Next up: Auburn recruiting

AUBURN | Auburn picked up three important commitments last week. And they’re just getting started.

With eight total commitments in the 2024 class, the Tigers have plenty of room to add more talented high school players and should be expanding their class as early as this week.

Here’s a look at the most likely candidates to be next up in Auburn’s recruiting class…

House said he plans to have a decision this week upon leaving his official visit to Auburn Sunday. He listed five finalists but the decision is expected to come down to the Tigers and Ole Miss. He visited the Rebels a couple of days before AU. His recruitment has been on the fast track at Auburn, picking up an offer at an OL/DL camp a couple of weeks ago. House said AU felt like home during his visit and the odds are in AU’s favor to land the big, athletic offensive lineman in the next couple of days. AU likes House as a right tackle or guard.

House could be AU’s first offensive line commit in the ’24 class and Blocton could follow as the first defensive lineman when he announces his decision on July 8. Blocton has made numerous trips to Auburn including last Thursday and is the younger brother of AU senior defensive lineman Marcus Harris. He plans to choose between Auburn and Texas with the Tigers considered the team to beat. Like his brother, Blocton could project as a defensive tackle or end on the next level.

Barber is an interesting case. He’s visited Auburn on a number of occasions including for a 7-on-7 camp a couple of weeks ago where he named AU his leader. However, he officially visited Georgia Tech a couple of weeks ago and will be at Arkansas for an official this weekend. He’s not expecting to officially visit Auburn until this fall. Barber is hoping to have a decision by the end of June. He could play Mike or Will linebacker at AU.

Simmons officially visited Auburn and Clemson the first week of June and plans to close out the June visit period with an official to Arkansas this weekend. Florida State, Texas and Ole Miss are also in the mix. One advantage for AU is linebackers coach Josh Aldridge, who played for Simmons’ father, Paul, at Harding University. Simmons plans to have a decision before the start of his senior season.

Crawford has completed officials to Florida, Auburn and LSU with a final trip to North Carolina scheduled for this weekend. He hopes to have a decision on July 4. This could come down to an AU-LSU battle, which is probably too close to call at the moment. Auburn’s Zac Etheridge has won a lot of key recruiting battles for talented defensive backs and Crawford would be another huge one if he can land him. Crawford could play cornerback or nickel at AU.