MEGA: Auburn PREDICTED to Land ELITE Target, Alex Golesh Needs This One

0:00Auburn seems to be trending for Carlos May and elite defensive lineman. You are locked on Auburn, your daily podcast on the Auburn Tigers. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Yes, welcome on into Locked On Auburn, your daily Auburn Tigers podcast. I'm your host, Zach Blackerby. Thank you so much for making Locked On Auburn, your first lesson every single day. Happy Charlie Tuesday. Do all you celebrate Auburn message board legend, Charlie five, also known as Kyle Rush. Kyle Rush, don't know why I said it that way. He's a man over the barn Auburn dot com. He also hosts the top button podcast, which defensive lineman need to step up this year. There's one guy that I haven't really talked about much and I want to do that today as well as you're loading up on the defensive line in the 2027 class makes a ton of sense when you look at the roster and the roster management aspect of this.

1:00But let's start with Carlos May, Kyle. Wilton Fong seems to think that Auburn will land Carlos May, which is obviously a big deal, but plays at Ramsey and Birmingham seems like one of the top in-state targets for the Tigers and it seems to keep trending that way. And of course, Carlos may commit to the Tigers. So he may do it. He may do it. He may do it. Look, there was three guys in this class, which makes so much sense as to why the emphasis on retaining Von Trail King Williams and keeping him in the loop and keeping him in the mix on the staff was so important because you already got one at least committed. And that's the number one player in the state in Donovan Moore. Carlos May, Carlos May number two, 64305, and then obviously Elijah Brown from Prabble, who's also a big boy. So there's no secret what they're trying to do here. They're

2:06trying to make sure they lock up the big in-state defensive line talent. You got three big ones, three dominoes, maybe two are about to, one's already fallen, maybe two's about to fall here soon. Typically, when you get those predictions, it's not far behind. And you know, we've been told Zach, and when I say will you and I, whenever Carlos May is a priority, go ahead and get locked in, get in the boat. So it wouldn't shock me if it was this week. If that one went ahead and pulled the trigger and committed to the Tigers, huge position of need, stack in defensive line classes. I mean, man, think about this, Zach, you'll land aughtry and Crawford, and then you turn around and follow it up with possibly Donovan Moore, Carlos May, and Elijah Brown. That's pretty dang solid, man. Well, and the class in between them, smaller in quantity, but the quality of Corey Wells and Tavy on branch. I mean, yes. Both of those guys have a chance to start at Auburn

3:12over the next two or three seasons. And we'll talk about, you know, the the roster management aspect of this, because I do think the timing of them loading up on big bodies in this class is important. Um, girth is great for sure. Um, girth and length 100%. He's six four. So yeah, he's six four. 100%. Yeah, 305 pounds is still has a year of high school football left to play, which is unbelievable. Looks like he has official visit scheduled. Georgia first on June 5th, and then on June 12th, a week later, is his official to Auburn. I hope he doesn't wait that long to commit. I would like him in the boat early, because I would like some positive momentum here, because I think there's going to be a few guys that they really push to commit before, uh, before spring. Yeah, the staff seems to have, they have a select few guys in mind. I think that they're wanting to go ahead and have in the boat to kind of get the momentum rolling. Israel Abrams is

4:15one. Obviously, Donovan Moore was one. I think this guy's on that list too. So wouldn't, again, wouldn't shock me if you go ahead and get him in the boat and start recruiting. Man, get him in Ramsey high school. That's really good competition. That's that's over Eschalan as far as classifications go in the state of Alabama. It's just somebody that could almost be like a ready-made guy to step in and go like they're good program, and he's got the size to make it happen. Top 100 prospect too. I mean, on rivals, that's just why not. Yeah, you take it. You take it for sure. And I do think some of these guys aren't getting the hype for a few different reasons, as far as like the excitement throughout the Auburn fan base. One is, especially with Donovan Moore, who they've already gotten the boat. I mean, the number one player in the state, not being a five star is a little unique. Like, that's a little odd, and I kind of wonder if he could reclad,

5:18when they redo the grades and update them over the course of the offseason, if he has a chance to do that. But I don't think that really landed as much as it probably should have. The fact that Auburn did get the top player in the state. Yeah, and look, if you follow recruiting at all, you understand that a lot of these, these sites don't give out all the five stars in February. Typically, every site's going to have somewhere between 27 and 32 five stars. And right now, you probably only have like 15 or so for every single site. Now, Donovan Moore's got some work to do, like he's at 52 overall on rivals. So if he can get, you know, have a really good camp series and get within that, you know, that top 35, he's got a chance to be a five star. But the thing about this class, though, this Alabama class is this deep, man, you go all the way to the top 15 or top 14.

