PREP PREVIEWS: Judkins a high profile recruit for Pike Road
Quinshon Judkins will choose between several schools when his time at Pike Road is over. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Quinshon Judkins has generated plenty of interest from college recruiters the past two years, but the Pike Road tailback is keeping his focus on the 2021 season after last year’s playoff run came to an abrupt end to UMS-Wright.
The Patriots, playing their first year in Class 5A last season, rolled through a 10-0 regular season relatively unchallenged, then overwhelmed Shelby County in the first round of the state playoffs. The next week, Pike Road was on the verge of beating UMS-Wright when the team collapsed in the final two minutes of the game and lost 28-17.
The loss is a constant reminder for the Patriots, whose dreams of a deep playoff run the past two years has been cut short in the second round.
“I felt like the loss we had prepared us more for this year,” Judkins said. “Guys coming in working hard the whole summer, coaches pushing us to be the best that we can be. I just feel like it makes us want to win this year even more.”
Judkins and the Patriots open the 2020 season on Aug. 20 at McGill-Toolen, keeping an eye on the big prize while Judkins juggles his high-profile recruiting during the season.
“I’ve dropped the top seven but I’m still open to schools,” he said. “I don’t have a time or a date when I want to commit, but I do have a time frame around the area during the season.”
His top seven, in no particular order, are Florida, Penn State, Auburn, Michigan, Ole Miss, Yale and Notre Dame.
“Each school has its own tradition, it’s own thing about itself that will stand out to me,” Judkins said. “I like things about Notre Dame, I like (different) things about Ole Miss. Each school has its own thing that I like about it.”
Judkins burst onto the recruiting scene in 2019 as a sophomore, rushing for 1,131 yards to lead the Patriots to the school’s first undefeated season before an untimely loss to Mobile Christian in the second round of the 3A playoffs.
Last year, he rushed for 1,482 yards, averaging nearly 10 yards per carry as 25 of his 150 carries ended up in the end zone. He added 137 yards on six receptions to account for 1,619 all-purpose yards.
Along the way, he became a top focus for the Auburn coaching staff, but COVID-19 --- which curtailed on-campus visits -- and the firing of Gus Malzahn forced the talented tailback to study his options.
“It’s kind of like interviewing for a job,” Pike Road coach Patrick Browning said. “Sometimes, you get there and it just doesn’t feel right. That’s four to five years you’re investing. Twenty years ago, you needed to make a decision based on academics or the college that had the program path that you wanted. Fast forward 20 years and most of the universities offer the majority of the same degree choices. Some have a better reputation than others. But let’s say it’s all equal. The second part of that is the relationship with the coach. Before the transfer portal, you could say you were committing to the university, not the coach. But the transfer portal has changed that.
“I told him to just go where he and his family feels most comfortable and where he sees himself playing over the next four to five years.”
Judkins had to wait for college recruiting to return to some normalcy with recruiting visits and face-to-face meetings in June, giving him a chance to learn more from new Auburn coach Bryan Harsin.
“Actually, it wasn’t that hard,” Judkins said. “The first day Coach Harsin came in, he got on the phone with me right away. So we started building a relationship from there.”
Each of Judkins’ seven schools offer their own style of football, but Browning believes his star is a good fit for any of the schools.
“He’ll ask me sometimes, but Quinshon, with his body type and because he has good hands, he can fit into most any offense,” Browning said. “I think what you have to look at more than that is what conference are you in, running that offense. To me, it’s not so much about the offense, but who are you going against, week in, week out.
Don’t be surprised if Judkins delays his decision for at least a month. In mid-September, two of his finalists will be playing against each other when Auburn visits Penn State, where former Pike Road teammate Trey Wallace is a true freshman receiver for the Nittany Lions.
In any case, despite his relationship with Harsin, he’s likely to wait until he can see Harsin’s Tigers in action in the 2021 season opener on Sept. 4 against Akron.
“I’m definitely eager to see,” Judkins said. “I’m excited to see what they’re going to bring out in their opening game this season.”