THE WAR ROOM
What Hugh Freeze did with the 2023 class and transfer portal in such a short amount of time was remarkable.
Now there's a new class on the horizon — the class of 2024 — and Freeze has a chance to start fresh, rather than play catch up.
Right now, it's looking like Auburn is generating all kinds of interest from recruits. The Tigers are set to host what should be a sizable junior day this weekend, which means it's time for the AuburnSports.com WAR ROOM presented by Lynch Toyota of Auburn.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
This will be the first big high school recruiting weekend under Freeze and it's already topped the expected attendance from last year's junior day under the previous staff.
Not only are the Tigers getting recruits on campus, they're getting some of the best ones to visit. That's one big step in the right direction.
Let's review some of the biggest names that are expected to attend this weekend.
Freeze visited Chilton County High the other week, checking in with current Georgia commit Demarcus Riddick. Whatever the conversation was, it was enough to convince Riddick to at least give Auburn a look over.
One of the top players in the nation, Riddick has been committed to Georgia since November. He grew up a Georgia fan and Kirby Smart's defensive mindset solidified his decision, which could prove difficult for Auburn to have a chance.
Another SEC commit within the Rivals 100 slated to visit this weekend is LSU commit Zion Ferguson. It's a similar situation to Riddick when it comes to his active recruitment.
The four-star cornerback out of Loganville, Ga., committed to LSU in September had LSU listed as his "dream school."
Freeze will try to wiggle his way back into the conversation with Ferguson, who committed to LSU while Freeze was still at Liberty and Auburn wasn't even a thought at the moment.
Getting Ferguson on campus with plenty of time left on the table is important.
Running back coach Carnell Williams has found success in recent years getting some of the Tigers' top prospects at the position to come to the Plains. One of the leading guys that Auburn has targeted for a while is Andalusia's J'Marion Burnette.
Burnette visited Auburn multiple times throughout the season and has the Tigers in his top schools. Others include Tennessee, Michigan, Penn State, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Oregon, Arkansas and Florida State.
This weekend will be Travaris Banks' third trip to Auburn and second junior day. He'll get an opportunity to compare the changes in Auburn over the last year, as his visits have been spread out typically with months in between.
He's had a busy January and Auburn is the final destination for his tour. It began in San Antonio for the National Combine and had stops at Florida, Florida State and Tennessee.
Jayden Lewis is one of several talented players coming out of Anniston, Ala., and is one of the top defensive players in the state. He's made multiple trips to Auburn in the past and the Tigers seem to be in good standing with him, mostly due to his relationship with Zac Etheridge.
The last time Lewis was on campus, which was for the Texas A&M game in November, Etheridge spent one-on-one time with the Rivals250 cornerback.
Rated as one of the top players in the state and nation for the 2024 class, an important conversation could happen this weekend for Ronnie Royal. The four-star all-purpose back doesn't currently have an offer from Auburn, but that could change this weekend.
Royal is coming off an impressive junior season, where he rushed for 1,147 yards, recorded 876 yards receiving and scored a total of 32 touchdowns for Gulf Shores.
One of several talented receivers out of St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Chance Robinson was re-offered by Auburn earlier this month. His offer list is up to 25 schools and with good reason.
He's rated as the No. 20 receiver in the nation and ranks within the top 150 players nationally. Robinson has picked up offers from Florida, Alabama and Michigan all within the last two weeks.
Freeze visited John Wayne Oliver in Nashville last week, offering the 6-foot-5 offensive lineman. It meant a lot that Freeze traveled in person to see him, and in return, Oliver is planning to visit Auburn for the first time.
He's been to campus for a camp, but this will be Oliver's first opportunity to check out more of what Auburn has to offer. He's already somewhat familiar with Freeze — he recruited Oliver while at Liberty.
When Isaia Faga committed to Utah in early December, it was his only offer. He's since picked up a few more, including Auburn, which he's showing some interest in with his visit. His mother's first cousin is on the coaching staff at Utah, where he remains firm in his commitment, but Faga has his eyes open.
He wants to enjoy his recruitment process.
Joseph Phillips is a local kid from Tuskegee, Ala., that the new staff re-offered at the beginning of the month. It's a good thing the Tigers did, too, because since then a ton of SEC schools have shown interest.
He's picked up offers from Florida, Arkansas, Missouri, South Carolina and Ole Miss just in the last week alone.
