Kaleb Ballard returns, Jermaine Cobbins visits: Auburn’s Jordan-Hare opener doubles as a recruiting showcase
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The Alex Golesh era at Auburn opened with an exciting win inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, a 17-16 victory over Baylor that came down to the final seconds and yard.
Recruits in attendance spoke highly of Auburn’s performance and the direction of the program under Golesh and company. You can read that here. This weekend we have the home opener in primetime against Southern Miss. Another crop of top prospects will be inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
That begins with several already committed to Auburn in the class of 2027. Quarterback commit Gary Chatman and offensive line pledge Rance Brown are planning to visit, as is tight end George Lamons, receiver Deshawn Hill will watch the team for a second-straight weekend, linebacker Kareem Palmer, defensive lineman Marquis Evans and defensive backs Nash Johnson, Nasir Banks and Preston Williams.
In 2028 Auburn will have quarterback commit Sam Sollie back. After a terrific camp performance in the summer, Sollie became Golesh and the Tigers’ top target at the position. A traitsy passer that dreamed of playing his college football on The Plains.
Sollie will be wearing his recruiting cap in the stands and will have plenty of talent to zero in on. That begins with the No. 1 recruit out of Tennessee in the No. 3 cornerback in the country Jermaine Cobbins. I already like where Auburn stands with the No. 4 cornerback in America in Tyler Boyd. To keep rising with Cobbins could make for an elite haul at the position.
The state’s No. 6 recruit and No. 8 safety in the country in CJ Craig-James is expected. He didn’t make the opener, and flirted with visiting other schools, but is now slated to be at Auburn.
“Auburn is coming really hard, I hear from them daily,” Craig-James has said. “They’re making me feel as though I’m top of their board at my position! Coach Golesh himself reaching out to me makes me feel important.”
Auburn is one of the early favorites for the nation’s No. 2 tight end and No. 4 prospect in the state Kaleb Ballard. If not the front-runner.
“The opportunity is exciting because it’s Auburn!” Ballard recently said. He was at LSU this past weekend. “I feel Auburn is going to be one of the most competitive teams in the SEC this season. I’m looking forward to seeing Coach Golesh and the Tigers compete and their game day coaching style for Coach Scott, and Coach Taylor as well. The atmosphere on game day on The Planes is amazing. Go Tigers!”
The running backs expected include in-state target Jamari Nicks out of Winterboro and Jacez Walton out of the Peach State. He’s already spent a lot of time around Auburn and is now getting to know the new staff.
Four-star receivers in Maximus Curry and Ar’Tavian Brown can already see themselves making big plays in Golesh’s offense. The staff has been on Brown since September of last year and that relationship has carried over to Auburn. The Tigers have been pushing for Curry since March.
Powder Springs (Ga.) Hillgrove offensive lineman Amaree Joshua and Columbus (Ga.) Carver Rivals300 defensive lineman Kingston Brown highlight this talented list. Brown was named the D-Line MVP of Auburn’s camp this summer.
This list could grow by kickoff on Saturday. Colleague Chad Simmons dropped an Auburn insider on Thursday afternoon that included several prospects the Tigers are building momentum with. Read that here.
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