AUBURN — The Auburn University football recruiting campaign has begun.
The Tigers were once ranked No. 4 in the country, according to 247Sports' team rankings, but fell to No. 15 in the wake of what coach Hugh Freeze recently called a “lull.” Auburn hasn't received an admission from a freshman since offensive lineman Jacob Ward announced on July 6, nor has it received an admission from a four-star prospect since running back Alvin Henderson transferred from Penn State on June 21.
Head coach Hugh Freeze is hoping the arrival of Big Cat Weekend on Saturday will signal a turnaround.
“We expect Big Cat to come back,” Freeze said at SEC Media Day. “We never run away from the fight for the players we want. I don't think so. We're not going to win every battle, but we're fighting the right battles. Big Cat, hopefully we can convince a few more players to come with us.”
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Big Cat Weekend is Auburn's premier offseason recruiting event. It's a tradition that began under former coach Gene Chizik and has continued under coaches Gus Malzahn, Bryan Harsin and now Freeze. The goal of Big Cat is to bring as many high-caliber recruits to campus as possible and make their stay as enjoyable as possible.
Momentum is important when it comes to recruiting, and if the Big Cat plays it right, it could help the Tigers climb back up the rankings.
Take last year, for example.
Auburn came into the weekend celebration with just one committed receiver, speedster Bryce Cain. Malcolm Simmons made his first pop shot, and Perry Thompson transferred from Alabama later that day, giving Auburn two additional receivers. All three are now on campus and have teamed up with five-star recruit Cam Coleman to form a team nicknamed the “Freeze Four.”
Could the Tigers be able to get another boost with Freese's second big cat? It certainly is possible.
With dozens of promising students set to be on campus, Auburn University is almost certainly making plans for how to deploy the admissions it receives. Freeze and his staff have shown they know how to play the game and manipulate the news cycle, so we expect at least two public admissions announcements to be made during the weekend or shortly thereafter.
There are three big names to keep an eye on. The first is four-star safety Anquon Fegans. His acceptance date is July 29th, so having him on campus now with his announcement date fast approaching is a good sign. His Thompson High School teammate is four-star edge rusher Jared Smith, who was recently projected to attend Auburn University by Steve Wiltfong of On3 Sports. Smith's acceptance date is August 3rd.
Four-star cornerback Blake Woodby is another player to watch. Woodby hasn't announced a specific date for making his pledge public, but he has narrowed his list of top choices to Auburn, Maryland and Oregon.
As for connections to consider, Fegans has a brother in Antwan Fegans who is currently enrolled at Auburn University, and Woodby has a teammate at St. Francis Academy in Baltimore in three-star money back Bryce Dees, who is now committed to the Tigers.
Fegans, Smith and Woodby are all top 100 recruits for the Class of 2025. Their national rankings are 44th, 57th and 100th, respectively, according to the 247Sports Composite. If Auburn were to land all three and everything else in the country remains the same, the Tigers would have 19 freshmen in the class of 2025 and rocket to sixth in the country with a team score of 267.48.
For reference, Auburn finished the 2024 cycle ranked 10th in the nation with 18 commitments and a team score of 275.39. It was a big recruiting class with 15 freshmen rated as four-star or better prospects. If the Tigers add Fegans, Smith and Woodby, they'll have 13 four-star freshmen committed.
Recruiting is always going to have natural ups and downs, and in order to help Auburn finish as highly ranked as possible, Freese and his staff will do everything they can to make Big Cat Weekend a positive moment leading up to signing day.
Richard Silva is an Auburn University sports reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached by email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter X (formerly @rich_silva18).
