Auburn football becomes 3rd of 5 SEC programs to offer 4-star TE

The recruiting process is not slowing down for the Auburn football team, and it’s not slowing down for 4-star tight end Walker Lyons, either. Just last week, the Tigers became the third SEC program to offer the recruit from the class of 2023, who now holds upwards of 20 offers.

Most recently, Lyons was offered scholarships from both Michigan and in-state rival Alabama, but Auburn will also have to compete with LSU, Texas A&M, and Tennessee around the SEC. Lyons credited Auburn football’s tight ends coach Brad Bedell for the offer on his Twitter page.

The Tigers currently have five tight ends on the roster, according to College and Magnolia, including senior John Samuel Shenker, sophomores Luke Deal, Brandon Frazier, and Tyler Fromm, and freshman Landon King. While the TE roster is stacked heading into the 2021 season, by the time 2023 rolls around the team will be looking for someone like Lyons to shine.

Per his profile on 247Sports, Lyons is ranked as the No. 9 recruit out of the state of California and the No. 9 recruit overall in the class of 2023. As a sophomore, Lyons caught 18 passes for 281 yards and six touchdowns, in addition to six sacks on the other side of the ball as a defensive end.

The Tigers’ biggest competition in landing the tight end may come from BYU due to his connections. According to Cougs Daily, Lyons’ two sisters currently attend BYU and his father, Tim Lyons, played defensive back for BYU back in the 90s. His soon-to-be brother-in-law also played football at BYU in 2016.

Although Auburn currently has no commits in the class of 2023, they’ve extended upwards of 80 offers to various prospects, 5 of which are tight ends.