Auburn Tigers Crack Top 10 for 2027 Blue-Chip Safety

The Auburn Tigers have made the cut for one of the best safeties in the 2027 recruiting class.

Four-star safety Zayden Gamble is down to 10 schools, according to a report on Tuesday by Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett, and Auburn is one of them. The other nine schools in contention to land Gamble include Florida, Oregon, Ohio State, LSU, Georgia Tech, Miami, Georgia, Texas A&M, and Notre Dame.

NEWS: Four-Star Safety Zayden Gamble is down to 10 Schools, he tells me for @Rivals

The 6’1 190 S from is ranked as a Top 3 Safety in Florida (per the 2027 Rivals Industry Ranking)

Where Should He Go?https://t.co/15s9F6IelY pic.twitter.com/Yij3wpqnd4
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) February 3, 2026

Gamble is ranked as a consensus four-star across the board from multiple recruiting sites, and he is listed as the No. 19 safety and No. 171 overall player in the 2027 cycle, according to 247Sports. The 5-foot-11, 165-pounder is also rated as the No. 20 prospect from the state of Florida, and stands as the third-best safety from the Sunshine State.

According to 247Sports’ recruiting timeline, the Tigers offered Gamble just a few weeks after head coach Alex Golesh took the Auburn job. Golesh and company extended an offer to the blue-chipper on Dec. 22, 2025, and became the 15th Power Four school to offer him a scholarship.

As his recruitment stands currently, the Miami Hurricanes are the team to beat to land Gamble, as On3’s recruiting prediction metric gives the reigning national runner-ups a 93.5% chance to land the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native. The Florida Gators boast the next-highest chance to earn his commitment at 2.3%, with Texas A&M placing third at 1.0%.

Ironically enough, Miami’s defensive backs coach is Zac Etheridge, who won a national championship as a team captain with the Tigers in 2010 and later returned to Auburn as a coach from 2021 to 2023.

Although it seems lopsided toward the Hurricanes, recruiting in today’s landscape of college football can turn on a dime. Additionally, it’s important to remember that these are 17 or 18 year-old high schoolers making college decisions – they can change at any moment.

The Tigers seem to have a significant amount of ground to make up, but Gamble would be a big addition to kickstart their 2027 recruiting effort, as Auburn currently has just one commitment in its 2027 class. Three-star tight end Trae Proctor announced his pledge to the Tigers on Jan. 19.

Auburn’s 2027 class originally held four-star Jaylen Scott, who was the first commitment of the cycle for the Tigers, but he recently de-committed in December after Golesh was announced as head coach.

Despite boasting just one pledge, Auburn’s class ranks No. 50 nationally and No. 15 in the SEC.