Auburn among top four schools remaining in pursuit of Walter Mathis Jr.

Mathis says that Auburn continues to make him a ‘priority’ ahead of his commitment date.

It is always a great sign when your favorite program remains in the hunt to land a talented recruit ahead of his scheduled commitment date.

That is the case for Auburn football, as the Tigers remain in pursuit of [autotag]Walter Mathis[/autotag], a three-star DL from Calvary Day School in Savannah, Georgia. Mathis is weeks away from his commitment, and he tells Chad Simmons of On3 that Auburn, along with Miami, Clemson, and LSU, are the top schools making him feel “like a priority.”

After taking an official visit to the Plains in June, he told On3 that he enjoyed the community atmosphere that Auburn exhibits.

“I like the vibe at Auburn and the feeling around the area,” Mathis said in an interview with On3. “When I went up there, it was a really quiet place. It is a great place to be. Everything there is knit together. It’s one big community.”

Heading into the final stages of his recruitment, it appears that it will be a battle between LSU and Miami. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives the Bayou Bengals an 87.3% chance to land Mathis while Anna Adams of 247Sports has submitted a crystal ball in favor of the Hurricanes.

Mathis plans to commit either at the end of July or in early August according to On3, which gives Auburn a few weeks to make one last push in order to land his signature.

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Auburn appears to be ‘out of contention’ for four-star WR Travis Smith

The longtime Auburn target will announce his commitment this week. Can Auburn make one final push?

Auburn football was near the top of four-star wide receiver [autotag]Travis Smith[/autotag]’s list for quite some time. However, the Tigers now look to be out of the running.

In a recent interview with Chad Simmons of On3, the wide receiver from Atlanta shared that he will choose between three schools on Saturday, July 13. The bad news for Auburn is that Smith is no longer considering them.

“Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee are the schools in contention and I am still working to make the final decision between those three,” Smith said in an interview with On3. “All three have a lot I like, and I feel I can be successful at each, so I still have a lot to figure out in the next few days.”

Smith says he will go with his gut on Saturday when selecting a college home between Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. Georgia looks to be the team to beat for Smith according to experts from On3 and 247Sports. However, Tennessee has a small chance to win the race for Smith according to Dawgs247 staff writer Ben Wolk.

Smith says that relationships with the coaching staff and track record of sending players to the NFL stands out the most when he thinks of Georgia.

“I have special relationships with Kirby Smart and (wide receivers coach) James Coley,” Smith said. “I have extensive relationships with many people at Georgia and their track record with offensive production, yards per game and getting guys drafted has always stood out.”

Smith is a four-star rated wide receiver according to all major recruiting outlets. He is the No. 10 wide receiver from the 2025 class according to On3 and is the No. 8 overall recruit from Georgia. Auburn’s next chance of signing a wide receiver to its 2025 class is four-star wide receiver [autotag]Daylyn Upshaw[/autotag], who has a 35% chance to commit to Auburn according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine.

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Three-star OL Jacobe Ward joins Auburn’s 2025 recruiting class

Ward chose Auburn over Tennessee and LSU on Saturday, becoming the Tigers’ fifth offensive line commit of the cycle.

As the calendar flips to July, Auburn is beginning to rediscover its spark on the recruiting trail.

Two days after three-star tight end Hollis Davidson reaffirmed his commitment to Auburn, [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and his staff have added another talented player to its 2025 haul in three-star OL [autotag]Jacobe Ward[/autotag].

Ward, an offensive lineman from Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Georgia, committed to Auburn over LSU and Tennessee on Saturday. Following his commitment, he told On3’s Chad Simmons that he believes Auburn will develop him into the player and person he wants to be. He also sees the Tigers making a run at the SEC title sooner rather than later.

“I can definitely see coach Freeze getting Auburn back to the top of the SEC,” Ward said in an interview with On3. “Since he’s gotten to Auburn, they’ve been steadily progressing. But this year, Auburn is going to be a top team in the SEC.”

Auburn dipped out of the top 10 in the recruiting rankings for the 2025 cycle by the end of June, but has climbed back to No. 11 after landing Ward and Davidson. Ward is the fifth offensive line commitment for Auburn’s 2025 class, joining several notable linemen such as [autotag]Tavaris Dice[/autotag] and [autotag]Broderick Shull[/autotag].

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2025 RB Shekai Mills-Knight includes Auburn in top eight schools

Auburn remains in the hunt for the three-star back ahead of his August commitment date.

Auburn remains in the hunt for a three-star running back from the 2025 class after a recent top-eight reveal.

[autotag]Shekai Mills-Knight[/autotag], a three-star running back from Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, released his top-eight schools this week and has included Auburn in the mix. Several programs competing with Auburn include Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, and Tennessee.

Mills-Knight took his official visit to Auburn on June 10 and is scheduled to visit again on July 27. During his June visit, he told On3 that he feels Auburn can put him in a great position to succeed.

“Auburn is a great college,” Mills-Knight said in an interview with On3. “Love the town. Love that Coach (Derrick) Nix is also the OC which means he can put me in position to succeed on the field. They have a great culture. My relationship with everybody there is real strong and they got a great network down there and the running back room is also wide open.”

