The holiday season is once again converging on national signing day, with high school and junior college recruits selecting where they’ll continue their football careers on Dec. 4.
And, somewhat miraculously, Auburn football and Hugh Freeze find themselves on good footing a week out. The Tigers currently hold a top-five class for the 2025 cycle.
The Tigers currently hold a top-five class for the 2025 cycle from three of the four major recruiting sites, with 247Sports and On3 placing the Tigers at No. 5 nationally, and ESPN posting the Tigers at No. 4 in its latest update.
If it holds, it’ll fulfill Freeze’s goal of posting a top-five class in his second season on the Plains, following up a 2024 class that was a consensus top-10 bunch nationally. And the momentum is going Auburn’s way, with its final home game of the season being a four-overtime victory over then-No. 15 Texas A&M — with plenty of recruits in attendance.
“With all the recruits here that we want, that’s really the momentum,” Freeze said after Auburn’s toppling of the Aggies. “I know you get tired of hearing me say it, but we’ve had one top-10 class in my time here. And we’re on our way to No. 2, I believe. We’ve got to finish, and a lot of crazy things can happen between now and next Wednesday. But there’s a lot of those kids in that locker room here today, and a night like tonight can’t hurt.”
GAME ON, BAMA: Auburn football makes statement with upset win over Texas A&M
As Auburn tries to secure another touted class, here’s what its national signing day wish list will look like heading into the home stretch.
Can Auburn football avoid a dreaded flip?
Auburn came out of last year’s signing day relatively unscathed in this department, but the outlook heading into next week doesn’t feel as favorable.
The Tigers actually got some good news in this department early this week, when defensive lineman Malik Autry announced Monday that he was shutting down his recruitment and signing with Auburn.
BREAKING: 5-star Auburn DL commit Malik Autry has shut down his recruitment
“I’ve been committed for so long, I feel like I’ve been recruited for so long and visited so many schools. But at the end of the day, it’s always been Auburn.”https://t.co/rRuW2tCyno pic.twitter.com/5CY1FH2lUV
— Christian Clemente (@CClemente247) November 25, 2024
It’s great news, locking down a high-profile recruit from just up the road in Opelika. But there’s a few names that have been floated as flip candidates in recent weeks.
Quarterback Deuce Knight and edge rusher Jared Smith — the No. 3 and No. 1 highest-rated commits in Auburn’s class — are on flip watch. Both have been crystal-balled by 247 Smith to flip to Ole Miss in recent weeks.
For Auburn to lose either would be significant, but momentum could play a part here. The Rebels had their College Football Playoff hopes squashed last weekend at Florida, and both Knight and Smith were on the Plains, watching the Tigers pull off their win over Texas A&M.
And could Auburn football get a big flip in its favor?
Freeze’s staff has shown a propensity for pulling off flips in short time. That was the case in 2023, when they took defensive end Keldric Faulk from Florida State. It happened a year ago, too — on signing day — when defensive lineman Amaris Williams flipped from Florida to Auburn.
And this year’s signing period could have some day-of flips in store.
The crown jewel of them all would be Ohio State commit Na’eem Offord. The Parker High School product has been committed to the Buckeyes since Feb. 4. But he’s long been rumored to head elsewhere, with the Tigers and Oregon being the likeliest candidates. Both 247 and On3 have crystal-balled him to come to the Plains.
Landing Offord would give the Tigers a top-15 player nationally and put one of the best defensive backs in the nation at the top of the class.
Locking down the Yellowhammer State
Following the possibility of an Offord flip, it’d cement what’s been an incredible cycle for Auburn in the state of Alabama.
Currently, the Tigers hold commitments from nine of the top 12 players in the state, with eight of those being in the top 10.
Central-Phenix City Daylyn Upshaw, who 247 lists at No. 22 in the state rankings, is considered another flip candidate by Christian Clemente, 247’s Auburn recruiting insider.
Maintaining a top-five class
It’s likely at the top of the list, but if Auburn can cement a top-five status, it’d come close to being Freeze’s biggest win of 2024. If Auburn remains static in the rankings, it’d have no worse than the fourth-best class in the SEC. But a jump would mean it vaults Alabama, Georgia or Texas in some form.
Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Three wishes for Auburn football ahead of national signing day
