Thompson Warriors safety Junior Tu'upo made his recruiting decision on Friday, committing to the Texas Longhorns' 2027 class over the home-state Auburn Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide, among others.
Long gone is the strong Thompson-to-Tide pipeline. Gone, too, is the chance for Auburn to reel in the Alabaster native. At least for now. And looking deeper into the reasoning, it makes sense that Tu'upo chose Texas.
As he revealed, defensive backs coach Blake Gideon and defensive coordinator Will Muschamp offered him the chance to play all five positions in the secondary when arrives on the Forty Acres next year.
“They don’t do all the recruiting stuff, they’re not trying to sell you anything. Texas itself is what the sell is. They said they’d love to have me here, they have a spot for me, would love for me to play all five positions in the defense [secondary], so, yeah," Tu'upo said.
It was clear that the Longhorns had an edge after his very official visit in Central Texas. Tu'upo's enthusiasm was hard to deny when talking about Steve Sakisian's coaching staff.
“As far as Texas, I love the coaches over there,” Tu’upo said. “I especially love coach BG (Blake Gideon). I feel like he’s a young coach, has a lot of energy, same with (Steve) Sarkisian and coach (Will) Muschamp. I love Texas. It was just a lot of energy over there. We did karaoke night. That was funny. We went out with players, got around the players, got around the recruits. They showed a lot of love.”
You win some, you lose some. In truth, the Tigers have plenty of eligibility left between Eric Winters, An’Quon Fegans, Kaleb Harris, Sylvester Smith-Reed, and Fred Gaskin III, who all have multiple years on the docket, and weren't dying for a safety; which is not to say that Tu'upo wouldn't have been a great strategic get from a high school in the talent-rich Birmingham metro that's wide open as a pipeline.
Get up and dust off the shoulder. This coaching staff has been doing enough good on the trail this month and still has plenty left to achieve in the 2027 class.
Auburn's 2027 class has depth in the secondary
A potential reason DJ Durkin and Tim Banks may have been hesitant to bring in Tu'upo and give him free rein at the safety, corner, and nickel spots is because of the depth in the 2027 class in the secondary.
Already, Chance Gilbert and Nasir Banks are committed at safety, while Aidyn Wiggins and Nash Johnson III are coming in at the corner spot. Banks is coming in as a slot corner as well, and could well become the long-term plan there.
Is that enough depth to not give a talent like Tu'upo what he was looking for from an X's and O's perspective? Time will tell. He'll have to prove Auburn wrong during his time at Texas.
Either way, the Tigers are in good shape despite the loss. And given the state of college football, perhaps there's a chance to change Tu'upo's mind before signing day anyway.
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