Five-star Derrek Cooper visited Auburn last weekend.

His first game day visit spoke volumes.

The No. 7 overall player in the 2026 class traveled to Auburn from Hollywood, Fla., with teammate and Auburn wide receiver commit Denairius Gray, along with former Auburn running back Shaun Shivers, who's one of Cooper's coaches at Chaminade-Madonna.

"The experience was so surreal," Cooper said. "Every first down the crowd was just hype, everything was so loud I could barely think. It was just so loud, I loved the crowd tonight."

Listed as an athlete, Cooper is being recruited by Auburn as both a running back and a safety. He doesn't have a preference, just whichever one gets him to the next level. He's already working to build a relationship with head coach Hugh Freeze and running backs coach Derrick Nix.

"I want to build a relationship with both of them...it’s building," Cooper said. "They’re keeping up with me, contacting me still, wanting me to come down here for a game. The fans show a lot of love on Twitter or X."

Auburn nearly came up with an upset over No. 21 Oklahoma Saturday, but the Tigers' fourth-quarter collapse handed them their third loss. Cooper gave his thoughts on the game.

"They looked solid [Saturday], but Oklahoma’s a great team," Cooper said. "It was a good game."

The former Auburn running back, Shivers, serves as Cooper's position coach on offense for Chaminade Madonna. Famously known for knocking the helmet off an Alabama defender during a touchdown run in the 2019 Iron Bowl, Shivers knows all about Auburn.

"Says it’s a family here," Cooper said of what Shivers tells him. "The fans are family, everything is family."

One of Cooper's teammates has already committed to that family in the 2026 class — the previously mentioned Gray.

"He loves Auburn, he wants me to come here too with him," Cooper said.

As for some other visits, Cooper knows he's going to Athens in November for the Tennessee-Georgia game, but isn't ruling out a possible return to Auburn before the end of the fall.

"I’ll come back here," Cooper said. "I like the fans."