Cartavious “Tank” Bigsby is set to announce his decision at 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday from his high school, and will be covered on Atlanta's 11alive’s live stream.
Will it be Auburn, Georgia, LSU or South Carolina? Early in 2019, it looked as if the Gamecocks would land Bigsby, a Rivals100 talent. South Carolina has definitely been viewed as the leader for the longest amount of time.
The least discussed school on this list has to be LSU. The Tigers have been consistent though, and Ed Orgeron and his staff hosted Bigsby for an official visit in the spring.
Georgia was nearly forgotten until a quiet visit to Athens late in June. The Bulldogs grabbed the momentum at that time, and some felt a silent commitment was made.
Auburn has hosted Bigsby multiple times over the summer. It doesn’t hurt that he has a teammate (Tate Ratledge) committed to Auburn and that it is the closest school to home. Auburn has always been at, or near the top of Bigsby’s list.
This one could still go numerous ways.
We ask the experts in the Rivals.com network to share their thoughts.
AUBURN
“Sixty days ago, Auburn had zero chance of signing Bigsby. Auburn running backs coach Carnell Williams had been on the job less than five months and a relationship between Bigsby and Williams was virtually non-existent. Then came June 7. It’s the day that changed things in Bigsby’s recruitment. It’s the day he arrived at Auburn for an official visit and the day a bond between Williams and Bigsby began to bud. Bigsby spent the weekend in Auburn meeting extensively with Williams. After the visit, the bud began to bloom.
"Bigsby then returned to Auburn a week later. It was a sign of things to come. He visited again the next week, and once more a few days later. And on July 27, the final Saturday before August’s month-long dead period, Bigsby had the option to visit many schools. He chose to visit Auburn. Again. In a span of two months, Williams had changed the direction of Bigsby’s recruitment. Auburn, once a longshot, now appears to be the frontrunner. And it has a lot to do with Williams.” — Jeffrey Lee, AuburnSports.com
*****
GEORGIA
“The Bulldogs are searching for the complement back to recent five-star commit Kendall Milton, and Bigsby's name has been the one most attached to Georgia over the course of the summer. He's an in-state star and put in a couple of visits ahead of the summer camp circuit that had sparked some confidence. Even so, that has waned, as Bigsby skipped Georgia's major recruiting weekend to end July and opted to spend his time in Auburn.
"Were he pushing his decision out further, I'd feel better about Georgia's chances, but with word coming so shortly after that trip, I'd be surprised to see the Bulldogs as the landing spot.
"It won't be a surprise to see the staff continue to work on him going forward, especially if other targets don't pan out as planned. But the hot and cold nature of the recruitment may have left a sour taste in Bigsby's mouth, prompting him to move on a decision. As of today, I don't see him landing in Athens.” — Jake Reuse, UGASports.com
*****
LSU
"LSU always had his ear, but was never able to capture Bigsby's heart or mind, or secure the necessary time with the four-star back as he strolled through the recruiting process. LSU had a lot to sell – tradition at the position, a thin depth chart, an accomplished position coach, a winning program and a great football atmosphere. But Georgia, Auburn and others were able to build relationships LSU couldn't match largely due to proximity.
"Cadillac Williams and Auburn were able to accomplish these things. The same could be said for Georgia and its staff. With his announcement nearing, it feels like LSU always lacked the traction necessary to gain a commitment from a prospect of Bigsby's caliber and time has run out to do so.” — Jimmy Smith, TigerDetails.com
*****
SOUTH CAROLINA
“With Tank Bigsby closing in on his announcement Friday, it seems that South Carolina has lost momentum with the top running back target. Looking back to the end of last football season, the Gamecocks appeared to be the favorite and only built on that lead through the first months of 2019 as Bigsby consistently hit the Gamecocks' campus each month for the first half of the year.
"While South Carolina always wanted to take two backs in the class, their recruitment of Bigsby was seemingly complicated by the commitment of highly recruited running back MarShawn Lloyd. Lloyd has tried to recruit Bigsby to join him in Columbia, with the two meeting at The Opening, but as the summer progressed and Bigsby took countless visits to Auburn, the Gamecocks' lead seemed to subside.
"There are no absolutes in recruiting, but it would be somewhat of a surprise if the Gamecocks were the pick on Friday.” — Wes Mitchell, GamecockCentral.com
*****
RIVALS FUTURECAST
“There have been a lot of twists and turns in this recruitment and at one point it looked like he was going to South Carolina, and then Georgia, but Auburn has done a great job and convinced him he can be an immediate impact player in that offense.” — Mike Farrell, National Recruiting Director
