Cam Coleman's commitment to Texas A&M caught everyone off guard
Auburn lost out on five-star wide receiver Cam Coleman on July 4th.
Coleman took to Instagram Live to announce that he would be committing to the Texas A&M Aggies over Auburn and several other high-profile schools.
It was a disappointment for both the Tigers and their fans.
Christian Clemente of 247Sports joined Zac Blackerby on the Locked On Auburn podcast to discuss Coleman's surprising commitment to the Aggies on the 4th of July.
Clemente noted that there was noise coming from Central that Coleman would be committing alongside his teammates on the 4th of July - it wasn't confirmed, and Auburn backed that up, believing that he wasn't committing just yet.
"Anytime I went to Auburn, it was 'we don't think he's committing, that's not what he's telling us," Clemente said. "And so things weren't adding up there a little bit in my eyes."
Were the Tigers playing it quiet? Were they keeping things close to the chest with a potentially massive commitment?
Regardless, most believed Auburn was still landing him, including Clemente.
"In my mind, I'm still thinking, it's Auburn," Clemente said. "It's been Auburn so much. We all think it's Auburn. It's not a question. Everyone was putting in predictions for Auburn."
The timing wasn't expected, and it caught everyone off guard when Coleman went live on Instagram to announce the news.
"My heart sank," Clemente said. "I'm like, what just happened? Was I so wrong here? What have I been missing? It wasn't me that was missing it. It wasn't reporters on other sites that was missing it. Everybody was missing it."
Auburn was also shocked. Nobody was anticipating Coleman to go to A&M, much less on July 4th.
"(Auburn) said no one knew this," Clemente said. "That's the thing. People on our message board were upset. They're like, how'd you guys not know this? Nobody knew this. Outside of Hayes Fawcett, who made his graphic, and outside of Texas A&M coaches who kept it totally quiet about Coleman. Nobody knew this. I mean, you want to talk about the goats in the recruiting scene? Steve Wiltfong, Chad Simmons over on On3? Nobody was prepared for Cam Coleman to go to Texas A&M, especially not on July 4th. We knew Texas A&M was a factor. We knew they were a factor in his recruitment moving forward. We did not think they were a factor on July 4th."
Why did Coleman make the move so suddenly? Most will point fingers at NIL, Clemente noted. And they're probably right.
The thing is, there's nothing wrong with it.
"(NIL is) what I would guess. That's what I would put it at," Clemente said. "But I mean, NIL is legal. It's not like Texas A&M did something illegal here. And so credit to Texas A&M for pulling off one of the biggest shockers in the recruiting scene in the past couple of years, for sure. And it caught Auburn off guard. But all it did was give Auburn, I don't want to say motivation, but all it did was say game on... They're not ready to give up on Cam Coleman until he signs."
Auburn is still in pursuit of Coleman alongside five-star receiver Perry Thompson, who is currently committed to the Crimson Tide. Perry will be taking a visit to Auburn during Big Cat Weekend at the end of July.
Related stories
Auburn football's 2024 SEC conference slate has been released
Hugh Freeze has $3 million worth on incentives laced into his Auburn contract
ChatGPT ranks Auburn football's top 10 running backs of all time
Ranking the five most important games on Auburn football's 2023 schedule
Four-star linebacker Joseph Phillips commits to the Auburn Tigers
Engage with Auburn Daily on Socials!
Join the Locked on Auburn Discord