Auburn football landed the nation’s No. 2 EDGE rusher in [autotag]Jared Smith[/autotag] as part of its 2025 signing class, but it almost did not happen.
In a recent interview with On3’s Chad Simmons at the Under Armour All-America game in DeLand, Florida, Smith said that late pushes from South Carolina and Ole Miss left him with a very challenging decision. He ultimately decided to sign with Auburn in the early stages of the winter signing period on Dec. 4.
What led to his decision to sign with Auburn? He says the opportunity to have a successful future with great teammates and bright-minded coaches was too good to pass up.
“The coaches. Seeing the vision. Seeing the players that were already committed. That’s a huge factor, who I’m going to be playing with,” Smith said.
Several other Auburn signees have mentioned “the vision” when sharing their reasoning for signing with Auburn. Smith broke down what “the vision” means to him.
“You see the transfer portal. Just bringing in guys that can play automatically,” Smith said. “(Wide receiver) Cam Coleman is going to be a stud next year. All of these freshmen are going to come in to play (like) Anquon Fegans, another guy to be on the watch. That guy is a player. Us coming in and bringing that back, Auburn’s going to be great.”
Smith is Auburn’s top signee of the 2025 recruiting cycle according to 247Sports by ranking No. 25 overall and being the second-best EDGE prospect in the nation. Smith joins fellow Auburn signees [autotag]Blake Woodby[/autotag] and [autotag]Kail Ellis[/autotag] by competing at the Under Armour All-American Game this week.
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