Another offensive lineman is headed to Auburn from just around the corner.
Eston Harris, a 3-star rated offensive tackle out of Auburn High School, has made the decision to keep his talents on the Plains and be a "home-town hero." The likes of which Auburn hasn’t in a over a decade.
Harris committed to Auburn last Thursday night, on Oct. 14.
The Tigers’ offensive line has been regarded as one of the most vulnerable position groups on the team entering the 2020 and 2021 seasons, with injuries to Brandon Council, Alec Jackson, and Brodarious Hamm plaguing the ability to have consistency at the front of the offense.
It’s now a focus point of Bryan Harsin’s 2022 recruiting cycle and the position group that’s tied for the most amount of commits in the Tigers’ recruiting class.
Harris has been a priority target for Harsin and offensive line coach Will Friend for the better of two months, with his official Auburn offer coming on Aug. 1 this year.
Drew Bobo, a teammate of Harris at Auburn High and a recent offensive line commit to Auburn University himself, can be credited with playing a part in Harris’s sway toward the Tigers.
Harris was with Bobo as an unofficial visitor at every Auburn home game this fall, according to Rivals.com’s Christian Clemente.
Just one day after announcing his commitment, Harris was already taking to Twitter to try to help recruit other players to his new-found home. Just like his friend Bobo.
The chance for the young prospect to come in and make an immediate impact on the line is something that piqued his interest in Auburn, as he told Jeffrey Lee from Auburn Live after his commitment.
“Auburn is home and I’ve built close relationships with the staff,” Harris said to Lee. “I also feel like I have a great opportunity to come in and play early. I feel like the best opportunity for me to succeed is at Auburn.”
Auburn’s O-line has already made improvements from last year to this year, increasing the team’s average yards per rush attempt from 4.6 in 2020 to 5.7 yards a rush in the seven games played this season.
The 6-foot-6 tackle originally played at Beauregard High School in Opelika before transferring to Auburn High during the 2020-2021 offseason.
He had schools like Alabama, Georgia, Oregon and Florida State in his final five before ultimately choosing the home Tigers.
Eston’s commitment bumps the Tigers’ recruiting class up from the last spot in the SEC to No. 13, with the class also now ranked as the 34th best in the nation.
With Harris and Bobo adding competition to the locker room and with more commits possibly on the way, Harsin and his staff are ensuring that Auburn has talented options to develop and utilize for the future of the front line.
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Larry is a senior studying journalism with a minor in sociology. He is from Enterprise, Alabama and is in his third year with The Auburn Plainsman.
Twitter: @ReportingLarry
