Five-star Ohio State pledge recaps Auburn visit

Alabama’s top recruit for the 2025 cycle paid a surprise visit to the Plains over the weekend. Did Auburn impress?

Earlier last week, five-star Ohio State pledge [autotag]Na’eem Offord[/autotag] told On3’s Cole Pinkston that he planned to save his official visit to Auburn for the season. So it was a surprise to many that he stopped by the Plains for a visit over the weekend.

Offord showed up for a star-studded recruiting weekend featuring five-star wide receiver [autotag]Caleb Cunningham[/autotag] and four-star OL [autotag]Broderick Shull[/autotag] as visitors. He spoke with Jeffrey Lee of On3 following his visit on Sunday afternoon by explaining his sudden appearance on the Plains.

“It was better because the coaches don’t have to focus on the game if you do it right now,” Offord said of his weekend visit. “They’re not doing anything now. It made sense for me to do it this weekend.”

He made the most of his visit by arriving on Friday and departing Sunday. Offord spent time with every coach including cornerbacks coach [autotag]Wesley McGriff[/autotag] and defensive coordinator [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag]. Their pitch to Offord was the importantance of staying in-state and that he is their “No. 1 target.”

“They are the only school telling me that,” Offord said.

Offord is a five-star cornerback from Parker High School in Birmingham, and ranks as high as No. 6 nationally by 247Sports and ESPN. He announced his pledge to Ohio State since February, and has worked on flipping Auburn commit Malik Autry to the Buckeyes. Maybe this weekend’s trip will allow Autry to flip the script and sway Offord to commit to Auburn.

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