Top Auburn Recruiting Target Rolls Up to Big Cat Weekend in Auburn-Themed Cybertruck

Five-star edge rusher Jared Smith showed up on Big Cat Weekend driving a Tesla Cybertruck.

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze / Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

Now, here’s something none of us had on our Big Cat Weekend bingo cards. Yet, here we are. Sometimes big weekends for recruiting have their quirks. 

Five-star edge recruit Jared Smith rolled up in an Auburn Tigers-themed Tesla Cybertruck. Senior recruiting editor for Auburn Live Jeffery Lee snapped a photo of vehicle. 

Four-star edge Jared Smith just rolled up to Big Cat in an Auburn-themed Tesla Cybertruck. pic.twitter.com/hCO6U8VH9g

— Jeffrey Lee (@JLeeAULive) July 27, 2024

Smith is the 19th-ranked player in the country on 247 Sports and the No. 2 recruit at both his position and among players from Alabama. 

For those who don’t know, the Cybertruck is a recently released EV pickup truck created by Elon Musk’s motor company, Tesla. It looks like something out of a video game, but that’s probably cool with Smith because he is aiming to be in a video game himself – we imagine he’ll want to be in next year’s College Football game. 

Look, it’s just a normal Cybertruck with the Auburn athletics logo slapped on the side. But that’s a pretty big indicator that this major recruit wanted to make some kind of statement this weekend about his interest in the program. 

It takes effort to go get a new, trendy vehicle and then add the logo. That takes some dedication. 

The timing is also not a coincidence. It’s a big weekend for the Tigers’ recruiting trail, and he is scheduled to make his commitment announcement next week on Saturday, Aug. 3. 

Smith has made several visits to Auburn over the past year. The Crystal Ball on 247 Sports predicted he will commit to Auburn. 

His stunt Saturday will only make that prediction stronger.

Upon commitment to Auburn, should he commit to Auburn, Smith would become the highest-ranked recruit of the Tigers’ 2025 class - ahead of five-star defensive lineman Malik Autry. 

What’s left to discover is if this appearance in the Cybertruck is a one-off thing for this weekend or if he’ll be seen with it again. We’ll have to wait and find out. 

Not sure how much college football Musk watches, but, just saying, it could make for a very fun NIL (name, image and likeness) deal - especially after this.