Auburn University and the University of Florida may not be geographical neighbors. They don’t share a rivalry that stretches back throughout college football history. Heck, they don’t even play in the same division in the SEC.

But this offseason the two traditional college football powers have been at each other’s throats trying to gather the best high school talent the country has to offer. Both schools are pursuing many of the best prospects that remain unclaimed by other schools, and for many of those prospects Auburn and UF are their top two choices.

The parallels between the two programs this recruiting season are uncanny. Both have made coaching changes this offseason that could result in a surge to end the recruiting season. Will Muschamp was fired as the head coach at Florida, but upon being hired as the defensive coordinator at Auburn he’s been able to garner official visits from a number of five-star defensive players.

Muschamp’s replacement at Florida, Jim McElwain, has had to piece together a class in a short amount of time, and his friendly nature and track record as a head coach at Colorado State has helped him establish his program on the short lists of some of Florida’s best athletes.

The two schools will be engaged in recruiting battles until the end of the recruiting season. For two universities who otherwise only concern themselves with one another the one time every five or so years that they face on the field, the next month could determine the future of their programs for the coming years.

BIGGEST AUBURN WIN

Four-star ATH Tim Irvin: Irvin, a Miami, Fla., native, not only committed to Auburn earlier this month but enrolled in classes at the university last week, giving him an opportunity to participate in spring practice in a couple of months. Irvin gave heavy consideration to McElwain and the Gators, as well as the Miami Hurricanes, but ultimately elected to attend Auburn to likely play safety for Muschamp. The former Gators head coach turned Auburn DC was instrumental in attracting Irvin to the plains, and no matter what position he plays next season he’ll bring speed, quickness, elusiveness and hustle to the field that any program would love to have.

BIGGEST FLORIDA WIN

Four-star WR Derrick Dillon: Florida only has 10 players in its current recruiting class, which ranks 75th in the 247Sports industry composite rankings, but it has a chance to land a number of four- and five-star prospects between now and National Signing Day to move its class into the top 25 in the nation. For now, however, the Gators have yet to collect a player that was also considering Auburn, and it only has one commitment from a player rated better than three stars. That player is Dillon, a Franklinton, La., native. If Dillon flips his commitment anywhere else, it’d likely be to LSU and not Auburn, but for now he serves as the headliner of the class. With incredible speed and acceleration, and an uncanny ability to change directions on a dime, he could help improve a Florida offense that sorely lacked playmakers the last two seasons.

KEY RECRUITING BATTLES

  • Five-star OT Martez Ivey: Widely regarded as one of the 3-5 best players in the class of 2015, Ivey has kept his options open throughout the recruitment process. He made his official visits during the season (visiting Florida, Auburn and LSU) but has not made an official visit this month like many of his fellow uncommitted five-star prospects. The Apopka, Fla., native seems to be leaning toward Florida since the recruiting dead period was lifted two weeks ago, but he did make an unofficial visit to Auburn on Jan. 16 to show the Tigers are still in the mix as well.
  • Five-star DE Byron Cowart: Another player widely regarded as a top 5 talent in the 2015 class, Cowart also has both Florida and Auburn atop his short list of schools he’s considering. McElwain and his staff have been aggressive in trying to woo Cowart to Gainesville, giving sales pitches to both he and his mother in the hours immediately after the recruiting dead period was lifted. However, Muschamp has continued to pursue Cowart as well despite changing schools during the recruiting process, and like many other touted defensive prospects Cowart has an affinity for the former Gators head man. He made visits to both UF and AU the last two weekends, and while they’re not the only schools he’s considering they’re considered by many to be the frontrunners as National Signing Day draws near.
  • Five-star DE Cece Jefferson: Jefferson, like Cowart, is another five-star defensive prospect who hails from the state of Florida but is also fond of Muschamp, who now resides on the plains at Auburn. Jefferson’s case is different than Cowart’s though as he is also heavily considering Ole Miss, which boasted the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense in 2014. The star defensive end has openly engaged fans of all the schools he’s considering on social media, and while he’s not made any part of his recruitment process a secret, he’s also not given any hints as to where he may land. One thing we do know: Florida and Auburn are both certainly in the running.