6:18Your top 14 are all high four stars. So I can may not have the Cam Coleman, you know, the top 20 player in the country in it. But it's got a bunch of dudes in it. And it just so happened. Three of those are on the defensive line. And Auburn is in a in the driver seat for all three, which is fantastic. It's amazing how quickly Von Trell King Williams has just risen to being just one of those guys, like everybody's got to fight. You want a guy like that on your staff. And Von Trell is just turned into one of those guys, where it's like, yeah, we need this guy. And he plays it your position. Go get him. He's like, yeah, okay, already consider it done. I mean, that's like he has turned into that. And we kind of like locked into it. I forgot who it was. It was over him who he got a job. I think it was Jeremy Garret. Who was it? Jeremy Garrett. That's right. And it was kind of late in the process. And they just promoted him. And I mean,

7:19that's what I was having Jason Jones on the show a lot. They're like, Oh, no, Von Trell is like the man. Okay, great. Cool. And he has been he's been unbelievable. Yeah, remember, they brought him in when they thought that that assistance ruling was going to go through, but it actually ended up not going through to like a whole year later. So they brought in these assistants that they thought could eventually like become defensive line coaches. You know, like those on the field coaches, because so many you can like, I guess everybody can coach on field now that just not everybody can recruit. So it was kind of easy to slide him over. And then, you know what, man, we get tied up. I think sometimes in going and finding proven recruiters, you don't know if a guy can recruit until you just know. And sometimes it's personality and sometimes it's coaching style. And to me, Von Trell has both like he's he's the kind of guy that you want to send your son to play for because he's going to be tough on him. But he's, but he's going to love him too. And I think that's so, so connect connectable. Is that a word? That's so, it is now such an easy thing to connect with.

8:24Like somebody that you connect, if you will, if you will, he has, he has a five star in connectification. That's right. That's right. Um, yeah, I mean, he's been fantastic. And so if he gets this, that'd be three classes in a row of just elite guys. And got for some reason, I just want to forget about last class. And yeah, I was pretty messed up. Yeah, I don't even know why, why I just completely threw last class under the bus. And you had an elite guy in there that's probably going to, I mean, he probably was probably going to play this year. He could play this year. Yeah, exactly. He's unbelievable. He's, he's really, really good. I just have, I think what happens is it just happened during all that craziness of like people leaving for the portal. Yes. We just hired goalish. We get that big flip on signing day, which people are kind of not as fired up on anymore. Like, I don't know, I'm just kind of weird dynamics and play. But Corey Wells, I think we'll play this year. Tavy on branch. I think has a chance to play as a true sophomore or a red shirt freshman. I hope I will have some sort of a role this year. I

9:26think is like a backup. But I mean, he's a part of the future. He's, he's going to be good. He's going to be good too. So Corey Wells could take us, he could take someone's starting job if they don't, if they don't come correct. If he's not part of the rotation early in the season, I would be surprised. I think he plays against Baylor. Like, that's, that's a true freshman. So I don't disagree. Great. Great. The roster management aspect of this is massive. If Bantro King Williams can pull off getting these three in-state guys, which it sounds like it's a good chance that he does pull this off. Let's talk about that from a timing standpoint in just a moment right here, unlocked on Auburn. Today's show brought to you by our friends at Mazda. This is Mazda's moving the game forward for those who show there's more to the score than what's on the screen. As far as moving the game forward, let's talk about Bantro King Williams. I mean, a lot of the stuff behind the scenes. He's moving the game forward for Auburn both as far as developing defensive line

10:28and getting guys committed. Mazda puts the same passion in every model. Highlights make the real what it takes to get there's what makes it count. There's more to Mazda because there's more to you. Today's show also brought to you by our friends at Fandall. Fandall is America's number one sportsbook. Have you ever wanted to experience the NBA finals live and in person? Fandall is giving you the chance to turn that dream into reality with their NBA sweepstakes. All you have to do all you have to do is use your profit boosts that you get within the app on any NBA future and you'll automatically be entered for a shot to win an NBA final strip for two. That's right, flights tickets and the whole experience. Just check that out over at fandall.com to get started. Use your profit boost to be entered play your game with fandall the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Thank you so much for making locked on Auburn. You're first listen every single day when you look at the makeup and the age of this roster. I love

11:31next year assuming we take care of business and keep guys on the roster. You will lose Dallas Walker. You will lose Cody Siggler to eligibility. St. Farrier could come back as a senior following this season and then your core. I've talked about a lot of time. Your true sophomores and regent freshman on this year's roster is the core. They are the core of your team. And so you bring back buddy, Mathis, Malik, Audrey, Jordan Crawford, Darian Smith, the two guys that we just talked about that are true freshman this year. Cory Wells taking on branch, coming back. And then hopefully you bring in these three in state defensive linemen to be a part of this. Let them sit. Maybe earn a spot at the tail end of the rotation behind these guys. But after next season on the defensive line, you're going to lose some of these guys to the NFL because they're that good. And then it'll be the second year in this program for the guys that they're recruiting right now. And when you talk about vision and when you talk about planning for the future and you talk about getting guys in the boat and selling them on the vision,