While at Liberty, linebackers coach Josh Aldridge spent time recruiting Devin Smith out of Brunswick, Georgia. With Aldridge transitioning to Auburn, so have his recruiting efforts for Smith.
Smith picked up the Auburn offer about a month ago and began planning his visit almost immediately. He's already seen a plethora of SEC schools like Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina and Georgia.
Saturday's visit to Auburn will be his first.
Auburn was the school that Kaleb Harris grew up watching.
One of the first actions at the beginning of the month for Freeze's staff was to re-offer Harris. He feels that the re-offer signifies Zac Etheridge's faith in him as a player, which means a lot to Harris.
He doesn't plan to narrow down schools until late summer, but Auburn is already sitting in a spot to likely be one of those top schools.
Auburn is currently the No. 2 school for JacQawn McRoy, but a good visit this weekend could propel the Tigers to the top spot.
Right now, Arkansas is the school the beat, as Sam Pittman is a huge part of McRoy's interest in the Razorbacks. He visited Fayetteville earlier this month, along with Alabama, and Auburn will be his final SEC stop of the month.
The younger brother of 2023 Arkansas signee TJ Metcalf, Tevis Metcalf is wrapping up a three-week stretch of visits.
He's spent the last two weekends at Arkansas and Mississippi State and will finish at Auburn. Zac Etheridge offered Metcalf last fall during his visit to Auburn for the Western Kentucky game.
It was his fifth offer at the time and came at somewhat as a surprise to the 5-foot-10 athlete. The list has since nearly tripled, as he now sits at 13 offers. Auburn is one of the schools he's hearing from the most, along with Mississippi State, Arkansas and Marshall.
This weekend will be the third visit to Auburn for Chase Malamala, an offensive lineman out of North Palm Beach, Florida. His offer list consists of four schools: Temple, Auburn, Florida Atlantic and Toledo.
With Auburn the first and only Power 5 school to offer him at the moment, the 6-foot-6 lineman is getting more familiar with the program every visit.
Auburn's lone commit for the 2024 class will be on campus this weekend. A'Mon Lane committed to Auburn six months ago and has stayed firm throughout the coaching change.
This will be his first trip to Auburn since Freeze took over the program.
UNDERCLASSMEN TO WATCH
It's difficult to look past some of the underclassmen that are visiting this weekend, with some of the top players nationally taking a trip.
We'll start with Anquon Fegans, who's rated as the No. 9 player in the 2025 class and has five-star potential. Auburn is one of several offers he's picked up this month, along with Ole Miss, Colorado, Penn State, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Kentucky and Florida State.
The 6-foot cornerback is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after players in his class and the Tigers have to feel good about getting him on campus early-on in his recruitment.
Another player with five-star potential that's visiting this weekend is defensive end Zion Grady. He's rated as the No. 12 player in the class and a local of Troy, Alabama.
Grady camped at Auburn last summer and after an impressive showing, picked up the offer.
Auburn only offered Elyiss Williams a couple days ago and the Tigers are set to host the massive defensive end this weekend.
Everyday seems to bring a new offer for the No. 49 player in the 2025 class, who's offer list is gaining traction and creeping close to 15 programs.
Anthony Rogers will make the trip down I-85 to visit Auburn Saturday.
He's a talented running back out of Pike Road, Ala., whose nickname is "Turbo" and is already being recruited by close to 30 schools.
Rogers visited Florida last weekend and picked up offers from Missouri and Kansas earlier this week.
Just cracking the Rivals 100 is offensive guard Cortez Smith, who was offered by Auburn late last week. He's already picked up offers from several SEC schools including Arkansas, Georgia, LSU, South Carolina and Tennessee.
He visited Georgia last week.
Anniston's defense doesn't get much weaker when you look at some of the rising juniors, including Grayshaun Swain. The 6-foot-3 outside linebacker visited Auburn last summer for a camp and was one of the standouts among the underclassmen.
His offer list is hovering around 10 schools for now, with Auburn, Kentucky, Louisville, Mississippi State, Penn State, South Carolina and Tennessee among the notable offers.
Normally, it's hard to tell how well a rising freshman is gonna progress as a recruit.
However, 2027 quarterback Trent Seaborn already proved that he's gonna be one of the top names going forward. As an eighth grader, Seaborn led Thompson to its fourth consecutive Class 7A state title and won MVP honors.
It became a national storyline and the offers started rolling in for Seaborn. Auburn hasn't offered him yet, but will be his second SEC visit of the year. Seaborn visited Ole Miss last weekend.