Blue Devils get Tiger talk

Published 8:42 pm Friday, January 13, 2012

Auburn Tigers head football coach Gene Chizik shakes hand with former ECHS football coach Buck Powell during a visit to the school Friday morning.

Escambia County High School had a surprise guest on campus Friday morning when Auburn Tigers head football coach Gene Chizik made an appearance at the campus and met with some residents of the city.

Chizik flew into Atmore on Friday morning and arrived at the high school just before 9 a.m.

He was greeted with cheers of War Eagle as he entered the school’s library and immediately began shaking hands with school employees and guests.

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Chizik, who led the Auburn Tigers to a BCS National Championship in 2010, has received a verbal commitment from Escambia County senior Tyler Nero as a part of the 2012 signing class.

Nero who was highly recruited by SEC schools as well as the University of Illinois and other Division-1 football schools committed to the Tigers last August. He reaffirmed his commitment in an interview recently and is taking his official visit to Auburn this weekend.

“Every time I go to Auburn, I feel like I’m at home,” he said. “I like the team, the facilities and what they present with academics. I think it’s a good fit for me.”

When he originally committed to the Tigers, Nero liked his relationship with the coaching staff.

In the months since his commitment , head coach Gene Chizik has made changes to to the coaching staff, but that has not affected anything, Nero said.

“I started off committed to Auburn and a big reason was my relationship with their coaches was strong,” he said. “I know they have made some changes to their staff and will have a new coordinator, but I know they will find the right coaches.”

Nero is expected to sign his letter of intent to play for Auburn on National Signing Day on Thursday, Feb. 2.