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Tilley: "War Eagle"
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Lee Tilley
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Bob Lichtenfels
Scout.com
Date: Nov 21, 2005
Columbus, Ohio -- No one can blame Lee Tilley for not being thorough in his search for the right school. He has taken his official visits; he has taken a number of unofficial visits. His final official visit took him to Auburn this weekend, Tilley has made his college choice this morning at a press conference and he chose Auburn over South Carolina.
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Franklin Heights (Ohio.) offensive tackle
Lee Tilley knew before this weekend that he would choose either
South Carolina or
Auburn. Tilley's decision would all come down to how he felt on his official visit this weekend or would it?
"I kind of knew I would commit to Auburn, but I didn't," Tilley said. "Once I went down there and met all the guys again everything went as I expected it to and I knew for sure I made my choice and it was Auburn."
The 6-foot-7, 300 pound, four star lineman is ranked as the No. 22 rated offensive lineman in the nation according to Scout.com got a first hand lesson in the term "Go War Eagle".
"I knew what it was, but everyone was screaming it, "I was a little worried because I was wearing a red shirt and I didn't even think about it. I figured we'd have some time to go back to our rooms before the game and chill, maybe change clothes but we didn't. We went through the "Tiger Walk" and then to the game. The atmosphere was just crazy. I was chilling out on the sidelines watching warm-ups and then I got a chance to talk to Ben Tate their running back commit. I told him I was probably going to go there and I'd be blocking for him. I got to ask him about why he chose Auburn so that was insightful."
One person who has and always will be beside young Lee Tilley is his mom Larnell Tilley. Auburn was her selection as well.
"She always gave me two choices, college or the military that's what you do in my family. I chose college. She researched my finalists and she said you know all those schools will show you what you want to see. I had to weigh out all the distractions and I feel the small town feel that is Auburn is best for me. I also have family in Georgia it's far enough away, but close enough that I can see them almost anytime."
With over 35 scholarship offers in hand, what was it about Auburn that made Tilley choose them over everyone else?
"It was a combination of things really. I want to win, I mean I could go to a lesser school and play early and make a difference, but I want to win and become a better player. I have thought about being away from home and being alone, so comfort was an important factor."
The Auburn staff may have made the biggest impression on Tilley.
"They came to my school three times that showed me that I was a priority to them, out of the 59 visits I had at school there were three teams that came twice, they were the only ones who came three times."
Tilley is fairly hip to the recruiting game, and Auburn scored major points by not offering false promises.
"Most of them said they have weaknesses on their offensive line and I could come in and play right away, that I'm better then some of the guys they have. I was like 'damn' are these coaches going to be flying around the country in a few years telling recruits that Lee Tilley sucks so they go there. Auburn never talked bad about their players and they made no promises."
Some have criticized Tilley due to the fact that he did not have a lot of Big Ten offers, especially because Ohio State had not offered.
"I had offers from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Penn State I never did worry about that. Ohio State had a few guys they like and I didn't want to play in the cold weather anymore. I never worried about it much."
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