Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers received a significant commitment Wednesday – literally.

Carde Smith, a 4-star offensive lineman who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 285 pounds, revealed his commitment to Auburn in a post on X, the social networking platform formerly known as Twitter.
Smith’s vow to the Tigers comes after receiving numerous offers.

According to 247Sports, Auburn was the first SEC program to offer Smith back in September 2023. Since then, nine more SEC programs, as well as other non-SEC programs, have followed suit.

Auburn, Florida State, and Mississippi State were Smith’s top three teams down the stretch.

But, in the end, the Mobile native elected to remain in-state with his commitment to the Tigers, allowing Freeze and Auburn’s staff to focus on winning in-state recruiting fights.

“You begin at home with recruiting. “You can’t fill the entire roster with Alabama players, but we want to win our battles here,” Freeze said after Auburn’s A-Day spring game. “We’ve said that since we arrived. In the 2024 cycle, which gave us a full year to recruit kids, we won our fair share of battles in this state. It’s great to see them succeed, and maybe we can carry that into ’25 and ’26 as well.”

Smith, an offensive tackle from Mobile’s Williamson High School, is ranked as the 23rd offensive tackle in the 2025 recruiting class and the 16th-rated talent in Alabama, according to 247Sports.

Auburn’s 2025 recruiting class now has ten commits and three offensive linemen, including Smith, who joins Tavaris Dice, Spencer Dowland, and Tai Buster.