Where Auburn football recruiting sits with Big Cat Weekend approaching
AUBURN — Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze knows it.
The Tigers, who are on the heels of back-to-back losing seasons for the first time this century, haven't exactly set the recruiting trail ablaze over the last few years. Xs and Os are great, but in the SEC, it's nearly impossible to compete without the Jimmys and the Joes.
“I really believe the 2024 and 2025 class will determine our success or not,” Freeze told reporters at the Senior Bowl earlier this year, per Auburn Live. “We have to hustle and nail those two classes with the right type of players that fit our culture.”
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When Freeze was officially named Auburn's coach in November, the Tigers were ranked by the 247Sports Composite as having the No. 55 recruiting haul in the Class of 2023. By the time the dust settled a few months later, Auburn was up to No. 18, headlined by a couple of big-time flips on Early Signing Day from Highland Home's Keldric Faulk and Georgia native Kayin Lee.
But what do things look like for 2024, one of the two pivotal classes Freeze pointed to early in his tenure?
The Tigers are up to 10 commitments, highlighted by four-star quarterback Walker White from Little Rock Christian Academy in Arkansas. He's joined on the offensive side by four-star running back J'Marion Burnette, four-star receiver Bryce Cain and three-star athlete Martavious Collins.
On the other end, Auburn's defensive class is made up of four-star edge Joseph Phillips, four-star defensive lineman Malik Blocton, four-star defensive backs A'Mon Lane, Jayden Lewis and Kensley Faustin and three-star linebacker D'Angelo Barber.
Seven of the 10 pledges hail from Alabama, and each are rated as a top-30 recruit in the state. For reference, the Crimson Tide has four commitments from players in the top 30, though three of them are in the top six in five-star athlete Jaylen Mbakwe, five-star receiver Perry Thompson and four-star defensive lineman Jeremiah Beaman. Sterling Dixon, a four-star linebacker who is also committed to Alabama, is tabbed as the No. 12 recruit in the state.
Despite his pledge to Alabama, Thompson announced earlier this month that he plans to be at Big Cat Weekend at the end of July. Big Cat is Auburn's premier recruiting event of the summer, first started by former coach Gene Chizik in 2009.
If Thompson were to flip and eventually put pen to paper on signing day, he'd be the first composite five-star receiver to sign with the Tigers since Ben Obomanu out of Selma High School did it in 2002. Obomanu was ranked as the No. 31 overall player in the country that year. Thompson is currently tabbed as the No. 32 prospect this cycle.
With the 10 players Auburn has on board, the Tigers have an average ranking of 90.58 per recruit, which is 12th-best in the country and seventh-best in the SEC behind Georgia (93.48), Alabama (93.35), Florida (92.17), Texas A&M (91.61), Tennessee (90.81) and South Carolina (90.65). Soon-to-be-added programs Texas (90.53) and Oklahoma (90.05) sit closely behind the Tigers.
With about five months before Early Signing Day, there's still much work to be done. Auburn doesn't currently have an offensive lineman committed in the Class of 2024 and could likely use another linebacker or two, with two of the three transfers they acquired this offseason being veterans in Austin Keys (Ole Miss) and Larry Nixon III (North Texas); Keys has two years of eligibility remaining and Nixon has one.
Whatever the case, Freeze will be hoping Auburn is flirting with a top-10 class nationally by the time February comes around. He knows much of his job security hinges on it.
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: An update on Auburn football recruiting with Big Cat Weekend coming
