Auburn a Finalist for Blue Chip Offensive Tackle

The Auburn Tigers are in a battle with Penn State and USC for one of the nation's top offensive linemen.

Auburn Tigers offensive line coach Jake Thornton is in on several blue-chip recruits. / Austin Perryman, Auburn University Athletics

Blue chip offensive tackle Malachai Goodman has named Auburn football as one of the three finalists for his commitment. 

Goodman shared his finalists in an interview with On3’s Chad Simmons as he closes in on his commitment date. The announcement of a date should come later this month and will be between Auburn, Penn State and USC. 

No favorites were shown among these programs, though On3 gives Penn State a slight edge.

“There is no order with the three schools,” Goodman told Simmons. “At all three schools, it is the offensive line group and the coaching staffs that stand out.”

Regardless of undetermined preference, it’s a battle between three major programs to land the offensive tackle. 

Goodman is the 125th-ranked player in his class on 247 Sports, the sixth-ranked at his position and the third-ranked player from New Jersey. 

In theory, Penn State should be the favorite due to proximity. But USC is joining the Big Ten under the command of Lincoln Riley, who outside of last season has done nothing but have strong seasons as head coach, and Auburn is always a notable SEC program who is recruiting even better.

There’s no crystal ball prediction on 247 Sports, so that won’t help point us in any direction. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine favors Penn State, likely because of geography, but it’s a tight race. The Nittany Lions have a 21.6% chance while Auburn has a 13% chance and USC sits at 10.9%. 

Should he commit to Auburn, he would become the highest-rated offensive tackle of the recruiting class. He would rank just ahead of four-star Tavaris Dice. He would be the second-best offensive player behind wide receiver Derick Smith. 

Auburn currently has the fifth-ranked recruiting class of 2025. Penn State is ranked 15th while USC is right behind them at 16th. 

Malachi isn’t the only blue-chip tackle Auburn is in the hunt for. They still have an outside chance to land five-star Andrew Babalola, the third-ranked OT of the 2025 class.