6.8.24 Football Articles

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

Auburn football adds four-star LB to official visitor list

Taylor Jones

~2 minutes

Auburn football’s important recruiting weekend just became more interesting.

This weekend’s list of visitors includes Alabama commits Derick Smith and Antonio Coleman, as well as priority wide receiver Travis Smith Jr. Hugh Freeze was surprised Thursday as four-star linebacker Christian Jones changed gears by scheduling his official visit to Auburn instead of his previous plans of visiting USC.

This weekend’s visit to Auburn will be the first for Jones, as he has not been a major blip on Auburn’s radar to this point. However, his relationship with newly hired defensive coordinator DJ Durkin has carried over from his time at Texas A&M. He looks forward to growing the bond this weekend on the Plains.

“Continuing to build a relationship with Coach Durkin because he recruited me when he was at A&M,” Jones said in a recent interview with On3’s Steve Wiltfong. “And I liked the way he coaches and his defensive structure.”

Nebraska is the team to beat currently for Jones according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine. The Cornhuskers have two crystal ball predictions from 247Sports in favor of landing the Omaha product as well.

Jones is the top recruit from Nebraska according to 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals. The four-star linebacker ranks as high as No. 7 at his position in the 2025 class, and is the nation’s No. 58 overall recruit according to Rivals.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

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si.com

Auburn Tigers Add 4-Star Cornerback Commitment from Tennessee

Scott Kennedy

~2 minutes

The Auburn Tigers jumped into the top-10 in 247Sports team recruiting rankings after adding a commitment from 4-star cornerback Donovan Starr of Ravenwood High School (Brentwood, Tenn.).

"You want to ultimately go where people want you and where you’re a priority, so that sticks out to me a lot about Auburn," Starr said according to Caleb Jones of Rivals.

Starr is the No. 27 cornerback prospect in the country according to 247Sports. His commitment elevates the Tigers to No. 9 overall. He reported offers from the likes of Michigan, Clemson, Florida, and Tennessee among others.

He is Auburn's 12th commitment for the Class of 2025, their eighth 4-star or better prospect. The Tigers are going heavy on defense early in the process. Of their top-eight commitments, six of them are on the defensive side of the ball including 5-star defensive lineman Malik Autry from nearby Opelika, Ala.

Auburn is definitely looking to re-load the defensive backfield. Starr joins Devin Williams of Buford, Ga., and Dante Core of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. as cornerbacks committed to the Tigers in the Class of 2025.

The 5'11.5" and 175 pounds Starr has excellent speed. He has a100-meter track time of a blazing 10.56.

Commitments can fluctuate from week to week with recruiting, but Starr said he thinks he's done with the process. He had visits planned to several other schools including Tennessee, but those probably won't happen.

“Probably not,” Starr told On3's Jeffrey Lee. “I probably won’t take anymore visits. I’m locked in.”

Donovan Starr Junior Highlights

In other recruiting news, Auburn is expected to host 2026 4-star quarterback Helaman Casuga this weekend. Making the trip from Utah, he's expected to visit both Auburn and Alabama.

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athlonsports.com

Where Auburn's 2025 Recruiting Class Ranks Following The Commitment Of Broderick Shull

Lance Dawe

~2 minutes

The Auburn Tigers' 2025 class is already looking very solid.

Hugh Freeze & Co. just landed an elite offensive tackle in 4-star Broderick Shull. According to On3, he's Auburn's best commitment in their 2025 recruiting class.

Here's where major recruiting sites have the Tigers' ranked following Shull's commitment:

247Sports

- No. 9 Nationally

- No. 5 SEC

- Avg. class score: 91.06

On3

- No. 9 nationally

- No. 4 in the SEC

- Avg. class score: 91.84

Rivals

- No. 11 nationally

- No. 5 SEC

- Avg. class score: 3.62

Shull is listed at 6-foot-5, 275 pounds. He is from Bixby, Oklahoma. On3 has Shull ranked as the fifth-best offensive lineman in the class and the 19th overall player in the class. He is ranked as a top 10 player in Oklahoma by every recruiting service.

Auburn has really made an impact on the offensive line with their 2025 recruiting efforts. Shull joins a class with fellow offensive linemen Tavaris Dice, Tai Buster, Carde Smith, and Spencer Dowland.

Auburn is also making a push for five-star offensive lineman Andrew Babalola in this class. he and Shull have a relationship and it could help Auburn's chances with getting another big man upfront. 

The Tigers' 2025 average class score actually went down following Shull's commitment because of how low 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals have him ranked in their player rating systems. The composite score of Shull helps the score from dropping more, but On3 seems to be ahead of the curve here. Expect his rating to rise on other recruiting sites as they update in the summer.

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auburntigers.com

On The Plains with Jayson Jones: ‘Consistent and reliable’

Auburn University Athletics

6–8 minutes

AUBURN, Ala. – Defensive tackle Jayson Jones might not have spent his entire collegiate football career on the Plains, but he’s well on his way to leaving his mark with the program as he enters his final season with the Tigers.

