Parker (Birmingham) CB and current Ohio State commit Na'eem Offord is taking official visits to Oregon, to see the Ducks play the Buckeyes on October 12, and to the Plains on September 28 to see Oklahoma take on Hugh Freeze's Auburn football program.
The timing of those visits isn't a positive sign for the Tigers.
For one, scheduling a visit so soon after a shocking 21-14 loss to Cal feels like Offord's looking to get his Auburn visit out of the way before seeing a marquee matchup between two top-10 teams (as of this writing) at Autzen Stadium a few weeks later. Watching Oregon deliver a home win in front of a rabid Ducks fanbase in the Big Ten's best early-season game would be impressive, as would seeing the team he's currently committed to make a convincing case for the No. 1 spot with a signature road win.
Oklahoma is also a major challenge for Auburn in Week 5. With the way the Sooners are playing now, that could be a game the Tigers are predicted to get blown out in. OU could be the loss that convinces Offord to back off his interest in AU altogether.
Auburn football must turn things around and start winning to have chance at Na'eem Offord
Offord's other two choices prove two things: one, that he's looking to get paid, and two, he's looking win.
Auburn doesn't have quite the spending power that Oregon and Ohio State do, but they do have the homefield advantage for the Birmingham native. Still, if they continue to be a middling program, top recruits are not going to believe that the Freeze regime will turn the Tigers into what they're looking for.
Offord's commitment will reportedly come down to last minute, according to his father. If that's the case, Auburn still has time to turn things around with Hank Brown replacing Payton Thorne as the Tigers' starting QB.