Auburn Misses Out On Top-Five 2027 Athlete

Despite Auburn's hot streak on the recruiting trail, one of its targets heads elsewhere.

Collierville’s Tae Walden (1) will head to Oregon after being a target of the Auburn Tigers. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Auburn Tigers have been absolutely dominating in recruiting as of late, but, of course, you cannot win them all, and on Wednesday, the Tigers missed out on Tae Walden Jr., who committed to Oregon over Auburn, LSU, Georgia and Ole Miss.

This one stings a bit for the Tigers, who were serious contenders in the race for the two-way 2027 prospect. Walden, who hails from Collierville, Tenn., is a four-star two-way athlete who is currently ranked as the fourth-best athlete in the country and the third-best player from his home state of Tennessee.

Though Walden was highly interested in the Tigers, as evidenced by his visit flip back in May, Oregon has been the frontrunner in his recruitment for quite some time now. Many Tiger fans held onto hope that Walden could be coerced to the Plains, especially in the wake of Alex Golesh and company defeating even crazier odds in the recruitment of Deshawn Hall.

The Tigers will certainly miss Walden, though their 2027 class is not exactly in desperate need of many additions. After all, just a few hours earlier, four-star defensive lineman Marquis Evans announced his commitment to the Plains, bolstering an already strong core.

As it stands, the Tigers’ 2027 class is currently rated as the ninth-best in the country, a number that has been rapidly dropping over the past few weeks as other programs begin to land their respective targets and fully construct their classes. However, Evans’ addition brought that number up a spot from No. 10, where the Tigers opened the day.

It is currently unclear as to who exactly the Tigers are looking to land next, as Evans’ commitment essentially rules out any extended pursuit of fellow four-star defensive lineman Karlos May, who was once a top Auburn target but is now trending to land at Ohio State. 

In fact, the Tigers have put together nearly an entire squad of 2027 players from nearly every position, including a quarterback, three receivers, two running backs, four offensive linemen, a tight end, two defensive linemen, three edge rushers, two linebackers, four safeties, two cornerbacks and a five-star kicker for good measure.

Even without Walden, the Tigers appear poised to continue to boast one of the top classes in the country, though Walden’s commitment would have been a marquee moment in a long line of Alex Golesh wins. 

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