AUBURN, Ala. – Exceeding his goal of signing a top 10 class in his first full recruiting season, Auburn coach Hugh Freeze thanked the student-athletes who believed in his vision, and the coaches and staff who helped make it happen.
"So many people pitch in," Freeze said. "It takes everybody. I'm excited about this class. I love these kids. They want to help the program reestablish itself as one of the elite programs in the country and I think they love to work at it."
Half of Auburn's 24-member class is homegrown, including five-star receivers Cam Coleman from Phenix City and Perry Thompson from Foley, who both flipped to the Tigers after originally committing to SEC rivals.
"We needed to get some difference makers at the receiver position," said Freeze, who also signed in-state receivers Bryce Cain from Mobile and Malcolm Simmons from Alexander City. "They have that ability. It changes our offense if we have guys like that on the outside and the slot who can make plays, and I've seen them do it.
"That is the way you start building a program to create competitiveness among the roster that drives you to chase a standard every day that's needed to win in this conference."
Linebackers Demarcus Riddick from Chilton County High School and Joe Phillips from BTW in Tuskegee added to Auburn's in-state star power.
"We want to win this state," Freeze said. "We would like to win our share if not more than our share in the state. I thought Joseph and Riddick helped kickstart that."
Quarterback signee Walker White from Little Rock, Arkansas, not only committed early, he also consistently helped recruit his future teammates in person and online.
"Walker White, I think, is going to be a star," Freeze said. "He's got all the attributes of what a quarterback should look like. He's a true Auburn man."
Freeze's message to prospects was simple and compelling.
"You can go to the elite right now and help them sustain," Freeze said. "You can also choose that you want to be a trailblazer, do something different and join together with a group of guys and return a program that's proven it can be there, and return it back to that, then this might be the place for you."
That message resonated with defensive lineman Amaris Williams, a top 50 national recruit from Clinton, North Carolina, whose signing day switch from Florida to Auburn propelled the Tigers' class inside the top 10.
"That's pretty big," Freeze said. "He's one heck of an athlete. I loved getting to know him. That a difference-maker type of kid."
As impressive as is Auburn's 2024 class, Freeze says just wait till 2025, when he hopes to land a top-five group.
"We're steadily building," he said. "I'm optimistic. We've just got to hold on and add some to it. We need to stack some classes that are competitive with the ones we're chasing to close the gap on, and I do think it's reasonable to expect that."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Freeze Warning: Auburn lands top 10 class on NSD24
