Auburn football OL target de-commits from Georgia

The Auburn football coaching staff has been very aggressive when it comes to pursuing verbal commits in this recruiting cycle. The Tigers are looking to flip several prospects in various position groups, but they have been especially working to flip two Georgia offensive linemen.

The first is Bo Hughley, who remains committed to the Dawgs but has taken several visits to the Plains. The second is Ryqueze McElderry, who has also been steadfast in his commitment to Georgia until this weekend when he announced that he would re-open his recruitment.

McElderry is cousins with current Auburn football commit Bradyn Joiner, and while that is an advantage in some ways for the Tigers’ coaching staff, they must still close out strong with the OL if they want to earn his commitment, especially because other schools are now joining the mix.

Recently, the offensive lineman took official visits to Georgia, Auburn, and Tennessee, and told Auburn Live’s Keith Niebuhr that it would come down to those three schools. However, lurking in the background of McElderry’s recruitment is Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide.

Roll Bama Roll reports that in between his official visits, McElderry made a trip to Tuscaloosa to view a camp that was taking place, and a visit to Alabama could happen in the fall. McElderry is also former teammates with Tide signee Antonio Kite.

While it is a good sign for the Tigers that McElderry has backed off his pledge to Georgia, it seems that Alabama may be quietly surging to the top of the offensive lineman’s list.

Ryqueze McElderry is listed as the #406 overall prospect and the #25 inside offensive lineman in the recruiting class of 2023 as well as the #22 recruit out of the state of Alabama. While earning his commitment would be huge for Bryan Harsin and Auburn football, it’s now looking like the in-state OL is trending towards Alabama.