Jones, a native of Calera, Alabama, started his collegiate career at the University of Oregon, playing in 13 games in 2021 on the defensive line. He recorded 19 tackles and two sacks with the Ducks before making the decision to transfer. Jones admitted that was far from an easy decision, but he also says that he knows he made the right choice in choosing the Plains as his final collegiate destination.

“Auburn was close to home, but really it was the people that made me want to come,” Jones said. “The fans have all been so kind and welcoming. When people say, ‘If you love Auburn, it will love you back,’ they are not lying. It is true.”

His interest in football began at an early age and has consistently grown throughout his career. At the age of 5, he first stepped onto a field and competed.

“My dad asked me if I wanted to play football and I had nothing else to do so I thought sure, why not?” Jones said. “I picked it back up when I was in middle school and haven’t stopped playing since.”

Jones credits his long-lasting desire to play football to the competitive nature of the sport, the ability to grow as a team, and the satisfaction he gets from his performance on the field.

As a player for head coach Trey Simpson at Calera High School, he was a four-year letterman and a team captain. His performance also earned him a top 10 recruiting ranking in the state of Alabama.

 

Since joining the Tigers, Jones has made a mark in his two seasons as a consistent presence on the defensive line. He has played in every game since joining the team and has enjoyed each one.

A frequent starter at nose tackle in his 25 games with the Tigers, Jones has 48 total tackles to his credit over the past two seasons. A looming presence to the opposing offensive line, his love for the game has consistently grown.

“I love to go out there on defense and just hit people,” Jones said with a laugh. “I also just love the competitiveness and the teamwork you have to build and how you have to really trust the people beside you.”

Like a majority of Auburn football players, Jones not only has a bias toward Jordan-Hare Stadium as one of the best atmospheres in college football, but he has really enjoyed playing in front of the home crowd at night.

“Everyone should get the chance to experience a night game in Jordan-Hare,” Jones said. “I will never forget the night game against Texas A&M during the 2022 season. We had a losing record 3-5 at the time, but the fans all showed up and supported us throughout the whole game to help us get the win. I will not forget the atmosphere in the stadium that night.”

I want to be known as consistent and reliable. I hope my teammates say that if there was anything inside or outside of football that I needed, I could go to him with my problems.

Defensive Lineman Jayson Jones

After two full seasons on the Plains, Jones has had plenty of time to get accustomed to being part of the Auburn program and building bonds with his teammates and the coaching staff. But this upcoming season is the season he is most excited for personally. He speaks highly of his relationship with the coaching staff and players, especially the newly promoted defensive tackles coach Vontrell King-Williams.

“I think I have a good relationship with everybody on the team,” Jones said. “Especially Coach (Hugh) Freeze and Coach Vontrell. I talk to those guys a lot. Vontrell has really been a people’s person, so I am happy he got the job.”

Jones has a lot of confidence in the ability and the unity of the team this year following spring practices, and his expectations certainly reflect that. He wants fans to know that this team is ready to win.

“Really, we just want to win games,” Jones said. “I want to win an SEC championship and go off to the playoffs and win it all there. That’s my main focus. For this team, though, I want us all to come together and be ‘for one and for everyone.’ [During spring practices] we saw the whole defensive line play really well together, not just individually. The freshmen really found out what the thing is all about.”

As for his personal goals, Jones wants to prove that he can be one of the best defensive linemen in the country and is optimistic that this is the season he can do it.

“I want to be known as consistent and reliable,” he said. “I hope my teammates say that if there was anything inside or outside of football that I needed, I could go to him with my problems. That’s the type of team we want and the type of teammate I want to be.”

Jones’ collegiate career may be approaching an end, but he is confident his success on and off the field will continue. As a marketing major at Auburn in the Harbert College of Business, Jones has found success in the classroom as well and is scheduled to graduate in December.

“We dedicate a lot of time to football while on campus, but we have people around us to support us away from the field,” Jones said. “Whatever you put in, you will get out of your studies, and I’m looking forward to furthering my career in that area.”

But before he begins a career off the field, Jones has aspirations to take on a career in the National Football League.

As he prepares to play one final season with the Tigers beginning August 31 with Kickoff on the Plains against Alabama A&M, Jones has one piece of advice for younger players.

“Go to a place that is good for you,” Jones said. “The Auburn Family really means a lot, and I love this city. I wish I could stay here forever.” 

 

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247sports.com

Auburn lands commitment from 4star OT Broderick Shull

Christian Clemente

4–5 minutes

It's June on the Plains, and that means the heaviest couple months of the recruiting calendar have arrived.

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some of these are dated from the sixth but they were just posted on tigerland.they are not as food as they used to be. i just did not want you guys to think it was because i was high.

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more camp high lights from a different angle.