A look at four 'flip' candidates ahead of Big Cat Weekend

Guests are beginning to arrive on Auburn’s campus for the biggest recruiting event of the season, Big Cat Weekend.

Hugh Freeze and his coaching staff will welcome several uncommitted recruits and even more talented 2026 targets. However, its toughest recruiting effort will be spent on four players committed to playing college football elsewhere.

A total of 22 known recruits from the 2025 cycle will be present during Big Cat Weekend, with four committed to fellow Power Four programs. According to Auburn Undercover’s running list of Big Cat visitors, four-star athlete Derick Smith (Alabama), four-star EDGE Zion Grady (Ohio State), three-star RB Daune Morris (USC), and three-star WR Sam Turner (Georgia Tech) will all participate in this weekend’s activities.

Smith pledged to Alabama in March, and still appears to be leaning towards the Crimson Tide. However, Steve Wiltfong of On3 places Smith at the top of Auburn’s flip wish list. The Selma native is being recruited by Auburn to play wide receiver and in the secondary according to Wiltfong. The possibilities are endless with Smith, as he enters the weekend as the No. 2 athlete in the nation according to 247Sports.

Grady has flipped his commitment from Georgia to Ohio State this calendar year, but his recruitment is not quite finished. Auburn has already landed a commitment from one of Grady’s high school teammates from Enterprise High School, four-star safety Eric Winters. Winters will also attend Big Cat Weekend and could work some magic in order to shift Grady’s pledge to the Tigers.

Morris is a three-star running back from Murfreesboro, Tennessee and is pledged to USC. However, a few programs including Auburn, Ole Miss, and Tennessee are also candidates to flip him. Can Auburn get the upper-hand and sway Morris to stay closer to home?

The final candidate is Dekalb County, Georgia native Sam Turner. Turner earned an Auburn offer in June and is quickly shooting up the recruiting board for Auburn. Turner, a Georgia Tech commit, says that he is building a relationship with Auburn wide receivers coach Marcus Davis and that his recruitment is not over.

Auburn’s coaching staff will need to bring their best efforts in order to steal these talented prospects away from their respective commitments. The great news for Auburn is that 12 of their commitments will also be on campus this weekend working as extra recruiters.

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