Jeffrey Whitaker took the suspense out of his college choice Monday. He made it official Wednesday.

The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Whitaker, from Warner Robins, Ga., is a major boost to Auburn's defensive line. Rivals and Scout both have him as a four-star recruit. Rivals has him as the No. 5 defensive tackle and the 54th best player nationally. Scout has him as the No. 11 defensive lineman in the country.

Since he's highly-ranked, both Scout and Rivals have scouting reports on him. Here's Scout's:

"Whitaker is a powerful defensive tackle. He is a lineman that does an excellent job of holding his blockers and freeing up his teammates. He is a space-eater and will likely demand double-teams on the next level. Making a lot of big plays is not his specialty, but he is going to make others around him better. He plays with a lot of power, but can improve his explosion off the ball and pass rushing skills. "

And Rivals, which was written by Barry Every:

• Speed: Division I Player
• Size: Blue Chip
• Strength: Blue Chip
• Agility: Division I Player
• Lateral Pursuit: Division I Player

On the Hoof: Very wide shoulders and thick upper body with a wide powerbase and athletic-looking legs. Whitaker has massive arms and really looks the part of a fit, run-stopping machine. He is built like a taller Brandon Thompson of Clemson.

Needs Improvement: He has to be more consistent with pad level at the point of attack and use more than a bull rush for his pass-rushing technique.

Most Impressive: Whitaker is one massive human being that takes up a lot of space along the line of scrimmage. He is just too strong to be pushed off the ball, and he does a nice job pursuing plays laterally.

Conclusion: Size alone makes him a candidate for playing time as a freshman, especially in short-yardage situations. If he can stay healthy and improve his ability to put pressure on the quarterback, he will become an all-league performer.

And here's another YouTube highlight video:

Auburn's other Banneker High signee, Shaun Kitchens of College Park, Ga., will apparently help on the offensive side of the ball.

Kitchens, a 6-foot-3, 211-pound receiver/linebacker, joined high school teammate DeMetruce McNeal in signing with the Tigers Wednesday morning.

Kitchens is a three-star recruit by both Rivals and Scout. Rivals has him as the No. 48 receiver in the country and Scout has him at No. 33.

He's been committed since April. He plays a number of positions, including linebacker, but looks like he'll be a receiver on the Plains.

Here's Chad Simmons of Scout.com with a scouting report:

"Kitchens is a very versatile athlete that could end up at linebacker, defensive end, or even wide receiver at Auburn. He has a lot of athelticism and could be effective any one of those positions. Naturrally you look at him and his aggressive nature and think defense, but he could be a big target at receiver as well. He is not a great speed guy, but he is tough, and a true football player."

And here's another YouTube highlight reel:

Demetruce McNeal joined Auburn's rapidly growing group of secondary members when he officially signed Wednesday.

The 6-foot-1, 176-pound McNeal is a three-star recruit by both Rivals and Scout, which rank him as the No. 57 and No. 31 overall defensive back in the nation, respectively.

McNeal is the high school teammate of wide receiver Shaun Kitchens, who sent in his letter of intent at the same time (more on Kitchens in a later post).

Here's Scout's take on McNeal:

McNeal plays the game hard, sacrifices his body, loves contact, and will play anywhere coaches ask him to play. Needs to work on his coverage skills, reading the quarterback, and taking the proper angles, but he closes well on the ball, he is a big tackler, and he will fly around the field trying to make a play. He does not have the elite speed, but he is fast enough and playing offense helps him on defense. Should impact early on special teams.

And here's a YouTube video of his highlights:

Athlete Ryan Smith backtracked on his commitment to Kentucky and signed with Auburn on Wednesday.

Smith, who's 6-foot-2, 208 pounds, is a three-star recruit from Cordova, Ala. He committed to the Wilcats in October but had a change of heart.

Word is he'll be a member of the secondary, either at safety or cornerback.

He was the 3A All-State Back of the Year for Cordova, rushing for 1,856 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior. He placed fourth in Alabama's Mr. Football voting.

All the drama surrounding Shon Coleman's recruiting trips in the last few weeks was all for naught: he's officially and Auburn Tiger.

Coleman, a five-star offensive tackle from Olive Branch Miss., was a hot commodity in the recruiting game.

He committed to Auburn in April but promised to take several more recruiting trips. He fulfilled that promise, going to Arkansas and most recently, Alabama and Miami. He reportedly had strong interest from the Crimson Tide.

