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Auburn signs LB Adam Balogoun-Ali out of Sunshine State

by: Caleb Jones12/03/25CalebJ_Rivals

From the Sunshine State to the Plains, Adam Balogoun-Ali is headed to Auburn. The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., native signed with Auburn on the first day of the Early Signing Period Wednesday.

THE BALOGOUN-ALI FILE

Position: Linebacker (Dime)

Height/Weight: 6-foot-1, 210 pounds

Hometown (HS): Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (Cardinal Newman)

On3 Industry Ranking: (89.15) No. 404 overall, No. 29 linebacker and No. 54 player in Florida.

Commitment Date: July 8, 2025

Chose Auburn over: Kentucky and Missouri

Time of enrollment: January

Notable: When Alex Golesh was hired as Auburn’s next head coach, Balogoun-Ali’s status as an Auburn commit became cloudy. Much of his commitment relied on defensive coordinator DJ Durkin being a part of the future. When Auburn announced Durkin was returning, Balogoun-Ali gave Auburn the green light once again and signed.

Quotes: “I want to see that toilet paper thing. I really want to see that.”

“The moment I walked into the facility and they told me what the spiel was, I just felt like it was really home. Honestly after the official visit I knew that’s where I wanted to be but I wanted to take all my officials and not be a player that decommits, but just locks in.”

Adam Balogoun-Ali
Adam Balogoun-Ali (Photo by Chad Simmons)

PINK’S ANALYSIS

“Goon,” as he is called, has a smaller linebacker frame at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds. He does not have a frame that can add a good amount of weight. Probably 10-15 more pounds is the ceiling for his frame. He has a lot of speed for the linebacker position and plays out in space just as well as he does in the box. He has a knack for playing out in coverage.

Goon has nice wheels. This is one of the main things that stands out on tape. He’s smaller, but compact, and can hit another gear when running down tacklers, or as a ball-carrier for his high school team. He’s also sporty as a receiver/pass catcher.

Goon has to fill out his frame a bit more to be ready on the next level. There will be times when his skillset will translate to being in the game, but he needs to add more mass to do everything Durkin will ask on the next level. I think Goon is about a year away from playing significant snaps. At the same time, he has the unique skillset and play speed that can help out in year one. I think the Tigers are set up well at his spot with Xavier Atkins and Bryce Deas. It will be good for Goon to progress behind those before contributing.