Auburn Loses Top Receiver Commit at 11th Hour

As the Auburn Tigers try to close in on locking down their recruiting class, the lose one of their top commits to a fellow SEC school

One top talent has opted not to head to the Plains | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Auburn Tigers lost a cornerstone-type recruit in their 2026 recruiting class on Friday in four-star wide receiver Jase Matthews. Auburn was beaten to the buzzer by Ole Miss, who secured Matthews’s signing at the 11th hour, according to Rivals’ Hayes Fawcess on X.

BREAKING: Five-Star WR Jase Mathews has Flipped his Commitment from Auburn to Ole Miss, he tells me for @rivals⁰⁰The 6’2 195 WR had been Committed to the Tigers since August⁰⁰He’s ranked as the No. 20 Recruit in the 2026 Rivals300⁰⁰https://t.co/qPSkYwWcYs pic.twitter.com/cxVfqcka5y

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 5, 2025

The Leakesville, Miss., product is rated as a top-100 player in the class by both 247Sports and Rivals. 247Sports has Matthews ranked as the No. 11 wide receiver and No. 5 player in his state, with Rivals rating him even higher at No. 9 and No. 4, respectively. 

Despite him being committed to Auburn since Aug. 8, there were many around The Plains worried that Matthews would flip to either Ole Miss or LSU after he announced he would be signing on Friday rather than Wednesday, when the national signing window opened. Unfortunately for the Auburn faithful, those fears were warranted.

At 6-foot-2, 193 pounds, Matthews has very solid size for an incoming freshman. He is coming off an ACL tear that he suffered early in his senior season, but before the injury showed extreme explosiveness and jumping ability on the outside. You also don’t have to worry about him giving it everything on the field, as he sustained his knee injury while blocking a defender into the ground.

He didn’t break the stat sheet for most of his high school career, but is still a talented player. He racked up 25 catches for 339 yards and a touchdown as a sophomore before really breaking out in his junior season. He caught 68 passes for 1138 yards that season, adding 15 touchdowns. He caught 9 passes for 194 yards and a pair of touchdowns in three games this season before being injured.

Matthews would have been the sixth receiver rated as a four-star or higher to sign with the Tigers in the last four recruiting cycles. The others have largely been impact players so far, including Cam Coleman, Perry Thompson, Malcolm Simmons, Bryce Cain, and true freshman Duke Smith, who redshirted in 2025.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, the room hasn’t been able to truly show its skill due to persistent quarterback struggles during the same period. As a result, the lethargic nature of the offense has led many around the country to anticipate transfers out of the room, particularly from superstar sophomore Cam Coleman.

If Auburn does lose some of its receiving talent to the portal, the loss of Mathews will sting even more, as he should be able to be an effective contributor once he is fully recovered from his ACL rehab. In a recruiting class that has been fairly weak on the offensive side of the ball, Matthews was a key piece that it felt as if Auburn couldn’t afford to lose.