Tigers hoping to land talented OL

AUBURN | There’s a lot to like about Auburn but for Connor Lew, it’s the professional flight program that could make the difference.

Lew, who has an impressive list of suitors, was in Auburn this weekend for the third of his four scheduled official visits.

“For me, education is going to play a big part in this whole process and because Auburn has that, it definitely sticks out,” Lew said.

Lew, 6-foot-3 and 288 pounds, officially visited Clemson June 3, Miami June 10 and has a final trip set to Georgia June 24.

“After that I look to hopefully commit after the season starts,” he said. “I put myself in a hard decision in a good way, of course. Narrowing it down to those for and all of those visits have been great. It’s going to be a tough choice."

The standout from Kennesaw (Ga.) Mountain said this weekend was his third or fourth visit to Auburn.

“It was good. I had a good time,” he said. “I think one of the biggest things I learned during this was the vision and how clear Coach Harsin made it when we met. So just getting a chance to see the vision and the plan from here on out was really helpful.”

Lew said Harsin’s vision was centered on the football program’s culture.

"They’re in a better spot than they were when they got here and just continuing to build off of that,” Lew said.

Lew also spent a lot of time with offensive line coach Will Friend, who is recruiting him to play a key position up front. The opportunity for early playing time is another positive for AU with eight seniors set to play their final season on the offensive line this fall.

“Definitely at center to kind of be that leader, for not only this class but for the whole o-line going forward,” said Lew. “They’re losing a lot of players on the o-line and he wants me to be the guy to come in, step in and take over."

Lew is rated a 3-star and the nation’s No. 7 center by Rivals.