Auburn has put itself in prime position for another major recruiting win, with four-star defensive lineman Marquis Evans set to make his decision on July 1 as part of Rivals’ Summer Signing Day.
Evans will announce his commitment on YouTube Live at 11:35 a.m. CT, and Auburn is sitting in a strong spot heading into the reveal. The Tigers are one of five schools still in the mix, alongside Florida, Miami, South Carolina and Tennessee, and Evans is currently listed with a 93% chance to land at Auburn.
A 6-foot-4, 250-pound lineman, Evans brings the kind of frame that can matter right away or grow into something even more dangerous down the road. He is rated as the 24th-best defensive lineman in his class and the 10th-best recruit in Alabama, a state where Alex Golesh and his staff have been making serious recruiting noise.
If Evans does choose Auburn, he would become the third four-star defensive lineman in the Tigers’ 2027 class. If edge rushers are folded into the picture, he would be the fourth four-star trench addition, with Maryland edge rusher Rion Jackson still awaiting a four-star bump despite having a senior season left.
The defensive line group already has Donivan Moore and Nate Kamba on the way, while James Pace, a four-star, and Jackson are set to anchor the 2027 edge room.
Auburn has also shown it can develop elite talent up front. Two of the program’s five highest-rated commits ever were defensive linemen, Derrick Brown and Byron Cowart, making that position the only one with multiple players in Auburn’s all-time top five.
Landing Evans would also give the Tigers’ 2027 class another boost, with Auburn already sitting at No. 9 in the 247Sports rankings.
In Other News...
What John Mateer Just Admitted About Auburn Still Stings
John Mateers comments about the hand injury he suffered against Auburn were a reminder of how quickly a game can change for a quarterback and a team. The Oklahoma signal-caller talked candidly about the challenge of dealing with the injury and about the difference in his performance before and after it, which only adds another layer to a meeting Tigers fans already saw as physical and consequential.
For Auburn, the sting is less about Mateers words than what they confirm about that night and what it meant for the rest of the SEC picture. While the Sooners were sorting through the aftermath of his injury, FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt was looking even farther down the conference road, pointing to Georgia and Alabama as the teams most likely to get back to the SEC Championship Game, with their Week 6 showdown looming as a major checkpoint. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Fan Favorite Chaney Johnson Is Still Building Something In Brooklyn
Chaney Johnsons path from Auburn fan favorite to NBA hopeful has kept stretching farther than a lot of people might have expected, and now it has reached another checkpoint in Brooklyn. After a late-season audition that clearly left an impression, Johnson has landed a two-way contract with the Nets for the 2026-27 season, a sign that his work with the organization has done more than just keep him in the mix. He also brings a real body of pro experience with him, having already logged time in both the NBA and the G League for Brooklyns affiliate.
For Auburn fans, the appeal is easy to understand: Johnson has kept finding ways to stay relevant at the next level, whether it was in brief NBA minutes or longer stretches in Long Island. The Nets are still giving him runway, too, with Johnson set to take part in Brooklyns summer-league team events next month. What he can do with that opportunity will matter, because these kinds of roster spots are often less about arrival than about proving there is still another step to take. [Read more 🡒]
