Harsin describes Dylan Brooks, Jarquez Hunter

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Bryan Harsin describes Dylan Brooks, Jarquez Hunter

By Giana Han

4-5 minutes

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On National Signing Day in February, Auburn coach Bryan Harsin stood at the podium and made a strong statement that recruiting “never ends” for him and his team. In the weeks since then, he’s followed up his words with actions.

Two days after Harsin spoke, Auburn signed a running back, Jarquez Hunter, addressing one of the team’s most urgent needs. Twenty days after Harsin spoke, Auburn signed the highest-rated player of its class, Dylan Brooks, pushing its class ranking up seven spots to No. 20. Auburn has now signed 19 in the class of 2021.

Ahead of Auburn’s first day of spring practice, in his first press conference since National Signing Day on Feb. 3, Harsin described two of the newest Tigers for the first time.

Hunter impressed Harsin with his production.

“Look at his numbers,” Harsin said.

At Neshoba Central in Philadelphia, Miss., Hunter rushed for over 1,000 yards in three straight seasons. In 2018, he was 14 yards shy of 2,000, and in 2019, he surpassed that milestone. Hunter also proved himself a receiving threat with over 200 receiving yards in both 2019 and 2020.

Just looking at those numbers told Harsin that Hunter plays with a consistency and toughness. The film also tells him that Hunter plays a physical game.

Following Hunter’s senior season, he was named Mr. Football for Mississippi’s Class 5A. The recruiting sites all labeled him a three-star recruit, and he received offers from five SEC schools including Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

Despite Auburn’s offer coming late — almost three months after Mississippi State’s — Hunter decided to go with the Tigers. After talking to Hunter, Harsin found that he’s a “very driven, motivated person.”

“Those are two things I really enjoyed about him — getting to know him but also watching his film, you can see that’s he’s explosive and fast, and I think he takes pride in playing that position, which you want from those guys in the running back room,” Harsin said.

Hunter’s commitment was huge since the departure of Mark-Antony Richards and D.J. Williams left the running back room thin. Tank Bigsby will no doubt be the starter, but considering all the injuries the Auburn running backs suffered last season, the depth Hunter adds will be huge.

Brooks was an in-state recruit, which may help Auburn’s new staff establish a presence in its home state. Brooks’ recruitment was started by the former Auburn staff, but the new one closed the deal after Brooks was released from his commitment to Tennessee.

The defensive end is rated a 0.9660 by 247Sports, which is slightly higher than defensive tackle Lee Hunter’s 0.9635. Until Brooks committed, Lee Hunter was the highest-rated recruit in Auburn’s class.

Brooks’ size and athleticism helped contribute to that high rating, as well as the 120 tackles, 33 tackles for loss and 16 sacks he accumulated between 2018 and 2019 at Handley High School. But “that’s all potential right now,” Harsin said. Brooks has the ability to be an elite pass rusher and a solid edge player, and he also showed in high school that he can play outside linebacker. He has to put in the work to become that player, though.

“He’s got that mental makeup, he’s got that drive,” Harsin said. “He’s motivated, he wants to be at Auburn. He’s going to come in here, and he understands the expectations.”

With that said, Harsin added that he does really like the potential, and he really likes Brooks. He has a feeling he’s going to fit in well with the culture Harsin is trying to establish.

Even with Brooks and Hunter signed, Auburn’s job isn’t done. Harsin was serious when he said the recruiting doesn’t stop. Now, they must turn to the Class of 2022 and to trying to recruit some left tackles.

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[JDUBB4AU 5,287]

Really excited about these two future all Americans