Recruiting expert has exact news Auburn fans are looking for in 2024 class

Auburn football fans got the exact recruiting news they were looking for this summer: that 5-star Foley wide receiver Perry Thompson is trending towards the Plains and de-committing from Alabama. Locked On Recruiting Expert Brian Smith was the deliverer of the golden intel on the Locked On Auburn podcast.

In answering host Zac Blackerby’s question about where Thompson might end up, Smith referred to there being more than just smoke to the wideout’s Crimson Tide de-commitment in order to take multiple visits to AU.

“If I had to pick, I would go Auburn,” Smith said (h/t Auburn Daily). “The reason I say that is if you committed that early to the Tide, then all of a sudden, you start taking visits, and you start talking to Auburn, and there’s all this talk even from the Alabama side. That’s not just smoke. That’s fire. So, I’m going to Auburn.”

Auburn football could use this massive off-field Iron Bowl victory

It has been four years since Auburn football has been on the winning side of the sport’s most storied rivalry, the Iron Bowl matchup against Alabama, but Hugh Freeze could deliver a massive off-field victory to change the narrative in the future. Thompson profiles to be a future NFL WR1 or WR2 at his current trajectory, and which quarterback room he chooses to catch his passes from will determine if he gets there.

It’s possible that the Tigers will be better prepared in 2024 than Alabama if 5-star California QB Julian Sayin isn’t ready for the starting job in Tuscaloosa. Payton Thorne has two years of eligibility remaining, while Alabama isn’t sure of their QB1 at the moment, with post-A-Day transfer Tyler Buchner possibly serving as their best choice. Saban may need to find a portal QB to compete with Freeze in the QB room next season, and it’s possible Thompson sees that and will choose accordingly.

If his choice is AU, the Iron Bowl bragging rights will be the Auburn family’s to claim until the two teams meet in November.

And who knows? Maybe it will continue beyond that.