Auburn Daily

Auburn Tigers Make Cut for National Top 20 Edge Rusher KJ Ford

KJ Ford is a consensus top 20 recruit at his position and one of the top 100 prospects regardless of position, according to Rivals and 247 Sports.

Cam Parker

Auburn Tigers helmet on the sideline during the A-Day spring practice at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, April 9, 2022.
Auburn Tigers helmet on the sideline during the A-Day spring practice at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, April 9, 2022. / Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK
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One of the nation's top edge rusher prospects in the 2026 recruiting class has named the Auburn Tigers as a finalist.

Duncanville (Tx.) prospect KJ Ford on Thursday released his final 12 schools consisting of Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Ohio State, Oklahoma Ole Miss, Penn State, Texas A&M and USC. A consensus top 20 edge rusher in the class, Ford's highest rating comes from Rivals, which lists him as the No. 9 overall prospect at his position.

Ford (6-4, 245 pounds) also ranks inside the top 100 overall recruits regardless of position in Rivals and 247 Sports' prospect rankings.

In early 2024, in-state school Texas A&M appeared to be the team to watch with On3's Steve Wiltfong predicting Ford to end up with the Aggies. However, no other predictions from any site have made predictions as Ford visited with many schools during the 2024 season.

Ford has not announced a planned commitment date yet as he finalizes his summer official visit schedule.

The four-star prospect has scheduled official visits in the summer with four of his final 12 schools, including Auburn. He will take a visit with the Tigers on June 10. Rounding out his current visit schedule are trips to Alabama (May 30), USC (June 6) and Oklahoma (June 20).

So far, Auburn has had early success recruiting on the defensive side of the ball with four commits. The Tigers also hold pledges from four-star edge rusher Hezekiah Harris, four-star linebacker Shadarius Toodle, four-star linebacker JaMichael Garrett and three-star safety Wayne Henry for its defensive class. Offensively, Auburn holds commitments from four-star receivers Denairius Gray and Devin Carter.

The Tigers 2026 recruiting class ranks No. 16 nationally, according to 247 Sports.

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Cam Parker
CAM PARKER

Cam Parker is a contributing writer at AllGators.com of FanNation-Sports Illustrated and is a recent graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in journalism. He also covers and broadcasts Alachua County high school sports with The Prep Zone and Mainstreet Daily News. When he isn't writing, he enjoys listening to '70s music such as The Band or Lynyrd Skynyrd, binge-watching shows and playing with his cat, Chester.

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