Oku committed to the Volunteers but from the sounds of it is wide open with his recruitment. He's narrowed his choices down to Tennessee, Syracuse and Auburn. He's pretty highly-ranked, touted as the No. 1 all-purpose back in the country by Rivals.com. He's ranked No. 97 overall. From a media perspective, he was easily the most engaging interview of the last few weeks.

How did the trip go? "For such short notice, after them calling me and letting me know about it, it went real good. More than likely, I told Coach (Curtis Luper), I will go past Signing Day to make the decision about that."

Do you have a target day? "No. Not really. But it’ll probably be sometime in mid-February, maybe like the 17th, 12th, something like that, until I talk to one person close to me. That’s what it will be. Not just to hold up the decision or anything like that, but just coming down here, it was just great and made me look at a lot of different stuff that I really did like."

Did it help to have a familiarity with Auburn? "It already helped, but at the same time that was the old coaching staff that was here. You can tell this new coaching staff if just out loud about it, just pumped all the time. I mean, you’ve got coach (Trooper) Taylor running through here just yelling all the time. So it’s good. I saw some things I didn’t see the last time I was here. As far as everything else goes, it’s great."

What do you think about Gus Malzahn's offense? "Basically what I have to say is his offense is not fair from what I’ve seen. It’s not fair with some of the trick plays he has done. It’s just not fair to me. I was laughing at it, just laughing at the plays that were going on. Because the defense didn’t know what was going on, so I thought it was pretty funny."

Did this trip help Auburn? "I felt like it did a lot because it was such short notice, Coach Luper was like, ‘Hey, come out here. If you like it, you like it. If you don’t, you don’t.’ Me coming out here has given me a lot to think about. That’s why I will go past Signing Day to give a fair opportunity."

Some people held up posters for you at the basketball game. What is your reaction? "Man, posters, posters, posters, man. I don’t know. I wasn’t really trying to be the centerfold of attention or anything like that. I was trying to lay low. I don’t know how people spotted me, man. I was just trying to chill. The basketball game was good. You’ve got to be blessed to be in a situation like this, basically. I was just trying to lay low. Through the game I see this big old poster go up and I start laughing."

What did they say? "'Running Back U is Waiting for Oku.' I was like, goodness gracious. And another poster was, 'Oku and Luper for Heisman.' It was just unbelievable. It was just being blessed basically."

Is your commitment still solid to Tennessee? "No. If that was the case, then I would be signing on Signing Day. Coming here and also going to Syracuse has given me a lot to think about. I’m not solid anywhere, because in that case, come Wednesday I’d just be faxing in information. That’s not the case."

Is this going to be a difficult decision to come to? "It really is. It will be a real difficult situation to come to a decision, but it’s just one that’s got to be made. So time will tell."

Gaines sounded last week like he was bound for Ole Miss, but now Auburn is certainly in the picture.

Where do you stand right now? "I’m really confused right now. I had my mind set up on Ole Miss, but Auburn is a nice place and coach (Tracy) Rocker really wants to coach me. He’s the best of the best, so that kind of threw me for a loop. So I’ve just got to pray about it and talk it over with my family."

What does it mean to talk to a coach like Rocker? "It means a lot. He got a lot of players in the NFL, but first I want to get my degree."

What was your favorite part of the trip? "Probably me and Coach Rocker talking one-on-one yesterday. That was the best part."

What are you looking for in a school? "Family atmosphere and how comfortable can I be around the coaching staff."

When are you going to make a decision? "Probably Monday night or Tuesday morning."

Phillips is a Tennessee commit but is drawing interest from Arkansas and Auburn. His high school teammate, safety Daren Bates, committed to the Tigers last week. They both took their official visit to Auburn this weekend.

Are you still a Tennessee commit? "I’m still committed, but on Signing Day I might shock some people."

What is it like having a high school teammate coming to Auburn? "That plays a big part in the decision because I know I can go somewhere with somebody else that I know. I won’t be so afraid to leave home if I got someone else going with me. So it plays a big role in my decision."

What did Bates have to say to you? "He just said, 'I love it down here.' And he just said, ‘Come then.’ And I just said, 'I might.'"

How is your relationship with Trooper Taylor? "He recruited me since my ninth-grade year or my sophomore year."

When are you going to announce? "Not going to announce until signing day."

As mentioned before, he's Phillips' high school teammate. He committed to Auburn lasts week after picking up an offer.

Are you trying to convince Phillips to come here? "Oh yeah. I'm trying to get him to come with me here so we can be roommates and be on the field together"

Why did your recruiting pick up so much recently? "It all happened in weeks. Everybody was coming at me and saying they wanted me to come visit this last week. It was easy to come to Auburn and play for them. Coach (Gene) Chizik came over to my school on a Wednesday. The next you know, Coach Taylor, Coach Roof all came over the next week. They offered me and I took it."

What was it like seeing the Jordan-Hare Stadium last night? "That was awesome. I loved running out on the field. I could see myself doing that for the next three or four years. I had my jersey number on and saw the eagle and saw the type of atmosphere it would be that we play in."