"After seeing what they're all about, after talking to some of the players from the Under Armour (All-American) Game that are going there, I fell in love with the school, I fell in love with the program, and I feel like it will be a great fit there," Westerman said.
His change of direction he said had little to do with Auburn being crowned national champs and Texas having a rare losing season as it was Texas losing the man with whom he had built a special bond.
When Texas line coach Mac McWhorter retired after the season, Westerman allowed other colleges to come in and recruit him.
Texas on Thursday hired Stacy Searels from Georgia to replace McWhorter. Searels had already placed calls into Westerman. But Westerman on Friday morning canceled his scheduled trip to Austin.
"I want to be able to make a bond with the coach and I didn't think it was going to be enough time," Westerman said.
As soon as Westerman began to waver about Texas with the coaching vacancies in early December, Grimes was soon on a plane to visit Westerman at his home. They hit it off. It got better during Westerman's December recruiting trip to Auburn, and it was capped off during Auburn's preparations in the Valley for the national championship game earlier this month when practically the entire Auburn coaching staff came to his home.
"It all started when he flew out to my house," Westerman said about Grimes. "We created a good bond. I went out to my visit and created a good relationship with him."
During the national championship bowl week, Westerman felt privileged to be invited to watch a full practice and spend time with the coaches later on at his home.
"It showed they were really interested in me and really wanted me to be part of the Auburn family."
Westerman, rated by Rivals as the 18th overall top football prospect in the country in the Class of 2011, said he hopes to contribute as a freshman and not have to redshirt. Family will be nearby. His grandmother and grandfather live 30 minutes away, and Chris Westerman, Christian's dad, is considering buying a house near Auburn.
Hamilton coach Steve Belles said Westerman is the best lineman he has coached and senior tackle Tyler Johnstone (an Oregon commit) is a close second.
"You got to spend either four or five years there, and it's important to feel comfortable with where you're going," Belles said. "I don't think that coaching staff is going anywhere, based on what they did this year. To know your coach is going to be there, that played factor."
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