Tag: Jamonta Waller

Four-star LB Demarcus Riddick signs with Auburn

Riddick flipped from Georgia to Auburn over the summer.

Hugh Freeze was able to snag four-star linebacker [autotag]Demarcus Riddick[/autotag] from Georgia over the summer. Now, he is an Auburn Tiger.

Riddick, a native of Clanton, signed with Auburn on Wednesday. As a senior at Chilton County High School, Riddick recorded 92 tackles with three sacks and an interception.

Riddick is one of 11 defensive players to sign with Auburn today, joining the likes of [autotag]TJ Lindsey[/autotag], [autotag]Joseph Phillips[/autotag], and [autotag]Amon Lane-Ganus[/autotag]. Auburn has also added Florida flips [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] and [autotag]Amaris Williams[/autotag] as defensive signees.

The linebacker from Clanton is Auburn’s fourth-highest rated signee of the 2024 class. He is the No. 5 overall linebacker for the cycle, and is the No. 6 overall player from Alabama.

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Elite edge rusher Jamonta Waller signs with Auburn

Jamonta Waller is one of the countries best edge rushers and he is now an Auburn Tiger.

One of Auburn’s most important commitments is officially a Tiger.

The Tigers are in need of help rushing the passer and [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] is someone who can come in and immediately get after the quarterback. The Picayune, Mississippi native signed his national letter of intent with the Tigers on Wednesday, completing a critical recruitment for [autotag]Ron Roberts[/autotag] and [autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag].

Waller originally committed to the Florida Gators but Auburn kept recruiting him and were ultimately able to flip the 6-foot-2, 225-pounder. He is the No. 82 overall player and No. 6 edge in the 247Sports composite ranking. He is also the No. 2 player from Mississippi.

Expect him to push for immediate playing time at jack alongside [autotag]Jalen McLeod[/autotag] once he arrives on the Plains. Stay up-to-date with the latest signing day news by checking out Auburn Wire’s early signing period tracker.

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4-star DL Amaris Williams: ‘Auburn has a big chance right now’

Auburn is looking to flip a second four-star defender from the Florida Gators.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and Auburn’s coaching staff made several big additions last year during the early signing period and they are looking to do so once again. One of their top targets is four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Amaris Williams[/autotag], who has been committed to Florida since June.

They have already shown the ability to steal a commit from the Gators, flipping four-star edge rusher [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] earlier this cycle and following an official visit to the Plains, Williams admitted the Tigers could do so once again.

“Auburn has a big chance right now,” Williams told Auburn Undercover’s Christian Clemente. “Even though awhile back I told Coach JG ([autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag]) I wasn’t considering Auburn at the time, I feel like that’s just because I never visited and because of what I had already seen from other colleges. Actually being here today and seeing what it’s all about, it’s a really big chance I could come here.”

Williams is the No. 84 overall player and No. 12 defensive lineman in the 247Sports composite ranking. The Clinton product is also the No. 1 player from North Carolina.

It won’t be easy for Auburn to land Williams, Florida is fighting to hold onto him and Ohio State and Georgia are both pushing for a flip and can’t be counted out.

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Auburn commit Jamonta Waller ‘working hard’ to flip Five-star LJ McCray

Waller says that he wants to be on the same field as McCray.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] isn’t the only Auburn man working the recruiting trail this offseason.

Four-star EDGE commit [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] is reportedly “working hard” to flip 5-star Florida defensive lineman commit [autotag]LJ McCray[/autotag] to the Tigers according to On3.

The Daytona Beach, Florida native McCray took a visit to the Plains after visiting Florida State last week, showing he is weighing his options heavily ahead of National Signing Day in February.

The 5-star recruit is a wrecking ball of an athlete. Standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing in around 260 pounds, McCray collected 17.5 tackles for loss in his senior season at Mainland High School in Daytona Beach.

His presence would be immediately felt on an Auburn interior defensive line that struggled to pressure the quarterback outside of [autotag]Marcus Harris[/autotag].

Waller took it one step further, describing how he and McCray would create “magic” on the same defensive front.

“I just want us to be on the same field together, man,” Waller said. “They can’t block both of us. It’s just magic what it could be.”

