Tag: Jared Smith

Auburn target Jared Smith sets commitment date

Alabama’s No. 2 prospect from the 2025 class will announce his commitment a few days after visiting Auburn for Big Cat Weekend.

The Auburn coaching staff has done a wonderful job this recruiting cycle by securing the commitment of their home state’s top talent. Auburn’s commitment list includes four of Alabama’s top-10 recruits from the 2025 cycle and six commits overall from the state’s top-40 players.

In Vegas, it is hard to walk away from the table when your luck is good, which is why Auburn is continuing to make a push to land more of the state’s best prospects.

[autotag]Jared Smith[/autotag], the state’s No. 2 recruit from the 2025 cycle from Thompson High School in Alabaster, announced this week that he will announce his commitment on Aug. 3, ahead of the high school football season. Auburn remains in contention to land his commitment, alongside South Carolina, Georgia, Ole Miss, Florida State, and USC.

Smith took a brief visit to the Plains ahead of the recruiting dead period, where he ran into 2025 Auburn commit [autotag]Jourdin Crawford[/autotag]. Smith told Christian Clemente of Auburn Undercover that Crawford is recruiting Smith just as hard as the Auburn coaching staff.

“It was a huge opportunity for me to get down here today just to get a feel for the players who might come to Auburn,” Smith said in an interview with 247Sports. “Jourdin Crawford was here, and just talking with him about how this place could change with just a few people that could commit.”

According to On3, the battle for Smith is between Auburn and South Carolina. The good news for Auburn is that Smith will commit just after visiting Auburn for Big Cat Weekend. Last season, five-star wide receiver [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag] flipped his pledge from Alabama to Auburn during the weekend event, could a potential commitment from Smith be the most notable headline from this year’s Big Cat Weekend?

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Four-star safety Eric Winters commits to Auburn

Alabama’s No. 5 overall recruit from the 2025 recruiting cycle commits to Auburn on his official visit.

Auburn target [autotag]Eric Winters[/autotag] is one of 12 recruits on campus for official visits this weekend. Speculation of a commitment to Auburn began to rise as soon as he stepped on campus, as recruiting analysts from multiple outlets projected Auburn to land Winters before the weekend ended.

Turns out, speculations were true as Winters announced his commitment to [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and the Tigers on Saturday afternoon.

Winters, a four-star safety from Enterprise, Alabama, says that his relationship with Freeze led to his pledge to Auburn.

“(Freeze) is a big part of why I committed to Auburn,” Winters said after announcing his commitment to Auburn. “He loves his players, he is a family guy and we built a great relationship. Coach Freeze is doing big things at Auburn and he made me feel like a priority and made me feel comfortable.”

Auburn has always been near the top of the list for Winters, but they needed to make a giant stride this weekend in order to create separation between themselves, Georgia, and Miami. Between Freeze and the “home” atmosphere of Auburn University, the chose became simple for Winters.

Now, he wants several of the state’s top recruits to join him on the Plains.

“I am already working guys. It starts with my teammate [autotag]Zion Grady[/autotag]. I am going after [autotag]Alvin Henderson[/autotag], [autotag]Julian Lewis[/autotag], [autotag]KJ Lacey[/autotag] and some others,” Winters said. “Coach Freeze has this group of defensive players in Alabama he wants called the Super 7. Guys like [autotag]Jared Smith[/autotag], [autotag]Anquon Fegans[/autotag], [autotag]Naeem Offord[/autotag], and Zion are guys that haven’t committed yet. I will be on all of those guys.”

Winters is the No. 5 recruit from Alabama for the 2025 cycle, and is the fourth top-10 player from Alabama to pledge to Auburn. The 6-2, 200-pound safety ranks No. 5 overall at his position, and is the No. 53 overall recruit for the cycle. By landing Winters, Auburn now ranks No. 6 in 247Sports’ class of 2025 recruiting rankings.

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5-star 2025 EDGE rusher gives Gators perfect score after visit

The Gators already made a great impression on one of the biggest recruits in the 2025 cycle.

Florida football’s recruiting efforts have switched gears after the passing of national signing day for the 2023 cycle, and now [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and Co. turn their attention to the next classes in an effort to restore glory to the Orange and Blue.

Among those on the Gators’ radar is five-star EDGE rusher [autotag]Jared Smith[/autotag] out of Birmingham (Alabama) Spain Park, who recently paid a visit to the Swamp and came away very impressed. The 6-foot-6-inch, 230-pound recruit attended the program’s Junior Day last weekend and offered the following to Swamp247’s Blake Alderman his first face-to-face with the Gators’ staff.

“I was wondering about things like how the scheme works, how I would fit in, but I loved it as soon as I got down here. The people, the atmosphere, they care about academics more than being on the field. Those were some of the things I loved the most. I got to tour the campus, buildings, stadiums. The stadium was nice. They have a really nice field and locker room.

“On a scale of 1-to-10 I think the visit was a 10. I just like the people, just the coaches. The coaches really stood out. How they are all really connected, and how connected they are with your teachers and tutors. They are on you about your grades. With Coach Napier, we had a long discussion about the Hawkins Center where the tutors are. He got done telling me how they are top five in the country as far as academics. That’s great.”

