AUBURN, Ala. – Wednesday marked the beginning of a new era for Auburn football.
The early signing period opened for the 2019 recruiting class, and the Tigers signed a total of 16 players (7 offense, 9 defense) from seven different states. The class includes the nation's top-rated quarterback prospect in Bo Nix and the nation's top-rated outside linebacker in Owen Pappoe. It's currently No. 11 per 24/7's composite ranking, but Auburn ranks fifth nationally in average grade per signee (91.90).
"I'm excited about our new signees today," head coach Gus Malzahn said. "The thing that stands out to me about this group is a lot of really good football players with outstanding families. I really appreciate our staff. They did a super job. We had a few hurdles to overcome, and they just did a great job developing relationships, long-term relationships. I just really appreciate the coaches and our recruiting staff behind the scenes."
The early signing period will remain open until Friday, and then the coaches will have another month and a half to fill out the class before national signing day on Feb. 6.
"We feel great about this group that signed," Malzahn said. "This has a chance to be a real special class. It already is a very good class, but it's got a chance to be a special class."
Here's a look at what Malzahn said about each player that signed Wednesday.
Colby Wooden, Buck, 6-4, 235 (Lawrenceville, Ga.)
"He's a guy that was a priority for us. He can play defensive end. He can play buck. We think this guy has got a really big upside. Very good football player now, and he will be here early, with an outstanding family."
Jaylin Simpson, DB, 6-0, 175 (Brunswick, Ga.)
"He's a guy that's been committed to us for a while. He really helped us recruit. He was a quarterback in high school, won a state championship. He'll play defensive back, and he's got the ability to play safety or corner. Very excited about him."
Cam'Ron Kelly, DB, 6-1, 205 (Chesapeake, Va.)
"He also played quarterback, but he will play corner for us. We think this guy is an outstanding athlete, player, a 4.0 student. He will be here early, too."
Tyler Fromm, TE, 6-5, 225 (Warner Robins, Ga.)
"He's half a receiver, half a tight end. He's going to give us a lot of flexibility. He's a real versatile guy. He comes from a football family. We're very excited about him. He's on campus, and he's been here the last couple days."
Luke Deal, TE, 6-5, 245 (Greenwood, S.C.)
"A bigger tight end. He's really a guy that can put his hand down, can block, a lot of traditional tight end things. We're really excited about him. Luke's been here a couple days. He did have a non-contact injury, but we expect him to be back by the first of the season."
Bo Nix, QB, 6-2, 210 (Pinson, Ala.)
"Our quarterback, he's been committed to us for a while. We started recruiting Bo in 8th or 9th grade. You knew early on that this guy had a chance to really be special. Of course when he went to Pinson, they won back-to-back state championships. He was the MVP of both of those. He really has something special to him. He will here in January. He did a super job leading. He was one of the leaders of our class, really holding everything together. I really appreciate his leadership with that."
Justin Osborne, OL, 6-4, 305 (Flower Mound, Texas)
"He was at IMG when we first started recruited him. He's at Flower Mound High School now in Texas. He's a big, athletic guy. We think this guy has a chance to be really good. We're excited about him getting here."
Ja'Varrius Johnson, WR, 5-9, 170 (Trussville, Ala.)
"His head coach is a former quarterback of mine way back when, and he told me that when he moved in, he's got a chance to really be good. We started watching him in the spring. He had a very good spring game. He came to our camp, and he ran a 4.3 and plays bigger than he is. We offered him. He committed and has been with us the whole time. I think he's just a few yards short this past year of setting a state record in yards receiving. We really think he has a chance to do big things."
Zion Puckett, DB, 6-0, 200 (Griffin, Ga.)
"He's here with us practicing. Zion is a guy that had the ability to play offense or defense. I think most people that recruited him felt the same way. He's going to play defensive back for us. He's got a great skill set. He makes great grades. He's our type of person. We're very excited about Zion."
Keiondre Jones, OL, 6-4, 325 (LaGrange, Ga.)
"He was one of our offensive line priorities. He's from right down the road, Callaway High School. He's got a chance to be a really good offensive lineman. He also was one of our leaders that really helped us with this recruiting class. A high-character guy. He's got a great family."
Owen Pappoe, LB, 6-1, 215 (Lawrenceville, Ga.)
"He's a guy that really was our defensive leader in recruiting. He just did a super job of helping us hold the class together. I know that people came after him real hard. He hung in there. Travis Williams did a super job recruiting this guy. We're losing four seniors with our linebacker class and we needed guys that could come in immediately, and he is that guy that will do that. He's got a wonderful family. We're real excited about Owen."
Derick Hall, Buck, 6-4, 225 (Gulfport, Miss.)
"He also was a priority for us from Mississippi. He's a big-time pass-rusher. He can also drop. He runs track. We think he's got a big upside, and we're just real excited about Derick and everything that he'll bring. He'll be early, which I think that is big."
Nehemiah Pritchett, DB, 6-0, 180 (Jackson, Ala.)
"He's a guy that came to camp, ran a 4.3. He really caught our eye. We watched him throughout the season. I think he played very good in this all-star game that they just had. He has the ability to play corner or safety, and we're very excited about him. A good student, also."
D.J. Williams, RB, 5-11, 205 (Lake Placid, Fla.)
"A running back that really caught our eye probably about six weeks ago. He plays quarterback, so we watched the film and watched it again and then we called and found out a little background about him – wonderful person, wonderful family – and we offered him. After we offered him, it seemed like everybody in the country followed with that. He came on an official visit, really fit. He makes great grades. Academics is very important to him. We fought everybody off, and we think this guy has a chance to be a very good running back for us."
Jaren "Stone" Handy, DL, 6-5, 280 (Hattiesburg, Miss.)
"Very excited about this guy. We felt like he was one of the best big athletes in the entire country. This guy right here will have a chance to help right off the bat. A really special type skill set. Marcus Woodson, recruiting the state of Mississippi, did a wonderful job with him and Derick Hall, so that's always good to get back in the state of Mississippi and have some success."
JaShawn Sheffield, WR, 6-1, 180 (Brunswick, Ga.)
"Jashawn is a very versatile, athletic player with great ball skills. He has the ability to play offense and defense but will play wide receiver for us. He's a winner that has been a part of a state championship along with Jaylin."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf