Auburn in Hunt for 5-Star Prize Offensive Tackle

Auburn Football remains a top contender for five-star offensive tackle Andrew Babalola

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze offensive coordinator Derrick Nix would love 5-Star offensive tackle Andrew Babalola / Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

Auburn Football remains a top contender for five-star offensive tackle out of Blue Valley Northwest High School Andrew Babalola (Overland Park, Kansas) according On3's Steve Wiltfong.

Babalola intends to commit by the first day of the upcoming school year. Other schools still in the running include fellow SEC schools Missouri and Oklahoma as well as Michigan and Stanford. 

Five-star OT Andrew Babalola wants to be committed by the first day of school and talks about what he's looking for in a program as Stanford, Michigan, Mizzou, Auburn and Oklahoma remain in contention. https://t.co/wEyZNvOuTG pic.twitter.com/lG42lsFN0z

— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong_) July 18, 2024

The five-star recruit is ranked the fourth-best player at his position (On3) and ranked the 14th-best player in the country. He’s ranked the third-best player at his position and 15th in the country by 247 Sports. 

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has dubbed Stanford the heavy favorite to land Babalola with a 90.3% likelihood of landing the offensive tackle. 

Auburn was given a small outside chance with a 1.1% chance. Oklahoma has the best chance of any SEC school with a 2.2% chance. 

Babalola has made two visits to Auburn this year. An unofficial visit on March 12 and an official visit on May 17. 

Auburn has been hard pressed to land top offensive talent on the 2025 recruiting trail. The Tigers only have two offensive players who are rated as four stars. For what it’s worth, both of Auburn’s blue-chip offensive recruits (On3) are offensive tackles: Broderick Shull and Tavaris Dice. Previously a 4-star on Rivals and ESPN, running back Alvin Henderson is now a consensus 4-star. 

Head coach Hugh Freeze’s recruiting class is ranked 16th in the country on On3 and 14th on 247 Sports. 

Gaining a top offensive tackle recruit would provide a massive boost for the Tigers' offense. They ranked 10th in the SEC last season in total offense (351.2 yards per game) and were dead last in total passing offense (162.2). To add insult to injury, Quarterback Payton Thorne was sacked 31 times last season.