According to On3’s Steve Wiltfong, Mills-Knight will decide on a program in early August. Mills-Knight is tabbed as a three-star running back by three major recruiting outlets. By On3’s standards, he is the No. 46 running back from the 2025 recruiting class and the No. 15 recruit from Tennessee.

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Auburn predicted to land four-star safety Anquon Fegans ahead of July commitment

Auburn’s 2025 class could be boosted in July if it secures the commitment of Alabama’s No. 9 prospect.

Auburn football’s 2025 recruiting class has experienced highs and lows this month.

The class ranked as high as No. 4 after four-star running back [autotag]Alvin Henderson[/autotag] flipped his pledge from Auburn to Penn State on June 21 and has since dropped to No. 13 in a week after de-commitments from four-star OL [autotag]Carde Smith[/autotag] and four-star linebacker [autotag]Tyler Lockhart[/autotag].

It is hard to predict how successful July will be for Auburn in terms of recruiting. Still, experts expect [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s program to take a step forward by landing one of Alabama’s top recruits from the 2025 cycle.

[autotag]Anquon Fegans[/autotag], a four-star safety from Thompson High School in Alabaster, will close out July by announcing his commitment. According to 247Sports, Auburn will be the program to beat for Fegans as four recruiting experts, including national recruiting analyst Tom Loy, have logged crystal ball predictions in favor of Auburn.

Auburn Undercover’s Christian Clemente, who has also logged a crystal ball prediction for Fegans to commit to Auburn, included Fegans in his Who Could Commit Next? series earlier this month. Clemente says that Fegans will announce his decision on July 29, two days after participating in Big Cat Weekend. Auburn may have an advantage due to a family connection.

With his older brother Antwon transferring in and joining the team as a walk-on recently, Fegans’ connections to Auburn and the staff only continues to grow. Auburn has had the buzz and we first put him on our “Who could commit next” list in January. The only thing that’s changed is things have ramped up even more towards Auburn landing him.

Fegans is the No. 9 safety from the 2025 class according to 247Sports, and is the No. 9 overall recruit from Alabama. Auburn will need to fight off Georgia, Clemson, and LSU this month in order to add Fegans to its 2025 haul.

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Four-star LB Tyler Lockhart backs off Auburn pledge

Lockhart becomes Auburn’s second de-commitment of the week, joining OL Carde Smith.

Auburn football has suffered a hit to its 2025 recruiting class for the second time this week.

Days after four-star OL [autotag]Carde Smith[/autotag] backed off his pledge to Auburn, four-star linebacker [autotag]Tyler Lockhart[/autotag] has done the same. Lockhart announced Friday that he has de-committed from Auburn after committing to the program in May.

Lockhart’s commitment to Auburn in May surprised many, as it was predicted that he would join his brother, offensive lineman TJ Lockhart, at Mississippi State. The thought of him joining Mississippi State’s 2025 class is becoming more likely now that he is no longer committed to Auburn, as predictions are beginning to pour in.

After Lockhart backed off his commitment to Auburn, Jeffrey Lee of On3 submitted a prediction for him to commit to Mississippi State. Mississippi State has three other predictions in favor of adding Lockhart to its 2025 class, including two from 247Sports. Mississippi State now has a 93.7% chance to land Lockhart according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine.

Following the departure of Lockhart and Smith from its 2025 class, Auburn has fallen to No. 12 in 247Sports’ 2025 recruiting rankings. A week ago, Auburn climbed to No. 4 in 247Sports’ rankings after flipping four-star running back [autotag]Alvin Henderson[/autotag] from Penn State.

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2025 OT Carde Smith decommits from Auburn

Alabama’s No. 15 recruit from the 2025 cycle is re-opening his recruitment after committing to Auburn in April.

One of Auburn’s top pledges has re-opened his recruitment.

[autotag]Carde Smith[/autotag], a four-star OT from Mobile, shared to X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday that he has backed off his pledge to Auburn and will look to sign elsewhere this cycle.

Smith joined Auburn’s 2025 recruiting class on April 10, choosing the Tigers over Florida State and Mississippi State. At the time, he was the third offensive lineman to commit to Auburn’s haul after striking a relationship with offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag]. Since then, he has earned offers from Tulane, Colorado, and USC. He officially visited USC over the weekend before announcing his decision to resign from his commitment to Auburn.

With Smith’s de-commitment, Auburn now sits at No. 8 in 247Sports’ 2025 recruiting rankings, down four spots from last week when four-star running back [autotag]Alvin Henderson[/autotag] flipped his commitment from Penn State to Auburn. The Tigers have four offensive line commits so far, headlined by four-star OT [autotag]Tavaris Dice[/autotag].

 

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Auburn makes top-six for five-star WR Caleb Cunningham

Cunningham once considered Auburn his top choice. Will the Tigers be the last program standing when he announces his commitment later this summer?

Auburn hosted five-star wide receiver [autotag]Caleb Cunningham[/autotag] for a visit earlier this month, and now the Tigers find themselves within his top programs.

