When the old clock at Samford Hall on the Auburn campus ticked over to 12:01 AM, Aug. 2, nothing had changed for the Auburn Tigers. There was no Friday night celebration at Toomer's Corner; no toilet paper thrown on the now thriving oak trees that are at the center of Auburn celebrations.
Aug. 1 was supposed to be a big day for Auburn. It was to be the day that verbal commits from Alabama Football and other big programs began flipping to Auburn. There were no announced flips to Auburn on Friday.
Friday was a potentially pivotal day because Aug. 1 was the date written offers could be delivered to 2026 verbal commits and other recruits. Auburn believed verbal offers made by other programs would be reduced in written offers.
As reported by Peter Rauterkus, Auburn AD John Cohen has previously said, "I’m here to tell you, we’re gonna do this the right way,” Cohen told reporters on July 2 before an AMBUSH alumni event in Alexander City.
Rauterkus summarized that Cohen meant "that other schools may not be following the new rules of the settlement. He hinted at schools throwing out unrealistic numbers to recruits in verbal offers, something he said Auburn wasn’t going to do." Cohen told multiple reporters that "Aug. 1 would be a big day for the long-term success of Auburn’s recruiting. That’s the day that those verbal offers can start going into writing, a chance for schools to put their money where their mouth is, so to speak."
Was ... Is Alabama Football vulnerable?
All indications were that Auburn had specific flip targets, and the Tigers were poised to sweep in for quick commit flips. Some of those flips can still happen. It is a long time until December. Auburn insiders provided some surprising information about the Tigers' written offers. Apparently, the offers did not include precise dollar amounts. That might well be a wise strategy. Market demand will change in the coming months, and overbidding now could deplete available funds.
Another reason for Auburn not being specific now is that the Tigers might be short on funds. Cohen insists that Auburn will be aggressive in cutting deals. They certainly need to be aggressive. Based on the 247Sports Composite, on Aug. 1, Auburn was No. 70 nationally in 2026 verbal commits. Only one SEC team was worse, Missouri at No. 78.