What happened to Auburn’s 2016 recruiting class?

AUBURN, Ala. — While it’s not the highest-rated recruiting class that Auburn has ever signed under Gus Malzahn, the Tigers’ 2016 haul was arguably the most star-studded one.

Even with a massively disappointing 2015 season that started with legitimate championship hopes and ended at the Birmingham Bowl, Auburn’s recruiting didn’t suffer. By the end of National Signing Day in February 2016, it had landed five of the nation’s top-75 high school prospects — still the most the Tigers have signed in a class under Malzahn.

The top two names in the class lived up to the hype. Derrick Brown was the No. 9 overall recruit nationally, and he ended his career on the Plains as a unanimous All-American and potential top-10 NFL draft pick. Marlon Davidson started the second-most games of any player in program history, plugging into the first team right away and finishing as an All-SEC performer.

Past that, the good news from that 2016 class is harder to find.

For the last two years, colleague Max Olson has posted a “Recruiting Revisited” piece here at The Athletic. Using a points system, classes from several years back are re-ranked based on the contributions of their players.

Monday, Olson re-ranked the 2016 recruiting class. Auburn finished No. 9 in the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings in 2016. But Auburn is not even in the top 25 of the re-rank.

Despite having the massive star power of Brown and Davidson, the Tigers’ 2016 class will go down as a strange and frustrating one as a whole. Of the 23 signees, 13 either transferred or were dismissed from the team. Only 10 from this class either finished their college careers at Auburn or are still on campus.

The high rate of misses in 2016, which happened for a variety of reasons, put Auburn in some difficult spots on its roster and on the recruiting trail for several years. Although the Tigers have greatly stabilized since then, some of the effects are still being felt.

Here’s a look back at Auburn’s 2016 recruiting class, starting with the positives that came from the group.

Multi-year starters (4)

DT Derrick Brown

High school: Lanier (Buford, Ga.)
National ranking: No. 9

What happened: One of the most uniquely talented players to ever come through Auburn, Brown broke into the Tigers’ deep defensive line rotation as a true freshman in 2016. Brown became a starter in 2017 and recorded double-digit tackles for loss in 2018. An utterly dominant run-stopper who could also fight through constant double teams to rush the passer, Brown could have gone to the NFL after a strong 2018 campaign, but he came back for a senior season in which he became Auburn’s first unanimous All-American since Ed King in 1990.

DE Marlon Davidson

High school: Greenville (Ala.)
National ranking: No. 32

What happened: While Brown had to wait his turn to become a starter, Davidson became the first true freshman to start on the defensive line for Auburn in three decades when he took the field in the 2016 opener against Clemson. The endlessly energetic Davidson was a face of the defensive resurgence Auburn had under Kevin Steele. Although his numbers dipped in 2017 and 2018, he came on strong as a senior with 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks, landing second-team All-American honors after a season in which he was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week four different times.

WR Eli Stove

High school: Niceville (Fla.)
National ranking: No. 124

What happened: Stove helped Auburn’s offense right away, starting six times as a true freshman. His 78-yard touchdown run on the first play of a 56-3 rout of Arkansas was one of the top highlights of the Tigers’ 2016 campaign. Stove had the second-most touches of Auburn receivers in an SEC West-winning 2017 season before tearing his ACL and missing the majority of the 2018 season. He re-established himself as a quick-pass specialist for Bo Nix in 2019 and is set to be a senior leader for a deep receiving room in 2020 as a redshirt senior.

DB Daniel Thomas

High school: Lee (Montgomery, Ala.)
National ranking: N/A

What happened: In the midst of all the higher-profile signees who didn’t pan out at Auburn in the 2016 class, Thomas serves as a shining example of a diamond in the rough. Thomas was on the verge of picking Minnesota on National Signing Day when the Tigers made a last-second offer to him. He filled in for Rudy Ford in the 2016 Iron Bowl and had two interceptions, then contributed heavily in 2017. In his last two seasons on the Plains, Thomas was a starter at strong safety and was No. 2 on the team in tackles both years. Not bad for the lowest-rated recruit of the class.

Other former starters (2)

DE Nick Coe

High school: Asheboro (Asheboro, N.C.)
National ranking: No. 283

What happened: A former national wrestling champion in high school, Coe redshirted in the 2016 season before becoming a third-down specialist in 2017 in a package that included Brown, Davidson and Jeff Holland. The 6-foot-5, nearly 300-pound pass-rusher filled in for Holland as Auburn’s starting Buck in 2018 and led the team in sacks. But 2019 was not a good year for Coe, who didn’t feature in several games and missed the trip to Arkansas after “not meeting standards in practice.” He was replaced in the pecking order by Big Kat Bryant and Derick Hall and declared for the 2020 NFL Draft prior to the Outback Bowl.

