Auburn Tigers Hit With Abother Recruiting Blow in July

Auburn Tigers Hit With Abother Recruiting Blow in July originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The recruiting woes for the Auburn Tigers continue to be at the forefront of the news cycle this month.

As if it weren't already bad enough that the Tigers' class ranked somewhere in the upper 80s, on par with several Group of Five programs, they have missed on multiple key recruits. It was also revealed that head coach Hugh Freeze spent most of June golfing ahead of a season that could easily be make or break for his tenure on the Plains.

On Friday, everything seemed to worsen. The Tigers were among the two finalists for four-star 2026 quarterback Landon Duckworth, joined by South Carolina. While Duckworth was previously committed to the Gamecocks and backed off of his pledge last June, he ultimately committed to them again on Friday.

BREAKING: Four-Star QB Landon Duckworth has Committed to South Carolina, he tells me for @rivals

The 6’3 200 QB from Jackson, AL chose the Gamecocks over Auburn

He was the Top Uncommitted QB in the ‘26 Class

“I’m back home.”https://t.co/cgbEjmV5ILpic.twitter.com/hSxNUV5UaQ

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 18, 2025

Although the Tigers have some stability at quarterback with Jackson Arnold, Ashton Daniels and 2025 five-star, Deuce Knight, there's no telling what the room will look like in a year from now.

With the prevalence of players transferring, the room could very well have zero of those players next year.

Following Duckworth's commitment, who ranked as the No. 8 signal caller in the country, the top 25 quarterbacks in the 2026 class are now all committed.

It is unclear if Auburn will attempt to flip another quarterback, or move in a different direction.

Related: Bill Belichick, North Carolina Plans Take a Turn After Reported Jordon Hudson Interference

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 19, 2025, where it first appeared.