Tag: Jake Thornton

Auburn becomes frontrunner to land four-star OT Broderick Shull

Auburn is looking to add its fourth OL for the 2025 cycle, and has the No. 5 OT in the nation in its sights.

Auburn football looks to add a fourth offensive lineman to its 2025 recruiting haul, and a top-five tackle from Oklahoma may be the perfect match.

[autotag]Broderick Shull[/autotag], a four-star offensive tackle from Bixby, Oklahoma, visited Auburn last month and is scheduled to return for an official visit in June. That is seen as a positive sign from On3’s Steve Wiltfong, who has logged an expert prediction for Auburn to earn Shull’s pledge with a confidence level of 60%.

During his visit to the Plains in March, Shull shared his experiences with On3’s Cole Pinkston. He shared that he enjoyed the campus and the meeting with offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag]. He could not pinpoint one specific aspect of his visit that he enjoyed the most, but pointed out that the strength and conditioning program has piqued his interest.

“I mean everything has been standing out to me,” Shull said in an interview with On3. “The coaching staff, how players want to work, the strength and conditioning part of it. That (strength and conditioning) was also a major part of it. The guy (Dom Studzinski), he cares about science. Coach Dom cares about science in a way that is incredible. I haven’t seen that in a coach in a while. He likes to do that and I like that.”

Along with Auburn, Shull is set to visit Texas A&M, Nebraska, Texas Tech, Kansas State, and Illinois. At the time of this post, Auburn is the frontrunner to land his signature while Texas Tech is next in line.

Shull is the No. 5 OT for the 2025 class according to On3’s rankings, and the top player from Oklahoma. Auburn currently has three offensive linemen committed to its 2025 haul: four-star [autotag]Tavaris Dice[/autotag], as well as three-stars [autotag]Spencer Dowland[/autotag] and [autotag]Tai Buster[/autotag]. The class currently ranks No. 8 in 247Sports recruiting rankings. However, a commitment from Shull would boost Auburn to the No. 5 slot.

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Fresh off a visit to Auburn, 4-star OL Dontrell Glover decommits from Alabama

Four-star offensive lineman Dontrell Glover has decommitted from Alabama after he visited Auburn over the weekend.

Another Auburn target is back on the open market.

Four-star offensive lineman [autotag]Dontrell Glover[/autotag] decommitted from Alabama on Tuesday. Glover had been committed to the Crimson Tide since April 13, 2023, but has reopened his recruitment after Nick Sabam retired.

Glover visited the Auburn on Saturday and enjoyed his time on the Plains.

“Today, it was great. I felt more of the environment,” Glover told Auburn Undercover’s Christian Clemente. “I came to the basketball game and it was good vibes. It showed that the University loves their school, the students, the staff, it was a good time being down here.”

While offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] is leading Auburn’s push for the Fairburn, Georgia product, safety Terrance Love played his high school football with Glover and gives Auburn another important connection.

Glover is the No. 169 overall player and No. 10 interior offenisve linemen in the 247Sports composite ranking. He is also the No. 24 player from Georgia.

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Auburn lands Mississippi State OT transfer Percy Lewis

Auburn has landed Percy Lewis, who will compete to be the starting left tackle for the Tigers in 2024.

Auburn has landed its first offensive line transfer of the offseason and it is a big one. Former Mississippi State offensive tackle [autotag]Percy Lewis[/autotag] signed with the Tigers Thursday night, he is Auburn’s seventh transfer addition this cycle.

Lewis started the final seven games at left tackle for the Bulldogs during the 2023 season. He rotated in their previous five games and allowed just one sack in his 235 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

The 6-foot-8, 345-pounder visited Auburn and Arkansas last week and will have two seasons of eligibility on the Plains. The Sallis, Mississippi, native started his career at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College before transferring to Mississippi State ahead of the 2022 season.

Offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] and Auburn have been looking to solidify the offensive line by adding an offensive tackle, allowing them to move [autotag]Dillon Wade[/autotag] inside to guard to help replace departing starters [autotag]Gunner Britton[/autotag] and [autotag]Kam Stutts[/autotag].

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In-state offenisve tackle Mal Waldrep schedules visit to Auburn

Mal Waldrep, one of the best offenisve linemen in Alabama, will be visiting Auburn this weekend.

Auburn is building its 2025 recruiting class through the trenches with five of their eight commits playing along the offensive or defensive line. While it’s a great start, they are far from done, and offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] will be hosting a key in-state target this weekend in [autotag]Mal Waldrep[/autotag].

Waldrep has already taken three visits to the Plains, including watching the Tigers play in the Iron Bowl. Thornton and the Tigers offered him a scholarship back in April 2023 and he has been a top target ever since.

He is the No. 442 overall player and No. 39 offensive tackle in the 247Sports composite ranking. The 6-foot-5, 290-pounder is also the No. 19 player from Alabama.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and Auburn have focused on keeping the state’s best players home in the 2025 recruiting cycle, landing commitments from five of the state’s top 22 players.

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Massive offensive tackle Favour Edwin signs with Auburn

Auburn has landed offensive tackle Favour Edwin, capping off a good early signing day for the Tigers.

Auburn has landed its second commitment of the day and it is once again along the trenches.

The Tigers announced that three-star offensive tackle [autotag]Favour Edwin[/autotag] had signed with the program late Wednesday night. He is Auburn’s 20th signee of early signing period.

