Auburn Misses On Four-Star Defensive Lineman, Commits to Ohio State

It seems as if the Auburn Tigers’ slow recruiting in the month of July is a trend that will continue for the foreseeable future, as on Saturday, Karlos May chose the Ohio State Buckeyes over the Tigers, who were reportedly in second place in the race. This one stings a little extra for the Tigers, who were leaders in his recruitment for quite some time.

BREAKING: Four-Star DL Karlos May has Committed to Ohio State, he tells me for @Rivals

The 6’3 305 DL chose the Buckeyes over Auburn, Florida State, and Georgia

He’s ranked as the No. 7 DL in the 2027 Rivals300

“AGTG, BUCKEYE NATION I’M HOME🌰”https://t.co/AM28yRwftY pic.twitter.com/7Goxl6BYIN
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 18, 2026

In fact, at one point, the Tigers stood with over a 90% chance to land May, though a visit to Georgia seemed to get May’s mind back on the market, and Ryan Day and the Buckeyes capitalized on that. At the time of May’s commitment, Auburn had fallen to just over a 3% chance to land him, which was still second place, as the Buckeyes led with over a 90% chance.

May, a four-star lineman, is a significant miss for the Tigers, as he would have been the top-rated defensive line recruit in an already strong Tiger 2027 room. With that said, the Tigers do already have two four-star defensive line recruits in their class, so the room is safe, even if it will go without May in 2027.

The Tigers’ two current defensive line recruits, Nate Kamba and Donivan Moore, are a pair of four-stars who both rank within the top-35 defensive linemen in the 2027 class, with Moore holding a slight edge in rankings at No. 26.

This year, the Tigers are set to rely on a mix of Jourdin Crawford, a sophomore; Dallas Walker, a senior; Cody Sigler, a senior; and Malik Autry, a sophomore; to hold down the defensive end of the trenches, though Kamba and Moore may have to step up, despite their youth, in 2027, as both Walker and Sigler possess waning eligibility.

As it stands, the Tigers’ 2027 class is currently rated as the 11th-best in the country, while Ohio State ranks just ahead at No. 7. Notably, the Tigers are the highest-rated class in the country that has yet to land a five-star recruit, which is either a result of a series of misses from Alex Golesh or a new recruiting strategy. If it is, in fact, a new strategy, it is certainly a bold one, and we’ll have to wait and see if it pays off.

Regardless, the Tigers will now have to move forward without May, unless they want to divert resources into a flip effort. Ohio State is not famous for letting top recruits go easy, though, so if the Tigers truly want May, it will take a lot of extra effort from Auburn and its coaches.

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