BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - It's hard to believe anything you hear in college football recruit­ing, especially when it comes to commitments in this state, until it's in writing.

Ink on paper in February is one way to do it.

Or you could create your own early signing period the summer be­fore.

With ink on skin.

If you think Reuben Foster made a statement Thursday with what he did and how he did it, the lineback­er's commitment flip from Alabama to Auburn seems even more con­vincing today.

Sure, he dressed his daughter in an Auburn cheerleader outfit for his press conference, put on an Auburn hat himself and read a statement that mirrored almost word for word the one T.J. Yeldon released last fall when he switched his pledge from Auburn to Alabama, but clothes can be changed and words can be taken back.

Foster's sincerity wasn't written on his hat Saturday. It was on his forearm in the form of an AU tattoo the size of a helmet sticker. Justin Hokanson of AuburnSports.com said Foster was inked up when he visited Auburn's last football camp of the summer.

Do the ESPYs have a category for Most Creative Recruit?

If Foster's statement was a "Take that!" inspired by the Auburn coaches that felt burned by Yeldon's well-timed switch on the eve of a dead period, his tattoo looks like a "Forget that!" aimed at anyone sug­gesting that if he switched once, he could switch again between now and signing day.

It's easy to get caught up in all these tricks of the recruiting trade, but they tend to obscure the significance of Foster pledging to Auburn. If they do get him in the end, how big a get is he for the Tigers? He's so big, he's the highest-ranked recruit ever committed to Auburn in the Rivals.com era.

OK, it's a short era. The Rivals rankings on their website date only to the 2002 signing class, but the last decade has seen an explosion in recruiting coverage and analysis. Comparing high school players and projecting them as college players is still an inexact science, but it's less inexact than ever.

Rivals rates the 6-foot-2, 228-pound Foster as the No. 1 inside linebacker in the class of 2013 and the No. 2 overall prospect behind Clemson commit Robert Nkemdiche. How many top-10 overall Rivals high school prospects has Auburn signed since 2002?

Cam Newton? Nope. Auburn signed him out of junior college.

Mike Dyer? Sorry. He was the No. 2 running back but the No. 11 overall prospect in the class of 2010.

Tray Blackmon? Guess again. He was the No. 1 outside linebacker in the class of 2005 but the No. 17 overall recruit.

Give up? You should. Auburn hasn't signed a single top-10 overall Rivals.com high school prospect since its online database began in 2002. Foster would be the first.

That says something about the influence of new defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, who's coached linebackers in the SEC and in the NFL. Auburn has three five-star commitments at the moment, and all three of them play defense.

The others: Carl Lawson, the No. 1 weakside defensive end and No. 14 overall prospect, and Dee Liner, the No. 3 strongside defensive end and No. 15 overall prospect.

FYI, despite his two arrests July 1 and July 10 on misdemeanor charges ranging from disorderly conduct to trespassing, Liner attended Auburn's camp Saturday. If you were wondering if Gene Chizik might pull Liner's offer to make a statement after Auburn's recent run of run-ins with off-field issues, you can probably stop wondering.

Those off-field issues haven't stopped Chizik and his staff from rounding up 16 commitments to date. The three five-stars in the bunch is a higher total than any other school but one. USC also has three five-star commitments.

Consider that Rivals has ranked only 17 players as five-stars, and only 11 of them have committed. Auburn and USC have split six of those 11.

Foster is the kind of big-name prospect that could help lure some other quality players. Given that new AU tattoo on his forearm, all he has to do now to flex some recruiting muscle is make a fist.

Drop a civil comment below. Write Kevin at kscarbinsky@bhamnews.com. Follow him at www.Twitter.com/KevinScarbinsky. Listen to him weekdays from 6-10 a.m. on the Smashmouth Radio Network on 97.3 The Zone.