Wilky Denaud, 4-star DE, signs Letter of Intent with Auburn
Four-star defensive end/edge Wilky Denaud of John Carroll (Fla.) signed his National Letter of Intent with Auburn on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period. Here’s everything you need to know about him.
Position: Defensive end/edge
Height/Weight: 6-4 / 250
On3 Consensus Ratings: No. 388 overall, No. 39 edge, No. 72 in Florida
Commitment date: July 27, 2022
Chose Auburn over: Florida State, Indiana, Tennessee
Time of enrollment: January
Notable: Denaud was seen as a lock to Florida State before picking Auburn. Former edge coach Roc Bellantoni was his lead recruiter, but a last-minute visit to Auburn with Hugh Freeze’s staff helped seal him.
Social media: Twitter (@wilkydenaud30) Instagram (@wilky_denaud)
Quoteworthy: “I like how they presented everything,” Denaud said. “How nothing changed about the culture even though they had the coaching staff change. I just think what they have here is going to be something great.”
The Denaud File
Commitment recap from Auburn Live’s Jeffrey Lee:
Denaud, from John Carroll in Fort Pierce, Fla., announced his decision July 27. It was a huge win for the Tigers, beating out in-state Florida State, as well as Tennessee and Indiana.It also was somewhat of a surprise, at least to Florida State. The Seminoles believed they had Denaud locked up. An FSU source told me, “FSU still leads big.”
There was no reason to doubt them. Denaud had been high on Florida State for a while. Yes, Auburn was in there, too, but appeared to be trailing. AuburnLiveOn3’s Keith Niebuhr and myself got wind of Denaud’s choice. We both learned and confirmed independently of each other that Denaud likely would choose the Tigers.
SEC readiness
Breakdown from Auburn Live’s Cole Pinkston:
Denaud will absolutely need to tighten up on some of the technique aspects of the edge position. In Auburn’s situation, Denaud may have to be ready to provide some quality snaps at edge and defensive end.
Auburn will look to the transfer portal for some experience, but young players like Denaud will feel some pressure to get things figured out as fast as possible. Being an early enrollee takes raises value. With some refinement during the spring, Denaud could provide some help early on.
