Auburn Makes Great First Impression on 2026 Offensive Line Recruit

The Auburn Tigers are in the hunt to land the commitment of an offensive line recruit and so far, it's off to a good start

Auburn looks to keep the momentum going on the trail | Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Auburn Tigers recently hosted the three-star offensive lineman Dalton Toothman. Toothman comes from Ocean Springs, Miss. playing his football at Vancleave. The Tigers are one of two teams to also have a visit scheduled later as well. Toothman will visit Auburn on May 16. The only other team to have a scheduled visit is Mississippi State. In total, Toothman has a total of 13 offers including the Tigers, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Baylor, Florida and Dartmouth.

"He's [Thornton] awesome," Toothman said when discussing his first visit. "He's a great guy. He's a big family guy. I felt like I fit really well with him. He's just a stand-up guy. He's going to tell you the truth, and that's what I really like about him."

Head coach Hugh Freeze and offensive line coach Jake Thornton have been heavily pursuing the 6-5, 295-pound lineman. The Tigers struggled significantly when they faced pass rush last season as last season’s starter Payton Thorne was sacked 26 times the entire season. That was on the higher side for sacks, ranking 83rd in the country, per TeamRankings.com. With the potential addition of Toothman and several other signees for the Tigers at offensive line, the Tigers could see a complete turnover. That will be important for new transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold who joins the Tigers from Oklahoma.

Toothman will also be returning for an unofficial visit on April 5 for Big Cat Weekend. When asked what he was looking forward to that weekend, he said he enjoyed seeing the live action. 

"Just getting to experience more of the actual game because they're practicing," Toothman said. "I want to see how Coach Thornton coaches, Coach Kam (Stutts) and just how they develop their players. How they go one-on-one with guys and just to experience the culture here again."

Toothman also plans to see LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Baylor, Ole Miss and FSU this spring. However, with the exception of Mississippi State, the visits haven’t been set up.