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NCAA Football

Will Muschamp the Reason Auburn Lands Top High School Recruit Byron Cowart

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Byron Cowart

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Auburn Tigers are typically in the running for five-star recruits on college football National Signing Day. But, the 2015 class could be one to remember.

Auburn was able to sway top high school prospect Byron Cowart from joining the Florida Tigers and instead signing with them. The main reason for the defensive end to choose to play his college ball in the state of Alabama is because of Tigers defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. In fact, it will be Muschamp who will be credited with Auburn having a big day in signing recruits.

Cowart is the No. 1 overall prospect in the ESPN 300 and the No. 3 overall recruit in a ranking compiled by 247Sports.

His 6-foot-4 frame and 258-pound body will allow him to flourish in Muschamp’s defense. Do not be surprised if he plays right away during his freshman season. Along with that, making an immediate impact is something Muschamp and the Tigers are hopeful from Cowart.

Auburn expects him to improve the team’s sack numbers, which ranked 92nd in the FBS in 2014. Considering the Tigers also ranked towards the bottom in the SEC in nearly every major defensive statistic, landing Cowart is huge. His presence on National Signing Day also could lead other defensive recruits to change their minds and sign with Auburn.

The hiring of Muschamp is already proving to be a huge deal, which is something the Tigers anticipated when he agreed to the job as defensive coordinator. It will be interesting to see if his star status and the newly signed recruits have what it takes to give Auburn the boost they desperately need on defense in 2015.

According to CBS Sports, Cowart was credited with 11 sacks and 21 tackles-for-loss while playing his senior season at Armwood High School in the state of Florida.

Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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