12:34Alex Golisch wants to come in here and win. No question about it. But he wants to build the program the right way. And in not all positions are created equal. But when you look at the defensive line this is what you have to do to compete for championships. They made it very clear that they wanted this true sophomore class to be the core of this roster. And I think that's a big reason why because it's going to give the guys that they're about to bring in a little bit of breathing room before they leave for the NFL. Think about this, dude. On the interior of the defensive line, there's a really good chance you don't have to go get anyone in the portal in this offseason. Like if you really think about, if you really think about that, if everybody, if you've hit on the guys that you've retained and you've brought in, there's a good chance when you go through December interior defensive lineman. Hey, by the way, pretty expensive, pretty costly. There's a good chance that you don't necessarily have to go into the portal and get another, you know,

13:40I'm not saying the name just because I don't think they're worth it. But like St. Fair, you don't may not have to go find another St. Fair. You may not have to go find another Darius Walker. I mean, so Dallas Walker, you have all these guys that are very, very young. You're like two years in that are going to be juniors next year. How awesome and how freeing is that to have like homegrown guys right there in the middle. And I put homegrown in quotation marks because yeah, there's going to be a buddy Mathis. There's going to be a St. Fair. There's going to be some guys that you brought in, but guys that are there multiple years under the same system and same two. Same if it's a coordinator. Yeah. Session coach. Yes. Huge deal. Huge deal. You're a huge deal. You may not have to, you may not have to get another one out of the portal, which right. I mean, up until maybe the following year, you may have to, but man, how I just think that is when you can get to that point where you're just, you're just filling like small holes

14:41and not like going and trying to find difference makers. You are in, you are way ahead of the game. Well, and different makers in the portal cost exponentially more than difference makers out of high school that you're grooming and they come, you know, coming along. Well, and most of the time, those guys don't even get to the portal. Like, and that's why it's such a big deal when they truly are on the open market. But most of the time, those guys don't even get there because you do whatever it takes to keep them. And as far as stacking classes and building out the roster, like we just saw it. We just saw what that looks like. They just couldn't win. But the talent was certainly, certainly there to where Auburn did build it from the high school ranks. It took three classes and it's going to take Alice Gholish three classes. We're starting to see the early forming or the early formation of his first class. And we'll see how it kind of matches over time with what the previous regime did. I think it's going to look a little different. I don't think they're going to go star chasing as much as the previous staff did. I think they're

15:46going to go more off of fit and more off of, you know, exactly what we need. And I think culture is going to be part of it. And we'll see if it works or not. We'll see if it works or not. And then you combine that with with what you can get in the portal. I think it's going to be fine. So all in all, the timing of them getting and targeting these three elite in state defense of lineman, I think could be really, really good. Really, really good. And it just makes sense. Just makes sense. Anything else on that before I move on? No, I think you nailed it. Cool. Cool. I want to highlight somebody in this defensive line room that we really haven't highlighted much at all. Is that fair? Is it not fair? We look at it next right here, unlocked on Auburn. Today's show brought to you by our friends. And indeed, indeed, man, like something that they do so well is you can put exactly what you need in there. Then they're going to use their algorithm

16:46or whatever to find the strengths of people that are looking for a job and and pair you. Because it's not all about just like the person with the best resume. It's the best fit Kyle. It's a thing that we've been talking about without a scholarship in the staff. They're looking for the best fit. And just like running a football program or putting together a roster, it's the same with running a business. You need to find people that have a great fit for exactly what you're looking for. So you can spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all the boxes, less stress, all that is for indeed sponsored jobs. Listers of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help you get the job. Your job, the premium status it deserves at nd.com slash podcast nd.com slash podcast need to hire. That's a job for indeed sponsored jobs. All right, five to a few minutes on today's edition of Lockdown Auburn. We've talked so much about

17:47these true sophomores. We've also talked about the return of Dallas Walker. How big of a deal that is. We've also talked about the addition of Cody Sigler. We think Cody Sigler from Arkansas state is going to be a big deal. I got that I haven't talked much about. I don't think you have either. Listen to your show. Good bit is Saint Ferrier the transfer from app state. And well, I'm just looking at stuff on pro football focus six three three hundred and thirty five pounds. And I just wonder how he fits in to this. I think it's depth, especially with the return of Dallas Walker. But with the size of Jordan Crawford, I just kind of wonder where Saint Ferrier fits into this. When you look at him, he looks like a nose. Yeah, DJ Durkins system. And when he did it app state play 265 snaps last year at app state. 200 and excuse me. 169 of them were at the three technique and then 83 were at nose. It really seemed like you know, it seemed game plan dependent on where he lined up.

