanier High in Sugar Hill, Ga., appears set to play in the SEC.

“I think it will be between Auburn and LSU,” Taylor said.

Taylor announced his finalists after spending the weekend in Auburn on an official visit. Taylor, his mother and cousin arrived in Auburn on Friday and stayed until Sunday.

“I really liked it; I had fun,” Taylor said. “I had a real talk with Coach (Kevin) Steele (Sunday morning) and he was telling me how it was going to be. He wasn’t promising me anything, but he said if I work hard he would take care of me.”

Taylor and his mother trust Auburn’s coaches. It’s one of the things that has the Tigers in his final two.

“My mom really loves it (at Auburn),” Taylor said. “At all the schools, the coaches are really nice, but sometimes we feel like they are just recruiting. At Auburn, we really know that they are going to take care of us.”

Taylor spent time during his visit with Steele and linebackers coach Travis Williams. He also reunited with his former teammate at Lanier, Auburn freshman defensive tackle Derrick Brown.

“(Brown) didn’t really talk about recruiting that much,” Taylor said. “He said he didn’t want to put any pressure on me. He wants me to make the best decision for me.”

Taylor believes he will, and it is one of the two schools in the SEC West.

“With Auburn, I like how things are working out with the depth chart, and being so cool with the coaches. They have kept it 100 with me,” Taylor said. “Same thing with LSU and the depth chart. They really need linebackers. I would have no other choice but to play there. They’re not giving it to me, but they need me.”

Coaches from Auburn and LSU will make in-home visits with Taylor this week. Auburn is scheduled to visit Thursday, and Taylor likely will announce his commitment the following day during a ceremony at Lanier High.

“I’ll at least let the coaches know by Thursday right before I commit," Taylor said.

Rivals ranks Taylor, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 230 pounds, the No. 8 linebacker in the 2017 class.