AUBURN AUTHORITY

Kolbi Fuqua commits to Auburn after being impressed by spring game

Matthew Stevens
Montgomery Advertiser
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AUBURN – Kolbi Fuqua saw in person the 327 combined passing yards by halftime of the A-Day spring game and decided to give his verbal commitment to Auburn immediately.

In what Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn called a “more balanced” offensive attack showcased at the A-Day spring game Saturday, Auburn’s offense led by play-calling from new coordinator Chip Lindsey finished with a total of 511 passing yards on 43 attempts.

"We really talked about being more balanced and I know coming into this he wanted the offense to be somewhere around 50/50 run/pass," Malzahn said  after the A-Day spring game. "We know we’re going to be good at running the football, like we traditionally have been, but we have to get better at throwing the football. That’s been a focus this spring. We’re really working on that balance.”

Fuqua, a three-star prospect out of Cordova, Ala., was primarily recruited by Auburn offensive line coach Herb Hand and is rated by 247Sports.com as the 18th best prospect in the state of Alabama. Fuqua chose Auburn over scholarship offers from Ole Miss, UAB and Troy after the 6-foot-4, 210-pound receiver had 1,319 receiving yards and 12 total touchdowns last season as a junior at Cordova (Ala.) High School.

Auburn wide receiver coach Kodi Burns said on March 28 that he expected Auburn to attract a bigger receiving class in the 2018 group after signing just four-star receiver Noah Igbinoghene from Hewitt-Trussville High School in this past year's class.

"It’s exciting for me because now you’ve got some separation, which we did a good job two years ago of signing probably the best class Auburn’s ever had at receiver," Burns said. "We signed four guys who came in here and were big time players. That’s always a little bit of a struggle where guys see that the next year like, oh you just signed this class so why would I go to Auburn. I think this year are going to be a big time class for us, and I’m excited."

Fuqua was Auburn’s second commitment during its A-Day spring game as he joined 3-star offensive lineman Kameron Stutts to the Tigers 2018 recruiting class. Auburn now has six verbal pledges in its upcoming recruiting class which also includes 4-star quarterback Joey Gatewood, three-star athlete Shaun Shivers and three-star linemen Jalil Irvin and Daquan Newkirk.