In a span of five days, Auburn received news that a pair of its defensive leaders would be returning to The Plains for their senior seasons in 2024.

First it was defensive back Keionte Scott, who announced his decision on Dec. 11.

On Dec. 15, linebacker Eugene Asante announced his return.

“I’m really glad that people like Keionte and Eugene are coming back to help lead us,” said head coach Hugh Freeze. “I think they’ll be great for these young kids as two great leaders and captain-material guys that can help set the culture for our defense next year, so thrilled that they’re back.”

After Scott announced that he’d received an invite to the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Nov. 30, it started becoming clear that Auburn’s junior defensive back might really be drawing interest from the NFL.

Back in September, Jim Nagy, executive director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl, gushed about Asante, adding that the junior Asante wasn’t on the Senior Bowl’s preseason watchlist, but was beginning to turn heads.

“It was definitely a hard decision,” Asante said of his decision to return to Auburn. “I had to sit and talk about it. Some days I was going back and forth, truthfully: ‘Am I doing this? Or am I doing that?’”

As they weighed their decision, Scott and Asante leaned into family members, current players in the NFL and others they respect and trust to give good feedback and advice.

Also checking those boxes was Freeze, who said Saturday that he was involved in those conversations with Scott and Asante.

Selfishly, of course, Freeze was hoping both would return in 2024. But Scott nor Asante never got a selfish answer out of their head coach.

“One thing I do respect about coach Freeze, and I can tell by some of the things I’ve seen, he’s a straight shooter and he’ll tell you the truth,” Asante said. “He’ll let you know. He cares for his players. It’s a healthy balance of saying, ‘Eugene, I want you to come back.’ But if it’s not the best decision for me, he’ll let me know.”

In the case of Asante, NFL scouts were saying a second year under the same scheme Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts is running would likely do him some good as it relates to his future draft placement.

The feedback was similar for Scott, who missed three games in the regular season after suffering a high-ankle sprain in Week 3.

“He was very transparent in the decision, he just laid out all the facts for me, gave me all of the information he gathered, and was able to get some good feedback and he allowed me to make my decision,” Scott said of Freeze helping him navigate the decision-making process.

All that said, the temptation of the big leagues is still a reasonable one. There aren’t too many members of the general public who would blame either Scott or Asante for turning pro, regardless of draft placement.

But there’s a temptation to stay at Auburn, too, Scott and Asante say.

“The biggest thing is I’ve bought into Coach Freeze and his staff and I have 100 percent belief in them and everything they’re doing. I just want to be part of something special and I really believe that we can do that here at Auburn,” Asante said.

Scott also adds that he “definitely believes in what Coach Freeze is doing,” while he also wants to finish his degree at Auburn.

“The opportunity to get a degree, because like I’ve said before, what I want to do in the future is to mentor and motivate kids and stuff like that,” Scott said. “I just felt like getting my degree and being able to walk and say that I did that in college and to get a degree from Auburn was something that was really big for me.”

But more than anything, the decisions of both defenders boiled down to being confident in what’s being built on The Plains. And they each be a part of it.

Asante knows what shook out at Auburn in 2004 and 2010.

“I really do believe we can do something like that,” Asante said. “I’m working towards that, personally, (and) I’m going to demand that out of the team. This offseason, we’re going to put our best foot forward and be the best we can be for Auburn. This place deserves that, the fans deserve it.

“A lot of people truly do believe in us and believe in what we’re building, so I want to put my best foot forward for them. I feel like they deserve that. That was the biggest thing for me coming back, trying to build something special.”