Auburn football: 4 former Auburn commits that went on to play for the Tigers’ biggest rival

Alabama has had so many star running backs over the past decade or so that it’s sometimes hard to keep track. Even with their track record of great RB’s, T.J. Yeldon was pretty special.

A top-30 player in the class of 2012, Yeldon was the No. 2 running back in the country and the second-best recruit in the state of Alabama.

So, when the 6-foot-2 running back out of Daphne high school committed to Auburn in June of 2011, it seemed as though the Tigers had the heir apparent to Michael Dyer on their hands.

Unfortunately for Auburn, Yeldon would only stay committed to the Tigers for a few months as, after a few visits to Tuscaloosa, the five-star prospect would decommit from Auburn. Yeldon would announce his commitment to the Crimson Tide on that same day and the rest is history.

Yeldon was a two-time All-SEC selection in three seasons at Bama and he racked up 3,332 rushing yards and 37 touchdowns during that time. Yeldon would then go on to be drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft and played there for four seasons before signing with the Buffalo Bills during the 2019 offseason.

If Yeldon had wound up playing for Auburn, we likely wouldn’t have seen the rise of players like Tre Mason and Cameron Artis-Payne but still, it hurt to lose out on a top talent like Yeldon.