Foley High School wide receiver star Perry Thompson flipping his verbal commitment from Alabama to Auburn on Saturday was nearly unprecedented in the modern era of football recruiting in this state.

“Nearly” is the operative word in the previous sentence.

Still, a 5-star recruit — particularly one from inside the state — making a move like Thompson’s is very rare.

Our sense of history compels us to note that there are still almost five months between now and the beginning of the early signing period for the Class of 2024, meaning Thompson could always flip back, or sign with another school entirely. However, it’s still a worthwhile exercise to walk through the brief history recruits flipping between Alabama and Auburn over the years.

But first, a few caveats …

This list will not include such high-profile recruits — both of yesteryear and more recent times — such as Auburn’s Bo Jackson or Alabama’s Rashaan Evans, whom many assumed would end up at one school, but then signed with the other. Jackson and Evans (among others) stuck with their original public commitments, surprising and/or controversial though they might have seemed at the time.

We’re also going to stick to true “5-star” prospects of the modern, internet-based era of recruiting, which for purposes of this study are from 1999 onward. So this list won’t include the tales of Richard Todd (1971), Terrill Chatman (1986) or Sam Shade (1991), all good-to-great players who originally committed to Auburn but wound up at Alabama.

Another “exception” here is Corey Grant, an Opelika High School running back who signed with Alabama in 2011 before transferring to Auburn in 2013. He’s the lone notable player of the modern era to play at both schools, but alas, he was “only” a four-star recruit.

We’re really talking about three 5-star recruits — in three consecutive years a decade ago — who have pulled off an “in-state flip” prior to Thompson. Here’s that list:

1. Cyrus Kouandjio (Class of 2011)

Kouandjio, a 5-star offensive tackle from DeMatha Catholic School in Hyattsville, Md., shocked the world when he committed to Auburn during a nationally televised announcement on National Signing Day in February 2011. Kouandjio’s older brother, Arie, was then a freshman at Alabama, after all, so it seemed like a fait accompli the Cyrus would follow him to Tuscaloosa. Cyrus never sent his Letter of Intent to Auburn, however, and huddled with his family for a day or so before changing his mind and signing with the Crimson Tide. Kouandjio was a two-year starter at left tackle for Alabama — with Arie playing next to him at left guard in 2013, when Cyrus was a first-team All-American. He left school after his junior year and was a second-round pick of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, playing five years in the league with three teams.

2. T.J. Yeldon (Class of 2012)

A 5-star running back, Yeldon committed to Auburn during the summer before his senior year at Daphne High School. He flipped to Alabama that December, however, with the timing particularly painful for Tigers fans. Yeldon made his announcement via a three-paragraph statement on a Sunday night, mere hours before the start of the NCAA-mandated recruiting dead period. Because Yeldon was an early enrollee, Auburn’s coaches had no opportunity to try to win him back before he was already a student at Alabama (by which time it was too late). Yeldon went on to be a three-year contributor for the Crimson Tide, won a national championship as a freshman and was a first-team All-SEC pick as a sophomore. He left Alabama after his junior year and was a second-round pick of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, and played six years in the league.

3. Reuben Foster (Class of 2013)

Foster’s saga had more twists and turns than a telenovela. Originally from Columbus, Ga., he committed to Alabama during his sophomore year of high school. Foster moved across the state line to Auburn High School for his junior year, and flipped his college commitment to Auburn in June 2012. It was revealed around that time that Foster had the Auburn logo tattooed on his arm, seemingly all the proof anyone needed that the 5-star linebacker intended to sign with the Tigers during his senior year. But nothing is ever certain in recruiting, and Foster flipped again — this time to Alabama — on the Monday before National Signing Day. Foster was a four-year contributor for the Crimson Tide, won a national championship as a junior and was a unanimous All-American who won the Butkus Award as the top linebacker in the country as a senior in 2016. He was a first-round pick of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers in 2017, but off-field issues and injuries troubled him during his four years in the league. He most recently played in the USFL.

So it’s a short list to which Perry Thompson added his name on Saturday. He’s permanently burned his named into the ever-smoldering rivalry between Alabama and Auburn.

Creg Stephenson has worked for AL.com since 2010 and has written about college football and other sports for a variety of publications since 1994. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @CregStephenson.