Hot Board: Offense
Auburn spring football is over.
The Tigers concluded their spring schedule with A-Day over the weekend, signaling the end of what's been a busy couple of months of work.
On the other hand, it's now time for an important stage of recruiting. The spring transfer portal window opens April 15, recruits are starting to schedule official visits and commitment dates are being set.
Let's set a hot board with some of the Tigers' top high school targets, beginning with the offense.
QUARTERBACK
Needs: 1
Commits: 0
Targets (3): Husan Longstreet (50%), KJ Lacey (30%), Julian Lewis (15%)
The Skinny: Auburn has three quarterbacks high on its board and is looking to take one in the 2025 class.
Longstreet has a commitment date set for April 14 and this appears to be a head-to-head battle between Auburn and Texas A&M down the stretch. There's confidence from both sides, but it sounds like it's fairly even.
One thing Auburn has going for itself is that the Tigers hosted Longstreet on an official visit over the weekend and rolled out the red carpet for him once again.
Texas commit KJ Lacey returned for a spring practice last week, as Auburn continues to stay in touch. Alabama doesn't talk to Lacey anymore and the only other programs posing a threat are Ole Miss and Oregon.
If the Tigers don't land Longstreet, expect the push for Lacey to heat up, although his only scheduled official visit is for Texas June 21-23.
The top-rated player in the nation, Lewis, has been on Auburn's campus several times this year.
With Lewis' talent, it's a no-brainer that plenty of schools are still staying in contact with the USC commit. Georgia appears to be the biggest threat to flip Lewis, although the Bulldogs' just added a top QB to their 2026 class, so their interest in a 2025 QB could start to diminish.
Colorado could be another program to keep an eye on in this one, but Lewis still remains committed to the Trojans.
RUNNING BACK
Needs: 2
Commits: None
Targets: Alvin Henderson (50%), Shekai Mills-Knight (35%), Ousmane Kromah (30%), Daune Morris (20%), Anthony Rogers (15%), Jasper Parker (15%), Akylin Dear (10%)
The Skinny: There are two spots up for grabs in Auburn's 2025 class for running backs. It's clear-cut that the No. 1 target is Henderson, who's set to commit Thursday.
Henderson's recruitment has become a complex one, where Auburn — which was once considered a heavy favorite — is now locked in a battle that's too close to call for a final prediction.
An announcement will come at 12 p.m. CST, as Henderson will commit at his school in Elba, Ala., during a ceremony.
Auburn appears to also be making a push for a larger running back. Two targets that fit this type include Shekai Mills-Knight and Ousmane Kromah.
Auburn sits high with both, but Georgia appears to making a strong push for Kromah, while it seems that Mills-Knight could be a little more wide open at the moment. Regardless, the two bigger backs are on the board and could fill a different type of role with their size, which has been Auburn's selling point.
Auburn likes the Murfreesboro, Tenn., running back Duane Morris, but things just got more complicated. The four-star committed to USC over the weekend.
Battling a commitment elsewhere can be difficult, as is also the case with Alabama commit Anthony Rogers, but this staff has proved before that it can flip major targets, so we'll see how it plays out.
Other names down the list include Jasper Parker, who visited this spring but I believe some other names are higher on Auburn's board, and Akylin Dear, who committed to Ole Miss at the end of March, which was fairly unsurprising.
WIDE RECEIVER
Needs: 3-4
Commits: None
Targets: CJ Wiley (40%), Travis Smith (25%) Caleb Cunningham (20%), Derick Smith (20%), Cortez Mills (20%)
The Skinny: Auburn loaded its 2024 class with four talented wide receivers and are looking to do it again in 2025. There are five names that I'm tracking the most right now, with some others that could surface if the big names don't go in Auburn's favor.
Wiley, who just officially visited and is teammates with commit Ryan Ghea, could be the most likely at the moment. Georgia is probably the biggest threat other than Auburn, as the Bulldogs try to keep Wiley in-state.
Auburn also hosted Smith on a spring visit and the Tigers seem to be sitting in the mix with three other SEC programs. Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama are the other three programs to watch in this one.
He's set up official visits to all four, with Auburn hosting him June 7-9.
Plenty of schools are going after Cunningham, the No. 20 player in the country and top recruit out of Mississippi. He had a busy spring and visited Auburn March 30, where he saw a practice ahead of Auburn's A-Day game and came away impressed with the energy.
Cunningham is taking his time with his recruitment and could have a late decision, but Mississippi State is considered to be the most likely destination at the moment.
When Alabama landed several commits back in early March, Smith was part of that group. Auburn continues to pursue him and it would't be shocking to see Smith back on campus at some point this summer or this fall.
South Florida wideout Cortez Mills made his first trip to Auburn this spring and the communication with Marcus Davis is something he holds in high regard. However, his hometown program Miami is making a strong push and it could be a difficult pull to get Mills out of his home state.
He's got official visits set up with Clemson, Florida, Nebraska and Miami for June, with a decision timeline tentatively set for the end of summer.
