AUBURN | Joseph Phillips chose Auburn over Georgia in June. The Tigers flipped Demarcus Riddick from the Bulldogs just over a month later.
Those two high-profile prospects were huge early pieces of Auburn’s top 10 2024 class, which included one of the nation’s best groups of linebackers.
“I thought Joseph and Riddick really helped kick-start that,” said AU coach Hugh Freeze.
The Tigers inked a total of five linebackers last Wednesday including Phillips from Booker T. Washington in Tuskegee, Ala., Riddick from Chilton County in Clanton, Ala., D’Angelo Barber from Clay-Chalkville (Ala.) High, Jamonta Waller from Picayune (Miss.) Memorial High and Dorian Mausi Jr., a Duke transfer.
Phillips, 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds, had 130 tackles, 28 tackles-for-loss, seven sacks, 20 quarterback hurries and five forced fumbles as a senior. He could play one of the two inside linebacker positions (Mike or Will) at Auburn or Jack, which is used primarily as a pass rusher.
“His best football is ahead of him. He’s got tremendous upside,” said AU linebacker coach Josh Aldridge. “He’s the type of kid that’s going to get better every single day as his body grows, as he learns more about the game.
“And he’s just so versatile. He’s going to be able to do a ton of things for us in our defense. I think Auburn fans should be excited because it will be hard to keep him off the field.
Riddick, 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, had 92 tackles, 12 tackles-for-loss, three sacks and one interception as a senior. He’s a good fit as a Will (weakside) linebacker.
“He’s got an infectious personality that brings a lot of energy out of people,” said Aldridge. “You can see it in the look in his eyes that he wants to please those around him. He doesn’t want to let people down. I think he’ll add a lot of value from the time he gets here.”
Barber, 6-foot and 230 pounds, had 152 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception as a senior. He projects as a Mike (middle) linebacker.
“Auburn fans should be excited because he brings an old-school, Mike linebacker mentality,” said Aldridge. “He’s going to remind you of some of the linebackers of old at Auburn: Takeo Spike, Deshaun Davis. Those guys in the middle, that’s what he’s going to remind you of. I’m really excited about DJ and his journey here at Auburn.”
Waller was another key pickup for Auburn, flipping from Florida in November. The 6-foot-2 and 235-pounder had 69 tackles, 22 tackles-for-loss, nine sacks, two forced fumbles and a blocked punt as a senior.
Waller will play Jack linebacker.
“He’s a dynamic football player,” said AU defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, who also coaches the Jacks. “He’s a guy on third down that can get after it and rush the passer but he’s an every-down guy. He’s very physical, a heavy-handed kid.
“The thing that I probably enjoyed the most was watching him practice. He just practices everyday with all the intangibles that you’re looking for in a football player and he’s going to bring those here. He’s very detailed and just wanting to get better at everything he did.”
Mausi, 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, played in 44 games including 27 starts in four years at Duke. In 10 games as a senior, he had 61 tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss, 0.5 sacks and one interception.
“Mature, played a lot of football, solid, smart, understands fits,” said Freeze. “Should give you a heavier Mike ‘backer, 240ish, that we really don't have a build quite like that. I'm so excited to get his maturity there. I think that gives us some flexibility with he and Austin (Keys) at the Mike.”
Signing Mausi and Barber at Mike, and returning Eugene Asante at Will could free up senior Cam Riley to potentially play Jack. Riley played mainly Mike and Will last season.
“Maybe move Cam to a Jack where we can rush the passer a little better,” said Freeze. “Cam needs to be a part of it. I don't know if it's at Will or Jack. But gives us some flexibility along with those young guys to bring along.”
Phillips, Riddick and Barber joined the team for bowl practice. Waller and Mausi will enroll in January and go through winter workouts and spring drills.
