The 2022 iteration of Big Cat Weekend was a reclamation of sorts. The 2021 event, if we’ll call it that, wasn’t planned or executed well.
Things were much different this time.
Auburn played host to a group of approximately 25 prospects of note, which included some 2023s, some 2024s and a few 2025s. (This is compared to 10ish players last year.) This group was of a pretty high caliber, honestly, and included several guys I’d view as ”major” additions if they choose Auburn.
They coordinated a pair of commitments from 2024 recruits A’Mon Lane (cornerback) and Adrian Posse (quarterback). That represents a terrific start to that class.
The event regained some measure of its spectacle status — the way it was when Trooper and Luper and Thigpen dreamed it up 13 summers ago. It was clear that Auburn cared about this event. Every coach and staffer was visible and mingling with anyone and everyone. It felt very friendly and alive, if that makes sense. I could tell that the players were having a good time.
Here are some other things I noticed:
• Having The Yard Milkshake Bar’s mobile restaurant in front of the complex was terrific. The ice cream was outstanding — the owner asked us to have some — and the kids really dug it. Everybody congregated in that area for a good 90 minutes as the event was ending, which was a perfect setting for coaches and staffers to kinda break out with certain players and family members. That’s a really important part of the whole recruiting experience and it’s less solemn/forced when you can have those conversations in a busier/happier situation like that.
• I respected the way Air Noland (‘24 quarterback recruit) handled the news that another ‘24 quarterback committed at the event. I mean, that has to be awkward, right? Noland handled it really well, saying that he isn’t scared of competition. And for Auburn’s part, it was obvious Kiesau and Harsin made it clear to Noland that he still was valued. I don’t think Auburn has prioritized Noland in an overall sense — this is not news to our hard-core recruiting subscribers — and I don’t think he’ll end up coming here. Nonetheless, I respect the way both sides of this one have handled their business. Noland is a very mature young man. It’s actually inspiring to me when I watch a young person gracefully handle a thorny situation. I have hope for the future.
• I sense that OL recruiting finally is turning around a bit. Bo Hughley is almost certain to flip (if he hasn’t already) — a fact that was driven home for me when he didn’t want to do interviews. Hughley is a very outgoing person who loves being interviewed! He still was talking it through with Auburn and Hughley felt more comfortable hanging out privately with Jelani Thurman and Noland and Terrence Love. All four of those guys stick together.
The OL thing goes a lot deeper than Hughley, though. Jatavius Shivers is an intriguing prospect whom Auburn, now that it’s offered him, has a real good shot to land in time. He’s a three-star guy right now and, as of Sunday morning, is newly committed to South Carolina. We’ll see where he ends up. He has a body like Marcus McNeill (long and lean-ish for a tackle) and I like his personality a lot. He’s not cocky. He knows he has work to do. You’d be surprised how many kids think they’re already made men.
• Y’all will LOVE Kavion Henderson if he chooses Auburn. He has a personality like a young TJ Jackson — friendly and affable, but he’s here for the work. He has some of those innate leadership qualities Rodney Garner used to covet so much. Henderson is a damn fine football player, too. A winning program needs guys like him to set a tone.
• Derick Hunter wasn’t there — he’s the transfer defensive end from Texas A&M — but we heard from a few folks that he’s a crucial part of this entire defensive recruiting paradigm. He’s really stung by the way things broke down in College Station. He wasn’t really clicking at defensive line, was moved to offensive line and that just wasn’t going to work for him. He’s been training like mad to prepare for a second act as a defensive lineman. Thing is, he always was a terrific trainer. I get a real Dee Ford vibe out of this situation. Remember that Dee didn’t click early at Auburn (too thin) but worked his way into relative greatness. Hunter can follow that path. You need Dee Fords.
(I’ll add a bit more later. Thank you for reading …)
Things were much different this time.
Auburn played host to a group of approximately 25 prospects of note, which included some 2023s, some 2024s and a few 2025s. (This is compared to 10ish players last year.) This group was of a pretty high caliber, honestly, and included several guys I’d view as ”major” additions if they choose Auburn.
They coordinated a pair of commitments from 2024 recruits A’Mon Lane (cornerback) and Adrian Posse (quarterback). That represents a terrific start to that class.
The event regained some measure of its spectacle status — the way it was when Trooper and Luper and Thigpen dreamed it up 13 summers ago. It was clear that Auburn cared about this event. Every coach and staffer was visible and mingling with anyone and everyone. It felt very friendly and alive, if that makes sense. I could tell that the players were having a good time.
Here are some other things I noticed:
• Having The Yard Milkshake Bar’s mobile restaurant in front of the complex was terrific. The ice cream was outstanding — the owner asked us to have some — and the kids really dug it. Everybody congregated in that area for a good 90 minutes as the event was ending, which was a perfect setting for coaches and staffers to kinda break out with certain players and family members. That’s a really important part of the whole recruiting experience and it’s less solemn/forced when you can have those conversations in a busier/happier situation like that.
• I respected the way Air Noland (‘24 quarterback recruit) handled the news that another ‘24 quarterback committed at the event. I mean, that has to be awkward, right? Noland handled it really well, saying that he isn’t scared of competition. And for Auburn’s part, it was obvious Kiesau and Harsin made it clear to Noland that he still was valued. I don’t think Auburn has prioritized Noland in an overall sense — this is not news to our hard-core recruiting subscribers — and I don’t think he’ll end up coming here. Nonetheless, I respect the way both sides of this one have handled their business. Noland is a very mature young man. It’s actually inspiring to me when I watch a young person gracefully handle a thorny situation. I have hope for the future.
• I sense that OL recruiting finally is turning around a bit. Bo Hughley is almost certain to flip (if he hasn’t already) — a fact that was driven home for me when he didn’t want to do interviews. Hughley is a very outgoing person who loves being interviewed! He still was talking it through with Auburn and Hughley felt more comfortable hanging out privately with Jelani Thurman and Noland and Terrence Love. All four of those guys stick together.
The OL thing goes a lot deeper than Hughley, though. Jatavius Shivers is an intriguing prospect whom Auburn, now that it’s offered him, has a real good shot to land in time. He’s a three-star guy right now and, as of Sunday morning, is newly committed to South Carolina. We’ll see where he ends up. He has a body like Marcus McNeill (long and lean-ish for a tackle) and I like his personality a lot. He’s not cocky. He knows he has work to do. You’d be surprised how many kids think they’re already made men.
• Y’all will LOVE Kavion Henderson if he chooses Auburn. He has a personality like a young TJ Jackson — friendly and affable, but he’s here for the work. He has some of those innate leadership qualities Rodney Garner used to covet so much. Henderson is a damn fine football player, too. A winning program needs guys like him to set a tone.
• Derick Hunter wasn’t there — he’s the transfer defensive end from Texas A&M — but we heard from a few folks that he’s a crucial part of this entire defensive recruiting paradigm. He’s really stung by the way things broke down in College Station. He wasn’t really clicking at defensive line, was moved to offensive line and that just wasn’t going to work for him. He’s been training like mad to prepare for a second act as a defensive lineman. Thing is, he always was a terrific trainer. I get a real Dee Ford vibe out of this situation. Remember that Dee didn’t click early at Auburn (too thin) but worked his way into relative greatness. Hunter can follow that path. You need Dee Fords.
(I’ll add a bit more later. Thank you for reading …)
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