Five names to watch for Auburn football in the in-state 2024 recruiting class
The most important part of recruiting in college sports is being able to recognize talent, the second is being able to keep your in-state talent in-state.
In the state of Alabama, there is no issue recognizing talent, pretty much every high school football game you can go to across the state will have at least one player go on to play ball at the collegiate level, whether that be JUCO, D2, or D1. This year's class is no different, there are four five-star players in the state according to 247 Sports, and an amazing 17 four-stars. The 2023 class was described by many as the best class the state has ever had, but that class only had two five stars and an equal amount of four stars.
Auburn, under renowned recruiter Hugh Freeze, has made it a priority to be in on these top in-state prospects and to show them why Auburn, though in a dry spell, is capable of being a top program in the country. So far so good for the Tigers as they are in it for a large chunk of these prospects up to this point in their recruitments. The following list contains some of the biggest names that Auburn is pursuing.
The Five Star WR Duo
Cam Coleman WR
The hometown kid out of the bunch, Coleman lives and plays for Central-Phenix City just 45 minutes west of Jordan-Hare stadium. The Red Devils use of Coleman has been varied as he has mostly been an outside receiver but was also the slot receiver on some plays. Coleman totaled 542 yards and six touchdowns on 31 receptions during his Junior season. Coleman is seen as a must-get for Auburn, the visits reflect this as he has been on campus three times this year, all of which took place within a four-week span. Coleman's most recent Auburn visit took place on A-Day, April 8th. The Auburn connection is very real, the proximity of Coleman combined with a former Auburn Tiger in Head Coach Pat Nix is certainly helping in this recruitment.
Perry Thompson WR
The Foley, Alabama product has been one of the best wide receivers in the country let alone the state in his high school career. Thompson has amassed an insane 1,898 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns on 154 receptions. His junior season has by far been his best, he recorded 1,059 yards on 87 receptions with nine touchdowns. This season's performance earned him first-team all-state honors for Alabama 7A. Perry has a great connection with WR Coach Marcus Davis and has visited four times since Davis extended an offer to him on January 11th. Thompson visited for Junior Day and then came twice in a two-week span in March. The most recent visit was on A-Day, a day in which Thompson sat in the rain and watched the game despite many recruits deciding to go under the concourse or go into the facility. Thompson is currently committed to Alabama and has been since late 2022.
The Four-Star Defensive Trio
Demarkus Riddick JACK
Riddick is by far one of the most dynamic and versatile defensive prospects in this class. Riddick totaled 109 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, and seven sacks during his Junior season for Chilton County. To add to all of that, he also had three interceptions, four pass deflections, and a forced fumble. Then to cap off all of his football achievements, Riddick also plays varsity baseball and varsity basketball. Riddick has been to Auburn three times this year. Riddick was offered on March 8th of 2022 and didn't visit once in the Harsin era. Demarcus has been committed to Georgia since 2022, but the in-state schools seem to have the upper hand. Auburn has gotten three visits, all of which have happened this year. Riddick came most recently on April 15th, after not being able to make it to A-day for family reasons.
Sterling Dixon JACK
Dixon possibly has one of the most impressive seasonal statistics that I have seen. Sterli, who plays for Mobile Christian was utterly dominant, he had 179 tackles, 39 tackles for loss, and 18 sacks. Following this monster Junior season, he was rightfully named 1st team all-state. Dixon was one of the few 2024 recruits that gave the Harsin staff the time of day, visiting for a letdown of a Big Cat weekend in July. Dixon has been a flip priority for the Tigers as the Alabama commit has been on three visits under the new staff. A-Day was the most recent visit for Dixon.
Bradley Shaw LB
Auburn offered this inside linebacker all the way back in July of 2022, and Josh Aldridge honored the offer when he was brought in as the new LB Coach. Shaw didn't have stats that I was able to find but with the Hoover native being a high-level four-star you can imagine they would be impressive. Shaw visited for the San Jose State game last year and saw the Tigers struggle against the Spartans. He did not visit again until the new year, as he visited in January. Shaw and Aldridge have built a solid relationship and hopefully, this relationship will help fight off the out-of-state Georgia Bulldogs.
The highlight for each of these players is that they have all visited Auburn at least two times, and the trend seems to be that they are visiting more this year. The reason for this is a combination of their commitment day is this December, and that they all have enjoyed this staff more than the previous one, Shaw, Dixon, and Coleman all visited under Harsin and each of them did not return until the Freeze administration was in place. The Freeze warning is in effect across the state of Alabama.
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