AUBURN — The good news started rolling in bright and early on Wednesday morning for Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers as they signed the No. 6 class on Early National Signing Day.
“Good day for us. I’ve been very clear since my arrival that I thought it would take three top-10 classes to overhaul our roster to where it's apples-to-apples with the elite in the country,” Freeze said.
Now in his third recruiting class with the Tigers, his second full class after having just a few weeks to finish out the 2023 class when he was hired, the importance of stacking recruiting classes is as big as anything when you have to compete in one of the toughest leagues in college football, and Freeze is doing just that as the Tigers try to close the gap with the some of strongest teams in the country.
“It’s impossible to do what we want to do and not have these types of classes. I just think it’d be impossible and that’s the way I feel,” Freeze said. “We were able to hold on to some really dang good players, but to get where we want to get, you have to have similar recruiting classes to the elite.”
Freeze and his staff did a remarkable job of attacking the state of Alabama this cycle, signing eight out of the top 10 guys in the Yellowhammer State, something that was a priority for Freeze when he arrived on the Plains.
“Just to keep those, it was priority number one,” Freeze said. “I was clear with my staff how I saw recruiting and kind of how I saw it geographically when we got here, and it starts in this state. And this year was a success, for sure.”
You can almost take your pick at which position groups headline the class, whether it’s highly-touted quarterback Duece Knight or safeties Anquon Fegans and Eric Winters, but two position groups the Tigers have lacked top-end talent at are defensive and offensive line. And to win in the SEC, it starts in the trenches.
“Malik (Autry), Antonio (Coleman), Jordan (Crawford), Darien (Smith) and Jared (Smith) was a combination of him (Vontrell King-Williams) and Josh (Aldridge), but that’s a pretty dang good haul for a high school defensive line class. Really excited about all of them and they’re all a little different.”
Auburn signed four offensive linemen—although it lost its highest-rated player at the position last week to Florida in Tavaris Dice—and consistently signing top-rated offensive line groups is something the Tigers have struggled with in recent history.
“Huge,” Freeze said on the offensive line haul. “Last year we signed very few and I think that’s probably the hardest position to know if you’re right on and it’s just very difficult because they have the hardest assignment in the world blocking the best d-lines in the country. I’m really excited about the four guys that we signed.”
Here are the Tigers' newest additions:
All rankings come from 247 Sports recruiting rankings
5-star signees:
EDGE Jared Thompson
Thompson signed with the Tigers over South Carolina and Ole Miss after making his initial commitment in August. He is the second-ranked edge in the 2025 class and comes in as the No. 2 player in the state of Alabama and the No. 25 overall player in the class out of Thompson High School.
DL Malik Autry
Autry makes his way to the Plains after becoming the Tigers’ first commitment back in February of 2023. Auburn had to fight off the likes of Florida and Ohio State down the stretch for the highly-touted defensive lineman.
Autry is the No. 3 player in the state of Alabama, No. 5 defensive lineman and No. 31 overall player in the class of 2025 out of Opelika High School.
4-star signees:
QB Duece Knight
Knight, formerly committed to Notre Dame, flipped his commitment to Auburn in October and the Tigers fought off Ole Miss to the very end to secure Knight’s signature.
Knight comes in as the No. 2 player in the state of Georgia, No. 6 quarterback and No. 52 overall player in the class out of George County High School.
S Anquon Fegans
Auburn received the commitment of the ball-hawking safety Anquon “Newboy” Fegans back in July. Over the course of his high school career, Fegans has totaled 23 interceptions and is fighting for another state title in the Alabama 7A State Championship on Wednesday night.
Fegans comes in as the No. 4 player in the state of Alabama, No. 6 safety, and No. 79 overall player in the class out of Thompson High School.
S Eric Winters
Auburn received the commitment of Winters in June after fighting off Georgia to win his initial pledge.
Winters is the No. 5 player in the state of Alabama, the No. 7 safety, and the No. 89 overall player in the class out of Enterprise High School.
EDGE Jakaleb Faulk
The little brother of Auburn’s star defensive lineman Keldric Faulk, committed to Auburn in August of 2023.
He comes in as the No. 6 player in the state of Alabama, the No. 7 edge, and the No. 96 overall player in the class out of Highland Home High School.
DL Jourdin Crawford
Crawford committed to the Tigers in October of 2023 over LSU, Alabama and other suitors. He comes in as the No. 8 player in the state of Alabama, No. 13 defensive lineman and No. 100 overall player in the the class out of Parker High School.
WR Derick Smith
Smith was originally committed to Alabama before Auburn came in and swept him off his feet. He comes in as the No. 9 player in the state of Alabama, No. 5 athlete and No. 126 overall player in the class out of Southside High School.
