Auburn recruiting class midpoint
Auburn's geographic midpoint for the 2015 recruiting class trended to the southeast, pulling the Tigers closer to the recruiting hotbed of Florida. (Google Maps)
Auburn's center of gravity in the recruiting world is trending toward the Sunshine State.
The additions of defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and cornerbacks coach Travaris Robinson pulled the Tigers into Florida in 2015 and provided a peek at the future of Gus Malzahn's recruiting plan in 2016 and beyond.
Auburn's geographic midpoint, which weighs the high school of each of the 27 signees equally, paints a clear picture for the Tigers: Florida is quickly becoming one of their top hotbeds.
Auburn's geographic midpoint for the 2015 recruiting class is 88.9 miles to the southeast in Bronwood, Georgia -- a mere 78 miles from the Florida border.
It's a change of scenery for the Tigers early in Malzahn's head coaching career. His first two classes at Auburn leaned heavily on regional talent, too, but those classes were pulled to the west (and stayed inside Alabama) with dips in Colorado and Oklahoma. Auburn's geographic midpoints for recruiting settled 34 miles from campus in Davison and 77 miles to the west in Jemison in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
The arrivals of Muschamp and Robinson has Auburn broadening their horizons along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts thanks to instant success from the two former Florida coaches.
Malzahn continues to maintain recruiting Alabama is crucial to the Tigers' success -- he went as far to say his eight signees were the best in the state Wednesday -- but it's becoming clear the Tigers also want to comb the Sunshine State with Muschamp and Robinson leading the way.
Auburn signed eight Florida natives, but here's the big story: seven of them committed after Muschamp and Robinson were hired. The Tigers flipped two from other schools (safety Tim Irvin and cornerback Carlton Davis) and received five commitments from Florida natives on National Signing Day. The big get was Byron Cowart, the nation's No. 1 defensive end.
Auburn's dip in south Florida is expected deepen in the near future, too. Robinson, a former Auburn star, has strong connections in the Miami area and will get a chance to work the recruiting trails for a full year before the Tigers sign their 2016 class.
Where will Auburn's geographic midpoint be in 2016? Auburn's latest haul is your road sign on the recruiting trail.
[h/t Evan Woodbery for geographic midpoint concept on the recruiting trail.]