Four-star DL felt 'at home' with Auburn

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Auburn defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett made his way to Birmingham a couple weeks ago.

He was there to watch a practice. He left with an unexpected message from 2025 defensive lineman Jourdin Crawford.

"Go ahead and seal the deal," Crawford said.

The four-star Parker High standout publicly announced his commitment to Auburn via Twitter on Oct. 16, becoming the Tigers' fourth member of the 2025 class.

"It’s the coaches, they made me feel like I was at home," Crawford said. "Every time I went down there, every time I took a visit they made me feel like I was at home."

His relationship with Hugh Freeze is on a different level.

"We have a pretty good relationship," Crawford said. "It’s better than some of the other coaches that recruit me."

Crawford's been to Auburn three times this season — twice as an uncommitted prospect and most recently as a commit. His biggest takeaway from the game was how well the defense played in his eyes.

"It was pretty good," Crawford said of his game day visit. "[The defense] dominated how they usually do every time. They did pretty good, stopped the run a lot."

After his game day visit over the weekend wrapped up, it was time to get back to work.

Parker finished its regular season Thursday, hosting winless Huffman. While Crawford played only a short time in the 56-0 win, he still managed to add highlight to his 2023 .

He had a 19-yard pick six in the first quarter.

"It was my first pick six this season, I didn’t have one last season," Crawford said. "I’m not gonna lie, my hand’s a little swollen from practice the previous days. I almost dropped it, but I held on to it."

Crawford is rated as the No. 14 player in the state of Alabama and the No. 14 defensive tackle in the country. Recruiting can be a long process and did note that he'll continue to keep his eyes open.

"My recruitment is still open, so it’s not always over until it’s on paper," Crawford said.