Nation's No. 1 athlete 'very excited' to visit Auburn Tigers this weekend

Andrew Nemec | 3 Hours Ago

Derrek Cooper /

The Auburn Tigers are set to host the No. 21 Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday in a matchup of two of college football's marquee programs.

Hoping to take advantage of the spotlight, Huge Freeze's program is set to host a quality collection of visitors.

One of the headliners is undoubtedly Chaminade-Madonna (Florida) star Derrek Cooper, the nation's No. 7 overall prospect and No. 1 athlete in the class of 2026:

Visiting Auburn this weekend 🦅#WDE pic.twitter.com/GdAsyuFNBA

— Derrek Cooper (@DerrekCooper80) September 23, 2024

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound playmaker can do a little of everything on the football field, but likely projects as a versatile running back or safety at the collegiate level.

First, however, he needs to figure out where he's going - and this weekend's trip to Auburn should help inform him.

"I'm very excited," Cooper said. "I’ve been wanting to get up there for a while. They show great love and my running back coach used to play for them. He has nothing but great things to say about them."

The five-star talent admitted that Auburn has work to do on the field, but that he's encouraged by recent recruiting results.

"Honestly, they aren’t at where they want to be," Cooper said. "But they have some great recruiting classes coming in, so I’m moreso looking at the future."

Cooper holds early offers from double-digit programs, highlighted by Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Ohio State, Tennessee and others.

The Chaminade-Madonna star is working to make the rounds this fall and get a closer look at several schools, but little is set so far.

He knows future trips to Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State are in the works, as is a return visit to Miami.

But for now, Cooper is focused on his closer look at Auburn.