How Auburn's Cadillac Williams has done as a recruiter

When Cadillac Williams came home to Auburn in January 2019 to coach running backs for the Tigers, he had limited coaching experience and even less as a recruiter. How would the Auburn legend perform in the latter in college football’s most competitive conference? Nobody knew. As it turns out, he’s done well.

With Williams possibly closing in on another big verbal (4-star back Jeremiah Cobb announces Friday), here’s a look back at his Auburn signees.

NOTE: In the 2019 class, D.J. Williams, a 4-star recruit from Florida, signed with Auburn, but he enrolled at the school in early January, a few weeks before Williams was hired.

-2020: Tank Bigsby, Callaway (Ga.): Bigsby was a legit elite recruit wanted by many top schools, notably Georgia. In the On3 Consensus, Bigsby was ranked as the No. 39 recruit in the country and the No. 4 running back. He was the No. 6 prospect in the ultra-competitive state of Georgia. Then-Auburn coach Gus Malzahn was heavily involved in this recruitment and personally prioritized Bigsby, but it arguably was the talented back’s relationship with Williams that led to him committing to Auburn — and then sticking with that pledge even as other programs pushed late in the cycle.

Landing Tank Bigsby was an attention-getter for Auburn

Williams had only been on the job for seven months when Bigsby committed. Bigsby ended up being the highest-ranked player in the Auburn recruiting class by 48 spots.

In two seasons with the Tigers, Bigsby has been terrific. In Year 1, he was SEC freshman of the Year after rushing for 834 yards and five touchdowns on 138 carries. Last season, he finished with 1,099 yards and 10 touchdowns on 223 attempts. For what it’s worth, Bigsby also made the SEC academic honor roll.

With another strong season, he very well could be a three-and-out player. 

Auburn found a sleeper in Mississippi

-2021: Jarquez Hunter, Philadelphia (Miss) Neshoba Central: Even though Hunter was Mississippi’s Mr. Football as a senior after compiling these numbers —1,687 yards rushing with 22 touchdown runs and 2,069 all-purpose yards — he was only a 3-star recruit by most major services. And many of the Power 5 schools that recruited him liked him better at defensive back than running back. 

Hunter visited the Tigers the previous summer and showed strong interest in Auburn. But the Tigers did not offer him a scholarship until Jan. 12, 2021. From that point until National Signing Day, the push was on. He committed to Auburn on Feb 5 over programs such as Iowa and Mississippi State. 

Hunter has been the proverbial diamond in the rough. Following his first season at Auburn, he was SEC all-freshman. He rushed for 597 yards for the year, ninth-best all-time among Tiger freshmen. In a win over Alabama State, Hunter recorded a 94-yard touchdown run, the longest rushing play in Tigers history, and seventh-longest nationally during the 2021 season.

-2022: Damari Alston, College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy: Alston, a 4-star in the On3 Consensus, was one of the top performers in the metro-Atlanta area during his junior and senior seasons combining for 3,000-plus yards. He committed to Auburn during the 2021 Big Cat Weekend over LSU and Northwestern. Late in the year, Alston took a surprise official visit to Michigan State but later said the Tigers were never seriously threatened. With Alston, Williams was huge in his recruitment.

“He’s been in my shoes, first as a recruit and then he played in college football and the NFL,” Alston said. “That’s something I really liked. I feel like he knows what to do to be the best and he can develop me to be the best running back in the nation. I feel like he’s the best RB coach in the country. And I also get that family vibe from him when I’m around him all the time.”

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–WAR ROOM: Big week for Auburn as 3 top in-state recruits set to announce over next 7 days