Auburn Tigers Rolling in Commitments

The Auburn Tigers Big Cat Weekend has been an unmitigated success for football recruiting.

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze is putting together another top-10 recruiting class. / Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY

Big Cat Weekend at Auburn was a tremendous success for the 2025 and 2026 recruiting classes. The commitments began rolling in on Friday, and are still coming in.

The first round of commitments came from a trio of 2026 in-state defenders, as Auburn surged into the top spot in the extremely early 2026 team rankings.

Hezekiah Harris is the No. 22-ranked prospect in the class of 2026 according to the 247 Sports. He’s a 6-5, 220-pound Edge prospect from Mae Jemison High in Huntsville, and was the first of a number of commitments.

Shadarius Toodle, the 86th-rated player, is a 6-3, 210-pound linebacker from Cottage Hill Christian Academy in Mobile gave his commitment to Auburn, and so did JaMichael Garrett, the 112th-rated player in his class. Garrett is a 6-2, 205-pound linebacker from Gulf Shores High School.

"Coach Freeze is changing the program," Toodle told Chad Simmons. "He's turning the program back into a national championship contender."

The recruiting process is happening earlier and earlier, and the 2026 class is the first class where Hugh Freeze and staff are fully in it at the start. As of now they have five commitments a year and a half ahead of signing day as 2026 prospects will be entering their junior seasons this fall.

As for the 2025 signing class, prospects who are entering their senior year and can sign in December 2024 and February 2025, in recent days Auburn has picked up four commitments as of Monday afternoon with a couple more expected in the upcoming days.

Two of the four are flips from Alabama. Defensive lineman Antonio Coleman has gone back and forth during 2024. First Alabama, then Auburn, back to Alabama, and now he’s back on board with Auburn. It’s perhaps a long way until signing day for this prospect, who ranks as the No. 100 prospect in the country as a 6-2, 285-pound defensive tackle from Saraland, Ala.

Perhaps the biggest get for Auburn came on Monday as Derick Smith flipped from Alabama to Auburn. Smith is one of the top athletes in the entire class, and is a star defensive back and receiver at Selma, Ala. High School. Alabama recruited Smith as a DB, while Auburn sold him an opportunity at receiver. Smith is 6-1, 185 and the 45th prospect in the class by On3.

Auburn is putting together a tremendous amount of future talent on the defensive side of the ball, and that includes the addition of cornerback Blake Woodby from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Md. ESPN considers Woodby the No. 22 prospect, and the second commitment from St. Frances joining teammate ATH/LB Bryce Deas.

Speaking of teammate commitments, Auburn is believed to be in good position to land a pair from powerhouse Thompson, Ala. High School. The Kohl’s #2-rated punter (and 21st-rated kicker) John Alan McGuire committed to Auburn on Sunday over Florida State.

"McGuire had another good showing at the Southern Showcase in May of 2024. He scored 117.4 points in punting, 116.4 on kickoffs, and 11/15 on field goals. His punts travel often 55-60 yards from the line of scrimmage. He had a huge Underclassman Challenge by scoring a camp-high 113.88 points in punting and a very good 113.88 points on kickoffs. He also showed well on FG's scoring 13 points. McGuire ended up winning the final punt competition at camp and was the #1 punter in the 2025 class after the event."

- Kohlskicking.com

Monday night at 6 p.m. CT Thompson safety Anquon Fegans is announcing his decision. Auburn is thought to be the favorite with LSU, Georgia, Alabama and Clemson also pursuing his signature.

If Fegans chooses Auburn, it would give the Tigers commitments from seven of the top 10 players in Alabama according to the 247 Sports rankings. Defensive end Jared Smith, also from Thompson High, is expected to announce his decision on Aug. 3. Auburn is the favorite there as well, which would potentially give Auburn 8/10 in-state with Ohio State holding commitments from the other two.

Alabama and new head coach Kalen DeBoer are putting together a fine class of its own, ranked second at the moment by the recruiting services. However, Auburn is thoroughly dominating in-state at the moment.