Auburn Leaves Strong First Impression on No. 1 Wide Receiver in 2027 Class

Auburn Tigers recently held its annual Junior Day with the nation's No. 1 receiver in attendance.

Auburn Tigers recently held its annual Junior Day with the nation's No. 1 receiver in attendance. | Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

No lifelong fandom is safe in modern recruiting, even those of bitter rivals. Five-star 2027 wide receiver Monshun Sales made that clear on Monday after visiting with the Auburn Tigers for the university’s annual Junior Day.

“I grew up an Alabama fan, so I kind of stayed away from Auburn,” Sales said in an interview with On3’s Jeffrey Lee. “But now it’s different. I’m going to come back in the spring and see how I’m feeling.”

Sales isn’t just any old receiver prospect, either; he’s the No. 1 wide receiver in the 2027 recruiting class, per 247 Sports, the fifth-best player in the class and the best overall player in the state of Indiana.

What happens next for the Auburn Tigers? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Auburn Tigers news delivered to your inbox daily!

Sales’ first visit to the Plains saw him meeting new Auburn head coach Alex Golesh as well as new wide receiver coach and former Auburn quarterback turned wide receiver Kodi Burns. Passion for the Plains runs deep in the Tigers’ new coaching staff, and it didn’t go unnoticed.

“They both are two really great guys,” Sales said. “Just great coaches and great guys outside of football. I feel like that is one of the things that matters most. It’s not just about football, but how you can get someone better every day just being a man. I feel like they can do that, too.”

Of course, any great coach cares about the development of their players as people, not just athletes. You don’t win games by being nice, though, but Sales seemed to be equally impressed with the Tigers’ new approach to offense. 

“I like the way they run their offense,” he said. “They have a system that gets the receivers open. It’s a system they build around the players. They are going to max out what they can do.”

Overall, Sales seemed to be quite impressed with just about every aspect of Golesh’s program throughout his trip to Auburn. From player development to character development and even offensive scheming, Sales seems to have a new perspective on the team he grew up detesting.

​​“Overall, it was a great meeting … a great visit,” Sales said. “It showed me what Auburn football is all about. They showed me how they get their receivers open, how they get them in space, and showed me they have a big receiver and how they had one of the top offenses in college football last year. They had the No. 2 offense in college football last year and showed me how they can produce on the receiver level.”