Bama commit back on campus

"I still have relationships with Coach (Marcus) Davis, Coach (Derrick) Nix, Coach (Hugh) Freeze," Cunningham said. "I was just coming back to show them love. They’ve been wanting me to come back, they’re making sure I don’t leave them out yet because they’re still recruiting me hard. I just wanted to come check them out."

Auburn started out SEC play with a 24-14 loss to Arkansas, where Cunningham saw the Tigers commit five turnovers on offense.

"I didn’t see what I wanted to see," Cunningham said. "The quarterbacks, they didn’t really know who they should have put in at quarterback. Receivers, they played pretty good. They had some pretty good plays and things like that. They have a lot of things to work on."

One of the things Auburn is working on is landing a quarterback in the 2025 class. Primary target Deuce Knight was back on campus Saturday, as the Tigers continue pushing for a flip from the Notre Dame commit. If Knight were to flip to Auburn, it could prove beneficial to the Tigers' chances.

"It probably would (help)," Cunningham said. "He is on me telling me I need to come to Auburn. He’s really interested in Auburn."

The quarterback situation is a big deal to Cunningham. It always has been.

"That’s why I didn’t really choose Auburn, because they didn’t have a quarterback committed in my class," Cunningham said. "Alabama, they had a quarterback that’s committed, Keelon Russell, he’s a great quarterback."

Cunningham will return to Alabama next weekend, but isn't ruling out a possible return to Auburn.

"They don’t want me to give up," Cunningham said. "They were telling me I could come play freshman year. They were saying they’ll play me early. I’ll be on the field early, they don’t care about you being a freshman. If you come in and work and show that you can do what you do, they’ll play you. That’s what I really like about them, they’ll play their freshman a lot. Cam (Coleman) played a lot, Malcolm (Simmons), guys like that. They really were telling the truth about that."

Cunningham remains firm in his commitment to the Crimson Tide, but will still keep his ear open as Auburn continues to push for him. When it comes to shutting his recruitment down and making a final decision, there are a few things that are most important.

"The love and trust, and really like, quarterback," Cunningham said. "The relationship, continuing to have a great relationship, seeing if they’re still gonna be the same, that they won’t change and the energy they have for me."