RB Kam Martin

High school: Memorial (Port Arthur, Texas)
National ranking: No. 278

What happened: Auburn didn’t land Martin until after National Signing Day, when he was released from his letter of intent to Baylor in the wake of the program’s sexual assault scandal. Martin was never the No. 1 back at Auburn, but he made several starts in his four-year career. The smaller speedster provided a change-of-pace to Kamryn Pettway, Kerryon Johnson and Boobee Whitlow and was hailed by plenty inside the program for his leadership and excellent attitude — even when the results didn’t always fall his way.

Still on campus (4)

OT Prince Sammons

High school: Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (Cincinnati, Ohio)
National ranking: No. 208

What happened: Sammons was a two-way lineman in high school that drew comparisons to another Nigeria native who was a late arrival to football — 2015 signee Prince Tega Wanogho. Auburn signed Sammons to play offensive tackle and redshirted him in the 2016 season. But Sammons has yet to feature in more than a couple of games of mop-up duty at Auburn, with injuries keeping him completely sidelined in 2019. He still has one more year of eligibility remaining.

OT Brodarious Hamm

High school: Spalding (Griffin, Ga.)
National ranking: No. 343

What happened: The only other offensive lineman to sign in 2016 — more on that later — Hamm’s arrival at Auburn was delayed by a year due to cancer treatments. He redshirted in 2017 and started making his climb up the depth chart in 2018. Auburn moved him to right tackle in 2019, where he wowed coaches and players alike in practices with his impressive power. Hamm has two years of eligibility remaining and is a favorite to start for the Tigers’ revamped offensive line under new assistant coach Jack Bicknell Jr. in 2020.

RB Malik Miller

High school: Madison Academy (Madison, Ala.)
National ranking: No. 444

What happened: After signing the ultra-versatile Kerryon Johnson out of the dominant Madison Academy backfield in 2015, Auburn went back to get his powerful younger teammate in 2016. Miller looked like he had a real chance at becoming a major contributor at Auburn during his true freshman campaign, but a serious knee injury in October against UL-Monroe ended his season. Since then, Miller has been a role player for Auburn’s offense, serving as an important third-down pass protector and short-yardage back. He also has one more year left to play, thanks to the redshirt in 2016.

DT Tashawn Manning

High school: Wekiva (Apopka, Fla.)
National ranking: No. 985

What happened: Like Hamm, Manning arrived at Auburn in 2017 instead of 2016 due to his own battle with cancer. After redshirting, Auburn moved him from defensive tackle to offensive guard in 2018, where he was the backup to Marquel Harrell for the last two seasons. Manning will be in the mix to start in 2020 in what looks like a wide-open race for the two starting guard jobs next to experienced center Nick Brahms.

Early departures (13)

WR Nate Craig-Myers

High school: Tampa Catholic (Tampa, Fla.)
National ranking: No. 45

What happened: One of the most highly touted offensive signees of the Malzahn era, Craig-Myers’ whirlwind recruitment landed him back at Auburn after decommitting from the Tigers earlier in his high school career. He played in 10 games as a true freshman but only recorded four catches in a season plagued by nagging injuries. Craig-Myers had 16 catches for three scores as a sophomore in 2017 and seemed destined for a bigger share of targets in 2018. But it never seemed to click, as he only had five targets in the Tigers’ first three games. Craig-Myers left the program in mid-September and later transferred to Colorado State, where he had 23 catches for one touchdown as a senior in 2019.

(Dale Zanine / USA TODAY Sports)

DT Antwuan Jackson Jr.

High school: Cedar Grove (Ellenwood, Ga.)
National ranking: No. 51

What happened: Jackson was a rather massive recruiting victory in the state of Georgia at the time for Auburn. Like Coe, he took a redshirt in 2016 in what was a deep defensive line rotation that only Davidson and Brown could crack early. But he never made it to the 2017 season with the Tigers, announcing his decision to transfer after spring practice. He spent a year at Blinn College in Texas before landing at Ohio State, where he recorded 13 tackles in 12 games as a backup in the 2019 season.

