A-Train flips to Auburn

An elite recruit is staying in his home state.

Alvin Henderson has flipped his commitment to Auburn.

Following a two-month pledge to Penn State, the four-star running back out of Elba, Ala., announced he was flipping his commitment Friday. It's the result of a continued pursuit by head coach Hugh Freeze and running backs coach Derrick Nix for the nation's No. 36 overall player.

"I was gone for a few months, but I’m locked in," Henderson told AuburnSports.com. "I’m 100% locked in, I’m home."

Henderson had originally committed to Penn State in early April, but Freeze and Nix never once let up.

"They stayed in contact everyday after I committed to Penn State," Henderson said. "I talked to them everyday. The opportunity that they displayed to me not just on the field, but off the field, too. Especially with them coming off the 2024 class with the receivers, I could come there, a dude that he could develop and I’ve got an opportunity to come there and play early."

With over 70 offers across the country, Henderson had been recruited by programs since 2021. He's seen the coaching carousel make its rounds for plenty of programs, including Auburn, but one thing holds true about Freeze — Henderson's been a priority from the beginning.

"My relationship with Coach Freeze is like no other," Henderson said. "Ever since Coach Freeze got there, it’s been constant communication, not with just me, but with my family as well. It’s just been different, because at most schools, you talk to your position coach most of the time. Even when you want to talk to the head coach, you got to go through his assistants. Coach Freeze just hits me up on the daily, calling me, texting me. It doesn’t matter if I’m calling him, it doesn't matter what he’s doing, he’s gonna automatically pick up."

Even as a Penn State commit, Freeze continued calling Henderson, but the topic of conversation wasn't always about his recruitment.

"We just call, we just talk, we don’t even talk about me coming to Auburn," Henderson said. "That’s one of the things that really stuck out to me. After I committed (to Penn State), he talked to me and was asking me what led to my decision. His question to me was ‘What can we do better?’"

When Nix was brought on this offseason to fill the running backs coach and offensive coordinator vacancy, Freeze told Nix that Henderson was a huge priority on day one. Not long after the announcement was made that Nix was joining the staff, Nix got in contact with Henderson.

"I saw the thing on Twitter drop, he texted me, hit me up and our relationship has grown," Henderson said. "The connection with me and him is I have younger siblings, he has younger children, so I feel like when my family is around him, it’s just an instant connection. It’s locked in, and not just on the field, but off the field, too...This whole recruiting process, these last six months, he’s shown me why I was his No. 1 priority."

With his commitment, Auburn makes a massive leap in the Rivals recruiting rankings, jumping from No. 12 in the country to the No. 5 recruiting class. He's the 16th member of the Tigers 2025 recruiting class and the highest rated commit.

Henderson will be back in Auburn next month for Big Cat Weekend, as he now works to recruit others to the Plains.

"I feel like me committing, it will be a no-brainer for them," Henderson said. "I will be able to pull them in. Be able to get them to come to Auburn."