Jeff Whitaker committed to Auburn on Monday.

Whitaker, a defensive tackle from Warner Robins and the No. 4 player in the AJC Top 50 rankings, chose the Tigers over Miami and Georgia.

“It was just where my heart was and where I felt comfortable,” said Whitaker, who made the announcement at a small news conference in his school’s media center on Monday. “Miami was actually second. Before the Miami visit it was 50-50 Auburn and Georgia. I don’t know, I’ve just been feeling Auburn for a while.”

Whitaker’s commitment continues quite a roll for Auburn in 2010 recruiting. He becomes the 28th commitment for the Tigers, who are ranked No. 4 nationally by Rivals.com, No. 5 by Scout.com and No. 6 by ESPNU. They’ll move up even more if they land Rivals’ No. 1-ranked running back Marcus Lattimore, who is going to choose between Auburn and South Carolina tomorrow at a news conference from his church in Duncan, S.C.

“Yeah, me and a lot of the other [Auburn] guys have stayed in touch,” said Whitaker, a 6-foot-3, 295-pound interior defensive lineman. “I’m hearing we could end up No. 1 [in recruiting]. It feels good.”

It was thought to be a dead heat between Georgia and Auburn. But Whitaker said Miami moved up considerably in his mind after he visited there this past weekend.

“Well, the staff and the players ay Miami, they’re good people,” Whitaker said. “I really like Coach [Randy] Shannon. They’re destined to go to the top there in a very short period.”

Whitaker became close friends with Georgia commitment Garrison Smith during the recruiting process. The two defensive linemen roomed together at the U.S. Army All-America Game in San Antonio in early January and Smith had worked hard to recruit Whitaker to the Bulldogs ever since.

“I haven’t been able to get ahold of Garrison yet,” Whitaker said. “But he’s gonna be all right. He’s still the man.”