WR Kyle Davis

High school: Archer (Lawrenceville, Ga.)
National ranking: No. 75

What happened: Davis wasted no time in making an impact for Auburn’s passing game, recording 248 receiving yards on just 12 catches in 2016. However, Davis missed all of spring practice in 2017 dealing with “personal business” before returning to the team for summer workouts. He was suspended for the opener against Georgia Southern later that fall, had seven catches for 210 yards in the next five games and then was dismissed from the team in mid-October for a violation of team rules. Davis sat out the 2018 season after transferring to FAU and entered the transfer portal once more. Instead of transferring to another school, though, Davis signed with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. He did not make the team’s final roster cuts.

QB Woody Barrett

High school: West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.)
National ranking: No. 218

What happened: One of the nation’s top dual-threat quarterbacks coming out of high school, Barrett redshirted behind several older players in 2016. Then the Tigers added Jarrett Stidham and Malik Willis, which created a massive jam on the depth chart at quarterback. Now even more spots down, Barrett opted to leave Auburn. He transferred to Copiah-Lincoln College for JUCO ball and later signed with Kent State, where he served as a backup in 2019. Barrett played more than a dozen snaps in the Golden Flashes’ visit to Auburn last September.

TE Landon Rice

High school: Calhoun (Ga.)
National ranking: No. 222

What happened: After the second game of Auburn’s 2016 season, Malzahn announced Rice had left the team. A few days later, it was revealed Rice had been accused of rape. A Title IX investigation determined that Rice, who was never arrested or charged with any crime, was “responsible” for sexual assault. He was originally barred from Auburn’s campus for eight years, but it was later reduced to one. Rice transferred to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and later to FCS program Jacksonville State, where he is a starting tight end.

DB John Broussard Jr.

High school: Central (Phenix City, Ala.)
National ranking: No. 274

What happened: Broussard was a local product for Auburn, starring at nearby Central-Phenix City for multiple seasons as a smaller but highly-athletic defensive back. After enrolling early at Auburn, he played in eight games as a true freshman. He remained a reserve cornerback in 2017 but left the team shortly after the 2018 opener against Washington. Broussard transferred to Memphis, where he had six tackles in eight games in 2019.

DE Paul James III

Junior college: Copiah-Lincoln (Wesson, Miss.)
National ranking: No. 17 (JUCO)

What happened: Auburn picked up James, a pass rusher from Miami who started his career at Illinois, to compete for a starting job immediately. Davidson took that role, though, and James suffered a season-ending knee injury after appearing in three games. He was a spring game defensive MVP after returning from injury in 2017 but spent the fall as a reserve again. James left the program before spring practices in 2018.

QB John Franklin III

Junior college: East Mississippi (Scooba, Miss.)
National ranking: No. 23

What happened: Franklin was one of the highest-profile signees of the 2016 class, thanks in part to the success of the first season of Netflix’s “Last Chance U.” The former Florida State quarterback jumped into the quarterback battle at Auburn, where he only started one game in 2016 in place of Sean White but appeared in 12 contests. Franklin moved to wide receiver the next offseason and later transferred to FAU, where he spent one season as a speedy role player for then-head coach Lane Kiffin. Franklin signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent at defensive back in 2018 and made his NFL debut as a receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last December.

DB Marlon Character Jr.

High school: Grady (Atlanta)
National ranking: No. 348

What happened: Character stuck with his commitment to Auburn at the end of the 2016 cycle after Will Muschamp and Travaris Robinson — who recruited him to the Tigers — tried to swing him to South Carolina after their moves there. Like Jackson, Character redshirted for the Tigers in 2016 and left the team in May. Character went to Northwest Mississippi Community College in 2017 before transferring to Louisville, where he spent his first year as a reserve before breaking into the starting lineup under new head coach Scott Satterfield in 2019.

LB Tre Threat

High school: Spanish Fort (Ala.)
National ranking: No. 390

What happened: Threat was Auburn’s lone linebacker signee in 2016, before assistant coach Travis Williams went on what has been an impressive four-year run at the position. He was a special teams player as a freshman but saw his playing time decrease as a sophomore in 2017, despite a move to tight end. He also transferred to Jacksonville State, where he plays defensive end for the FCS program.

DB Jayvaughn Myers

High school: Pasco (Dade City, Fla.)
National ranking: No. 394

What happened: Myers, the half-brother of Craig-Myers, became part of a package deal for Auburn after it recaptured the star wide receiver’s commitment. He redshirted in 2016 and featured in a few games as a reserve in 2017 before deciding to leave the program with Craig-Myers in 2018. Myers did not play football in the 2019 season.

