Signing Day: Auburn has up-and-down day

AUBURN - Auburn shot for the stars — the four- and five-stars, to be exact — on a Signing Day with a bunch of open spots at stake and came up empty more often than not.

 Still, Tigers head coach Gene Chizik said, the staff is pleased with a haul of 20 prospects to fill some pressing needs on the team.

 “Obviously we’re going to go after the best of the best. That’s what we do,” Chizik said. “And in recruiting the best of the best, some you’re going to get and some you’re not going to get. “There’s no concerns on my part on how we do it. I feel really good about the people in the class.”

 Auburn’s class is currently ranked No. 11 on Rivals.com, No. 13 on Scout.com and No. 17 on 247Sports.com.

 And, Chizik said, the Tigers are hoping they’re not done quite yet.

 “Our recruiting class is, hopefully, not complete,” Chizik said. “We're still recruiting a few guys out there that we hope to convince to be Auburn Tigers as well.”

 Five-star wide receiver Stefon Diggs is set to pick Feb. 10. He’s down to Auburn, California, Florida, Maryland and Ohio State.

 Four-star offensive tackle Jordan Diamond wants to make his selection Friday. The Tigers are in the running, along with Arkansas, Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin.

 Four-star offensive lineman Alex Kozan was set to sign with Iowa after committing on Sunday, but he didn’t sign Wednesday and Auburn could still be in his thought process.

 But Auburn had more whiffs than hits on the big day Wednesday.

 Four-star cornerback Ronald Darby and five-star defensive tackle Eddie Goldman picked FSU. Five-star receiver Cordarrelle Patterson opted for Tennessee, four-star defensive lineman Leonard Williams chose USC, and four-star, in-state linebacker Kwon Alexander signed at LSU.

 Auburn did pull a commitment from four-star offensive tackle Avery Young, four-star wideout Ricardo Louis — who had a dalliance with Florida State after first committing to Auburn last May — and three-star offensive lineman Will Adams.

 Adams’ high school teammate, four-star wideout Ja’Quay Williams, also stuck with Auburn despite a heavy push from Georgia in the late-going.

 “Even down to the last minute today, we were in some battles. Some we won, some we lost,” Chizik said. “It was a very unique year in that regard, in my opinion. As we tallied up everything last night, there were so many guys that could have gone both ways. We're going to be happy with the 20 we got.”

 Young was the last piece to a top-five offensive line class that also included Adams, three-star Fairhope product Robert Leff and early enrollees Shane Callahan and Patrick Miller.

 The Tigers, who will be young again next year on the front, now have 14 offensive scholarship linemen on their roster.

 Auburn also went a long way toward shoring up its receiving corps — with Louis, Ja’Quay Williams, four-star tight end Ricky Parks and three-star tight end Darrion Hutcherson, from Dadeville — and secondary — four-star corner Josh Holsey and three-star products T.J. Davis and Jonathan Jones.

 The Tigers’ biggest surprise Wednesday came from right down the road in Phenix City, where Central quarterback Jonathan Wallace switched from UCF to Auburn on Signing Day.

 Chizik said the team felt it needed a fourth quarterback after Barrett Trotter opted to forgo his senior year, and the athletic, strong-armed Wallace fit the bill. The Tigers offered Wallace on Monday night.

 “Auburn is the place that I always wanted to go. I got the offer that I wanted,” Wallace said. “The opportunity is there — playing in the SEC is something that I want to do. I look forward to the challenge.”

 Auburn, for the first time, signed its players to one-time, multi-year scholarships that can’t be revoked due to on-field performance, ditching the year-by-year renewable ones of the past and following a model championed by the Big Ten and publicly picked up by Florida in the SEC.

 The newly mandated emphasis on a 25-scholarship limit placed on SEC teams also made for some different challenges, Chizik said.

 “You have to be very judicious about making sure you’re not oversigning. There’s no forgiveness there,” Chizik said. “It’s much more stringent. Not that you didn’t pay attention to it before: You always paid attention to it. But obviously where you draw the line in the sand now is much different.”

 The crop of 20 signees puts Auburn at 82 scholarship players on its roster, with the possibility of adding three more to reach the limit of 85.

 And a tumultuous Wednesday left Chizik content.

 “It's been a great day for Auburn,” Chizik said. “Very, very happy with how the class turned out.”