CB Donovan Starr
Starr committed to the Tigers just two days after his official visit in June and became one of the Tigers most-prized recruits after losing out to Oregon for five-star Naheem Offord earlier in the day.
Starr comes in as the No. 1 player in the state of Tennessee, No. 16 cornerback and the No. 129 overall player in the class out of Ravenwood High School.
DL Antonio Coleman
Easily the craziest recruitment for the Tigers in the 2025 class, Coleman flipped from Alabama to Auburn, back to Alabama and then back to Auburn once more before putting pen to paper.
Coleman comes in as No. 10 overall player in the state of Alabama, No. 9 defensive lineman and No. 143 overall player in the class out of Saraland High School.
DB Blake Woodby
Once committed to Ohio State, Wooby backed off that pledge and committed to the Tigers in July.
Woodby comes in as the No. 5 player in the state of Maryland, the No. 18 cornerback, and the No. 156 player overall in the class out of St. Frances Academy High School.
RB Alvin Henderson
After initially committing to Penn State in April, Henderson flipped to the Tigers in July and hasn’t wavered since, becoming one of the Tigers’ biggest recruiters in this cycle.
Henderson comes in as the No. 12 player in the state of Alabama, the No. 9 running back, and the No. 191 overall player in the class out of Elba High School – where he became the state’s all-time leading rusher.
TE Hollis Davidson
Rarely do you see a former commit back off his pledge and end up back in the class, but that is what happened with Davidson. After committing to the Tigers earlier in the spring, he backed off his commitment only to join back in July.
Davidson is the No. 29 player in the state of Georgia, the No. 12 tight end and the No. 204 overall player in the McIntosh High School class.
LB Bryce Deas
Deas committed to the Tigers over the summer just one day after the Tigers officially offered him.
Deas comes in as the No. 11 player in the state of Maryland and the No.35 linebacker in the class out of St. Frances Academy High School.
3-star signees
LB Elijah Melendez
Auburn received the commitment of Melendez after he flipped from Miami when the Tigers hosted New Mexico.
Melendez comes in as the No. 45 player in the state of Florida and the No. 45 linebacker in the class out of Osceola High School.
DL Darrion Smith
The lone flip for the Tigers on signing day, Auburn got Smith to flip from Tennessee just one day after losing the commitment of four-star defensive lineman Nathanial Marshall.
Smith comes in as the No. 15 player in the state of Maryland and the No. 46 defensive lineman in the class out of St. Frances Academy High School.
OL Broderick Shull
Auburn received the commitment of Shull in June shortly after his official visit.
He comes in as the No. 9 player in Oklahoma and the No. 34 offensive lineman in the class out of Bixby High School.
WR Sam Turner
Once committed to Georgia Tech, Auburn flipped Turner after a couple of visits during the season.
Turner comes in as the No. 64 player in the state of Georgia and No. 34 wide receiver in the class out of Southwest DeKalb High School.
TE Ryan Ghea
Ghea committed to the Tigers in November of 2023 and never visited another school after his commitment.
He comes in as the No. 70 player in the state of Georgia and the No. 34 tight end in the class out of Milton High School.
DB Devin Williams
With an impressive offer list of schools such as Alabama, Texas, Arizona State, and Arkansas, Williams committed to the Tigers back in February.
Williams comes in as the No. 69 player in the state of Georgia and the No. 53 overall cornerback in the class out of Buford High School.
OL Kail Ellis
Initially a commitment in the 2026 class, Ellis reclassified earlier in the fall and will now join the 2025 class.
Ellis comes in as the No. 93 player in the state of Georgia and the No. 58 offensive lineman in the class out of Cass High School.
OL Tai Buster
Buster flew under the radar a bit and committed to the Tigers in March shortly after taking an unofficial visit.
Buster comes in as the No. 21 player in the North Carolina and the No. 60 offensive lineman out of A L Brown High School.
OL Jacobe Ward
Ward committed to the Tigers in July and racked up an impressive offer list from schools such as LSU, Tennessee and Alabama.
Ward comes in as the No. 138 player in the state of Georgia and the No. 95 offensive lineman in the class out of Benedictine Military High School.
WR Eric Smith
The twin brother of Deric Smith, Eric committed to the Tigers in November over Alabama.
Eric comes in as the No. 67 player in Alabama and the No. 249 wide receiver in the class out of Southside High School.
P John Alan McGuire
Mcguire comes in as a potential replacement for Oscar Chapman after committing to the Tigers in July.
McGuire comes in as the No. 111 player in the state of Alabama and the No. 5 overall punter out of Thompson High School.
Auburn will turn its attention to the transfer portal to fill the rest of its voids, which opens on December 9.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email logan.fowler@1819News.com.
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