The Auburn Tigers landed 4-star Appoquinimink Jaguars (Delaware) swing tackle Layton von Brandt over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Florida Gators, and Penn State Nittany Lions, the latter of which he was formerly committed to, on Monday morning.
It was a major victory for first-year head coach Alex Golesh, first-year offensive line coach Tyler Hudanick, and Co., bringing on a blue-chip at a position the Tigers have had trouble with talent-wise for years.
Perhaps, though, it'll be a temporary win. Slap the Sign's Oliver Vandervoort wonders if the Fighting Irish can pull off a recruiting coup over the next seven months until the Early Signing Period with "a trick or two up their sleeves."
"With that many visits under his belt, Layton Von Brandt knew that Notre Dame wasn’t the place he wanted to go. Of course, even while he’s picked Auburn today, there’s still seven months to go until December, and the Irish might have a trick or two up their sleeves," Vandervoort wrote.
Of course, Notre Dame won't be the only program looking to pull the talented tackle away from the Tigers. The deep-pocketed Virginia Tech Hokies could be a serious threat for the Middletown, Delaware, native with their relative proximity. Don't overlook the Tennessee Volunteers, either, who also had a visit with von Brandt. Josh Heupel's squad isn't afraid to spend to compete in the SEC, though things in Knoxville may not be so clear moving forward with how badly the program botched its QB search for this coming campaign.
In modern recruiting, commitments are only a temporary boost in excitement if there are no serious retention efforts. Washington D.C. promised reform to the whole system, but as the College Football world waits for it, von Brandt's commitment is just an idea.
Auburn has beaten Notre Dame for a recruit before, but it didn't go well
This is the second time in the past two years that AU has beaten Notre Dame for a notable top recruit. The last time was for Lucedale, Mississippi, product Deuce Knight, who had actually been committed to the Fighting Irish and flipped to the Tigers.
Of course, Knight started one game on the Plains, showed out with a 401-yard, six-touchdown performance in a 62-17 victory over the Mercer Bears, and left Auburn once Golesh showed up to commit to his home state team, the Ole Miss Rebels, via the transfer portal. While Knight was the future of the Tigers when Hugh Freeze was around, there was far more uncertainty under Golesh.
This is not meant to be a cautionary tale. Knight had to wait his turn; if he had stayed, with Byrum Brown's arrival in Lee County, Alabama, for the 2026 season. von Brandt may well start at one of the tackle positions from the jump. The two situations have nothing to do with each other.
Well, other than that, in the NIL/rev-share era, it doesn't matter who coaches at Auburn. The Tigers can, and will, steal a recruit from Notre Dame whenever the opportunity arises.
Let's just hope this union lasts, unlike the short-lived Knight-Auburn connection.
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