Auburn Has 'Impact Recruits' from Under Armour Game

Auburn's 2025 class performed well during the Under Armour All-American week

Auburn cornerback signee Blake Woodby was a physical player at Under Armour All-America Game / Brian Smith On SI

After Watching the four 2025 Auburn signees perform at the Under Armour All-America practices, it was clear that the Tigers had special all-around players and personalities.

Getting to know some of these young men throughout each of their recruitments, I wanted to define why I am so high on each of them.

Blake Woodby, cornerback, 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances

Woodby liked to talk smack during the practices but with a smile. A good way to define Woodby, a person everyone liked being around. He joked and had fun; made people laugh off the field. When the play was ready to begin though, Woodby took no prisoners. 

He was a physical cornerback willing to come up in run support and tackle. His change-of-direction-quickness showed itself against some of the twitchiest receivers in America, too.

Blessed with electronically timed sub 4.4 speed, he’s been one of the nation’s most sought-after cornerback recruits for a long time and it showed again during the Under Armour events throughout the week. Auburn found another top cornerback to come in and help improve the defense. He also talked about heading to Auburn and why he feels so good about his future.

“Right now, I’m going into a situation where I’m going to be playing for a coaching staff that cares about their players, wants to see the best out of their players outside of football, and just cares about the person.

“And you don’t get that with today’s college football. With the whole Transfer Portal world, NIL world… I feel like I’m going into a situation where my coaches really care about my well-being. They see the vision that I see. That’s for me to hopefully be a gold jacket wearer, a first-round pick.”

Anquon Fegans, safety, 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson

I asked him, why are you the best player in Alabama? Fegans provided a tremendous response.

“It’s really just for the value that I brought to my team,” a humble Fegans began. “I didn’t have to go out there and make all the plays. I helped my teammates be in the positions to make the plays we needed to make, and that helped us be in a position to win a state championship.”

Fegans was clearly a team-first player. Seeing him be a willing member of the special teams units and the secondary during the All-Star game was another signal. He does not care where he fits in; he makes a difference for his team to win.

To be clear, Fegans also showed his tremendous athleticism in coverage throughout the week. His talents were obvious and he could play a number of roles in Auburn's secondary. Auburn fans should expect Fegans to compete for early playing time.

Kail Ellis, Center, 6-foot-4, 310 pounds, Canton (Ga.) Cass

Ellis has added more mass and strength since getting back into the weight room. It certainly helped him battle against top-notch defensive tackles throughout the practices and the game. 

Multiple people mentioned Ellis to me regarding how good he was. Watching Ellis battle in one-on-ones was fantastic as well. More specifically, he showed that he’s much further along with pass protection than most interior offensive linemen were at this juncture of his career. 

Additionally, Ellis understood the need for good communication and working as a unit. His leadership skills should be applauded. Overall, he fits the profile of Auburn’s future starting center quite well. 

Jared Smith, Defensive End, 6-foot-6, 240 pounds, Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson

Smith’s ability to rush the passer was obvious. He was tremendous during one-on-one reps against top-notch offensive tackles like Oklahoma signee Michael Fasusi, using a spin move for a win during one rep shown below:

From #UANext practice, #Auburn signee ⁦Jared Smith had an outstanding move duri g one-on-ones. ⁦@jdotsmith_8⁩ pic.twitter.com/pQYuSeAvyj

— Brian Smith (@fbscout_florida) December 31, 2024

He has a variety of moves to complement natural arm length and quickness. Based on watching Smith mix up his moves and be a confident player this week, he provides Auburn with a unique outside pass rusher that should contribute during his first season as a Tiger. He knows there’s still work to be done as well. Here’s Smith’s response when asked about what he needed to work on.

“Man, just really staying low; pad level. Pad level is going to be key. Striking the man in front of me.”

Smith remained a humble player despite all of his accolades, including being a 5-star for 247Sports and the No. 25 overall player nationally.

These four young men represented Auburn well during the Under Armour event and each will make their own marks during their time with the Tigers.