Which player is the best recruit Auburn football has had since 2000?
Auburn football continues to recruit at a high level in the SEC, as it has for years.
Though the Auburn Tigers rarely have one of the best classes in the country, their ability to hang around the top 10 in most cycles can’t be ignored. Auburn is a top-10 program in the country, as the Tigers have had two undefeated seasons and played for two national titles since 2000. They’re not title contenders every year, but you never know when they’re going to surprise us.
Despite other programs in their geographical footprint regularly yielding better recruiting classes than them, Auburn does land more than its fair share of five-star players over the years. If there is one top high school recruit who stands out among the rest in Auburn history the last 20 years, it’s defensive tackle Derrick Brown.
At 6-foot-5 and 330 pounds, the five-star recruit from Buford, Georgia came to The Plains on a mission. The Lanier High School standout was the No. 1 player from Georgia, the No. 4 defensive tackle in the 2016 recruiting class and the No. 9 overall player, according to the 247Sports Composite.
Brown had 26 offers, made six official visits and had three coach visits. In addition to Auburn, Brown took official visits to Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi State and Tennessee. Auburn was his third visit on Jan. 15, 2016, after Alabama and Mississippi State, but before Georgia and Tennessee. Brown committed to Auburn on Feb. 3, 2016, enrolling on May 31, 2016.
Brown’s primary recruiter to Auburn was defensive line coach Rodney Garner. To date, Brown is Garner’s greatest recruit. He has netted eight five-stars before, including Carl Lawson and Bo Nix to Auburn, as well as Reshad Jones to Georgia at his previous post. Auburn knew it had something special in Brown in 2016.
All due respect to Cam Newton who won the Heisman and led Auburn to a national title in 2010, but he was a junior college recruit, and this is all about finding the best high school recruit.
Derrick Brown was the best recruit Auburn football had in the 21st century.
Brown played sparingly for head coach Gus Malzahn as a freshman in 2016. He appeared in eight games, made 11 tackles and 1.5 of them went for a loss of yardage. As a sophomore in 2017, Brown saw his role increase, as he had 57 tackles, 9.5 for loss and three sacks. Auburn beat rivals Alabama and Georgia to win the SEC West for the first time since 2013.
Though the Tigers would fall to Georgia in a rematch in the 2017 SEC Championship game in Atlanta, it had been established that Kevin Steele’s defensive line was going to be feisty going forward, and Brown was going to be a huge part of that. As a junior, he earned his first major honor in college, as he was part of the All-SEC Second Team in 2018.
Brown had 48 tackles, 10.5 for loss and 4.5 sacks. Though Auburn never got back to Atlanta in his final two years down on The Plains, Brown was already cementing himself as the best defensive lineman to play for the Tigers since the iconic Tracy Rocker. His 2019 senior season helped ensure his status as an Auburn legend, as well as a top-10 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Brown had 54 tackles, 11.5 for loss and four sacks. He was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-SEC First Team. After four excellent seasons for the Tigers, Brown parlayed that into being the No. 7 overall pick by the Carolina Panthers in the 2020 NFL Draft. He is expected to be a huge part of Matt Rhule’s defense going forward in Charlotte.
Though Auburn didn’t win the SEC while he was there, Brown lived up to his lofty expectations.
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