Auburn Retains Key Young Linebacker for Next Season

The Auburn Tigers have secured another returning player for the 2026 season, once again at the linebacker position. Shortly after Demarcus Riddick announced he would be returning to The Plains for 2026, true freshman Elijah Melendez announced the same, shoring up the Tigers at linebacker for next season.

The true freshman is a former four-star recruit via the 247 Sports Composite out of Kissimmee, Fla., who was ranked as a top-20 player at his position and top 30 in his state via the same metric.

Melendez played in all 12 games as a true freshman for the Tigers, including one start. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team, as well as a Midseason True Freshman All-American by On3. He recorded 19 solo tackles, a sack, and two interceptions, one of which was a pick-six against Mercer.

The hallmark of Melendez’s game is his exceptional athletic ability. He frequently displayed the ability to run with opposing skill players in pursuit in situations where most linebackers would struggle to keep up, and his pick-six against Mercer was an incredible display of both that raw ability and his body control.

The true freshman graded out fairly well in the world of advanced stats as well, earning a 64.6 overall defense grade via Pro Football Focus. He only missed 6 tackles the entire season, posting a missed tackle rate of 14.6% on his way to a 75.3 run defense grade, by far his best in any category via PFF.

In December, which has been fraught with portal exits, the Auburn faithful can take solace in the fact that their Tigers might have one of the best young linebacker rooms in both the SEC and the nation next season.

Melendez is the third of Auburn’s potential returning linebacker corps to resign with the Tigers, easily among the highest retention rates for a position in what has been a torrid start to transfer portal season on The Plains. Both returning star Xavier Atkins and Riddick should be key contributors for the Auburn defense next season, and Melendez could easily form the third portion of a star trio at the second level for the Tigers.

Atkins led the Tigers in tackles in 2025 with 84, as well as sacks with 9. The former LSU transfer earned First-Team All-SEC Honors for his performance, the first Auburn linebacker to do so since Deshaun Davis in 2018. Riddick didn’t see as much of the field in 2025 thanks to nagging injuries and an eventual season-ending shoulder procedure in November.

However, with an offseason to get healthy and develop properly, the trio should be able to become an extremely talented centerpiece for the rest of the Auburn defense to build around in head coach Alex Golesh’s first season on The Plains.

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