(Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers)
Welcome back to our regular programming here at The Auburn Observer.
First of all, I hope everyone had a great and safe Fourth of July holiday. I greatly appreciate all the kind words and well wishes from everyone as I took the last week and a half off to get married and go on our honeymoon. The hurricane kept us in Jamaica for a couple of unplanned extra days, but we were able to get back to the States late Saturday night.
While we wrapped up our State of the Program series, unlocked my podcast with great friend of the newsletter Alex Kirshner of Split Zone Duo to the free feed and had Dan deliver his first Peck Pack premium podcast last week, we still missed some news and notes from Auburn football and basketball.
Last week, Auburn had its second AMBUSH alumni tour stop out at Lake Martin. This time, Hugh Freeze joined Bruce Pearl to talk with the media before the event. And, thanks to my wonderful fellow beat writers, I was able to get transcripts from those interviews while I was out of the country.
With that in mind, here’s a Monday morning newsletter — a notebook of sorts — looking back at the most notable takeaways from Freeze and Pearl at Lake Martin. We’ve got injury news, recruiting chatter and preseason analysis in here.
Some of you might have missed it, like me, as you were on vacation during the holiday week. But, even if you didn’t, I hope you’ll enjoy this as we get back into the swing of things here. After all, football and basketball season are both just around the corner.
2025 TE Hollis Davidson (Instagram)
While recruiting is a years-long process, things can still have a tendency to change in a hurry.
A few weeks ago, Auburn flipped 4-star and top-10 running back Alvin Henderson from Penn State. At that point in time, the Tigers jumped up to a top-five class nationally in the 247Sports Composite — which was a stated goal of Freeze after landing a top-10 class in the 2023 cycle.
Less than a week later, though, Auburn found itself down two of its blue-chip commitments. Mobile offensive tackle Carde Smith de-committed, followed by top-150 overall recruit and top-15 linebacker Tyler Lockhart a couple of days later.
Since then, the Tigers have been able to pick up two more commitments: 3-star offensive guard Jacobe Ward and 3-star tight end Hollis Davidson.
Ward, who hails from the same Georgia school as Auburn quarterback Holden Geriner, joins an already massive offensive line class that is still hunting highly rated prospects such as 5-star tackle Andrew Babalola. While he’s on the lower end of the 3-star scale, Ward is already listed at 335 pounds and has an offer list that includes Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Tennessee and Texas A&M. (He visited LSU and Tennessee before picking Auburn.)
Davidson was a part of Auburn’s 2025 class back in February, but he backed off of his pledge in May. Davidson visited both Florida and Florida State, yet Auburn was able to pull him back into the fold. At 6-foot-5 and 238 pounds, Davidson — the son of standout volleyball players — is an interesting pass-catching prospect who also plays goalie on the soccer field.
Right now, Auburn has the No. 11 class in the country, according to the Composite. That ranks sixth in the new-look SEC, but Auburn’s 16 commitments are fewer than all but two of the 10 teams ahead of it nationally (Oregon and LSU).
“I’m confident that we’re going to recruit very, very well,” Freeze said last week. “You guys know the rankings better than I, but it ebbs and flows with the commitments and de-commitments. I think all of that is still fluctuating, never final until you get them there. But it’s my goal… I do believe we’re going to be really close to a top-5 class when it’s all said and done.”
Although the Tigers have lost some momentum from what was a red-hot start to the summer on the recruiting trail, there’s a long way to go between now and the first signing period in December. For a coaching staff that has already made a name for itself as flip specialists — and with a large number of highly rated targets still uncommitted — making another surge up the rankings is well within reason.
Those recruiting wins will likely depend on a stronger 2024 season on the field. Freeze continues to preach patience with the rebuilding process, but his comments last week sounded like a head coach who knows there needs to be real improvement.
“I do think to build it the right way that will last is the way we’re doing it,” Freeze said. “We’re recruiting at a high level. It’s ever-changing every single day. I do see the fruits of that. I think the ’24 class is a really solid class.
“How well can those guys play in Year 1 in this league? I don’t know, but I’m excited about what I saw in spring ball. … I’m excited about Year 2. I have no clue what that means in the win-loss column, I really don’t. The reasonable expectation is for you to see a competitive football team. We plan to deliver on that.”