TIGHT END
Needs: 2-3
Commits (2): Ryan Ghea and Hollis Davidson
Targets: Aaron Ia (40%), Kaleb Edwards (30%), Kiotti Armstrong (20%), Cameron Sparks (15%), Elyiss Williams (10%), Linkon Cure (5%), Andrew Olesh (5%)
The Skinny: One spot remains in Auburn's 2025 tight end class, as the Tigers already have commits from a couple of four-stars from Georgia. Even if Auburn doesn't get a third tight end in the class, they'll seek one out in the transfer portal.
However, several tight ends visited this spring and the Tigers appear to be in a decent spot with a couple of California kids. Aaron Ia set up an official visit for the fall during his spring visit, which is the latest official visit he has scheduled.
He's set one up with Arizona State for April 26 and one with Washington mid-June as well, but Ia could be a name to monitor if he makes it for his official Sept. 28.
Edwards is another California tight end that made his first trip to Auburn this spring, his first trip to any SEC school to be exact. Auburn "set the bar" for the rest of his visits, as Edwards has a busy summer upcoming.
Official visits to Washington, Texas and Oregon are all set up, which could make it difficult to get him away from the west coast.
Armstrong, who did not visit this spring, has set an official visit for early summer with Auburn. Following his official visit, we'll learn more about where Auburn truly stands and what kind of chance the Tigers have.
However, they're facing tough regional competition for the Jasper, Texas, native, who hears a lot from Texas, Texas A&M and LSU.
Tennessee has been hard on Cameron Sparks since the beginning of his recruitment, and even though Auburn's in the top six, I consider it a tall task to pull the Chattanooga native away from his home state at this point in time.
He last visited the Plains in January, and without a spring visit, I don't like Auburn's chances at the moment.
Auburn is still pursuing Georgia commit Elyiss Williams, because why not shoot for the top with two commits?
Williams is a tough pull, though, seeing that he's from Kingsland, Ga., and has been committed to the Bulldogs for over a year.
The No. 3 tight end in the country, Linkon Cure, is someone that Auburn has high on its board but didn't host over the spring. Right now, things are looking like Cure will stick with somewhere in the midwest or possibly west coast.
He's planning official visits to Kansas, Kansas State, Texas A&M and Oregon, with Penn State also a possibility.
Olesh visited Auburn this spring, as the Tigers look to position themselves into the top eight that he plans to release April 15. There's a decent chance that the Tigers make the group, Olesh said after the visit, but so will plenty of other SEC schools it seems.
Not to mention that Penn State is also primed to make the final cut and could be the most likely landing spot of the Pennsylvania native.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Needs: 6-8
Commits (4): Spencer Dowland, Tavaris Dice, Tai Buster and Carde Smith
Targets: Jacobe Ward (90%), Broderick Shull (60%), Mal Waldrep (45%), Dontrell Glover (35%), Andrew Babalola (25%) Josh Petty (15%)
The Skinny: Auburn added Carde Smith as the fourth offensive lineman in the class Wednesday, but the Tigers are still looking to add two more.
I believe the Tigers have put themselves in prime position to land Jacobe Ward. His spring visit went incredible and Auburn impressed him significantly, as he named AU his leader and noted that it would be tough for another program to take that spot.
South Carolina, Tennessee and LSU are other programs to keep an eye on for Ward.
Broderick Shull had Auburn and Texas Tech at the top of his list following his spring visit to the Plains, with both securing an official visit from him.
However, a recent visit to Kansas State has the Wildcats back in the mix, with Texas A&M, Illinois and Nebraska also expected to host him in the coming weeks. This recruitment is expected to continue into October, which is when Shull would like to have a decision.
Three programs are sticking out the most to Waldrep — Auburn, Alabama and Clemson. It's been that way for some time, but Florida and Tennessee are also working to sneak their way in the mix.
Auburn's done a nice job of keeping in constant contact with the Phenix City, Ala., lineman, who now has a couple of former teammates at Auburn in Cam Coleman and Dylan Gentry. Once Waldrep takes all his official visits in the summer, he's hoping to have a decision.
The former Alabama commit Glover took a spring visit with his teammate Tavaris Dice for A-Day. He's hoping to set up an official visit with Auburn for late May, with Georgia, Florida State and Tennessee also getting attention.
He's set to have an announcement July 1, once he wraps up all official visits, but Auburn's communication is what has the Tigers sitting in that group of finalists for Glover.
Auburn was one of plenty schools to host Babalola this spring, as the highly coveted lineman out of Kansas appears fairly open to all regions of the country. It's still early in this one, as Babalola plans to map out an official visit schedule this summer once he wraps up all unofficial visits.
Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Texas A&M, USC and Stanford are other programs possibly in line for an official visit.
Petty visited Auburn for the first time in quite a while this spring, and following that visit, it's now a place he'll take a serious look at an official visit. It seems that Petty is taking his time right now and still feeling some programs out, but once Petty gets his official visits in order, his recruitment will become more clear.