Auburn Tigers Lose Battle for Elite In-State QB to South Carolina

The state of Alabama's top quarterback had been leaning toward the Gamecocks for some time.

Jackson's Landon Duckworth is the state of Alabama's top QB prospect. He chose South Carolina over Auburn among others. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Despite a few commitments earlier this month, the Auburn Tigers have missed out on one of their top quarterback targets of the 2026 class.

Four-star Landon Duckworth announced his decision Friday evening to further his career at South Carolina, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett, marking yet another in-state miss by Hugh Freeze and company in this recruiting cycle.

However, this isn’t unfamiliar territory for Duckworth, as he was previously committed to the Gamecocks in August 2023 before decommitting on June 24, 2025, per 247Sports’ recruiting timeline.

The Tigers came on relatively late in his recruiting process, only offering him this past December – six months after Duckworth retracted his pledge to South Carolina. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound blue-chipper took his official visit to the Plains on May 30, 2025, a week before heading to South Carolina for his official visit on June 6.

Duckworth returned to Auburn on June 14 for an unofficial visit, but the late push wasn’t enough for the Tigers in the end.

The Jackson, AL, native is ranked as the No. 6 quarterback in the 2026 class by 247Sports and stands as the No. 3 prospect from the state of Alabama. 

After nearly a clean sweep of the top prospects in the state of Alabama in 2025, Auburn finds itself with just one commitment in the top 10 this cycle, edge rusher Hezekiah Harris, who comes in at No. 8. 

The recent commitment of four-star quarterback Peyton Falzone could’ve played a factor in Duckworth’s decision, or it could have been an indication that Auburn knew Duckworth’s intentions. 

Falzone, 247Sports’ No. 13 quarterback in the 2026 cycle, flipped to the Tigers from Penn State last month and is the lone quarterback pledge of Auburn’s 2026 class.

Auburn currently sits at No. 75 in 247Sports’ most recent team recruiting rankings with just 10 commits.