Auburn/Alabama football recruiting: Four-star offensive lineman Patrick Miller switches commitment from LSU, surprises Tigers with early enrollment; Crimson Tide already has 27 commitments

AUBURN, Ala. -- A surprising early enrollment Thursday put a highlight on a week that had been relatively slow for Auburn recruiting commitments.

Patrick Miller, a four-star offensive lineman from Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., switched his commitment from LSU and enrolled at Auburn on Thursday, ending a recruitment that most experts considered closed since he verbally committed to LSU in September.

Miller’s enrollment gave Auburn four early enrollees from the 2012 class to start the spring semester. Offensive lineman Shane Callahan, linebacker Javiere Mitchell and quarterback Zeke Pike all enrolled earlier in the week.

But Miller’s decision to flip was a big boost for an Auburn team trying to bring in a bumper crop of offensive linemen for the 2012 class. Earlier in the week, former Auburn commit Will Latu, the highest-rated junior college offensive lineman in the country, had been forced to re-open his recruitment due to academic difficulty.

Landing Miller essentially replaces Latu’s spot in Auburn’s 2012 class, which currently has 16 commitments with National Signing Day still three weeks away.

In-state rival Alabama has been quiet on the recruiting front this week because the Crimson Tide already have 27 commitments for the 2012 class. As many as eight Alabama commits were expected to enroll early, and former Auburn commit T.J. Yeldon tweeted that he had taken his first college class.

Miller cited a shot at early playing time and Tigers offensive line coach Jeff Grimes as the reasons for his switch in interviews Thursday.

A couple of big-time prospects are scheduled to visit Auburn this weekend, according to AuburnUndercover.com, one of the websites that covers Tigers recruiting.

Five-star defensive end Arik Armstead from California’s Pleasant Grove High School and five-star receiver Stefon Diggs, an Our Lady of Good Counsel product from Maryland, are set to visit this weekend.

Armstead, a 6-foot-7, 280-pounder, is making his last visit and could announce his decision as early as Sunday. He plans to enroll early. Originally committed to USC, Armstead withdrew his commitment in October, and he’s reportedly visited Notre Dame, Alabama, Oregon and California.

Diggs, a 6-foot, 185-pound receiver who played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, is considering Auburn, California, Florida, Notre Dame and Virginia.

Four-star recruit Jordan Moore, a safety from Martin Luther King in Lithonia, is also scheduled for an official visit to Auburn this weekend.

This story was originally published January 13, 2012 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Auburn/Alabama football recruiting: Four-star offensive lineman Patrick Miller switches commitment from LSU, surprises Tigers with early enrollment; Crimson Tide already has 27 commitments."