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Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
Hugh Freeze and Auburn continued a hot recruiting run Monday as the Tigers officially flipped four-star athlete Derick Smith, No. 38 in the ESPN 300, from his commitment to Alabama for 2025.
Smith, a two-way star at Alabama’s Southside High School who is expected to join the Tigers as a wide receiver, pledged to the Crimson Tide on March 10. He previously stood as the sixth-ranked prospect in Kalen DeBoer’s inaugural class in Tuscaloosa.
Smith’s flip follows his visit to Auburn for “Big Cat Weekend.” With his commitment, Smith is now the second-highest member of the Tigers’ incoming class, trailing only four-star cornerback Blake Woodby (No. 22), who gave his pledge to the Tigers on Saturday.
Smith is the fourth-ranked athlete in his class and the No. 4 prospect from the state of Alabama in the 2025 cycle. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound prospect has played primarily at safety and wide receiver at Southside. As a junior last fall, Smith hauled in 46 passes for 1,487 yards with 14 receiving touchdowns, had 65 carries for 1,036 yards and nine rushing touchdowns, and finished with 74 total tackles and 11 sacks on defense.
Smith entered 2024 with a list of Power 4 offers with opportunities to play on either side of the ball. He committed to Alabama as a safety, but he kept his recruitment open.
“Some other schools are trying to pull him away to play receiver,” Charles Moody, Smith’s coach at Southside, recently told ESPN. There’s some schools that have offered him the opportunity to play both ways. Some other schools have told him he can play whatever he wants to play.”
Smith’s flip is the latest domino to fall on the heels of a massive recruiting weekend across the 2025 and 2026 classes for Freeze and his coaching staff.
Auburn has now gained commitments from three 2025 ESPN 300 prospects since Saturday, adding pledges from Woodby, Smith and fellow Alabama flip Antonio Coleman (No. 16 defensive tackle) to a 2025 class that ranked 14th in ESPN’s latest team rankings for the current cycle.
The Tigers also picked up three pledges in the 2026 class over the weekend, led by four-star defensive end Hezekiah Harris (No. 51 in the ESPN Junior 300), outside linebacker JaMichael Garrett (No. 123) and inside linebacker Shadarius Toodle (No. 150).
