Hugh Freeze and his staff have been on the recruiting trail as they try to salvage an Auburn recruiting class that has been near the bottom of the SEC for most of the season. According to the 247Sports database, Auburn is up to No. 13 in the conference and in the top-50 nationally after three commitments over the past few days.
Auburn earned commits on Sunday from cornerback Colton Hood and offensive lineman Tyler Johnson, as well as offensive lineman Connor Lew on Tuesday. All three commits were previously committed to other programs before choosing the Tigers.
Colton Hood is a three-star cornerback who recommitted from Michigan State on Saturday before signing with Auburn on Sunday.
"I wanted to go to Auburn since I was a little kid since my pops went there and played football," Hood said in an interview with 247Sports. "My uncle played football there, my cousin actually played with Coach Etheridge there."
Hood is a legacy Auburn commit, with his father Bengie Hood, his brother Ben Hood, his cousin D'Antoine Hood and his uncle Roderick Hood all playing for the Tigers. Roderick Hood went on to play eight seasons in the NFL.
According to 247 Sports, Hood is the No. 606 player in the class of 2023. He is the No. 65 cornerback and the No. 56 player in the state of Georgia. This is Auburn's third defensive back commitment and a big one for secondary coach Zach Etheridge, who was retained by Hugh Freeze.
On the same day, Auburn secured a key piece to the future of the Hugh Freeze offense with offensive lineman Tyler Johnson flipping from Texas Tech to the Plains. Johnson made the commitment less than 24 hours after receiving the offer.
As the No. 59 offensive tackle in the 2023 class as well as the No. 29 player in Louisiana, Johnson joins fellow offensive lineman Clay Wedin and Bradyn Joiner in the Tigers' 2023 class. The trio are a big answer for a staff that will inherit a much maligned offensive line that will lose a lot of its talent going into the 2023 season.
Two days after the commitments from Hood and Johnson, Freeze secured another flip in the form of Auburn's fourth offensive line commit, Connor Lew.
Lew, a three-star that was originally committed to Miami, is the No. 40 interior lineman in the class as well as the No. 50 player in Georgia, according to 247Sports Composite.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about life after college and life after football, and after careful consideration and discussion with my family, I have decided to make some changes more closely aligned with my long-term objectives,” Lew said in a Twitter post.
With Lew joining Hood and Johnson, Auburn's class ranking jumped 13 spots in three days, as recruiting season and transfer portal season is in full swing.
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