The wait is over for the state of Alabama.
Cyrus Kouandjio (pronounced Kwand-joe), considered the top offensive lineman in the class of 2011 and No. 3 on the
MaxPreps.com Top 100 Players list, declared his choice to Auburn at a press conference Wednesday morning.
As of mid-afternoon, he has yet to sign his letter of intent.
"There was a lot of thinking to get to this result," Kouandjio said at his press conference. "I talked to my brother (Arie, a lineman at Alabama) and he said to go where your heart takes you. ... My heart told me, I had vibes, and my heart told me to go to Auburn."
The race for the top spot in team recruiting rankings hinges on Kouandjio. If he ends up signing with Alabama, the Crimson Tide will rise from No. 3 to No. 1, leapfrogging Florida State and Notre Dame. It would also send Auburn plummeting from No. 4 down to No. 8.
The 6-foot-7, 325-pound two-way lineman led
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) to a 9-3 record and second-place finish in the powerful Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. The school's four-year record during Kouandjio's career was 40-8.
Kouandjio, who was born in west Africa before moving to the United States at the age of 4, had publicly announced that he had narrowed his choices to Alabama, Auburn, Iowa, Miami, New Mexico and USC. However, beginning approximately 24 hours before his announcement, message boards and tweets all had him narrowing his choices down to Auburn or Alabama.
