Auburn football's roster keeps adding more Louisiana flavor. That should be huge in the long run.
Koy Moore became the third transfer from Louisiana to join the Tigers under Bryan Harsin, and their 2022 roster is set to have more of "The Boot" than ever before.
DB Donovan Kaufman and DB coach Zac Etheridge (Todd Van Emst/Auburn Athletics)
On Sunday afternoon, less than 24 hours after announcing his commitment to Auburn, transfer wide receiver Koy Moore posted a video to Twitter.
The 12-second clip begins a close-up on Moore’s face, before pulling back to reveal that he’s standing in the bleachers at Jordan-Hare Stadium with Auburn director of football and recruiting relations Trovon Reed.
“Look,” Reed says with a huge grin on his face. “It’s a Louisiana takeover. Y’all… in trouble now. Y’all in trouble now!”
“Y’all in real trouble now!” Moore says to the camera.
“Y’all know what the deal is, baby,” Reed says before walking off. “Let’s get it.”
For Auburn, the commitment of Moore filled a major need first and foremost. In a wide receiver room light on experience and proven depth, the Tigers landed a former blue-chip prospect who had a breakout freshman season at LSU before deciding to enter the transfer portal midway through a bizarre 2021 for the program in Baton Rouge.
But it also was the next move in what Reed referred to as “a Louisiana takeover.”
Moore is a Louisiana native who originally decided to stay at home with the in-state Bayou Bengals. He played at Archbishop Rummel, a high school powerhouse in Metairie, just outside of New Orleans. Rummel has been a talent factory for years — primarily for LSU — with Ja’Marr Chase, Kristian Fulton and mid-2000s All-American safety Craig Steltz dotting the notable alumni list.
Moore has quite a few Louisiana connections in the Auburn program. None are bigger than defensive back Donovan Kaufman, who played at Rummel with Moore before signing with Vanderbilt ahead of the 2020 season.
Kaufman transferred from Vanderbilt to Auburn last year, following former defensive coordinator Derek Mason to the Plains. But he wasn’t the only Louisianan to transfer to the program, as T.J. Finley made his move from LSU to Auburn last summer.
And, in addition to Thibodeaux native Reed serving on the staff, Moore’s new position coach is also a Louisiana man. While many fans will remember Ike Hilliard’s days as a star receiver at Florida, he was a standout high school prospect from Patterson, La. (Additionally, defensive backs coach Zac Etheridge spent time as an assistant at Louisiana and recruited the area heavily for both Houston and now Auburn.)
When Bryan Harsin was named Auburn’s head coach in December 2020, he talked about wanting the Tigers to recruit more nationally. The traditional hotbeds for recruiting talent at Auburn are Alabama, Georgia and Florida — and a team can absolutely build a championship-caliber roster with just those three states.
But Auburn is indeed expanding its range under Harsin.