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Five-star defensive lineman arrives in Auburn on Saturday before signing day

Cole Pinkstonby:Cole Pinkston•12/17/22•

ColePinkston

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Prized 2023 DL James Smith. (Sam Spiegelman/On3)

AUBURN – Less than five days until National Signing Day, Auburn has managed to bring in 5-star defensive lineman James Smith of Montgomery (Ala.) Carver. Auburn Live has confirmed the arrival of Smith, the No. 14 recruit in the country for the On3 Consensus, on Saturday morning.

Smith and his 5-star teammate, linebacker Qua Russaw, are fresh off of an official visit to Alabama, which is a finalist and possibly the favorite going into the week of signing day. The Tigers are working to land both as centerpieces of their 2023 recruiting class.

To our knowledge, Russaw is not on campus at Auburn. It is not yet known if he will make it.

Freeze in-home

Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze went in-home with both Smith and Russaw on Wednesday night. He was joined by defensive coordinator Ron Roberts and assistants Cadillac Williams and Zac Etheridge.

Before the visit, the two teammates had decided to wind visits down before signing with the school of their choice. After the visit, Smith was on board for a visit, but Russaw reportedly was not.

That obviously changed at some point after the Wednesday visits.

Iron Bowl battle?

Signs have pointed toward this being a classic Auburn-Alabama battle for the in-state stand outs. That seems to be the case headed down the stretch.

On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons wrote on Thursday that the two teammates are still planning to be a package deal.

“The two are expected to sign with the same school and even if their plans stay the same, and only Smith visits Auburn this weekend, that doesn’t affect anything. The two will end up at the same school.”

As of Saturday morning, it appears to be only Smith who is in Auburn.

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