Enterprise head coach Ben Blackmon hasn’t coached a lot of players with the potential of recent Auburn commit Eric Winters.

“I think he is one of the few kids you get to coach that you could truly project as a guy who will play on Sundays,” Blackmon said.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Winters committed to Auburn over the weekend. He’s likely to play safety for the Tigers, though he also will play wide receiver for the Wildcats this fall and was the team’s quarterback a year ago.

“He’s a very smart football player,” Blackmon said. “Eric has great length. He’s a versatile guy who can play in the box or outside in space. He runs well. He went to the Rivals camp in Atlanta and was the MVP. He just has a ton of upside.”

Blackmon coached a similar player when he was at Spanish Fort. Kris Abrams-Draine was a wide receiver/defensive back who moved to quarterback as a senior out of necessity and led the Toros all the way to the Class 6A championship game. He went on to have an All-SEC career as a DB at Missouri and was a fifth-round draft pick by the Denver Broncos.

“I thought Kris Draine would have a chance to play on Sunday and now he will,” Blackmon said. “Eric is that dynamic. We needed him to play quarterback last year. He did that. He led the basketball team in scoring and took us to the championship game. He’s a phenomenal athlete and the kids really follow him and believe in him. They like their chances of winning because Eric is on their team.”

Winters did it all for Enterprise last year, rushing for 699 yards and 12 TDs and passing for 501 yards and 5 TDs at quarterback and making 17 tackles and an interception on defense. He told AL.com this week that it was the right time to commit, and Auburn was clearly the right place.

“It just feels like home,” he said. “It’s not really a four-year decision. It’s a 40-year decision. I wanted to be somewhere where, on any given Tuesday, I could be happy and that’s Auburn.”

Winters is the fifth-ranked senior recruit in the state, according to the 247 composite rankings. He joins Highland Home EDGE Jakaleb Faulk as top 10 Auburn commits in the Class of 2025.

Winters is hoping the Tigers also can add Enterprise teammate Zion Grady to the fold in the near future. Grady, a former Alabama commit, is set to visit Ohio State this weekend, according to Ben Blackmon, and could make a decision as early as next week.

Winters said he believes Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is ready to “flip this thing around” and get the Tigers back among SEC contenders, and he is ready to do his part.

“One thing about me is I’m competitive, and I’m a student of the game,” Winters said. “I’m versatile. I feel like I can do a lot of things. I’m ready to come in there and compete and do my part.”