Assigned recruiting territories — and key targets – 247Sports
Canvassing one’s area is what gets the ball rolling in recruiting. Assistant coaches at Auburn have designated recruiting regions that they mine for talent each and every cycle. They visit their schools often, help identify potential targets and cultivate relationships both with the staffs there and the prospects.
In a nutshell, area recruiting is about laying the foundation to get your program in the door.
From there, it becomes a team effort. Position coaches and coordinators get involved. And if the target is important enough, so does the head coach.
When assigning coaches to a region, a staff does its best to identify a good fit and there are many factors when determining this. Some coaches may have ties or connections to a certain area. An assistant might have the same type of background as many of the recruits in a region. Or, he may have recruited an area for so long that everyone there knows him and his past relationships are invaluable.
The end result, each college program hopes, is that your assistant is liked and respected in his areas because that leads to more commitments than if the opposite is true.
Auburn has three new assistants on the staff this year — offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chad Morris, offensive line coach Jack Bicknell and secondary coach Al Pogue. Earlier this year, we began to provide you with a look at each Auburn assistant’s recruiting regions — and who some of their top respective targets are.
This is our monthly update ….
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***Chad Morris: Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach
Areas: Central and southwest Florida (Lakeland, Bradenton, Sarasota, Fort Myers), Texas, national.
Notable targets as area recruiter: RB LJ Johnson, Cypress (Texas) Cy-Fair; WR Hal Presley, Arlington (Texas) Mansfield Summit; LB Xavian Sorey, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. OT Savion Byrd, Duncanville (Texas); WR Shadrach Banks, Houston (Texas) North Shore; CB Markevious Brown, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy;
2021 commits: QB Dematrius Davis, Houston (Texas) North Shore: ATH Tar’varish Dawson, Lehigh Acres (Fla.) Lehigh Senior; TE Landen King, Humble (Texas) Atascocita’ OG Jaeden Roberts, Houston (Texas) North Shore.
411: Due to his connections in Texas, Morris is overseeing things there. Auburn is recruiting that state hard — and thus far it has really paid off. In addition to the three Texas commits in this cycle, he also helped Auburn land 2020 4-star tight end Brandon Frazier to close out the 2020 class. Morris also has recruited the Southeast — and Florida — for many years, dating back to his stint as offensive coordinator at Clemson. Because quarterback is the most important position on the field, Morris (like most who hold his title) will spend a lot of his time recruiting that position. Of his targets, Presley, a Baylor commit, might be the one to watch. The Tigers are working hard to flip him.
***Cadillac Williams: Running backs coach
Areas: Tampa Bay (Fla.), South Georgia; north-central Alabama (Gadsden).
Notable targets as area recruiter: TE Michael Trigg, Seffner Chrisitan (Fla.); WR Roc Taylor, Oxford (Ala.); OT Rod Orr, Gadsden City (Ala.).
2021 commits: RB Armoni Goodwin, Hewitt-Trussville (Ala.)
411: Williams having Tampa Bay as his region makes sense since he once played for the Bucs. Also, his ties to northeast Alabama give him a real shot with any recruit in that region. Trigg is probably his biggest remaining 2021 target. Trigg is very high on the Tigers and Auburn has a realistic shot of landing the two-sport star (he also has an Auburn hoops offer). Taylor is a Vols commit who Auburn offered last week.
***Larry Porter: Tight ends/special teams coach
Areas: Atlanta (Dekalb, Newton, Rockdale), South Florida (Miami-Dade), southwest Florida, Memphis/west Tennessee.
Notable targets as area recruiter: CB Nyland Green, Covington (Ga.) Newton; OG Dietrick Pennington, Cordova (Tenn) Evangelical Christian; WR Isaiah Brevard, Southaven (Miss.); WR Brashard Smith, Miami (Fla.) Palmetto)
411: Porter has recruited the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area for many years and is well-connected there; he also has the metro-Memphis region. He played at Memphis and was the Tigers’ head coach at one time. Green is his biggest target in Georgia and Porter is very close with the touted corner. The land Green, a top-100 national recruit, the Tigers will have to beat out Clemson and Georgia.
***Kodi Burns: Receivers coach
Areas: Metro-Orlando (Fla.) and the Space Coast; central-southwest Georgia; Metro-Auburn, including Phenix City (Ala.) and Columbus (Ga.).
Notable targets as area recruiter: WR Malcolm Johnson Jr., Alexandria (Va.) St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes; DE Dylan Brooks, Roanoke (Ala.) Handley; DE Shambre Jackson, Orlando (Fla.) Boone; DE Keanu Koht, Vero Beach (Fla.)
LB Raheim Sanders, Rockledge (Fla.), ATH Chase Smith, Palm Bay (Fla.) Bayside.
411: Burns has a lot of territory to cover, especially several rural areas in Georgia. That region may not produce high quantity, but the quality if there. Auburn defensive end Big Kat Bryant is from Cordele, Georgia, which now belongs to Burns. In central Florida, Burns is a popular coach. Brooks, a Vols commit, still communicates with the Tigers, who would love to flip the in-state standout.
