Auburn working to flip pair of 5-star WRs who made Iron Bowl visits
Hugh Freeze and his staff at Auburn have put together a solid 2024 recruiting class, one which currently ranks No. 15 in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.
Auburn flipped Foley (Ala.) five-star receiver Perry Thompson and Clanton (Ala.) Chilton County top-50 linebacker Demarcus Riddick from Alabama and Georgia, respectively, at the end of July.
But the Tigers are not done with this 2024 class. Auburn insider Jeffrey Lee spoke on The Inside Scoop football recruiting show about a pair of five-star receivers who made visits to the Iron Bowl, and where Auburn stands in their recruitments.
Auburn working to flip ‘Bama commit Ryan Williams
Saraland (Ala.) 2025 five-star wideout Ryan Williams committed to Alabama in October of last year, but Auburn continues to work toward flipping the in-state receiver.
“Yeah it was kind of funny for Ryan Saturday night after the Iron Bowl — my first question was, ‘Who are you pulling for?” But he’s such a good guy, such a great kid,” Lee said. “And you know, he handled the interviews well. Said all the right things if you’re an Alabama fan. Said all the right things if you’re an Auburn fan trying to flip him. There’s some quiet optimism, some quiet confidence at Auburn that they can flip this guy. And I know Alabama feels strongly that he’s locked in, but he’s been to Auburn several times this year. It’s not just coming up for the game and leaving. This guy is coming up on Friday nights and Saturday mornings — and he’s staying all day, he’s attending the games, he’s spending the night, he’s meeting with the coaches on Sunday. It’s like an official visit every time he comes.
“Hugh Freeze has got his claws in this kid, he wants Ryan Williams just as badly as he wants Cam Coleman, Perry Thompson, Malcolm Simmons and Bryce Cain. So there is some quiet confidence at Auburn that it can get done. The good thing is, at least for Auburn, is he’s thinking about reclassifying. So selling a kid in the 2024 class for early playing time will be a lot easier than selling a kid in the 2025 class. So Auburn is hoping he reclassifies, and if so, they feel like they’ve got a really good shot to flip him.”
Cam Coleman took yet another visit
Williams spent time with two major 2024 receivers during his trip to the Plains — Auburn commit Perry Thompson and Phenix City (Ala.) Central five-star Texas A&M commit Cam Coleman.
“Very good. Very good,” Lee said about how Coleman’s Iron Bowl visit went. “Cam Coleman, Ryan Williams both — they spent a lot of time with Perry Thompson Saturday night in Auburn. Perry Thompson is the five-star that Auburn already has flipped from Alabama. So those three guys have talked about playing together and how much it would benefit the others to have two other guys on the field like — in Cam’s case — Perry Thompson and Ryan Williams. Not being able to double any of them, or if it was, it would open up options for the other. Cam Coleman, he doesn’t want to make a decision whether he sticks with A&M, whether he flips to Auburn or Florida State or anybody else — he doesn’t want to do that until his team has finished the season. Central, of course, is playing Thompson for the 7A state championship in a week. I really think things will start heating up once that season is over.
“But Auburn, I talk about quiet confidence with Ryan Williams, I would say the same about Cam except it’s probably a little bit more. You know, Cam Coleman has been to Auburn several times. I think I’ve counted at least eight since October 21, so eight in the past five weeks. And the relationships there with Hugh Freeze, with Marcus Davis are very, very important. And of course, A&M without a head coach right now is playing a factor as well. So I think Auburn feels a little bit better about Cam Coleman than they do Ryan Williams. But again, they feel pretty good about Ryan Williams.”