Auburn flips Smith, No

• Eli Lederman, ESPN Personnel WriterJul 29, 2024, 01:44 PM ET

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  Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He signed up with ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.Hugh Freeze

and Auburn continued a hot recruiting run Monday as the Tigers formally turned four-star professional athlete Derick Smith, No. 38 in the ESPN 300, from his commitment to Alabama for 2025.

Smith, a two-way star at Alabama’s Southside High School who is expected to join the Tigers as a pass receiver, vowed to the Crimson Tide on March 10. He previously stood as the sixth-ranked possibility in Kalen DeBoer’s inaugural class in Tuscaloosa.Smith’s flip follows his visit to Auburn for”Big Cat Weekend.” With his commitment, Smith is now the second-highest member of the Tigers’incoming class, tracking just four-star cornerback Blake Woodby(No. 22), who offered his pledge to the Tigers on Saturday.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated Smith is the fourth-ranked professional athlete in his class and the No. 4 prospect from the state of

Alabama in the 2025 cycle. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound possibility has actually played mostly at security and wide receiver at Southside. As a junior last fall, Smith hauled in 46 passes for 1,487 lawns with 14 receiving goals, had 65 brings for 1,036 yards and nine rushing touchdowns, and completed with 74 total tackles and 11 sacks on defense.Smith got in 2024 with a list of Power 4 deals with opportunities to play on either side of the ball. He dedicated to Alabama as a security, but he kept his recruitment open.”Some other schools are trying to pull him away to play receiver, “Charles Moody, Smith’s coach at Southside, recently informed ESPN. There’s some schools that have actually offered him the chance to play both ways. Some other schools have actually informed him he can play whatever he wants to play.” Smith’s flip is the current domino to fall on the heels of an enormous recruiting weekend across the 2025 and 2026 classes for Freeze and his training staff.Auburn has actually now acquired commitments from three 2025 ESPN 300 potential customers considering that Saturday, including promises from Woodby, Smith and fellow Alabama turn Antonio Coleman (No. 16 protective tackle)to a 2025 class that ranked 14th in ESPN’s most current

team rankings for the present cycle.The Tigers likewise got 3 promises in the 2026 class over the weekend, led by four-star protective end Hezekiah Harris (No. 51 in the ESPN Junior 300), outside linebacker JaMichael Garrett(No. 123)and inside linebacker Shadarius Toodle(No. 150).