Offensive line coach and [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] beat out Alabama and Florida for the McDonough, Georgia product, who is in his first year of playing football.

Edwin is the No. 680 overall player and No. 52 offensive tackle in the 247Sports composite ranking. He is also the No. 80 player from Georgia.

Originally from Nigeria, Edwin is listed at 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds. The only linemen on Auburn’s roster who are the same size are Gunner Britton and Tyler Johnson, who are also 6-foot-6.

Edwin is Auburn’s third signee along the offensive line, joining four-star [autotag]DeAndre Carter[/autotag] and three-star [autotag]Seth Wilfred[/autotag]. You can view all of Auburn’s activity during the early sighing period here. 

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Auburn showing interest in Texas A&M OL Chase Bisontis

Bisontis is one of the most popular names currently in the transfer portal.

[autotag]Chase Bisontis[/autotag] was a productive member of Texas A&M‘s offensive line in 2023.

In 12 games, he played 544 snaps, with 543 of those at right tackle according to Pro Football Focus. Bisontis also allowed just four sacks in 290 pass plays this season for the Aggies.

So it is easy to see why he is gaining interest from several Power Five programs, including Auburn, now that he has officially entered the transfer portal.

Bisontis has received interest from over 20 programs according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett. Auburn is one of 10 SEC programs that have reached out to Bisontis in hopes that he will choose them as his next home. On3’s Pete Nakos lists LSU as the early favorite to land Bisontis, but Bisontis has not officially announced a commitment date.

It never hurts to have depth at the offensive line unit, but the tackle position is not an immediate need for the Tigers heading into 2024. The team’s primary tackles, [autotag]Dillon Wade[/autotag] and [autotag]Izavion Miller[/autotag], are eligible to return to the team next season. However, Bisontis was a talented piece of the 2023 recruiting cycle by being ranked the No. 2 offensive lineman of the class, and the No. 1 player out of New Jersey. If he were to consider Auburn, Freeze and offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] could work with him in order to find the role that is best suited for him.

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Auburn is a finalist for transfer OL Gerquan Scott

Gerquan Scott is down to Auburn and Ole Miss.

After visiting Auburn and Ole Miss, former Southern Miss offensive lineman [autotag]Gerquan Scott[/autotag] is ready to make his decision.

“I actually called every other coach and told them I wasn’t going to come (on a visit),” Scott told Auburn Undercover’s Christian Clemente. “I’m going to make a decision in the next day — day or two.”

With starting guards [autotag]Gunner Britton[/autotag] and [autotag]Kam Stutts[/autotag] both out of eligibility after this season, offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] and the Tigers are recruiting him to play guard.

“They got a lot of interest in me. They definitely see me fitting in well to what they’ve got going on,” Scott said “As you know their guard is leaving so they could see me — if I put in the work and beat out people — taking a role at Auburn.”

Scott is from Mobile, Alabama, and was a three-star prospect in the 2019 recruiting class. After redshirting in 2019, he started 40 straight games with 32 at left guard, four at right guard and two at center.

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Auburn in the mix to land JUCO OL Seth Wilfred

Wilfred is strongly considering Auburn as his next destination following a successful official visit to the Plains.

Auburn football coaches were very active this weekend as they hosted several recruits from junior college and the transfer portal for official visits.

Among those was JUCO offensive lineman [autotag]Seth Wilfred[/autotag], who left Auburn feeling pleased with his visit.

After his visit, he spoke with Caleb Jones of Rivals about his time on the Plains. Wilfred says that he was pleased with the community and atmosphere that Auburn presents, and he likes the idea of playing football under head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag].

How high is Auburn on his list of possible destinations?

“(Auburn is) Definitely pretty high on my list,” Wilfred said in an interview with Rivals. “The atmosphere you can’t really match it with anything else, it’s a really great place and I love it here.”

Before visiting Auburn, Wilfred visited Houston. He is also set to visit Iowa State next weekend before signing on Dec. 20 according to Jones.

Wilfred is a 6-6, 295 pound offensive lineman from Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. If he were to choose Auburn, Jones feels that Wilfred will be best suited as an offensive tackle.

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Auburn among top group for 4-star OL Carde Smith

Carde Smith is emerging as a player to watch in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Carde Smith[/autotag] grew up an Alabama fan but going through the recruiting process has changed things for the Mobile native.

“Recruiting, once I got to high school, I fell in love with Auburn,” Smith explained to Auburn Undercover’s Christian Clemente. He added that Auburn and Tennessee are his “top two” schools.

Auburn is pushing to flip Georgia commit Micah DeBose

Could he be the next elite player that Hugh Freeze and Co. flip from an SEC rival?

[autotag]Micah DeBose[/autotag] is committed to the Georgia Bulldogs but the four-star offensive lineman has spent back-to-back weekends on the Plains.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] are leading Auburn’s push for the elite 2025 offensive lineman and they are certainly making an impact, he told Auburn Undercover’s Christian Clemente.

“But I feel like if they’re doing that and after the season that they just came off of, they’re going to be good. They’re bringing in some big-time players, too. Perry Thompson, oh my God. This is going to be some trouble. I might hop on the ride too, I can’t lie.”

The 6-foot-5, 315-pounder added that Auburn has a “60-70 percent chance” to flip him from the Bulldogs.

DeBose is the No. 29 overall player and No. 3 offensive tackle in the 247Sports composite ranking. The Mobile product is also the No. 4 player from Alabama.

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