ESPN Snubs Auburn, Hugh Freeze as Signing Day Winner

The Auburn Tigers pulled off a remarkable feat on Signing Day, inking a second-straight top-10 class despite an underachieving team.

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze inked a second-straight top-10 recruiting class despite a disappointing season. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Wednesday, ESPN+ released its winners and losers from early signing day. To the surprise of anyone with a pulse and rationality, the Auburn Tigers didn't receive a single mention. Now, in fairness, the schools listed currently maintain a higher profile than the Tigers. 

However, judging by the names that merged paper with pen, this omission ventures from happenstance to flat-out stunning. Auburn deserves some sort of recognition for putting together an excellent recruiting class, despite a second-straight losing season under Freeze.

This is a class that should help them rebuild their program, returning them to prominence. 

Dubious Choice

In the ESPN article, Eli Lederman described the main winner, Oregon in this manner:

"Wednesday's obvious winner: The Oregon Ducks, who vaulted to No. 2 in ESPN's class rankings with a flurry of commitments, including the flip of the top defender in the 2025 cycle," wrote Lederman on ESPN+. "With 16 ESPN 300 commits, the Ducks are right on the tails of Georgia for the top spot among the best classes in 2025."

Obvious to who? The No. 1 team in college football signs a good recruiting class? Hardly a hot take.

Oregon is already stocked with elite talent, many of which will see players jump in the portal after the new recruits supplant them on the depth chart? At least, reaching for low-hanging fruit doesn't cause back sprains. Oregon will always bring talent to Eugene, but obvious seems like a stretch,

Auburn Accomplishments

The Auburn Tigers, in the space of one signing period, completely revamped their team from top to bottom. First, they answered a major issue at quarterback, in signing five-star recruit Deuce Knight (Lucedale, Mississippi). 

Highlights of Auburn's new 5-star quarterback for the 2025 class, Deuce Knight, from George County High School in Mississippi. #NSD25 #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/DuveBNh55x

— Auburn Tigers | AL.com (@aldotcomTigers) December 4, 2024

Knight's blend of arm talent and athleticism solidifies the quarterback room, ravaged by graduation and transfers. Now, Knight commands one of the best receiver groups in all of college football, not just the SEC.

On the other side of the ball, the Tigers landed edge rusher Jared Smith and defensive lineman Malik Autry as part of one of the best defensive line hauls in the nation.

Auburn bound Jared Smith (no. 28 ESPN 300) breaks free for the third-down stop 💪

Thompson (AL) regains possession.@jdotsmith_8 | @WARRIORNATION20 pic.twitter.com/lRuW2EgSr4

— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) August 23, 2024

Both of those players should see extensive field time as they develop on the fly. Additionally, Auburn improved safety talent and depth with four-star recruits Anquon Fegans and Eric Winters.

Overall, the sixth-best recruit class according to 247Sports heads to The Plains. Not bad for a team that just finished a woefully disappointing season.

How impressive was Hugh Freeze's accomplishment? Auburn is the only team with a top-20 recruiting class that has a losing record. Freeze and the Tigers didn't just eek into the top-20, they knocked the door down with a top-10 class.

Bottom Line

Right now, in the eyes of many, Auburn does not rate blue blood status, and that remains a fair point. However, to completely omit them in favor of teams like Texas A&M that does well in recruiting and fails to capitalize during the season is mystifying, considering that many experts slot Auburn far higher than the Aggies.

Say what you want about Hugh Freeze and his ability to win on the field, but the Auburn draft class possesses the unique opportunity to succeed as a transformational group that brings change to a program.