Four-Star Prospect Puts Auburn Tigers As Final Candidate Ahead of Commitment Date

A four-star edge rusher has the Auburn Tigers as one of his final two choices ahead of an official date later this week.

Auburn defensive coordinator DJ Durkin is looking to pick up a 2027 defensive commitment coming from off the edge this week. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Last year, the Auburn Tigers had two of the best edge rushers in the country in Keldric Faulk and Keyron Crawford. After the NFL Draft, though, the future of the room has become uncertain, as Faulk was taken in the first round and Crawford in the third.

However, that could quickly change on Wednesday, when Rion Jackson is set to announce his commitment.

LIVE COMMITMENT: 4-star EDGE Rion Jackson will announce his commitment live on the Rivals YouTube channel on June 10📺

Who will he choose?

Read: https://t.co/sjLyWQA6t2 pic.twitter.com/78rqfYdcDV

— Rivals (@Rivals) June 8, 2026

Jackson is a 6-foot-4, 218-pound edge rusher who hails from Annapolis, Maryland. A four-star prospect, Jackson is currently rated as the 30th-best edge rusher in the 2027 class as well as the eighth-best player from his home state of Maryland.

The Tigers have yet to land an edge rusher in their 2027 class, so Jackson’s commitment could be huge for how well Auburn’s first full class under Alex Golesh rounds out. That is not to say that the Tigers are not after other edge rushers, though. After all, two top Tigers went to the Draft, and there is plenty of room to fill those massive shoes.

For starters, Marquise Evans, a three-star edge rusher, visited the Plains this past weekend and currently stands with a 93% chance to land on the Plains, per On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine. Additionally, James Pace, another four-star edge rusher, took a trip to the Plains on the same visit as Jackson, and he also currently stands with a 93% chance to land at Auburn.

If the Tigers can land this trio, or even two of the three, they will certainly be well-poised for another dominant set of seasons off the edge, once the 2027 class makes their way to the Plains following the conclusion of the 2026 season.

As it stands, the Tigers will enter the 2026 season with one big-name player, as well as some sleeper picks, off the edge. Da’Shawn Womack, of course, has made the most headlines, given his four-star transfer status and designation as the former third-ranked edge rusher in his class, but three-star Missouri transfer Nate Johnson and former four-star prospect Darrion Smith could very well make waves in quite the same way.

Regardless of what happens this season, though, the Tigers’ edge rushing room could certainly get a significant boost from Jackson, provided they are able to snag him away from the only other contender: Virginia Tech. Now led by James Franklin, the former head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Cavaliers are shaping up to be a difficult program to win against in recruiting battles, so a win here would be monumental for Alex Golesh and his program.

Currently, Jackson stands with a 95% chance to land at Auburn, with just a 2% chance being allocated to the Cavaliers.

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