Auburn Flips 4-Star USC Trojans Commitment

The Auburn Tigers top-five recruiting class got a little stronger when they poached a cornerback from the USC Trojans.

The Auburn Tigers got a commitment from former USC Trojans pledge Shamar Arnoux / John Reed-Imagn Images

The Auburn 2025 recruiting class improved by flipping Shamar Arnoux, a top prep cornerback, from the USC Trojans.

He had committed to the Trojans on June 16 but that did not slow down Auburn’s coaching staff. Arnoux took an official visit to the Plains on June 14 and came back for an unofficial visit to the Vanderbilt game. Auburn's quarterback commitment Deuce Knight, who has been flirting with Ole Miss as of late, weighed in on X.

WDE🦅 @therealkwat https://t.co/dTaB1fOJoy

— Deuce Knight (@DeuceKnight) November 14, 2024

Auburn has moved up to No. 3 on Rivals' recruiting rankings after poaching Arnoux and strengthens its grip on a top-five class on 247 Sports.

Today marked 12 days since that visit. There was good reason Auburn made a concerted effort to land Arnoux’s services.

Having played for Carrollton (Ga.) High School helped Shamar Arnoux showcase his skills in front of recruiting analysts and college coaches. To date, his highest recruiting ranking came from Rivals as the No. 122 prospect and 12th cornerback. 

Auburn not only beat USC, but Tennessee, Georgia, Florida State, LSU, Texas A&M, Clemson, Ole Miss, Michigan, and Colorado, among others. The film showed why so many colleges wanted Arnoux.

Arnoux’s senior HUDL film displayed a bevy of skills. Most importantly, at 6 foot 2 inches and 175 pounds, his speed was top-notch. During one clip, Arnoux ran across the field to bring down an opposing player that had broken free. His speed set up opportunities.

In coverage, he baited quarterbacks into throwing passes before darting toward the football and making an interception or pass breakup. Those plays would not have transpired without Arnoux’s top-end speed. He also showed to be twitchy.

It’s been rare to see such a tall and long cornerback possess the change of direction skills that Arnoux did this season. Whether he played off coverage or bump-and-run, moving with a receiver looked easy for Arnoux. He was also a physical player.

Arnoux challenged receivers attempting to block him during a screen, hard-charged running backs to make plays, and displayed physical coverage traits. Those points brought up an interesting but good dilemma for the Auburn coaches.

Which exact position should Arnoux play for the Tigers?

Physically speaking, he’s already shown the speed, length, and physicality to play against bigger wide receivers who often run fade routes and attempt to win 50-50 balls. Having watched a few clips of Arnoux, the first thought was him playing the boundary cornerback position where those skills would be used extensively. There were two more possibilities.

In today’s spread-passing attack era, playing nickel has required a defensive player to be very physical because it could be a tight end lining up in front of him and blocking on a toss sweep or leading the way during a screen. That’s why safeties have often played that position. Based on the film, Arnoux could be an exception. Lastly, his speed needed to be considered.

He could play to the field and consistently take on the opponent’s fastest outside receiver; the playmaker that’s fast enough to beat most cornerbacks deep. Arnoux’s prep film showed him running stride for stride during several different plays. He’s been well-equipped to take on the fastest wide receivers.

No matter where Arnoux ends up playing for the Tigers, he’s a proven recruit with the skills to be a big-time SEC defensive back. Auburn football gained a talented recruit with Arnoux.