Whether the two highly-touted recruits would create magic remains to be seen, but Auburn’s staff will certainly be hoping to fill another hole with a flipped-5-star recruit.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and company did it just a few weeks ago with wide receiver [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag]. We’ll see if they capture strike lighting in a bottle twice by flipping McCray.

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Four-star defensive lineman LJ McCray to visit Auburn

He is one of Auburn’s top remaining targets in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

Auburn missed out on four-star defensive lineman [autotag]LJ McCray[/autotag] when he announced his commitment to the Florida Gators back in October but they have not stopped recruiting him.

That decision is paying off as he announced to a group of reporters on Thursday that he would be taking a visit to Auburn this weekend.

“Those guys have not faded since the commitment,” he said. “Coach (Jeremy) Garrett has been in there day one since I got the offer. I have a pretty good relationship with him.”

McCray is the No. 54 overall player and No. 10 defensive lineman in the 247Sports composite. The Daytona Beach native is also the No. 9 player from Florida.

Auburn’s 2024 recruiting class is nearly complete but McCray is one of several elite prospects that [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and Co. are trying to flip ahead of the early signing period. The Tigers have already pried four-star edge rusher [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] away from Florida and are also pursuing [autotag]Amaris Williams[/autotag], another four-star defensive lineman currently pledged to the Gators.

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Auburn remains determined to flip KJ Bolden from Florida State

It appears that Hugh Freeze is feeling lucky after flipping Cam Coleman from Texas A&M.

Last week, wide receivers coach [autotag]Marcus Davis[/autotag] visited Central High School in Phenix City to have a chat with five-star wide receiver Cam Coleman. The meeting went well, as Coleman flipped his commitment from Texas A&M to Auburn.

After the flip, it appears as if Hugh Freeze and his staff are feeling lucky as they continue to pursue five-star safety [autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag]. Freeze paid a visit to Bolden on Tuesday.

Bolden has been a popular target for Auburn, and they were in Bolden’s final five choices before he ultimately committed to Florida State on August 5. Despite his pledge to Florida State, Auburn has remained heavy in their pursuit of Bolden. Bolden visited Auburn during the weekend of the Georgia game and said that the atmosphere of Jordan-Hare Stadium “caught him off guard” but in a good way.

Now that early signing day is within eyesight, Freeze is making one final push to sway Bolden to the Plains. In a recent episode of The Inside Scoop from On3, Auburn Live’s Jeffrey Lee says that Auburn’s recent success of landing recruits such as Coleman and fellow five-star receiver [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag] has changed the way Bolden views Auburn.

“Now they’ve got both of those guys, they’ve got Joe Phillips, they’ve got Jamonta Waller, they just added Cam Coleman. And I really think that’s opened KJ’s eyes,” Lee said. “Like oh, it’s not just one or two guys. This class could end up being really, really good. So I think with his interest level before, and now some of these recruits jumping on board certainly has opened his eyes with renewed interest in Auburn.”

As it stands currently, Auburn has the No. 11 recruiting class according to both 247Sports and On3. Cam Coleman, Perry Thompson, [autotag]Demarcus Riddick[/autotag], and [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] headline the class that features two five-stars, and ten four-stars.

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2025 4-star TE Ryan Ghea commits to Auburn

Auburn has landed a recruit on three straight days.

For the third time this week, [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and Auburn football have landed a key recruit. This time it was 2025 four-star tight end [autotag]Ryan Ghea[/autotag], who announced his commitment Sunday afternoon on social media.

Originally planning to commit in February, Ghea has visited Auburn six times this season, including his most recent trip on Nov. 7 and decided to go ahead and announce his pledge earlier than planned.

He is Auburn’s third commit in the past three days. [autotag]Laquan Robinson[/autotag], the No. 1 JUCO safety, committed on Friday and four-star edge [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] flipped from Florida on Saturday after Auburn’s dominant win over Arkansas.

Ghea is from Alpharetta, Georgia and is Auburn’s sixth commit in the 2025 cycle, giving the Tigers the No. 5 class in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings.

He quickly became one of [autotag]Ben Aigamaua[/autotag]’s top targets in the cycle and the Tigers did not shy away from letting him know that.

