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A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn adds 12 in early signing day class


Auburn interim head coach Kevin Steele talks about signing day on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020 in Auburn, Ala.
Auburn interim head coach Kevin Steele talks about signing day on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020 in Auburn, Ala.

Even without a permanent head coach, Auburn still signed 12 players on Wednesday's early signing day. The Tigers will also have an additional signing on Friday, according to interim head coach Kevin Steele.

Here's some info on each member of the class and what Steele had to say about each player. 


Lee Hunter (DT, 6-5, 300; Blount; Eight Mile, AL): The highest-rated commit in the class, Lee Hunter, has signed with Auburn. Hunter is a 4-star defensive tackle and rated as the No. 80 player in the class according to 247Sports composite rankings. He is the No. 6 defensive tackle in the class. Hunter committed to Auburn back in December of 2019 and is now officially a Tiger.

"He’s a very, very athletic defensive lineman. His skill set is very high," Steele said. "He has the ability to be an exceptional player in this league. His personality fits Auburn. I think probably the biggest thing is he made a commitment pretty early and there had been a lot of communication, and so the relationship eventually was the thing that kept it where it was."


Ahmari Harvey (S, 6-0, 175; Florida State University School; Tallahassee, FL): From Tallahassee, Florida, Harvey is a 4-star safety and is rated as the No. 14 safety in the class of 2021, according to 247Sports composite rankings. Harvey committed to Auburn in August.


Dematrius Davis (QB, 6-0, 195; North Shore HS; Houston, TX): Davis is a 4-star dual-threat quarterback from Houston, Texas, who committed to Auburn in May over LSU and Virginia Tech. He’s rated as the No. 8 dual-threat in the country and the No. 34 player in Texas, according to 247Sports composite rankings. 

He has led Houston powerhouse North Shore to two straight 6A titles and could make it three this winter.

"We did get Dematrius Davis, the quarterback — which, obviously, a class without a quarterback is hard and usually if we had to wait or had lost him, replacing a quarterback is hard to do in a class," Steele said. So we’re glad that he stayed with his commitment."

"Well, you know, that was kind of another thing. Jay asked, well, because I was having to talk to all the recruits, well, I had obviously watched all, evaluated, written up evaluations, talked to, communicated with all the defensive players. But the offensive players, I had not seen," Steele said. "None of them were in my recruiting area, so I had not seen. So I had to Sunday night late, so I could talk to them, I had to get the film cut ups and watch those guys. And with him, I mean, he's a very athletic, strong arm, accurate, can beat you with his legs, beat him with your arms, extremely competitive. And he's won championships. I think he's getting ready to play for his third state championship in a row. In the state of Texas, that's hard to do." 


Marquis Robinson (DT, 6-4, 300; Milton HS; Milton FL): Robinson is a 4-star defensive tackle from Milton, Florida, and is rated as the No. 22 defensive tackle in the class of 2021, according to 247Sports composite rankings. Robinson committed to Auburn in August.

"Yeah, with Lee and Marquis, obviously, we needed some big, strong, powerful, athletic guys inside there," Steele said. "They answer that."


Hal Presley (WR, 6-3, 197; Mansfield Summit HS; Arlington TX): Auburn’s third signee from Texas is 3-star wide receiver Hal Presley. Presley is rated as the No. 67 wide receiver in the class of 2021, according to 247Sports composite rankings. Presley committed to Auburn in November.

"The wide receiver position, Hal Presley came aboard, from Mansfield Summit in Texas," Steele said. "Very, very good football player. Electric with the ball in his hands. Good, strong hands. We feel very good about him."

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Tobechi Okoli (SDE, 6-5, 255; Lincoln College Prep; Kansas City, MO): After committing to Auburn back in August, strong-side defensive end Tobechi Okoli put pen to paper on Wednesday. In the 247Sports composite rankings, Okoli is a 3-star and ranked as the No. 33 overall strong-side defensive end. Overall, he is the No. 520 player in the class.

