Auburn football: Alabama and UCF both finalists in Tiger target’s top 8

Auburn football has always been linked to the University of Alabama, and there was an entire ESPN documentary detailing the rivalry up until Cam Newton’s triumphant title win. The connection is obvious as the two teams compete in the same conference, the same division within said conference, and compete for the hearts of Alabamians throughout the Yellowhammer State.

Now, UCF is another team that Tiger fans can expect to hear about when it comes to competition for recruits. With Gus Malzahn at the helm, the Knights are looking to break through into the top 10 and crash the College Football Playoff conversation.

Years of success on the Plains allowed Malzahn and UCF to have the cache of a top-tier school to most recruits in the Alabama/Georgia regions. The Knights have had the home-field advantage when it comes to recruits in the Sunshine State. That said, success in the 2021 season will have to be present to back up all the preseason hype his hire has brought to the program.

Then again, UCF is already in the conversation for top recruits, with Keahnist Thompson listing the University of Central Florida in his final eight schools, along with Alabama and Auburn football:

The SEC is the most represented school in Thompson’s finalist pool, with bottom-feeder South Carolina and newly formed top dog Texas A&M joining the Tide and Tigers as teams still in the running. Texas, Miami, and USC each represent the lone representative from the Big 12, ACC, and Pac-12, respectively. Then, of course, there’s UCF of the American (AAC).

With their old-school rival on the field in Alabama and new-school rival on the recruiting field in UCF, Auburn football is in a heated competition to add the #18th ranked strong-side defensive end in the country for the class of 2022.