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Auburn Receives Promising News on No. 2 Safety

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Grant Bricker | Last updated May 28, 2025 8:31 PM ET

Auburn Tigers fans are awaiting the first winning season of Hugh Freeze's tenure.

Freeze enters 2025 with an 11-14 record and finished the 2024 campaign at 5-7. Things have not gone the way fans had hoped, but Freeze has been a consistent recruiter.

Auburn has top-15 classes for 2024, 2025 and 2026 via On3 Sports. He has the No. 13 overall class in the 2026 cycle and looks to pad it with safety Jireh Edwards.

On3's Hayes Fawcett reported Wednesday that Auburn was a finalist, along with the Alabama Crimson Tide, Oregon Ducks, Georgia Bulldogs, Texas A&M Aggies and Florida Gators.

Edwards is the No. 2 safety and No. 21 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Rankings. He is also a five-star prospect and plans on announcing his commitment on July 5.

The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine favors Auburn, giving the Tigers the best odds to land Edwards at 20.7%. Oregon (18.1%), Georgia (8.7%), Alabama (8.7%), Texas A&M (6.6%) and Florida (4.4%) are behind Auburn.

Auburn's 2026 class is highlighted by four-star edge rusher Hezekiah Harris, four-star receiver Devin Carter, four-star linebacker Shadarius Toodle and four-star linebacker JaMichael Garrett.

The Tigers have a chance to sway Edwards further soon. The five-star safety is taking an official visit to Auburn on Friday.

Along with the good news, there has been some bad news for Auburn as well. The Tigers were named a finalist for four-star defensive lineman Nolan Wilson, but a prediction from On3's Steve Wiltfong had Georgia flipping Toodle from the Tigers.

Freeze and the Tigers open the 2025 season with the Baylor Bears on August 30.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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