4-star LB Shadarius Toodle flips commitment from Georgia back to Auburn

Mobile (Ala.) Cottage Hill Christian Academy four-star linebacker Shadarius Toodle is headed back to Auburn, telling Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett he has flipped his commitment from Georgia to the home-state Tigers.

Toodle had been pledged to the Bulldogs since June 22, when he flipped from Auburn. But Hugh Freeze and Co. remained in contact with the blue-chip ‘backer and got him on campus for the Tigers’ game against the Bulldogs on October 11.

After that trip, he told AuburnSports.com that the Tigers’ staff hadn’t relented.

“They’re just telling me they’re not going to give up on me. They won’t give up on an in-state kid,” Toodle said. “They want me and my family really bad.”

Now his recruitment has come full circle with him joining the school he initially committed to in July 2024.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder is the No. 244 overall prospect and No. 13 linebacker in the 2026 class, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services. He also ranks as the No. 13 player in the state of Alabama.

Tigers move up into top-25 with Toodle in the fold

Toodle has been one of the country’s most productive linebackers over the past 2 1/2 seasons, racking up 103 tackles and 10 sacks as a sophomore. He followed that up as a junior with a career-high 157 tackles credited to him.

Through seven games this fall, he has notched 72 more stops, including two tackles for loss and two sacks. He joins a Tigers class that came into the day with only 12 commitments, but still ranked No. 32 nationally in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

With him back in, Auburn jumped eight spots and now has a top-25 recruiting class with fewer commitments of any school ahead of them. Five-star safety Bralan Womack is the headliner, but Auburn also has Rivals five-star wideout Jase Mathews and six other blue-chippers in the fold.