Auburn football: Final look at 2023 recruiting class, transitioning to 2024

The Auburn football program had a tough time recruiting throughout the 2022 calendar year. Former head coach Bryan Harsin struggled both on and off the field, and those struggles were made clear in the lack of results in recruiting.

Things changed pretty quickly from the moment Cadillac Williams took over as interim head coach. Williams and the remaining staffers kept the recruiting ship afloat for weeks without any real certainty, allowing for Hugh Freeze to come in and quickly get to work.

By the end of early signing day in December, less than a month after Freeze was hired, the Tigers shot up to a Top 25 recruiting class and went from 12 to 17 commits. Now, there are 20 signees in Auburn’s recruiting class of 2023, with one more on the way next month, in addition to 12 transfers at key positions of need. As of now, the Tigers have the #18 recruiting class in the nation, the #7 class in the SEC, and the #3 transfer class.

With the February 1 national signing day just under two weeks away and the transfer portal window closed for the time being, focus will now shift from the class of 2023 to the class of 2024. Auburn football will host a Junior Day at the end of the month for interested prospects, and the coaching staff has been on the road all week recruiting in the southeast.

According to Auburn Live’s Jeffrey Lee, Hugh Freeze will be visiting seven different high schools in lower Alabama, including Saraland, Mobile Christian, and Foley, which is home to Alabama WR commit Perry Thompson who the Tigers are pursuing.

Freeze will also make a trip to Georgia, where offensive line coach Jake Thornton has been recruiting this week. Meanwhile, d-line coach Jeremy Garrett is recruiting in Mississippi and tight ends coach Ben Aigamaua spent time in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Cadillac Williams and Zac Etheridge remained in-state, covering Birmingham and Mobile, respectively.

After salvaging a respectable recruiting class of 2023 for Auburn football, there’s no doubt that the class of 2024 will be even better.