Auburn football is in the midst of its regular season, but nothing stops the recruiting game as prospects constantly make big official visits on game weeks, which have huge impacts on their decisions.
The Tigers are currently in the middle of a hectic race to flip another high school star in defensive lineman[autotag]Joseph Mbatchou[/autotag], who has been committed to the Florida Gators since July 31.
In the early going of the 2024 college football season, Mbatchou is traveling across the southeastern portion of the country to visit numerous programs in the SEC, which is significant due to the struggles that the Gators have fallen victim to.
While Auburn has extended an offer to the three-star product out of Grayson High School (Ga.), it is joined by the likes of Alabama, Georgia, LSU, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and USC in this race.
Mbatchou visited the Plains in the Tigers’ week two matchup with California, and despite the loss, sees a lot of optimism in what the program can do for him as a player.
“I like the d-line coach ([autotag]Vontrell King-Williams[/autotag]) because he’s young and fresh,” Mbatchou said. “He builds relationships with his players. He was talking to me about how he got his job and was telling me that if I do everything I’m asked to do and put my all into football, I should be a first-round pick. The d-line played good at the game I was at, even though they lost. I can see myself fitting into their defensive scheme.”
The six-foot-four, 280-pound big man is currently the No. 457 overall player and No. 41 defensive lineman in the country according to the On3 industry ranking. He is also the No. 54 player in the state of Georgia for the class of 2025.
Auburn’s 2025 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 5 in the nation and No. 4 in the SEC, making its mark with key commits such as EDGE [autotag]Jared Smith[/autotag] and defensive lineman [autotag]Nate Marshall[/autotag]. A commit from Mbatchou would only add to the talent that head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] is attempting to build up for the Tigers’ future.
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