Auburn Signs Diamond to National Letter Of Intent

The post-national signing day push for Auburn’s football team got off to the right start Friday night.

Jordan Diamond, an offensive lineman from Simeon High in Chicago, IL, announced his decision to attend Auburn at his team’s football banquet in Chicago and sent his national letter of intent in to the Tigers immediately.

The addition of Diamond, a 6-foot-6, 315-pound road-grader who could play either guard or tackle at the next level, gives the Tigers six incoming offensive linemen in the 2012 recruiting class and 20 signees overall.

“Offensive line was something that we felt like we needed to, numbers-wise, shore up,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. “That was one obvious need for us.”

Rated a five-star recruit by Scout.com, Diamond’s decision to attend Auburn gave offensive line coach Jeff Grimes two big victories late in the recruiting process.

On Wednesday, Auburn beat out Georgia and Florida for offensive tackle Avery Young, a five-star prospect from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. To get Diamond, Auburn had to beat out Wisconsin, Michigan, Arkansas and Ohio State.

Early playing time — Auburn has only nine scholarship linemen coming back — helped sway Diamond’s mind.

“When it really came down to the wire, the opportunity to play early is there,” Diamond told AuburnUndercover.com. “When I see that number, that’s like a bull seeing the color red.”

Auburn is still targeting Valor Christian (Colo.) guard Alex Kozan, who pulled out of a commitment to Iowa on national signing day. Kozan is trying to choose between the Hawkeyes, Michigan and Auburn, although Diamond’s choice may have an impact on Kozan’s decision.

The Tigers are also in play for Olney, Md., receiver Stefon Diggs, the nation’s second-highest ranked wide receiver. Diggs plans to make his decision on Febraury 10.

“Our recruiting class is hopefully not complete,” Chizik said Wednesday. “We’re still recruiting a few guys out there.”


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