Cunningham, a 2025 wide receiver from Ackerman, Mississippi, announced his top-six schools on Tuesday. Alongside Auburn, Cunningham is also considering Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State.

After dropping his top schools, Cunningham told On3’s Chad Simmons that each school has a unique perk and that he could see himself playing at each program.

“Then all six schools are a little different. Each has something different that I like, too,” Cunningham said. “I have visited all six multiple times, I love the energy at each school and I know I can get along with the coaches and fit into each offense. That is why I am focused on Alabama, Auburn, State, Ole Miss, Florida and Tennessee.”

Following his visit to Auburn in early June, Cunningham shared with Grace Raynor of The Athletic that Auburn was his top school due to the culture and the team that [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] is building.

However, his tune has changed recently.

On3 is reporting that Alabama is now the program to beat for Cunningham. Cunningham took his last official visit of the summer to Tuscaloosa, and was blown away by the new staff says recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong. On3 also reports that Cunningham could make a decision regarding his college choice by the end of the summer.

It is not out of the realm of possibility for Cunningham to change course and commit to Auburn. However, if Cunningham plans to commit before the season begins, Auburn will need to continue making great strides in order to sway his mind.

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Auburn has ‘real shot’ to flip 2025 QB Julian Lewis from USC

One recruiting expert believes that Auburn provides plenty of attractive factors for Lewis to consider.

The 2025 recruiting cycle is beginning its final stretch, but there is still plenty of time for Auburn to build its strongest class under [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s watch.

One of the top targets that Auburn continues to pursue is five-star quarterback Julian Lewis, a USC commit. Lewis announced his commitment to Lincoln Riley’s program last fall. However, Auburn is the closest program in proximity to Lewis, which has the Carrollton, Georgia native thinking hard about his choices.

In a recent episode of The Five-Star Flex, On3’s Philip Dukes shared intel regarding Lewis’ standing with USC as well as the Trojans’ biggest threats: Auburn and Colorado.  Dukes feels that USC remains heavily in the mix, but Auburn is the most attractive program for Lewis for two reasons: personnel and location.

Dukes cites Auburn’s 90-mile distance from Lewis’ hometown compared to Los Angeles, which is over 2,100 miles away.

“The proximity to home, being able to hit (Interstate) 85 and being right back in the area…there’s a lot of things that Auburn does present,” Dukes said.

The other factor is Auburn’s recent track record of recruiting valuable pieces to surround Lewis. Auburn’s receiver haul last cycle was historic, and the Tigers have added 11 offensive linemen between 2023 and 2025, which is its best stretch for the unit in quite some time. Having a solid supporting cast could be enough for Lewis to consider a flip.

“Can they continue to recruit, continue to stockpile on the offensive line so they can prove they can protect Juju, and how do they finish with these other top receivers?” Dukes added.

Lewis visited Colorado last weekend, where the university and city pulled out plenty of stops. One Boulder restaurant even named a burger after Lewis during his official visit. Lewis’ recruitment will continue to provide a wild experience to everyone involved before he officially signs in December, but Dukes feels adamant that Auburn and Colorado will be USC’s biggest threats until then.

“If I had to bust it down the middle, I wouldn’t lean any way with any of these schools,” Dukes said. “What I do think is that Colorado really gave the Lewis family a lot to think about this weekend. I think that Auburn is going to continue to push and I think that USC — as long as he’s committed to USC, I think you can never count them out, and I’d still say they are the leader, because that’s where he’s committed to.”

Lewis is the No. 1 overall 2025 recruit according to both ESPN and Rivals, and is a top-five quarterback by 247Sports and On3’s rankings.

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2025 EDGE Zion Grady commits to Ohio State over Auburn, others

The Buckeyes now claim two of Alabama’s top 10 recruits from the 2025 cycle.

Auburn football has recruited its home state well this cycle by landing commitments from six of Alabama’s top 25 recruits. The bad news, unfortunately, is that Auburn can’t sign them all.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and his staff worked hard to bring four-star EDGE [autotag]Zion Grady[/autotag] aboard its 2025 haul after his de-commitment from Alabama in January. After a six-month battle, the Tigers ultimately lost out on Grady, as he announced his pledge to Ohio State on Monday.

Grady, the No. 6 recruit from Alabama in the 2025 recruiting cycle and the No. 10 EDGE in the national rankings kicked off his string of official visits in May by visiting Miami. He also visited Auburn, Florida State, and Tennessee before making the trek to Columbus last weekend. He ended his official visit to Ohio State by giving Ryan Day his commitment.

He tells 247Sports’ Bill Kurelic that Ohio State’s track record for development is unmatched, and that he is happy to shut down his recruitment.

“The coaching staff is A-1, the facility is great and people in Ohio are great,” Grady said in an interview with 247Sports. “I was very impressed with how detailed coach (Larry) Johnson is with his recruitment approach.  Why not be a Buckeye.  Hard to find a better program for development.  Man, it feels great.. glad to get this over with.”

With Grady’s commitment, Ohio State now claims two of Alabama’s top 10 recruits from the 2025 cycle, joining five-star CB [autotag]Na’eem Offord[/autotag], the state’s No. 1 overall recruit out of Parker High School in Birmingham.

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