Auburn In Tight, Four-Way Race For 2027 Prospect

The Auburn Tigers have had a bit of a quiet month of July so far in recruiting, which was, admittedly, to be expected after the sheer dominance the program exhibited in June.

However, the Tigers are still on the prowl for top talent, and on Saturday, they will have a chance to land a top target from a rapidly developing pipeline high school.

James Branch, the target in question, is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound athlete in the 2027 class. A three-star prospect, Branch is currently rated as the 39th-best athlete in the 2027 class as well as the 12th-best in-class player from his home state of Maryland.

Branch formerly played wide receiver, but recently, he has made the switch to defensive back. The Tigers only have two defensive backs in their 2027 class so far, marking a rare case in which an extra recruit could actually prove to be quite beneficial for Golesh and company.

The Tigers are currently locked in a tight, four-way race for Branch, as other suitors include Maryland, an in-state program close to home for Branch, Stanford and Virginia Tech. The Tigers have already wrestled a Maryland recruit away from James Franklin and Virginia Tech once this offseason, though it will certainly take extra effort to stand out among the other three programs in this race.

As it stands, Rivals’ Recruiting Prediction Machine currently lists Branch with a 33.9% chance to land at Maryland, a 22.6% chance to land at Virginia Tech, a 19.4% chance to land at Auburn and a 16.1% chance to land at Stanford. These are certainly not the worst odds the Tigers have faced, but much is still up in the air in the hours preceding Branch’s commitment.

Branch is set to announce his commitment today, July 11, at 3:00 p.m. CT, live at Under Armour’s UA Next S7vns event on their official Instagram account.

“What stands out to me about Auburn is their culture,” he said back when he received his offer in May. “The way they bring that energy every day… Auburn would definitely be in my top 5… What I notice about the Auburn coaching staff is that they just not a team that offers and stop talking to you, they actually want to know more about you.”

The race for Branch is tight, but his early opinions on the program seem to have stuck, as after his official visit and a host of other recruitment opportunities, the Tigers still rank among the top teams in his race.

Sign up for our free Auburn Tigers newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news!

Add us as a preferred source on Google