Byron Cowart finally sends in NLI after seven-hour saga

AUBURN -- Byron Cowart, the No. 1 rated prospect in the country, finally sent his National Letter of Intent to Auburn after a nearly seven hour ordeal that became the chaotic story line of National Signing Day in 2015.

The 6-foot-4 250-pound defensive end committed to Auburn over Florida during a televised announcement shortly after 8 a.m. CT Wednesday morning but his NLI was not received for hours, and there were conflicting reasons as to why.

Auburn coach Gus Malzahn formally announced Cowart's signing during his 3 p.m. press conference and said the five-star prospect "just didn't get it faxed in" until the afternoon.

Cowart's mother, Lacoria Wilson, told Yahoo! Sports that the letter was faxed, but as time elapsed from his announcement without the school confirming it became clear there was an issue.

Armwood coach Sean Callahan claimed Cowart signed NLIs to both Auburn and Florida and told Callahan he was going to commit but not send the letter today, according to Rivals national recruiting director Mike Farrell.

ESPNU reported, via Callahan, that Cowart was "undecided," but claimed he only signed only one NLI, to Auburn, and "my heart is there," but went on to mention the decision of fellow defensive end CeCe Jefferson, who committed to Florida in the afternoon.

Callahan's son, Kirk, is the Florida defensive backs coach.

Asked if he felt there was a conflict of interest involved in the situation, Malzahn said "we felt very good about it all day."

Farrell reported Cowart sent a text saying, "I'm going to Auburn regardless" and returned to his school along with his mother to address the issue.

According to WTSP's Chris Fischer, Sean Callahan and Armwood's athletic director and principal had a meeting, with the principal claiming "it is on the family."