Signees react to Auburn's latest coaching move

[aubiefifty 17,487]

Signees react to Auburn's latest coaching move

Wesley Sinor | wsinor@al.com

Auburn saw its third coaching move of the offseason on Tuesday as sources told AL.com special teams and tight ends coach Scott Fountain will not return to his post in 2017.

Whether Fountain remains on the Plains in an off-the-field capacity remains to be seen. Regardless, he ranked 23rd on Auburn's staff in the 247Sports recruiter rankings and played a big role in helping Auburn land its fifth consecutive top 10 recruiting class last week.

Two of the recruits he helped reel in -- tight end John Samuel Shenker and long-snapper Bill Taylor, shared their reactions to the news Wednesday.

"We had a good relationship," said Shenker, who joined Auburn's 2017 class after receiving an offer from the Tigers last month. "He is a great coach and it would have been an honor to play for him. College football coaches come and go, but he was a good one."

What Shenker's commitment means for Auburn

Shenker is ranked as a three-star prospect and the nation's No. 77 tight end in the 247Sports Composite. Taylor, a native of Tuscaloosa, is the nation's No. 2 long-snapper.

"Coach Fountain is a great coach and I am grateful to have had him recruit me," Taylor said. "He has had great success at Auburn and I am very thankful that I had the chance to prove my abilities to him."

Taylor goes from blueshirt to signee

Fountain also helped recruit cornerback Traivon Leonard, who sent out a message on Twitter Wednesday night.

"Thank you for recruiting me coach!" Leonard wrote with a picture of himself and Fountain during a recent trip to Auburn. "Great guy I tell ya. #wde"

AL.com's attempts to reach Auburn kicker signee Anders Carlson were not successful. Junior college transfer tight end Sal Cannella is already enrolled at Auburn and thus can not be contacted directly by the media.

In addition to Fountain, the other two coaches who left Auburn since the Tigers lost the Sugar Bowl to Oklahoma Jan. 3 are Wesley McGriff and Rhett Lashlee.

McGriff was Auburn's defensive backs coach for one season and was hired as the new defensive coordinator at Ole Miss in December. Lashlee served as Auburn's offensive coordinator for the last four seasons before he left for the same position at Connecticut last month. McGriff and Lashlee were replaced by Greg Brown and Chip Lindsey, respectively. 

Thank you for recruiting me coach! Great guy I tell ya. #wde pic.twitter.com/SRnK6UktRR

-- Tray Leonard (@Tray_leonard) February 9, 2017