18:53And I just I think he's a nose here. And so my question is with Dallas Walker and Jordan Crawford. Where does he fit in from a rotation standpoint? That's a really good question. Look, I think that ideally if yeah, if all things were perfect and you could have that good solid defensive tackle that can take those two gaps. And that frees you up to do multiple things with your linebackers. You're very, very talented linebackers. You are ecstatic. And why not have a guy that's you know, like you said, six three three hundred and thirty five pounds that's that's had some experience there like right there lined up dead on top of the center. Why not bring that in and line that up behind Dallas Walker and Jordan Crawford. These big body these really wide low center gravity guys that can eat up space. That's kind of they're not going to jump off the charts as far as stats go because that's not really their job. I mean, it's almost like an offensive

19:56lineman for the defensive line. Yeah, you don't want to be noticed. You don't want to be noticed. Exactly. You want to have a lot of snaps and nobody know about it. Basically, that's what a lot of what DJ Durkin and that's what Bobby Jamison Travis did like in a nutshell. I don't think the average Auburn fan knows who Bobby Jamison Travis is, but he was spectacular and he's going to the combine. Yeah, right. He'll be a draft pick. I mean, he's because he does stuff that no one else wants to do. And also being in Durkin's defense, a lot of the time with these interior guys is you really want to free stuff up for the linebackers. You want to free stuff up for whether it's Atkins or Melinda or Diaz or Ridic doesn't matter who it is. You want them to look like stars. Like that's that's the purpose of all of this. And I can say fair you do that. Sure, but I think Dallas Walker could do it better. And I think Jordan Crawford with another offseason will be able to do it better. To me, it's not so much about who can do it better. It's like that particular position, those big guys, they typically can't go, you know, 80 snaps

21:02again. They typically don't are not able to go at a very high level at even 60 to 70 snaps games. So can he give you 20? Can he give you, can it be a guy that steps in and give you 20 good snaps at the nose where you don't necessarily, when you sub in, you're not subbing in like a whole new package and philosophy. You can just kind of repeal and replace kind of deal. You know, you pull out Dallas Walker throw in St. Farrier or Jordan Crawford and you don't have to like tinker with anything else. You just roll with it. I think that's why he's so important. And if he can be that two gap guy, that's huge, man. That's like, I mean, you can't really even put a value on how big that is. Right. I wonder if you had to guess right now, who are the starters at nose into the three tech? I mean, I guess it would be probably, I mean, it would be, is it Dallas Walker and Sigler, right? And Sigler, that's what I think. Yeah, I wouldn't be shocked if Mathis or

22:08actually won the job at the three technique that wouldn't shot. It also wouldn't shot me if Jordan Crawford wanted a nose, if I'm being 100% honest, but yeah, I think right now if I had to pick going to spring, I think I would pick those two guys. Man, how fun would it be? How fun would it be if it does get to be Jordan Crawford and Malika, right there? Another best case scenario. I think so. I think so too. For this year, I would want to, I want to win regardless, but I'm just thinking beyond just winning right now. If those guys could win those position battles, boy, you're talking about a really good defensive line, which I'm not speaking for you here, but I feel like that was one of your biggest concerns. Maybe it was more isolated to pass rushing, but the defensive line in general as a whole was one of your biggest concerns. It was Dallas Walker's return made me feel better about the D line. And so now I need to shift my verbage because I've actually done it a few times, but I need to be more specific in saying pass

23:10rush. Yeah, because I don't trust any of the guys that we've mentioned so far on the interior from a pass rush standpoint. Oh, no, they can't do it. Not saying they can't develop and do that, but I just don't trust them yet. Again, that's not really their responsibility. That's not how this is though. It does help me block and had an impact in the pass rush. You couldn't double them, you know, for sure, but again, if they can do their jobs, I think there's enough talent back there behind them, especially from the linebacker position. You're going to have to manufacture some things, but boy, if you've got a big guy in the middle, that helps. It helps me. It does. It does. Yeah, and I do think you have options from a person else standpoint to where you have options to play different guys on third and two versus third and nine, which is what you want, which is what you want. So I don't think it's coming together, for sure. For sure. Kyle Rush, how can people check out everything you have going on? Absolutely,

24:12go to the barnalvern.com. Sign up today. The message board that we have jumping the conversation, the barnalvern on YouTube or the barn podcast network anywhere you get a podcast, drop a new content every single day, multiple. Please like the video. Please subscribe. We'll see See you next time. This has been Lot on Auburn.