Auburn Going National in Hunt for Mammoth Offensive Tackle

Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers have been on a roll the last couple of recruiting cycles, signing top-10 classes in both 2024 and 2025 according to 247 Sports.

Despite the star studded classes that have been loaded at virtually every position, Auburn hasn't done as well signing offensive linemen from the high school ranks. They've relied on the hit-or-miss nature of the transfer portal, including this year when they signed Xavier Chaplin and Mason Murphy of Virginia Tech and USC respectively to step in and be immediate starters.

Despite back to back top-10 classes, Auburn has signed just-one four-star or better offensive linemen from the high school ranks. DeAndre Carter of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif. joined the Tigers in the Class of 2024 as a four-star interior line prospect.

To be fair, offensive linemen typically develop much more slowly than skill position players. The NFL Draft is chock full of players from smaller schools, where the skill players are overwhelmingly from power programs.

However, Auburn as signed just-five high school offensive linemen the last two seasons, opting to go for more experience through the portal. They'd probably like to equal that number on an annual basis rather than bi-annual.

Obviously Freeze and the Tigers would like to have more stability at the position by recruiting and developing five-year players. They took another step in that direction this week by going national with an offer to Dominic Harris of Clark High School in Las Vegas, Nev.

According to 247 Sports national recruiting analyst Brandon Huffman, the 6-foot-8 and 350 pound Harris was a standout at the Navy All-American combine this month and teams have stood up and taken notice of the mammoth tackle.

"Heading in to the combine, he had a lone offer, from Washington," wrote Huffman. "Since, he's added offers from Arizona, Auburn and San Diego State."

Harris is currently unrated for the 2026 cycle, but with his size and showing at the combine coupled with the validation from schools like Washington, Auburn, and Arizona throwing in early offers, he won't be unranked for long.

Bringing players across the country is always a difficult proposition, but it goes to show that Freeze understands the importance of bringing in young offensive linemen to develop for the long haul. Murphy and Chaplin appear to be upgrades over last year's personnel, but between them, they have just-three seasons of eligibility (Chaplin is a redshirt junior).

Freeze has done fantastic job of stacking talented defensive linemen like cordwood. The next, and possibly final step, will be to solidify the trenches on the other side of the ball.