WHAT A SIGNING: Auburn Tigers S HAS MADE AN EXCELLENT TRADE

The early signing period went about as planned for Hugh Freeze and Auburn, with a surprise or two along the way

Each Auburn commit who was expected to sign their letter of intent with the Tigers during the early signing period did. Meanwhile, 4-star defensive lineman Amaris Williams flipped his commitment from Florida to Auburn on Wednesday — a welcomed addition to the Tigers’ 2024 class.

The lone loss of early signing period came when 5-star safety KJ Bolden flipped his commitment from Florida State to Georgia, despite Auburn’s strong push down the stretch.

“You think you’ve done all you can to flip another one, then all of a sudden, he goes in another direction,” Freeze said Wednesday, seemingly hinting at the loss of Bolden. “Those, you just take them in stride. You gave your best.”

On Friday, Auburn’s last big target came off the board as 4-star offensive lineman Coen Echols chose the LSU Tigers over Auburn.

All that said, where did Auburn land among the 2024 recruiting class rankings?

Freeze was hoping for a top-10 finish in Year 1.

“That was our goal,” Freeze said. “In Year 1 to have a top-10 class and in Year 2 to have a top-five class. And that is the way I think you start building a program that is able to stack itself upon each other and create a competitiveness among the roster that drives you to chase a standard every day that’s needed to win in this conference.”

Here’s a look at where each of the three major recruiting services ranked Auburn’s 2024 recruiting class after the early signing period.

After the recruiting efforts of Freeze and Auburn’s coaching staff, the Tigers wrap up the early signing period with the seventh-best recruiting class, according to 247Sports — a 12-spot improvement from last season and the best finish since 2014.

Auburn’s seventh-ranked class is good for a fourth-place finish among SEC programs as the Tigers finished behind Georgia, Alabama and Texas. Miami, Ohio State and Oregon are the three out-of-conference programs that finished better than Auburn.

The Tigers finished with a pair of 5-star prospects, 13 4-star prospects and six 3-star prospects, according to 247Sports.

On3 also gave Auburn a seventh-place finish in its 2024 recruiting class rankings — a 10-spot jump from last season and the Tigers’ best finish since the 2020 cycle.

Like 247Sports, On3 also has Auburn’s recruiting class fourth in the SEC behind Georgia, Alabama and Texas, as well the Tigers being behind Miami, Ohio State and Orego