LSU battling Auburn for top-ranked IOL Micah DeBose

On Dec. 22, Mobile (Ala.) Vigor four-star interior offensive lineman Micah DeBose decommitted from Georgia. Since then, Auburn has been viewed as the new frontrunner for the 6-foot-4, 340-pounder.

The Tigers have long been pushing for DeBose — before he even originally pledged to UGA in January of last year. The in-state program started to trend for the blue-chipper at the end of 2023 and entered the spring as the clear favorite to add the top-ranked IOL in the 2025 cycle to its pledge list.

“Commitment definitely crossed his mind, even when he was still committed to Georgia, late in the fall there was some buzz about Auburn behind the scenes being the top team over Georgia at that time,” On3’s Chad Simmons said on The Inside Scoop. “Obviously there’s been a lot of buzz around Jake Thornton, Hugh Freeze, the Auburn program, in-state school, they were there multiple times in January to check on him.”

As DeBose has entered the next phase of his recruitment, other SEC programs have also received visits thus far in 2024 — one of which is LSU. Brian Kelly and his staff have already put together an elite group of commits and own the No. 1 class in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

There’s a heap of momentum down on The Bayou — which has in-turn helped LSU join Auburn at the front of the race for DeBose’s commitment. It’s the Tigers in The Boot that are now trending for the lineman, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM).

“That last visit on that weekend of February 3 went to another Tigers — SEC program in Baton Rouge, LSU. They’re a team that’s picked up some momentum coming off that visit, and I think right now, it’s a battle at the top between those two Tigers,” Simmons said. “If I had to pick today, which one is trending, I would lean more towards LSU.”

Auburn ‘still right there’ for DeBose alongside LSU

Simmons and On3 National Recruiting Analyst Sam Spiegelman have both logged picks in the On3 RPM in favor of LSU landing DeBose, giving it a 65.9% edge, while Auburn is now down to 29.8%.

LSU already has commitments from the top-ranked players at quarterback, running back and wide receiver. The addition of DeBose would mean the nation’s top IOL. Auburn isn’t going anywhere, however.

“I think right now another Tigers outside of (DeBose’s) home state is trending, but Auburn’s still right there as well,” Simmons said.

DeBose is the No. 38 overall prospect in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 2 player in Alabama.

He has an On3 NIL Valuation of $158K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.