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Take Two: Will five-star George Pickens stick with Auburn?

CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position


George Pickens
George Pickens (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)
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Take Two returns with another offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.

MORE TAKE TWO: Does Pickens trail only Clowney as top DE from S.C.? | Is Christopher Hinton ready to live up to his potential?

  THE STORYLINE  

George Pickens remains a topic of conversation as National Signing Day gets closer, even though the five-star receiver has been committed to Auburn since July 2017.

That’s because for one reason or another, the Hoover, Ala., standout who finished second in the wide receiver rankings behind only Oklahoma signee Jadon Haselwood, chose not to sign with the Tigers during the Early Signing Period.

That has left a lot of room for speculation about Pickens, especially because he does not talk much about where things stand in his recruitment and he’s been known to take some secret visits.

Georgia is absolutely making a run at him and there seems to be some confidence the Bulldogs could flip him leading up to signing day. Tennessee is another team that looks to be fully invested in landing Pickens late in the process.

There is also a lot of reason for Auburn to be optimistic. Pickens has been committed for so long, and he is a friend of quarterback signee Bo Nix. And history could be on Auburn’s side as well, since the top player in the state of Alabama dating back to 2002 has never signed with either Georgia or Tennessee.

Pickens has a final decision to make in the coming days. Will he stick with Auburn or head somewhere else in the SEC?

FIRST TAKE: JAKE REUSE, UGASPORTS.COM

“There is some growing confidence that Georgia could add Pickens to the class of 2019. In fact, it was just recently that we were hearing that the Bulldogs and the Tennessee Vols had pulled to the front of the pack for the five-star wideout.

Pickens would absolutely fill a sudden need at the wide receiver spot, with two of Georgia's best at the position declaring for the NFL early, and coaches are keeping the heat on. Still, I caution folks to temper their expectations with the big-bodied Hoover (Ala.) wideout. Pickens has been unpredictable throughout his process, such as scheduling, canceling and then showing up for visits unannounced on more than one ocassion. If Georgia's staff feels it can make it work, it will go full throttle until next Wednesday and rightfully so. Still, there are hurdles for this hard-to-read prospect, and that's stopping me from penciling him into UGA's class.”

SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM  

“I think he sticks with Auburn. I know he wanted to take some visits and compare some schools, but the relationship with Nix is pretty strong. We saw them hanging out as much as possible at Under Armour, and that’s one of the things Auburn is relying on, that combination itself will keep him focused on Auburn. Georgia can turn anybody though. The Bulldogs are recruiting at the level of Alabama and Clemson, so anything could happen.”

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