Auburn, Freeze Down to Just Five Recruits as Free Fall is Setting In

The Auburn Tigers have had a summer to forget as it pertains to recruiting. Despite constant promises of good recruiting, head coach Hugh Freeze and company have lost three blue-chip recruits in just the last two weeks, falling to the 87th-overall rank with just five commits, according to 247Sports.

It all began on June 12, when target prospect JaMichael Garrett announced his decommitment. Garrett, a four-star linebacker, has yet to decide on another school to attend– but he’s certainly not convinced that Auburn is the place for him. Though not the best thing ever for Freeze and company, this decommittment wasn’t the end of the world– until 10 days later.

Tiger fans watched a similar player to Garrett, in a similar situation, make his decision, but four-star linebacker Shadarius Toodle didn’t decommit – he flipped to the Georgia Bulldogs. This one has to have stung for Auburn recruitment, but they didn’t get time to dwell on it.

Just the next day, Devin Carter joined Toodle and Garrett on the bus out of Auburn. Why? Well, he’d flipped his commitment to Florida State, where his father once played.

Carter’s flip hurts perhaps the most of all– yet, ironically, may have been the least avoidable. Carter was outspoken about his love for the team, the coaching staff and Auburn as a whole, insistent that he’d found his home.

Experts weren’t convinced, though, and predictions for Carter to abandon the Tigers began to run rampant. Again, Carter was adamant- “I’m locked in,” he said. “Same as I was months ago when I committed.”

Even after his most recent FSU visit– likely the one where his mind was changed– Carter told Auburn Rivals that he “felt good” after his June Florida State visit, but “Auburn was home after [he] left the visit, and it’s still home.”

So, why? Most speculation simply states that he wanted to play where his father did. Personally, I buy that to an extent, but I think FSU also rolled out the red carpet for him. Or, on the other end, perhaps Carter planned on Auburn, but was convinced by his father, completely independent of any school’s recruiting.

One thing is for sure- Auburn’s recruiting needs serious work. The Tigers are down to just five commits, four of which are three-stars (shoutout four-star edge rusher Hezekiah Harris for being the exception), good for, once again, 87th in the country.

For Hugh Freeze, who’s put up top ten recruiting classes in his last two years, something needs to change. AL.com’s Peter Rauterkus speculates that it has more to do with what happens on the field, and less to do with the recruiting itself.

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