“It means a lot to me. It means once again that I am a priority to them and they think that I can be a part of their program and make an impact,” Ghea told Auburn Undercover’s Christian Clemente. “I think he’s (Freeze) a great coach, great guy, great family man and he’s turning this program back to where it should be.”

He is the No. 308 overall player and No. 15 tight end in the 247Sports composite ranking. He is also the No. 35 player from Georgia.

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Florida football loses 4-star EDGE commit to Auburn after loss

The Florida Gators lost a pledge from four-star edge rusher Jamonta Waller (Picayune Memorial) on Saturday. He’ll play for Auburn in 2024.

The Florida Gators are primed to bring in a top-five recruiting class once the 2024 cycle is all said and done, but four-star edge rusher [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] won’t be a part of it.

Waller committed to the Orange and Blue back in June, but he’s now decided that a different shade of the colors suits him better. Waller will be an Auburn Tiger next season. He announced the flip on Saturday.

Auburn and Penn State were the two finalists that came up short five months ago, but the Tigers never stopped pushing for Waller and finally won out in the end. Two in-season visits helped seal the deal for Auburn, and Florida welcoming in a large edge class in 2024 likely played a factor as well.

Fortunately, Florida has five-star LJ McCray, four-star Amaris Williams and three-star Kendall Jackson joining the program. While some are listed as defensive linemen, they’ll likely play on the edge rather than the interior. Williams is still talking with Ohio State but he remains committed to Florida at the moment.

Florida fell one spot in 247Sports’ team rankings from No. 3 to No. 4 overall in the class of 2024. Bringing in a top-5 class will still be a huge win for the Gators, but the program can’t afford to lose any more blue-chip talent, especially to other SEC schools.

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Auburn flips elite pass rusher Jamonta Waller from Florida

Hugh Freeze and Co. have flipped yet another elite prospect.

Auburn was a finalist for four-star edge rusher [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] back in June when he committed to the Florida Gators and they never stopped recruiting the talented pass rusher after missing out.

That decision paid off on Saturday when he announced he was flipping his commitment from the Gators to the Tigers on social media.

While Auburn never stopped recruiting Waller, they made their move during the season after he visited the Plains to watch them play Georgia and Ole Miss. The visits allowed him to see just how [autotag] Ron Roberts[/autotag] would use him in his defense, where he projects to play the jack position and rush the passer.

Waller is the No. 75 overall player and the No. 6 edge in the 247Sports composite ranking. The Picuyuna product is also the No. 2 player from Mississippi.

He becomes Auburn’s third-highest-ranked commit, behind only five-star prospects [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag] and [autotag]Demarcus Riddick[/autotag]. He is Auburn’s second commit at edge, joining four-star [autotag]TJ Lindsey[/autotag].

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Blue-chip Gators DE commit makes ESPN’s top 5 prep highlights

Another future Gator was among the top five prep performers for ESPN.

Billy Napier has made monumental moves on the recruiting trail this year, catapulting his program into the upper echelon of collegiate gridiron destinations. Among the many highly-regarded recruits expected to join the team in 2024 is four-star defensive end [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag].

ESPN’s Blake Baumgartner put together his five top plays from the prep ranks last week and included a pair of Gators commits, with an appearance from him and his standout performance for Picayune (Mississippi) Memorial.

“If Billy Napier gets Florida back to competing for SEC titles, its defense might have to carry the weight,” Baumgartner begins. “And Waller, one of two five-star prospects in the Gators’ third-ranked class, along with QB DJ Lagway (Willis, Texas), will be a force to be dealt with by opposing offensive linemen.

“The Picayune Memorial High School (Mississippi) defensive end demonstrated why in a 42-7 win over Long Beach High School (Mississippi) on Friday,” he continued.

“Waller, who’s ranked No. 18 overall in the ESPN 300, had 39 tackles (23 solo) with 13 tackles for loss and seven sacks in the seven games he had played coming into the weekend.”

The Magnolia State product is rated at four stars and ranked No. 70 overall and No. 6 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking also rates him at four stars and has him at Nos. 78 and 7, respectively.

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