Top Three 2027 Athlete Foregoes Clemson Visit, Will Visit Auburn Instead

Top Three 2027 Athlete Foregoes Clemson Visit, Will Visit Auburn Instead

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Top Three 2027 Athlete Foregoes Clemson Visit, Will Visit Auburn Instead
Collierville (Tenn.) four-star Tae Walden Jr. is ranked as the No. 3 athlete in the 2027 recruiting class.
Collierville (Tenn.) four-star Tae Walden Jr. is ranked as the No. 3 athlete in the 2027 recruiting class. | Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Recruiting is a tumultuous time for any college program, and the Auburn Tigers appear to be reaping the benefits of this chaos. On Wednesday, four-star athlete Tae Walden Jr. announced that he is taking a visit to Auburn this weekend, replacing an official visit that was originally scheduled for Clemson.

Walden is a four-star athlete in the 2027 class who originally hails from Collierville, Tenn. A blue-chip prospect, Walden is currently rated as the third-best athlete in the 2027 class as well as the third-best player from his home state of Tennessee.

As it stands, Auburn appears to be No. 2 on Walden's board, per On3's Recruiting Prediction Machine, which lists Ole Miss as the leaders with the Tigers slightly behind.

A two-way high school prospect, Walden dominated as both a wide receiver and a cornerback, and added in some reps as a kick returner for good measure. By the time the smoke settled on his junior campaign, Walden managed to walk away with First-Team All-Region honors as a receiver and a cornerback, a Region Defensive Player of the Year nod and a First-Team Punt Returner award.

In total, Walden managed to accumulate 42 receptions for 912 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns from the wideout spot, totaling 1460 all-purpose yards and 14 total touchdowns. Defensively, Walden racked up five interceptions and 17 pass breakups, so he could be of service to the Tigers in either or both sides of the football.

If the Tigers were to land Walden, he would be the highest-ranked recruit in the Tigers' 2027 class, as he currently ranks as the 63rd-best overall player in the class. The Tigers' current leader in the national rankings is offensive tackle Layton von Brandt, who sits at No. 100.

Needless to say, Walden would be a massive acquisition for the Tigers, but with any blue-chip prospect comes several top programs who would also quite like to have a player as talented as Walden on their roster.

Currently, Ole Miss, Auburn, Georgia, Oregon and Florida State stand out in his recruitment, and he has yet to announce any culling of his recruitment list. He is still scheduled to visit Georgia (June 12), Ole Miss (June 16) and Oregon (June 19) this summer.

If Auburn can impress Walden this coming weekend, though, that could quickly change in favor of the Tigers.

Sign up for our freeAuburn Tigers newsletterand follow us onFacebookandXfor the latest news!

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/auburn as Top Three 2027 Athlete Foregoes Clemson Visit, Will Visit Auburn Instead.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos