This offseason for Auburn football recruiting has been a roller coaster ride to say the least.

Losing four blue-chip recruits in one summer saw Auburn’s class ranking plummet to as low as 89th in the country.

However, the Tigers responded by gaining five commitments in the month of July, putting its 2026 class ranking 65th.

“It does seem kind of strange that we’re some of the lowest range of numbers,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. “We’re really, really low compared to some and I’m trying to figure that out.”

The Tigers added a major commitment from in-state four-star Jaquez Wilkes on Monday afternoon.

His decision alone brought Auburn’s ranking up ten spots in the 247sports composite list and he’s the Tigers first top-100 player in the class.

Since July 4th, Auburn gained commitments from three four-star recruits and two three-stars. Joining Wilkes, Auburn added linebacker Adam Balogoun-Ali and offensive tackle Wilson Zierer.

Sparking the Tigers hot streak was the commitment of three-star tight end Kentrell White. A day later, Auburn snagged the seventh-best long snapper in the country Travis Wakefield.

So, is that it for Auburn? Far from it.

August 1st is when recruits can begin officially receiving written NIL offers. For athletic director John Cohen, that will be a day where Auburn takes full advantage of to improve all the recruiting lows from this summer.

“We at Auburn are going to take that very seriously. But we’re still going to win recruiting battles. We’re going to do it the right way,” Cohen said. “I can’t speak for the rest of the recruiting world, but I can tell you this, Auburn is going to do it the right way.”

Coming off two top-10 recruiting classes, the 2026 cycle will add more young talent to the program building roster Freeze has developed during his tenure.

Landing a player like Wilkes who ranks as the No. 6 player in the state and No. 10 edge in the country, will help tremendously when recruiting more highly touted players to Plains this fall.

Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports forAL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3or email him at [email protected].