Auburn signed a quartet of wide receivers in their 2018 signing class. Auburn put an emphasis on speed at the position and is looking to build upon an already deep rotation. Auburn brings back its top five receivers in yards from the 2017 season along with quarterback Jarrett Stidham.
Matthew Hill and Anthony Schwartz signed on Wednesday, while Seth Williams signed in December. Lastly, Shedrick Jackson was an early enrollee.
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn is high on his receivers in this class. He says, “We signed four we feel really good about. We feel like all four of those guys can help us next year.”
Hill hails from Snellville, Georgia and went to Brookwood high. He is a 6-foot-1 four-star wide receiver and a top 150 national recruit according to rivals. He is the No. 6 receiver in the nation. “He is a guy who we have recruited for a very long time. We feel like he’s one of the better football players in all of the country. He is the type of guy who you want to get the ball in his hands,” Malzahn said about Hill.
Schwartz is a four-star from Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he attended American Heritage. He is speedster who is also going to run track for Auburn. He has run 100 meters in 10.15 seconds and his goal is get to under 10 seconds. Malzahn even referred to Schwartz as “the fastest guy in the country.”
Malzahn also said, “I really believe this guy has a chance to be really special. He got better throughout his high school career.”
Jackson and Williams had already signed before today, but both of them are in-state players. Williams is from Cottondale near Tuscaloosa and Jackson is from Hoover.
Jackson was the only three star of the bunch on rivals, but he definitely has the pedigree. He is the nephew of Auburn legend Bo Jackson. He also runs a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash and has huge upside. “He is so polished. He does a great job running routes, and we think he has a chance to be a very special player,” Malzahn says.
Williams is a big wide out as he stands at 6-foot-3 and weighs almost 220 pounds. He went to Paul Bryant High School. Malzahn said he is great athlete as he is a great basketball and football player. “He is a great athlete from Tuscaloosa. We haven’t got many of those guys from there in the past.”
Hill, Schwartz, and Williams will report over the summer and be ready for fall camp. Jackson will participate in spring ball when Auburn kicks off practice on March 1.
Auburn could have bolstered their receiving class even more with Ja’marr Chase or Justyn Ross who were highly rated recruits. Chase is a four-star from Louisiana who stayed at home with LSU. Ross is from right down the road from Auburn in Phenix City. He was the top prospect in the state and a five-star. He spurned both in-state Auburn and Alabama to sign with Clemson.
Overall, Auburn finished outside the Rivals top 10 in rankings landing at No. 12. Auburn did not land a Rivals five-star recruit, but Malzahn hinted at the possibility of adding a fifth-year graduate transfer down the road to this class.
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