Spearheading the young student-athlete’s recruitment is outside linebackers coach [autotag]Mike Peterson[/autotag], who has been the main point of contact and has spent significant time with Smith.

“Coach Peterson keeps it straightforward and he’s a really good man.”

Smith is rated at five stars and ranked No. 4 overall and No. 1 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 consensus rates him as a four-star recruit and has him at Nos. 5 and 2, respectively. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Georgia Bulldogs out in front for his services with a 40.4% chance of landing him, while the Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers and Gators follow at 18.5%, 15.9% and 13.2%, respectively.

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Alabama extends offer to in-state, 2025 EDGE Jared Smith

2025 edge rusher Jared Smith is one of the highest-rated recruits in the 2025 cycle up to this point. He recently received an offer from Alabama.

Alabama’s coaching staff extended an offer to 2025 edge rusher Jared Smith on Monday. Smith plays for Spain Park High School in Hoover, Alabama.

Up to this point, Smith has received over a dozen offers from programs across the country. Georgia is the favorite to land Smith at 40.4% likelihood, according to On3’s RPM.

247Sports’ Andrew Ivins projects Smith to be a starter at the power-five level upon entering college. His sheer size at 6-foot-6, 230 pounds is eye-catching. He has two years of high school remaining and has more time to grow.

It will be interesting to see if Alabama can keep one of the nation’s best edge rushers close to home.

Roll Tide Wire breaks down Jared Smith’s recruiting profile.

Florida hosting a ton of blue-chip talent in final January recruiting weekend

The Gators are hosting one final recruiting weekend before the February dead period goes into effect.

The college football recruiting dead period begins on Monday and lasts all the way through February, so Florida is closing out January by hosting a ton of blue-chip recruits on Saturday for the final Junior Day of the month.

Several prospects have confirmed their plans to attend the event, and it’s safe to say that this is the biggest recruiting weekend of the month for the program. To make that even more clear, five-star quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] will be in town to help recruit for his future school.

Perhaps the biggest name in town not under commitment will be five-star running back [autotag]Jerrick Gibson[/autotag], who is ranked No. 11 overall in the class of 2024 on the On3 consensus and No. 10 on the 247Sports composite. Florida is an attractive landing spot for any running back with Billy Napier at the helm, and landing the top back in the class would be huge for the Gators.

On defense, linebacker/edge rusher [autotag]Adarius Hayes[/autotag] might be the top name set to visit at No. 55 overall on the On3 consensus. Lagway will be in his ear this weekend, and Hayes is already sweet on Florida. He won’t be the only top-100 defender in town, though. Florida State defensive back commit [autotag]Jordan Pride[/autotag] (No. 80) and undecided edge rusher [autotag]KingJoseph Edwards[/autotag] (No. 37) are also planning on visiting the Swamp this weekend.

A slew of four-star recruits from the class of 2024 will be in town as well. Linebacker [autotag]Qua Birdsong[/autotag] (No. 157), offensive tackle [autotag]Blake Frazier[/autotag] (No. 273), athlete [autotag]Lawayne McCoy[/autotag] (No. 298) and safety [autotag]Zavier Mincey[/autotag] (No. 333) are slated to stop by. Offensive tackle [autotag]Barry Walker[/autotag] (No. 383), defensive linemen [autotag]Dimitry Nicolas[/autotag] (No. 355) and [autotag]LJ McCray[/autotag] (No. 401) and offensive tackle [autotag]Nyier Daniels[/autotag] (No. 541) round out the three-stars on the On3 consensus visiting, and more could join as the day goes on.

Interior offensive lineman [autotag]Santana Alo-Tupuola[/autotag] and safety [autotag]Semaj Jackson[/autotag] are three-star recruits by 247Sports’ individual measure but have no On3 consensus ranking yet. Jackson is ranked No. 679 overall on the 247Sports composite.

Finally, from the class of 2025, quarterback Tramel Jones, wide receiver Koby Howard (Sunday), defensive lineman Myron Charles, edge rushers [autotag]Jared Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Dylon Worthen[/autotag] and safety [autotag]Ethan Prichard[/autotag] are expected in town.

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Auburn offers in-state edge rusher Jared Smith

Auburn has entered the mix for in-state edge rusher Jared Smith.

Auburn is looking to enter the mix early for edge rusher Jared Smith.

Smith is from Hoover, Alabama, and a member of the 2025 recruiting class. Despite his age, Smith already has an impressive frame at 6-feet-6 and 230 pounds.

Smith is not yet rated by any of the recruiting sites but that is to be expected with a 2025 prospect. His offer list shows what type of recruit he has the chance to become. In addition to Auburn, Miami, UAB, West Virginia, Troy, and Kentucky have also offered him a scholarship.

It is certainly tough to project so far into the future, but Smith certainly has the frame needed to play defensive line in the SEC. He will be a prospect to monitor as he continues to fill out his frame.

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