On the trail

It's crunch time for Gus Malzahn and his staff, especially with National Signing Day less than two weeks away.

Currently Auburn has 16 commitments in a class that was on pace to be one of the strongest in the nation, but because of some major de commitments by Reuben Foster, Dee Liner and Trey Johnson the class has fallen to 14th overall according to ESPN.com.

There are four SEC teams with 27 or more recruits, but what keeps Auburn near the top of the class is the quality of the Tigers' prospects. For instance, nine of Auburn's 16 prospects are ranked with four or five stars.

With that being said, much of Auburn's perceived recruiting strength lies in the commitment of five star defensive end Carl Lawson, but there's speculation that he may sign with another school which would be no less than devastating for the Tigers.

It would be huge to keep him, and God knows Auburn needs all the help it can get on the defensive side of the football, but there are other worthy recruits that have committed or may commit to play for Malzahn.

Actually, barring the early de commitments, Malzahn and his guys have been gaining momentum on the trail, adding two more prospects last weekend in wide receiver Tony Stevens and safety Khari Harding.

Both players visited campus last weekend, and the coaching staff is hoping for more of the same luck in the next two weekends when the Tigers have headliners Carl Lawson, Montravius Adams, Texas A&M commit Derrick Griffin, Mississippi State commit Chris Jones, Reuben Foster and Florida State commit Austin Golson to the Plains.

While signing any one of those players would be a huge boost for next season, Malzahn wants every single one.

Why not, right?

I mean each of these players, committed or not, picked Auburn as the place for their final official visit to a university, so they're at least slightly interested if not incredibly.

And there has been a pattern: players who visit this new Auburn coaching staff usually like at least one of the coaches, and some like all of them.

The coaching staff is loaded with recruiters who have had years to hone their convincing skills and make a school seem irresistible to a prospect.

Dameyune Craig, Rodney Garner and Ellis Johnson in particular are recognized as some of the best recruiters in all of college football, but Tim Horton, Charlie Harbison and Malzahn know how to pitch a school to athletes as well.

So while Auburn fans will only know for sure how successful this last push at recruiting has been, there is good reason to be optimistic.

And if Malzahn can indeed pull in a class loaded with top recruits he will give something to the fans they haven't had in a while.