Auburn can’t seriously think it’ll flip a top Alabama recruiting target over the Tide

Kalen DeBoer hasn’t taken many losses on the recruiting trail since arriving in Tuscaloosa. He backed up the No. 3 overall class in 2025 with another top 5 group in 2026, but this offseason, he did have the one who got away: five-star in-state edge rusher Tank Jones. 

Jones chose Oregon over Alabama, making his announcement on the Pat McAfee Show on July 31. While that loss stung, Alabama has reportedly not given up on his recruitment and is attempting to flip him from the Ducks, and apparently, Oregon isn’t the Tide’s only competition. 

Auburn is reportedly continuing to pursue Jones as well, but Hugh Freeze cannot seriously believe he has a chance of landing the 6-foot-3, 240-pound edge over DeBoer and his staff. If it’s not Oregon, it will be Alabama, and if it’s Auburn, everyone will be shocked. 

Tank Jones is still on flip watch after Oregon commitment

Alabama would love to land Jones. He’s the top-tier edge rusher that has eluded DeBoer and general manager Courtney Morgan across their first two recruiting classes at Alabama, and would allow five-star hybrid linebacker Xavier Griffin more positional flexibility as he ages into a starting role on Kane Wommack’s defense. 

Jones would elevate Alabama’s class within the top five and further cement DeBoer’s status as one of the elite SEC recruiters. He would mean something else entirely to Hugh Freeze, and that’s the reason Auburn doesn’t stand a chance. 

Freeze is entering Year 3 at Auburn on the hot seat, and that volatility has cooled off his recruiting run. After back-to-back top 10 classes, the Tigers have just 12 commits in the 2026 class and are ranked outside the top 50 in the country. Even in the Transfer Portal era with freedom of movement, no player wants to sign up to board a sinking ship. 

Jones’s commitment could reassure the Auburn fanbase that Freeze can still attract elite talent, and potentially buy him time if the Tigers fail to contend for a College Football Playoff spot this season, or even come close. Yet, there’s no reason for an elite recruit to take on that level of risk unless Freeze gives him a few million reasons, but how is Auburn going to outbid the Phil Knight-backed Ducks? 

Alabama is right to stay after Jones. An in-state star like that could always change his mind before he arrives on campus in Eugene, but Auburn can probably give it a rest. If Jones is staying home, it’ll be Tuscaloosa, not The Plains.