AUBURN, Ala. -- From the crazy announcements to the surprise flips to the moms who won't let their kids sign, national signing day is almost always filled with drama. And Auburn has had its fair share over the years.

In 2011, Cyrus Kouandjio committed to Auburn on national television during ESPN’s signing day coverage but signed with Alabama a week later. The same thing nearly happened again four years later when Byron Cowart, the No. 1 overall player in the ESPN 300, chose the Tigers the morning of signing day but waited until the afternoon to finally send in his paperwork.

This year, the Auburn coaches didn't have any of that to worry about.

"There wasn't a whole lot of drama today," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "I think that says a lot about the signees' loyalty. I think it says a lot about our staff. They did a wonderful job of developing relationships. Everything went pretty much as planned today, which is a blessing."

Of the 23 players Auburn signed Wednesday, 11 had been committed to the Tigers since before the start of last season. There were some, including four-star offensive tackle Calvin Ashley, that had been on board for over a year.

Ashley initially gave his verbal commitment to Auburn in May 2015 following their annual Big Cat weekend. The Washington D.C. native took one other visit to Maryland this past December, but despite heavy interest from teams all over the country, he remained committed for nearly two years and was the first player to send in his paperwork Wednesday morning.

"Calvin is a guy that we feel like can come in immediately and have a chance to compete," Malzahn said. "[He] really reminds me a lot of Greg Robinson when Greg was this age. The thing about Calvin is he stayed extremely loyal to us. He's a five-star guy. He was very solid. And we really appreciated him and look forward to coaching him."

Others such as Malcolm Askew, Tadarian Moultry and Austin Troxell -- a trio of ESPN 300 recruits from the state of Alabama -- had been committed to Auburn since last June, and all three opted not to take other visits during or after the season. Askew arrived on campus last month as one of seven early enrollees.

Those are the type of commitments that help a coach sleep better at night.

"When you go to bed last night and you look at the guys who committed, you felt as good as you can," Malzahn said. "It went exactly as expected."

If anything, Wednesday went better than expected. Auburn added a late commitment from ESPN 300 defensive end Markaviest Bryant -- a player many thought might go to either Georgia or LSU in the weeks leading up to signing day. But as Malzahn put it, Bryant was the "icing on the cake" for a class that finished No. 9 overall in the ESPN class rankings.

"Every time he's been on campus, you could tell he fit here," Malzahn said. "There was a great feel. Talking to him, we always felt like we had a good chance. Last night, we felt like that he was coming here. This morning, we felt the same.

"He was the last one to send his stuff in. It was a good end to a good day."

At the end of the day, Auburn filled needs on both the offensive and defensive line. It loaded up at linebacker, signing three four-stars -- four if you include Bryant. And, of course, there's the addition of former Baylor quarterback Jarrett Stidham, the top-ranked player in the ESPN JC50.

But this year's signing day felt uneventful. Maybe that is a good thing.