Hugh Freeze’s Recruiting Successes Will Have Auburn Vying For A Title Sooner Than You Think: Barrett Sallee

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program, and the Auburn Tigers are on an absolute heater. Eight blue chip players have committed to coach Hugh Freeze over the last couple of weeks.

EDGE and No. 19 overall player in Jared Smith, ATH and No. 78 overall player Derick Smith, safety and No. 98 overall player Anquon Fegans, defensive lineman and No. 100 overall player Antonio Coleman and cornerback and No. 128 overall player Blake Woodby have all committed to the Tigers since July 27. That class has vaulted all the way up to the No. 5 spot nationally in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings

Plus, Freeze is already dominating the Class of 2026 as No. 27 overall player Hezekiah Harris (EDGE), No. 93 overall prospect Shadarius Toodle (LB) and No. 124 overall player JaMichael Garrett (LB) have also committed to the program since July 27. That class — which already has five players committed — is ranked No. 2 overall.

Head Coach Hugh Freeze of the Auburn Tigers celebrates after his team scored a touchdown.  (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

What does this mean? Freeze will have Auburn contending for national titles — plural — in the not-too-distant future.

The Tigers have made the 247Sports "Blue Chip Ratio" — widely regarded as the list of teams that can win the college football playoff based on roster talent — over the last three seasons. However, in reality, the roster was nowhere close to those of Georgia, Alabama, Michigan and other top contenders.

Times, they are a changin’.

Could some of those players de-commit or transfer after arriving on the Plains? Absolutely. However, momentum is everything in recruiting and Auburn has a ton of it right now. Plus, players are the best recruiters in the world, so all of these commitments will have plenty of say in who joins them in their respective classes.

Auburn has a reputation of coming out of nowhere to contend for national titles. It went from a remarkably average team in 2009 to a national-title winner in 2010. Gene Chizik was fired after a 3-9 season in 2012 and Gus Malzahn took the Tigers to within 17 seconds of a national title the following season.

Will history repeat itself this season? Probably not. These players won’t be on campus yet.

Beyond that, the Tigers should be in the mix for the SEC title and 12-team College Football Playoff every single season. Three or four teams from the SEC should make the CFP every single year and, if conference administrators get their way, the SEC might have at least three automatic bids to the event in the near future. There is absolutely no reason why the Tigers should not be part of the group of teams vying for those spots every single season.

Head coach Hugh Freeze of Auburn University speaks during SEC Football Media Days at Omni Dallas Hotel on July 18, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Omar Vega/Getty Images)

There’s an old saying that says that "it’s not the Xs and Os, it’s the Jimmy’s and the Joe’s." There’s no doubt that Freeze can make things click as a play-caller and offensive mind. He transformed quarterbacks Bo Wallace and Chad Kelly into star quarterbacks when he was at Ole Miss, and made quarterback Malik Willis a third-round pick out of Liberty.

Freeze is a perfect example of the new blueprint for success in college football. Defense doesn’t win championships anymore, "just enough defense" does. The definition of "just enough" varies based on a wide variety of factors, primarily who dynamic the offense on the other side of the ball is.

With higher-quality players on offense and studs coming to campus on the defensive side of the ball, expect Auburn to be a powerhouse in the not-too-distant future.