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National Signing Day flashback: Byron Cowart, 2015

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The Schools: Auburn, Florida

How it all went down: The last month of Byron Cowart’s recruitment had many twists and turns. Ranked as the nation’s No. 1 overall player, there was plenty of attention on Cowart as he weighed his options between Auburn and Florida. What made Cowart’s choice particularly difficult was the fact that Will Muschamp had been fired as Florida’s coach late in the fall of 2014 and hired by Auburn as defensive coordinator.

Cowart had a clear affinity for the Gators, and if Muschamp had stayed there would have been very little drama surrounding his commitment. But Cowart announced he was committing to Auburn on national TV on National Signing Day.

That was just the start of the drama, however.

It quickly became apparent that Cowart hadn’t yet faxed in his letter of intent. Rumors swirled about where exactly the document was and whether his high school coach was keeping him from sending it in. His high school coach then gave an interview saying that Cowart had actually signed two letters, one for Florida and one for Auburn, and told him not to send either.

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Cowart then refuted that claim in an interview with Rivals.com, saying he had only signed one letter and his coach had failed to fax it in. Adding to the conspiracy theories was the fact that at the time, Cowart’s coach at Armwood High School, Sean Callahan, had a son, Kirk Callahan, on staff with the Gators.

After seven hours of a drama, Auburn finally received the signed letter, but not before a day of ups and downs. Cowart’s career with the Tigers has seen just as many bumps in the road, as he’s failed to live up to his pre-college ranking and has just 12 career tackles in two seasons.

National Memories: “That day was very interesting because after he committed on television, everyone wanted to know where the letter was. He had apparently signed two, one for Florida and one for Auburn, and wanted to see where CeCe Jefferson was going, although in the end that didn’t impact him. His coach wanted him at Florida, that was for sure, and probably interjected himself into things a bit too much, but the text messages with Byron that day were very interesting.” – Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell.

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