RB Stephen Davis Jr.

High school: Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.)
National ranking: No. 404

What happened: The son of a former Auburn running back great, Davis had a winding recruiting saga that featured a decommitment from the Tigers and a summer signing. Davis turned out to be another 2016 signee who left the team shortly after redshirting. He walked on at South Carolina in 2017, then left the team a few months later. He rejoined as a defensive back in the spring of 2018 — but left again a few months later. Davis spent 2019 at FCS program North Carolina A&T.

WR Marquis McClain

High school: Crestview (Fla.)
National ranking: No. 618

What happened: Unlike several of his classmates, McClain stuck it out at Auburn for several years after redshirting in 2016. A developmental prospect with impressive size and speed, coaches and teammates spoke highly of his potential for several offseasons. He never was able to turn the corner, though, as he spent three seasons with just three catches to his name. McClain entered the transfer portal as a graduate in December.

Final thoughts

• Six of Auburn’s top 10 signees in the class of 2016 left the program before the end of their junior seasons. Three never played a single game.

• One possible reason for all of the departures: Turnover among the coaching staff. Muschamp, Robinson, Lance Thompson and J.B. Grimes all left Auburn before signing day. Dameyune Craig left after it. By the time this class came off their first years at Auburn, a lot of these players were now being coached by someone who didn’t recruit them. Before the start of spring practice in 2017, Auburn also had a new offensive coordinator and another new defensive backs coach. All that change can go a long way for players.

• This 2016 class received a lot of attention for two key position groups: wide receiver and defensive line. While both units experienced attrition, one of them kept humming along at a high level, while the other one failed to ignite the explosion expected of them at the position.

• There aren’t a lot of positives about this wide receiver class. Bad injury luck followed this group, too, with Stove’s momentum stalling after his ACL injury and Craig-Myers never seeming to find a groove through his early ones. Kodi Burns has had to land big receiving classes in each of the last three cycles, as Stove and Youngstown State transfer Zach Farrar will be the only seniors at the position in 2020.

• But while one high four-star prospect never played for the Tigers and a JUCO transfer never made an instant impact, this still goes down as an excellent defensive line class for Auburn. Brown and Davidson lived up to the hype and then some, and the Tigers also got great production out of Coe before his slide in the 2019 season.

• Additionally, former four-star defensive lineman Daquan Newkirk became a JUCO transfer for the Tigers after failing to qualify academically out of high school. Newkirk has missed considerable time due to injury on the Plains but is expected to compete for major playing time in 2020 as Brown heads to the NFL.

• Auburn didn’t sign any instant-impact defensive backs in 2016, yet it was supposed to be a good depth-building class for the future. Broussard, Character and Myers all left early, which probably played into some of the thin numbers at cornerback the Tigers have had to combat over the last couple of cycles.

• On a brighter note at defensive back, the Tigers can be immensely proud of a supreme signing day special in Thomas.

• This was a tiny class along the offensive line for Auburn, as former assistant Herb Hand was hired to replace Grimes in January of 2016. Hand’s quick pickup of Sammons hasn’t panned out. Hamm, a Grimes recruit, has a real shot of becoming a steal. This class, though, played a major role in the numbers problems the Tigers have had on the offensive line over the last couple of years. Manning isn’t the only former defensive lineman who has had to move to the offensive line recently.

• It’s also worth noting that of all the departures from this class, only two — Jackson and Character — stuck at Power 5 programs. There doesn’t appear to be a case of a mismanaged former blue-chipper who went on to make Auburn regret not being able to make him stay. And, judging by the next few classes’ retention rates and early impacts, it seems like Malzahn and his staff have improved their evaluations at certain positions.

• At this point, Auburn’s 2016 class has only produced six starters who have stuck it out with the program. By comparison, Auburn’s 2017 class has already produced 10 of those starters, with several more in the running for first-team roles in 2020. The 2018 class already has six starters as well, with even more on the way.

• Olson re-ranked Auburn’s 2015 class at No. 8 — exactly where it was in the final rankings on signing day that year — thanks to the development of key players such as Kerryon Johnson, Jeff Holland, Carlton Davis, Ryan Davis and Prince Tega Wanogho. The 2017 and 2018 classes look primed for great results, too. So while the 2016 class provided plenty of disappointment, that high miss rate looks more like an outlier for Malzahn’s program at this point.

(Top photo: Todd Van Emst / Auburn Athletics)