Auburn reloading at DT

By Robert Rousseau  |   Tuesday, January 27, 2009  |  Comments( 1 )

Auburn Tigers
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Every football coach will tell you that good defensive tackles are an absolute requirement if you’re going to stop the run. Of course, there are plenty of quality runners in college football's Southeastern Conference, so that need is only magnified when the team you’re the coach of resides there. Add in the fact that the Auburn Tigers just lost Sen’Derrick Marks to the NFL draft, and you’ve got to figure that head coach Gene Chizik wanted to get some quality depth at the position.

Enter Jamar Travis, a four-star defensive tackle from W.S. Neal High School in Brewton, Ala.

Travis, who knew he wanted to go to Auburn after his official visit there, has verbally committed to the program. Good news for Tigers fans, as he appears to be the real deal. We’re talking about a 6-foot-1, 298-pounder who bench presses 330 pounds and squats 405 pounds. What’s more, he owns a 3.5 GPA and 5.1-second speed in the 40-yard dash.

Of course, it’s his performance that really sets him apart. The 11th-ranked prospect in 2009 for Alabama recorded 60 tackles, including 20 for a loss, and four sacks as a junior. This past season, he racked up 70 tackles, 14 for a loss and seven sacks. All of the aforementioned convinced a lot of college football teams to look hard at Travis, obviously. Clemson, Florida State, and Georgia Tech were some of the most notable ones.

But in the end, Auburn reeled the tackle in.

Perhaps that had lot to do with newly hired defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, who recruited Travis. Regardless, the word on Travis is that he’s an effort guy who leaves it all on the field. If that holds true, he’ll be quite valuable to the Tigers moving forward in the years to come.
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About Robert Rousseau

Robert Rousseau is a sports writer that has been published in a variety of print and online venues. He’s been writing for RealFootball365.com for almost three years now. When Rousseau isn’t writing about college football he tends to be penning mixed martial arts pieces for MMAFighting.com or ...
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