Hugh Freeze, Auburn flip 4-star edge rusher Jamonta Waller away from Florida
Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze teased early Friday morning that some good news could be coming Auburn’s way.
And it appears Freeze’s cryptic post on the social platform X, formerly known as Twitter, referred to 4-star edge rusher Jamonta Waller flipping his commitment from Billy Napier and the Florida Gators to Freeze and the Auburn Tigers on Saturday after Auburn’s win over Arkansas.
Freeze hinted at Waller during his postgame press conference.
“Hopefully in recruiting we can get ourselves another pass-rusher or two,” Freeze said, then paused. “Soon.”
Soon, indeed.
Waller, who has garnered 22 offers, committed to Florida on June 19, 2023 after taking an official visit to Gainesville three days earlier.
However, Waller visited The Plains on Sept. 30 as the Tigers hosted the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs and narrowly missed a major upset in a sold-out Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Three weeks later, Waller made a second visit to Auburn, this time to watch the Tigers host the Ole Miss Rebels — who also made a big push for Waller considering the 4-star prospect hails from Picayune, Miss., where he plays for Picayune Memorial High School.
Through 10 games with Picayune Memorial this season, Waller has tallied 56 tackles and 19 tackles for a loss. He’s also recorded nine sacks, 21 quarterback hurries and has caused a fumble.
The addition of Waller to the Tigers’ 2024 recruiting class gives Freeze and the Tigers their first edge rusher commit of the cycle and their 17th hard commit.