Auburn is the hottest team on the college football recruiting trail at the end of July. The Tigers held their Big Cat Weekend event ahead of preseason camp and capitalized with scores of commitments in both the 2025 and 2026 cycles. With those additions, Hugh Freeze bolstered the No. 5 class in the present cycle and sparked a climb to the No. 1 position in the 2026 team rankings.
Among incoming high school seniors, Auburn notched a massive pledge from Derick Smith, the No. 2 wide receiver in the nation and one of the many in-state products to pick the Tigers over rival Alabama. The prized duo of safety Anquon Fegans and defensive lineman Antonio Coleman also hail from local high schools and stand inside the top 100 prospects nationally. Four-star cornerback Blake Woodby and punter John Alan McGuire round out the weekend’s 2025 haul.
“I think you could make the case this might be the best Big Cat Weekend ever, or since the early editions of it,” 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins said on the 247Sports Football Recruiting Podcast. “I mean, everyone around the country seemed to hold an event this past weekend, and Auburn’s the one that hit the grand slam, hit it out of the park.”