When Hugh Freeze was asked which freshmen weren’t being talked about enough during fall camp, a few names came to mind.

One stood out, though.

“I would start with Demarcus Riddick,” Freeze said. “He’s going to be outstanding. He’s gotten bigger and can run. I would start right there.”

Riddick, a freshman from Clanton, didn’t grab as many headlines as freshmen receivers Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson, but he too was a top-100 recruit in the 2024 class.

He was the No. 63 overall prospect in the country the sixth best recruit in Alabama, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

That ranking wasn’t for nothing either.

Riddick was a standout player at Chilton County High School, tallying 92 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and three sacks during his senior season. Those numbers led to him becoming a semifinalist for the high school Butkus Award, an honor given to the best linebacker in the country.

That came after a junior season where he had over 100 tackles, along with 19 tackles for loss and seven sacks.

Riddick enrolled early at Auburn and became a standout player to the coaching staff.

“He does some stuff out there on the field that’s ‘Woah,’” defensive coordinator DJ Durkin said during fall camp.

He walks into a room at Auburn already filled with experience, but Durkin says his unique skillset could lead to him contributing as a freshman.

“He looks really good out in the open field and in open space. He also looks good in the box because he has good length and is a physical player,” Durkin said Wednesday.

Veteran linebacker and defensive leader Eugene Asante is also high on Riddick’s potential.

“Demarcus brings a different level of speed, athleticism,” Asante said during fall camp. “I think there’s a lot of things we can do with him on third down.”

Asante and Austin Keys are the two main players Riddick still sits behind in the pecking order.

Durkin also mentioned that Riddick is playing a different position now compared to what he played in high school. That can create more of a learning curve, but he has the advantage having enrolled early, already spending time with the team during spring camp.

While there still may be plenty of development needed for Riddick to become a three-down linebacker, Durkin remains confident that Riddick possesses enough traits to help Auburn’s defense as a freshman.

“He’s just scratching the surface — because every rep he gets is just adding a new one for him,” Durkin said. “You can just see him get better and learn every day out there. He’s definitely a guy that can and will contribute and help us as a freshman. “