Every in-state QB to sign with Auburn football since 2000
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Auburn football landed its first commitment for the 2028 recruiting cycle last Saturday when three-star quarterback Sam Sollie from Gadsden City High School announced his pledge to Auburn over SEC rivals Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi State, and Alabama.
Should Sollie sign with Auburn in December of 2027, he will become the first quarterback from Auburn's home state to sign with the Tigers since Bo Nix pledged to Auburn with the class of 2019. The fact is not lost on Sollie, who says he is honored to follow Nix's footsteps.
"It's a big deal. I think the last in-state guy who committed to Auburn was Bo Nix. It's a big deal," Sollie said (via Montgomery Advertiser). "I definitely look up to Bo Nix, looking at Cam Newton, Nick Marshall, and Jared Stidham. Just all those guys, I look at them like celebrities."
This fact begs the question… how often do in-state quarterbacks sign with Auburn? Several of Auburn's best-known quarterbacks in history were from Alabama, including Stan White, Patrick Nix, and 1971 Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan.
However, Auburn's track record of signing in-state quarterbacks has slimmed since 2000, as only eight high school quarterbacks from Alabama have signed with Auburn since the turn of the millennium. It is also worth noting that three of those quarterbacks were on Auburn's depth chart for the Tigers' 2010 National Championship win, and only three in-state high school quarterbacks have signed with Auburn since.
From Bo Nix to Brandon Cox, here is a look at every Alabama native to play quarterback for Auburn since 2000.
Bo Nix
- Recruiting class: 2019
- Hometown: Pinson, Alabama
- High school: Pinson Valley High School
Bo Nix signed with his childhood team as part of the 2019 class and immediately flourished. He started at quarterback immediately and led the Tigers to a season-opening win over Oregon in Arlington, Texas, by connecting with wide receiver Seth Williams for a touchdown pass with 10 seconds remaining.
Nix ended his Auburn career with 7,250 passing yards and 39 touchdowns while adding 869 yards and 18 scores on the ground. He ended his career with Oregon and later became a first-round pick, and he starts for the Denver Broncos today.
Jeremy Johnson
- Recruiting class: 2013
- Hometown: Montgomery, Alabama
- High school: Carver High School
Jeremy Johnson was part of a loaded signing class that included Montravious Adams, Carl Lawson, Cameron Artis-Payne, Marcus Davis, and Daniel Carlson, and had plenty of hype as the No. 14 nationally-ranked quarterback.
He debuted by throwing for 201 yards and completing 81% of his passes in Auburn's 62- 3 win over Western Carolina in 2013, and passed for 243 yards and two scores as the opener in Auburn's season-opening win over Arkansas in 2014, filling in for Nick Marshall, who was suspended for the first half of the game. However, he only completed 75% of his passes just twice over the final 12 games of his career at Auburn and never gained a grip on the quarterback position.
Johnson has become a great coach in the high school ranks and currently serves as the offensive coordinator for Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City.
Jonathan Wallace
- Recruiting class: 2012
- Hometown: Phenix City, Alabama
- High School: Central High School
Signing with Auburn just one class before Johnson was Jonathan Wallace, joining Zeke Pike to form a two-quarterback class. Wallace appeared in nine games as a freshman in 2012, passing for 720 yards and four touchdowns while splitting time with Kiehl Frazier and Clint Moseley. However, after Auburn signed Nick Marshall, Jeremy Johnson, and Sean White in later classes, Wallace never took full command of the starting quarterback role at Auburn.
Wallace has since gotten into coaching and currently serves as the running backs coach for the Kansas Jayhawks, a role he has held since 2020. He started as a graduate assistant at his alma mater in 2016 before moving to Bethel College, Air Force, and Kansas.
Clint Moseley
- Recruiting class: 2009
- Hometown: Leroy, Alabama
- High School: Leroy High School
Clint Moseley was a high school legend in southwest Alabama by leading the Leroy Bears to three straight AHSAA state championships from 2006-08. His top target for his third title win was Sammie Coates, who later became an Auburn legend at wide receiver. Moseley played three seasons at Auburn, with his most notable season coming in 2011 when he completed 61% of his passes for 800 yards and five scores.
Daphne High School quarterback Robert Cooper also signed with Auburn during the 2009 recruiting cycle, but was ultimately moved to tight end.
Barrett Trotter
- Recruiting class: 2008
- Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama
- High School: Briarwood Christian School
Barrett Trotter was patient throughout his Auburn career, waiting behind Kodi Burns, Chris Todd, and Cam Newton before finally getting the starting job. However, he was rewarded by following in the footsteps of Newton, who won the Heisman Trophy and led Auburn to the BCS National Championship the year before, and ultimately had to split time with Kiehl Frazier and Clint Moseley in 2011.
Trotter ultimately became Auburn's most productive quarterback in 2011 by passing for 1,184 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also passed for over 100 yards in six of the eight games he played that season.
Trotter is now a successful high school football coach, serving as head coach at Bayside Academy in Daphne, where he has led the Admirals to 30 wins in three seasons.
Neil Caudle
- Recruiting class: 2006
- Hometown: Hoover, Alabama
- High school: Spain Park High School
Neil Caudle was a highly-touted quarterback out of Spain Park High School, but never got the chance to lead the Auburn Tigers as QB1. He played in 21 games over four seasons on the Plains, completing 20-of-29 passes for 244 yards and just one touchdown, a last-second score to Phillip Lutzenkirchen in Auburn's 2009 loss to LSU.
However, his legacy is defined by his role in his final game in orange and blue. Caudle served as the holder for Wes Byrum's field goal attempts in 2010, and held the ball for the game-winning kick in the Tigers' BCS National Championship win over Oregon.
Brandon Cox
- Recruiting class: 2002
- Hometown: Trussville, Alabama
- High school: Hewitt-Trussville High School
Brandon Cox was the first Alabama quarterback to sign with Auburn since 2000, joining the Tigers roster in 2002. He bloomed into a three-year starter and became one of the most underappreciated Tiger quarterbacks in recent memory.
Cox passed for over 2,000 yards in all three seasons as Auburn's starting quarterback, and he ended his college career ranked fourth in program history in passing yards with 6,959. He is also third in career passing touchdowns with 42, trailing only Jason Campbell and Pat Sullivan. More importantly, he was 3-0 against Alabama as Auburn's starting quarterback.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Every in-state QB to sign with Auburn football since 2000
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