"And we called his high school coach. He mentioned his skillset. It was intriguing," Steele said. "Watched some video on him. And then had his high school coach have him called us. Or we might have called him. Because I know we get one call in that timeframe. And he was just -- it was a very long phone call. Unusually long for that time. It lasted 45-50 minutes. And he was very intrigued with the SEC."


Landen King (TE, 6-5, 220; Atascocita HS; Humble, TX): From Humble, Texas, King is a 3-star tight end and is rated as the No. 27 tight end in the class of 2021, according to 247Sports composite rankings. King committed to Auburn in June.

"We signed both tight ends, in Landen King and Grant Calcaterra, the transfer from Oklahoma. So we’ve got both of those in the boat," Steele said.


Garner Langlo (OG, 6-7, 280; Trinity Catholic HS; Ocala, FL): From Ocala, Florida, Langlo is a 3-star offensive lineman and is rated as the No. 33 offensive guard in the class of 2021, according to 247Sports composite rankings. He committed to Auburn in May. 

"The offensive line probably took the biggest hit -- you can say that -- in that we signed Garner Langlo from Trinity Catholic in Florida," Steele said. "He stood in the paint. And that leads me to say this: These guys, these 12, they showed a commitment to Auburn University that is the kind of commitment you want in the fourth quarter in the Iron Bowl. They did not waver. They were committed to finish for Auburn. And that’s huge. But Garner is an offensive lineman from, like I said, Trinity Catholic in Florida. We do have one more offensive lineman holding. And then we lost one to another school. "


Kamal Hadden (CB, 6-1, 185; Independence Community College; River Rouge, MI): The first JUCO signee is cornerback Kamal Hadden. Hadden is a 3-star cornerback and ranked as the No. 29 JUCO player, according to 247Sports composite rankings. He is the No. 5 JUCO cornerback in the class of 2021. Hadden committed to Auburn back in August.

"We also signed three defensive backs. Kamal Hadden, a junior college player from Independence, originally from Ypsilanti, Michigan," Steele said. "Very, very talented football player."


Armani "A.D." Diamond (CB, 5-11, 170; Blount; Eight Mile, AL): Out of Mobile County, Diamond is a 3-star corner, ranked 114th amond CBs in the country according to 247Sports composite rankings. He was previously committed to Louisiana Tech, but flipped on National Signing Day after receiving a last-minute offer. 

"And we added A.D. Diamond, who was a guy that we'd had our eyes on," Steele said. "He played in the Mississippi All-Star Game with Alabama and did a very good job, so we added him today."


Grant Calcaterra (TE, 6-4, 242; Oklahoma University; Rancho Santa Margarita, CA): In November, tight end Grant Calcaterra decided to transfer to Auburn. He stuck with that decision and signed with Auburn on Wednesday. 

Calcaterra spent three seasons at Oklahoma, totaling 637 yards, 41 receptions and nine touchdowns in 20 games for the Sooners. In 2018, Calcaterra was a first-team All-Big 12 selection. In 2019, Calcaterra medically retired from football due to a series of concussions. After a year away from the game, he opted to return and transfer from Oklahoma.

"I think it’s going to change football with the one-time transfer. It’s coming. It’s going to change football. I’m not sure what the future holds," Steele said about the upcoming one-time transfer rule. "And obviously, that would be up to the next head coach how much he wants to infuse transfers into the roster.  Some coaches will probably say no, we’re not going that road. We’re going to stay traditional. Other coaches will go a little bit that way, and some will probably go a lot that way. So that would be up to the next head coach."


Dylan Fox | Sports Writer

Dylan Fox, Junior in Civil Site Design Engineering, joined The Plainsman as a sports writer in Spring 2020. From Geneva, IL.

@DylanBFox

dbf0012@auburn.edu


Jake Weese | Sports Editor

Jake Weese, senior in journalism with a minor in history, is The Plainsman's sports editor.

@TheJakeWeese

Sports@theplainsman.com 


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