Auburn finished the 2019 recruiting class ranked 11th in the nation and sixth in the SEC, landing elite recruits on signing day such as Charles Moore and Mark-Antony Richards.
But as one recruiting class ends another begins, Gus Malzahn is already hard at work on the 2020 class that already has seven commits, including recent four-star wide receiver commit J.J. Evans from Montevallo, Alabama.
Now, where does Malzahn go from here?
The position that most fans want to see recruited is the offensive line. This is a position that has been lacking in numbers in the past few classes. Auburn has started out the gate fast with two offensive tackles already committed in four-star Avery Jernigan and three-star JUCO commit Jonathan Buskey.
Here's who else is on Auburn's radar.
OT Tate Ratledge | Rome, Ga. — Auburn has a lot of ground to make up here for this four-star. While Ratledge has visited Auburn already, Georgia seems to be the team to beat.
OT Trey Zimmerman | Roswell, Ga. — Zimmerman seems to have emerged as a big target as of late. The three-star has a ton of upside, and it also helps that he is friends with Jernigan.
OT/OG Chris Mayo | Hightstown, N.J. — Mayo is a four-star target that has already visited Auburn twice. Being from New Jersey, this shows that there is major interest.
OT Joshua Braun | Live Oak, Fla. — The brother of a grad transfer target from Georgia Tech, Braun is a four-star that has not visited Auburn yet but has plans to in the future.
OT Javion Cohen | Phenix City, Ala. — Cohen does not hold an offer from Auburn yet, but the three-star's stock is on the rise and if Auburn were to offer, then it would most certainly be a factor.
OT Broderick Jones | Lithonia, Ga. — Jones is a five-star Georgia commit who made a surprise visit to Auburn back in January with his family. Malzahn is pitching that Jones could be a starting tackle with the amount of linemen that will be leaving.
The next major position Auburn will loading up on in this class is linebackers, having signed three in the 2019 class and having one committed currently in Demouy Kennedy.
DE/OLB Quandarrius Robinson | Birmingham, Ala. — This four star was once committed to Auburn but backed off his pledge recently. The Tigers may still lead, but it looks to be an Iron Bowl battle for this recruit.
LB Phillip Webb | Sugar Hill, Ga. — The four-star Webb grew up an Auburn fan and his father attended the school with Rodney Garner. It will come down to Auburn and Clemson most likely for this recruit.
LB Cameron Riley | Evergreen, Ala. — Auburn and Mississippi State are the two teams to watch out for this four-star. Auburn seems to be surging of late after a visit Feb. 2.
Finally, let's go through some other recruits to keep an eye out for. Auburn will be more picky with other positions as they are not as much of a need.
QB Robby Ashford | Hoover, Ala. — Ashford is Auburn's QB recruit for this cycle and it looks to be a fight between Auburn and Georgia for this one.
RB Kobe Pryor | Cedartown, Ga. — New Auburn running backs coach Cadillac Willians has found a priority running back in this cycle, and he comes from the same high school that produced Nick Chubb. This 6-foot 210-pound running back's stock is rising, and he may not be a three-star for long.
WR E.J. Williams | Phenix City, Ala. — Auburn was once the team to beat for this rising receiver but Clemson seems to be the team to beat as of now.
DE Myles Murphy | Powder Springs, Ga. — This five-star has visited Auburn multiple times and loves the engineering program that is offered at Auburn. Auburn is very much in the mix but so is Georgia, Alabama and Clemson.
TE Arik Gilbert | Marietta, Ga. — Gilbert is a five-star recruit that recently visited Auburn recently and will again. Georgia looks to be the leader for this freakishly athletic recruit.
There will be plenty more names to come up in the future that we just do not know about yet. Keep an eye out for recruits in Arizona as new offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham is from there and has already started offering.
Also: Keep an eye out in Mississippi. Auburn recruited well there in the 2019 cycle; don't expect it to slow down with proven Magnolia-state recruiters Marcus Woodson and Wesley McGriff on staff.
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