***Jack Bicknell: Offensive line coach
Areas: Southeast Georgia (Waycross), north-central Florida (Ocala, Daytona Beach, St. Augustine), southeast Alabama (Dothan, Troy)
Notable targets as area recruiter: LB Trevin Wallace, Jessup (Ga.) Wayne County; 2022 OG Kanaya Charlton, Brunswick (Ga.); 2022 RB Jamie Felix, Kingsland (Ga.) Camden County; 2022 RB Emmanuel Henderson, Hartford (Ala.) Geneva County.
2021 commits: OT Caleb Johnson, Ocala (Fla.) Trinity Catholic; OT Garner Langlo, Ocala (Fla.) Trinity Catholic.
411: Because the offensive line is so valuable to a program, Bicknell also likely will assist in other areas (see Texas) to recruit top targets. He has played a vital role in the recruitments of the four offensive linemen on Auburn’s commit list.
***Rodney Garner: Defensive line coach
Areas: Metro-Birmingham (Ala.), Metro-Tuscaloosa (Ala.); Atlanta (Fulton County) west along I-20 (Carrollton, Ga.) and I-85 (LaGrange, Ga.).
Notable targets as area recruiter: CB, Ga’Quincy McKinstry, Pinson Valley (Ala.); CB, Kamari Lassiter, Tuscaloosa (Ala.) American Christian; DE Jonathan Jefferson, Douglasville (Ga.) Douglas Count; DE/Buck Jeremiah Williams, Birmingham (Ala.) Ramsay.
411: Having played in the SEC and coached at Auburn, Georgia and Tennessee, Garner has many connections in the Atlanta-Fulton County region, which is among the most important recruiting areas for the Auburn program. But he’s also had great success for years recruiting the metro-Birmingham region, which is where he was raised. Three of his biggest 2021 targets are in the Birmingham-Tuscaloosa corridor. Williams, who Auburn is a strong contender for, could announce his commitment decision as early as next week. McKinstry, a 5-star recruit, put Auburn in his top three with Alabama and LSU on Sunday. Auburn also is high on Lassiter’s list. Jefferson is a Georgia commit, but Auburn continues to recruit him.
***Travis Williams: Linebackers coach/recruiting coordinator
Areas: Atlanta (Gwinnett County), northeast Georgia, central Tennessee (Nashville), metro-Jacksonville, Fla., north Alabama (Huntsville, Decatur), Carolinas.
Notable targets as area recruiter: RB Phil Mafah, Grayson (Ga.); TE Cane Berrong, Hartwell (Ga.) Hart County; CB Kyndrich Breedlove, Nashville (Tenn.) Pearl-Cohn. 2022 CB commit Andre Stewart, Snellville (Ga.) Brookwood.
411: While Williams has many regions to cover, none is more important than Gwinnett County in Georgia, where the Tigers have had a good level of success in recent years. Two cycles ago, Williams landed 5-star linebacker Owen Pappoe from that area. Of note, he’s also Auburn’s recruiting coordinator — so he is actively involved in many recruitments along with the development of Auburn’s recruiting strategies. In a nutshell, Williams has his hands in a lot of things.
***Wesley McGriff: Secondary coach
Areas: East Tennessee (Chattanooga, Knoxville), Southeast Florida (Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach), Atlanta (Cobb County), North and central Georgia.
Notable targets as area recruiter: LB Smael Mondon, Dallas (Ga.) Paulding County.
2021 commits: OT J’Marion Gooch, Seymour (Tenn.) The King’s Academy; S Phillip O’Brien Jr., Deerfield Beach (Fla.).
411: McGriff has many ties to South Florida, which is why he helps recruit that area. He spent four seasons coaching with the Miami Hurricanes and has developed strong relationships in the region. He also helps recruit metro-Atlanta, a big priority for the Tigers.
***Al Pogue: Buck/Defensive ends
Areas: Central Georgia (Macon), north-central Florida (Gainesville, Tallahassee), Montgomery (Ala.) and west-central Alabama, junior colleges.
Notable targets as area recruiter: S Terrion Arnold, Tallahassee (Fla.) John Paul II Catholic; S Ahmari Harvey, Tallahasee (Fla.) Florida State Univ. School; LB Ian Jackson, Prattville (Ala.); Jimmori Robinson, Monroe College (N.Y.); CB Jadarrius Perkins, Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C.
411: Pogue is a native of Alabama who figures to give the Tigers’ in-state recruiting a boost. For many years, he was a successful high school coach in the Montgomery area — where he led Carver High to its first-ever unbeaten season.
***Kevin Steele: Defensive coordinator
Areas: Florida panhandle (Pensacola, Panama City), Metro-Mobile (Ala.), East Georgia (Savannah), Carolinas.
Notable targets as area recruiter: OT Amarius Mims, Cochran (Ga.) Bleckley County; DT Marquis Robinson, Milton (Fla.).
2021 commits: DT Lee Hunter, Eight Mile (Ala.) Blount.
411: Steele has strong ties in the southern part of Alabama and has won some important battles in the area. He also has had success through the years from Macon to Savannah. Last year, he flipped a key recruit in that region from Miami on National Signing Day — buck linebacker Romello Height. Robinson appears to be an Auburn lean at the time.
