Auburn quarterback commitment not backing off

By Andrew Gribble
Auburn University Beat Reporter
Published: October 9, 2008

Raymond Cotton Sr. called Tony Franklin “the final sell” in his son Ray’s verbal commitment to Auburn.

Now that Franklin has been relieved of his duties as the team’s offensive coordinator, Cotton Sr. said that his son, one of the headliners of Auburn’s 2009 recruiting class, will not likely be swayed to venture elsewhere.

“He’s got a strong enough arm and he’s smart enough to play in any offense,” Cotton Sr. said of his son, a dual-threat, prototypical spread quarterback from Fort Meade, Md., who tops out as one of the top high school quarterbacks in the nation on most recruiting Web sites.

“He’s made the commitment to (Tommy) Tuberville and Auburn University, so that’s where we stand now.”

Cotton Sr.’s take on Franklin’s unexpected firing mimics that of Tuberville’s. The Auburn coach wasn’t too concerned about the state of his 26 and counting verbal commitments, some of who were like Ray — enticed by the pass-happy spread offense Franklin brought to the Tigers.

“Players don’t come for any other reason, they come to school to where they’re committed to,” Tuberville said. “Of course, we’ll have to go out and talk with all the players and visit with them, but I see no problem there.”

Cotton Sr. said he and his son will definitely meet with Tuberville again to gauge the coach’s commitment to his son before officially inking his name on National Signing Day in February.

“It’s totally up to Ray,” Cotton Sr. said. “As a parent, it’s my job to give him the tools to make an informative decision. If he decided he wanted to open back up his recruiting because of that, we will do that as well.

“But right now, I’m pretty confident he’s an Auburn guy. It’s more about Auburn than it was the offense.”

Cotton passed for 1,500 yards, ran for 682 and picked up 25 touchdowns at Faith Academy in Mobile last season, leading his team to the AISA title game at Movie Gallery Stadium. It was there where he first met Franklin, who was still the offensive coordinator at Troy.

With his father serving as an officer in the coast guard, Cotton was forced to move to Fort Meade, Md., for his senior season. After five games, he is 89-for-153 for 1,233 yards and 16 total touchdowns.

Cotton was one of Auburn’s first commitments for the 2009 class. Cotton Sr. said his son is friends with a number of the 2009 commitments and current Auburn players. When Cotton narrowed his search down to a few schools, they were all in Alabama or Mississippi, Cotton Sr. said.

Cotton Sr. said he and his son have kept their eyes on the Tigers this season, picking up on the team’s struggles with the “Tony Franklin System.”

And now that Tuberville said Wednesday that he’s keeping the system — just without Franklin — Cotton Sr. has no reason to believe his son will change his mind.

“From what we were told, Tuberville supported the spread,” Cotton Sr. said. “He just didn’t support Tony Franklin.”

| 737-2561