And with good cause. He's a tall, rangy, 6-foot-7, 285-pound tackle who went from three stars to five as the season progressed, so he's shown plenty of improvement. He participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, where he really improved his stock.

He joins Eric Mack and Ed Christian as offensive linemen in the class and seems like a sure thing to be a fixture on the line for a while.

Rivals has him as a five-star athlete, the No. 3 offensive lineman and 22nd best player in the country. Scout has him as a four-tar and the No. 7 lineman.

He is the top-ranked player from Mississippi and played alongside Auburn freshman Daren Bates during Bates' senior season at Olive Branch High.

Auburn added Decatur, Ga., defensive back Jonathon Mincy to its class this morning.

The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Mincy, a Southwest DeKalb High product, has been committed since June. He's a three-star by both scouting services. Rivals ranks him as the No. 38 defensive back overall and Scout at No. 65.

As a junior, Mincy recorded 58 tackles and five interceptions. He also returned punts and kickoffs.

The Tigers need a solid class in the secondary, after losing a handful of players to qualifying issues last year. Safety Daren Bates was the only freshman scholarship addition in the 2009 class.

Here's Chad Simmons' report from Scout.com:

"Mincy is a smart corner and one that likes to play press or soft coverage. He loves to be aggressive in man to man, but his strength could hurt him a little against the bigger receivers in college. He is a little thin and light, so he needs to get bigger and improve his strength. One of his biggest strengths are his hands. If in reach, he can make a play on it and turn the ball over."

Auburn got its first uncommitted player to send in a letter of intent today: Handley High's Ladarious Phillips out of Roanoke, Ala.

He's 6-foot-1, 265 pounds and played running back some in high school. Think about that one for a second. Rumor is he could play defensive tackle too.

Rivals ranks him as a two-star player. He appeared to be set to go to Georgia Southern before Auburn came calling.

According to Scout, Phillips ran for 1,145 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. He was also a Class 4A All-State defensive tackle, where he made 59 tackles and had eight sacks, leading Handley to the state semifinals.

Here's a video of him from YouTube:

Auburn kept the offensive line train rolling by adding Valdosta, Ga., lineman Ed Christian.

The 6-foot-5, 280-pound Christian is a three-star recruit by Rivals and Scout, who rank him 34th and 20th offensive lineman in the country.

Auburn was in desperate need of offensive line help, with four senior set to depart after the 2010 season and few players ready to step in. Getting Eric Mack and Christian -- which equals the number of scholarship linemen the Tigers took the previous two years -- will help that cause.

Here's a scouting report by Chad Simmons of Scout:

Christian is a hard-nosed offensive lineman that plays with intensity until the whistle blows. He is a run block specialist coming out of high school because of the offense he plays in, but he has the athleticism to do well in pass protection down the road. He has great knee bend and he comes out of his stance well. Christian really drives his man off the ball and holds in nicely.

A few weeks after de-committing from South Carolina, offensive lineman Eric Mack has made it official and signed with Auburn.

The 6-foot-4, 315-pound Mack is a highly-rated prospect, a four-star recruit by both scouting services. Rivals has him as the No. 6 offensive guard, while Scout has him at No. 10.

Mack, a St. Matthews, S.C., native, was a South Carolina commit until January 20, when he backed out and committed to Auburn. He took plenty of flak from his native South Carolinians.

Here's a Scout.com report:

First thing that jumps out about Mack is how nimble he is on his feet. He moves well, especially for someone weighing 320 plus pounds. He needs to work on attacking the defensive lineman more when run blocking, but he is more than solid in pass protection. He uses his hands well, he really locks in on the defender, and he gets down field well on screens. He has nice knee bend, but he needs to be more consistent on his pad level.

And check out a video of him. He looks massive.

Kenneth Carter became Auburn's first defensive line signee Wednesday.

The 6-foot-5, 267-pound defensive tackle from Greenville, Ala., is ranked as a four-star recruit by both Rivals and Scout. Rivals has him as the No. 23 tackle and the No. 8 player in the state. Scout ranks him as the No. 17 tackle.

As a junior, Carter made 60 tackles and had six sacks despite playing with a separated labrum. He had surgery and was fine his senior season.

Auburn doesn't have a whole lot of defensive tackles, w ith Mike Blanc and Nick Fairley expected to be the starters next season.

Here's Andrew Bone of Scout.com giving a very brief scouting report:

Carter is a very strong defender and is quick off the ball. He plays aggressive and uses his hands extremely well.