Auburn’s biggest recruiting win of the 2026 cycle came this month as it landed Leakesville (Miss.) Greene County four-star wide receiver Jase Mathews, the No. 2 WR in the Rivals300.
The Tigers beat out LSU, Ole Miss and Texas A&M for the elite 6-foot-2, 1980-pounder. He now headlines a 12-man recruiting class that’s still vying for momentum heading into the fall.
Winning out for Mathews was a must for head coach Hugh Freeze and the staff on The Plains. Auburn was always at or near the top of his recruitment, but it began to trend heavily in the final weeks ahead of his Aug. 8 decision.
“Auburn is just a place I want to be,” he told Rivals’ Chad Simmons. “I feel like I can thrive there in all areas of life—mentally, physically, and spiritually. The coaches made me feel like I was already part of the team. It is just right when I am there.”
With Auburn struggling to get things going on the recruiting trail, how did it manage to fend off its SEC counterparts down the stretch? It would’ve been easy to envision the Magnolia State star opting to join a class that’s much higher up the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.
According to Simmons, it was Mathews’ tight bond with AU’s Marcus Davis that allowed it to seal the deal last week.
“I give a lot of credit to Marcus Davis, the receivers coach at Auburn. Just being consistent, man,” Simmons told Rivals’ Josh Newberg on the latest ‘Simmons Scoop’ recruiting show.
Tigers continue Mississippi pipeline with Mathews
Some of Auburn’s biggest recruiting wins of the Freeze era have come out of the state of Mississippi. The former Ole Miss coach obviously has done his fair share in the state, as has offensive coordinator Derrick Nix and others.
Last cycle, Auburn flipped Lucedale (Miss.) George County…
Source link : https://www.on3.com/rivals/news/insider-explains-how-auburn-tigers-landed-elite-wr-jase-mathews/
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Publish date : 2025-08-13 22:52:00
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