WAR ROOM: Big Cat Weekend

The annual Auburn football recruiting event is taking place Saturday, in early April, as all of July is a dead period this year. There's a star-studded list of expected visitors, with some rolling in Friday, which means it's time for another AuburnSports.com WAR ROOM, presented by Allen Turner Toyota of Auburn.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

The timing of Big Cat Weekend is different than in previous years. Recruits still have their official visits to take this spring and summer, which could mean commitments at Big Cat are less prevalent than in years past.

COMMITS ARE COMING

Auburn is expected to see several of its commits return to campus: LB Shadarius Toodle, LB Jamichael Garrett, DE Hezekiah Harris, S Wayne Henry

FRIDAY ONLY

Two tight ends visited Friday only, as Kaiden Prothro and JC Anderson are both on campus.

Five teams are set to host Kaiden Prothro this spring, with Texas, Alabama and Georgia already having hosted him. Florida will get him on campus Saturday and North Carolina Sunday.

Read about his visit here.

JC Anderson is back on campus following a trip to Oxford, Miss., where he visited Ole Miss. He's got an official visit set up with Illinois for next weekend, one to Notre Dame for June 20-22 and one with Auburn for May 30-June 1.

Read about his visit here.

NUMBER ONE RUNNING BACK EXPECTED

Jackson's star running back, Ezavier Crowell, is set to make the trip as well. Crowell has an official visit set with Auburn for June 14-16, with officials also set with Georgia (May 30-June 1), Florida State (June 13-15) and Alabama (June 20-22).

This will be Crowell's first visit to Auburn since late January, with Florida, Alabama and Texas also getting him on campus in recent weeks.

TOP RECEIVER TARGETS RETURNING

Three big-time wide receivers will be on campus for Big Cat.

Five-star Cederian Morgan is expected, as an in-state battle between Auburn and Alabama could be brewing for the Alexander City standout. He was last on campus for the Junior Day in late January and has an official visit set up for June 13-15.

He also has officials set up with Colorado (May 9-11), Georgia (May 16-18), Clemson (May 30-June 1) Florida (June 6-8) and Alabama (June 20-22).

It's a quick turnaround for Marquez Daniel, who was here last weekend. Auburn is currently the only official visit he has set, for June 4-6. Other official visit spots include Florida and Tennessee, although those have not been set up yet.

LSU commit Tristen Keys is making a trip to the Plains following a relatively surprising commitment in March. He's still been rather open about making visits, with Texas A&M and Ole Miss getting him back on campus since his pledge to the Tigers.

This will be his first trip to Auburn since January.

BUILDING IN THE TRENCHES

Auburn is in a good spot with three offensive lineman coming in, and is the program to beat for one of them.

Parker Pritchett returns one week after his last visit, as the Tigers remain at the top of his list. Pritchett could be one to monitor for a possible commit, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him take all of his official visits before coming to a decision.

His official visit to Auburn is May 30-June 1.

Wilson Zierer visited Auburn at the beginning of March and the Tigers are anticipating his return this weekend. The younger brother of former Auburn offensive lineman Kilian Zierer, Wilson has an official visit set with the Tigers for May 30-June 1.

He's also looking at North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Pittsburgh.

It's a two-day visit for Dalton Toothman, who arrived on campus Friday and is set to enjoy a weekend on the Plains. He was last on campus in early March and plans to return May 16-18 for an official visit, the first of several.

He has plans to officially visit Clemson May 30-June 1, Mississippi State is set for June 13-15 and Baylor June 20-22.

TIGHT END ON COMMIT WATCH

Xavier Tiller could be worth keeping an eye out for a potential decision, as Auburn has been a long-term favorite of his before he committed to Texas A&M. Tiller announced he was backing off his Texas A&M pledge in February and was last on Auburn's campus a couple weeks ago, with an official visit set up for June 6-8.

OTHER SEC COMMITS EXPECTED

Auburn will get Oklahoma quarterback commit Jaden O'Neal on campus this weekend, his first visit to the Plains. The Tigers are still without a quarterback commit in the 2026 class, but the chances of O'Neal being that quarterback appear to be slim for now.

Tennessee commit Tyson Bacon will be on campus, and his recruitment is far from over. Pledging to the Volunteers in last October, Bacon has four other official visits set up.

The Hoover, Ala., native will take an official visit to Washington (May 2-4), Alabama (May 30-June 1), USC (June 6-8), Florida (June 13-15) and Tennessee (June 20-22).

We'll see if the Tigers make a jump this weekend to get an official visit.

Auburn continues to stay in the mix for Alabama cornerback commit Zyan Gibson, who made a pledge to the Crimson Tide on Christmas Eve 2024.

Tennessee and Ole Miss are some other programs rumored to be making a run at Gibson.

Another Alabama commit, Jamarion Matthews, arrived in Auburn Friday afternoon for his weekend visit to the Plains. He's been committed to Alabama for a couple of months now, but Auburn, Clemson and Florida State continue working on him.

DEFENSIVE BIG DOGS

Four major defensive lineman are expected to make the trip, with Bryce Perry-Wright the top-rated player out of the group.

Auburn will get the first official visit from Perry-Wright May 16-18, with officials also set to Clemson (May 30-June 1), Georgia (June 6-8), Texas (June 13-15) and Texas A&M (June 20-22).

Four-star Earnest Rankins is set to return to Auburn for the first time since late January, as the Tigers stay in the fight with some other SEC programs. Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee are thought to be other major contenders in this one.

Alabama is becoming a popular visit spot for Kamhariyan Johnson, who's visited there twice already and has an official visit set up. Auburn gets him on campus this weekend ahead of his official visit in June, which is set for June 10-12.

Other programs getting him on an official visit include Clemson (May 30-June 1), Alabama (June 6-8), USC (June 13-15), Ole Miss (June 16-18) and Miami (June 20-22)

Once an Alabama commit, Vodney Cleveland has expressed serious interest in Auburn, along with five other programs as he's trimmed his list to six. North Carolina, Miami, Georgia, Florida and Texas are the other five that Cleveland's considering.

He made trips to North Carolina, Georgia and Miami last month and will be back on Auburn's campus for the first time since January this weekend.

LET IN THE LINEBACKERS

Adam Balogoun-Ali arrived in Auburn Friday for the weekend, as the linebacker from West Palm Beach, Fla., is rapidly climbing Auburn's board. He was offered by the Tigers in January, and made stops to North Carolina, Missouri and Miami last month.

In-state linebacker Jaquez Wilkes is expected to make the trip this weekend. Other contenders in this one include Miami, Texas A&M, Florida State, Georgia and Alabama.

OTHER ELITE DEFENDERS

Five-star safety Jireh Edwards has Texas A&M sitting at the top of his board right now, but Auburn continues to battle and has connections to St. Frances. Other programs battling it out for the No. 16 player in the country include Oregon, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

Visiting in late January, Trenton Henderson is expected to return this weekend for the first time since the Tigers had their Junior Day. Lots of places have hosted him lately, including a trip to Michigan that certainly impressed him, but one to LSU as well.

He has official visits set up with Auburn (May 16-18), Vanderbilt, Alabama, Florida and Florida State

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE

Not only will Auburn had plenty of guys from the 2026 class on campus, but there will be some of the top targets from the 2027 class in town as well.

Here's who's expected to visit: