Auburn Receives Prediction to Land Top-Rated Defensive Lineman

The Auburn Tigers are in the driver's seat to land the commitment from a blue-chip defensive lineman

Auburn is standing out to a blue-chip recruit on defense | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

It has been a busy recruiting cycle for the Auburn Tigers, who have already begun to look to the future of the program under Alex Golesh. In the wake of the university’s annual Junior Day, many top-rated 2027 prospects showed quite an interest in Auburn, and four-star defensive lineman Karlos May was no exception.

May, a 6-foot-4, 305-pounder, is currently rated as the 25th-best defensive lineman in the 2027 class, as well as the sixth-best defensive lineman in the state of Alabama. On Tuesday, Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong listed an official prediction for the Ramsay student to land on the Plains with 60% confidence.

Rivals’ @SWiltfong_ has logged an expert prediction for Auburn to land 4-star DL Karlos May🦅

Read: https://t.co/sB8dSy0bZ6 https://t.co/JGlWYMSjSV pic.twitter.com/D24b7mRoeO

— Rivals (@Rivals) February 17, 2026

May would not be lonely in the Tigers’ defensive line room if he decides to come to Auburn, as the Tigers have already committed the No. 1 defensive lineman in the state of Alabama, Donivan Moore. 

“The biggest takeaway [from Junior Day] was talking to Coach Golesh and seeing everything he has for the program for this upcoming season,” Moore said before committing, per On3. “We connected and bonded very quickly… It’s going to be a special season for Auburn this fall.”

Auburn has dominated in the defensive trenches in recent years, with big names like Derrick Brown, Dontavius Russell and Nick Fairley setting the standard that many have tried to emulate in recent years. May, if he lands at Auburn, could very well join Moore in the pursuit of being the next big name on that list.

As it stands, Auburn will still have quite a young defensive line when it’s time for May and Moore to head off to college, as Malik Autry, Jourdin Crawford and Darrion Smith are all freshmen headed into 2026, so they’d be in just their sophomore years of eligibility for May’s first collegiate season. 

The ability to develop with players closer to your eligibility level is usually a great selling point for recruits, though in the modern landscape of the transfer portal, nothing is for sure. Regardless, May would be a massive pickup for an Auburn 2027 recruiting class that currently boasts just two commits: three-star tight end Trae Proctor and the aforementioned Moore.

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