Freeze Recovering Fast, Auburn Predicted to Land 4-Star Prospect

Auburn Tigers fans seemed to share a collective groan with the news that Shadarious Toodle, a four-star linebacker who’d been committed to the program for nearly a year, announced he’d be flipping to Georgia.

“If you want to be the best,” Toodle said, “why not play with the best?”

While fans were dealing with this loss, though, Coach Freeze and company went into the lab, emerging just hours later with a prediction to land yet another four-star defensive prospect – Jaquez Wilkes.

Wilkes is a 6-foot-4, 218-pound edge rusher from Wadley, Ala. He’s shown interest in Texas A&M, Miami, Alabama, Arkansas, and, of course, Auburn. As the sixth-ranked recruit in Alabama, Wilkes has been subject to much examination over his high school years.

This started as early as Wilkes’ freshman and sophomore years, as 247Sports’ Greg Biggins had the opportunity to see a young Wilkes get some work in.

[“He’s] a dominant two-way player who has been very productive,” he said. “Has the physical traits to really excel at the position. Has some pop to him at the point of attack defensively - can run down plays from behind and shows a lot of range defensively… Definitely an intriguing player and his combination of frame, athleticism and playmaking ability will make him among the most heavily recruited players in the ’26 class.”

Then, just a month ago, 247Sports’ Cooper Petagna also had the chance to take a good look at Wilkes, though Petagna notes a specific aspect that could prove to be an issue for the potential future Tiger.

Petagna describes Wilkes as a “Two-way prospect that utilizes his combination of size, speed and athleticism to dominate lower-level competition on both sides of the ball… primarily positioned as an off-ball linebacker in an odd front where he appears to be the most effective creating havoc on opposing offenses.”

“Although productive as a second-level defender,” Petagna continues, “Wilkes’s size, frame and natural ability to rush the passer indicate that he most likely projects as an on-ball edge defender on Saturdays. A physical presence with contact courage and the ability to defeat blocks between the tackles… physical traits should translate well to the next level… Projects as a good starter at the Power Four level but will more than likely need a year or two to acclimate to the speed and physicality of the collegiate game.”

So, in English? Wilkes is good– very good. However, he’s played against some undersized, lower-level talent in high school, and could very well find himself struggling to acclimate to Power Four athleticism and power.

However, if there’s one team that can teach that, it’s Auburn – after all, linebacker Demarcus Riddick started his freshman year, just last year, on the kickoff team before eventually moving to a starting role. Now, he’s proudly on the SEC All-Freshman team.

It’s clear that Wilkes has the talent needed to perform at a high level– he’s just going to need the right coaching and team to get there. History is clear: we can develop linebackers incredibly well, so why not Auburn?

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