Auburn will enter the early signing period with a ton of momentum.
Tuesday evening, the Tigers picked up their second commitment of the day and fourth already this week when 4-star cornerback JaDarian Rhym of Valdosta (Ga.) flipped to Auburn from LSU. Rhym is the No. 17 prospect in the state of Georgia, No. 21 cornerback nationally and No. 168 overall recruit in the country for the industry generated 247Sports Composite.
He becomes Auburn’s highest-ranked pledge.
Rhym had been committed to LSU since Jan. 8 of this year.
He officially visited Auburn last weekend and that’s when the Tigers, led by cornerbacks coach Zac Etheridge, seemed to wrap things up.
“It was a great experience,” Rhym said. “I built more relationships with the players and the coaches and they talked to me about coming early. I think they could develop me. … It was a 10. It’s just family. I feel like I could really fit here. Auburn is a great school, a great town. I like everything about it.”
100% Committed #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/Gg9rBkIoSR
— JD Rhym (@JaDarianRhym2_) December 14, 2021
Rhym is commitment No. 15 for Auburn, which has moved up to No. 21 in the 247Sports recruiting team rankings.
He is Auburn’s second 4-star defensive back commit this week. Four-star prospect Austin Ausberry committed to Auburn on Monday.
Rhym plans to sign Wednesday and enroll at Auburn in January.
Here is Rhym’s 247Sports evaluation: Has the ideal size to play out on the boundary. No verified wingspan, but reach might one of the longest in the class when it comes to defensive backs. An instinctive defender with ball skills that can turn and run. Quick feet allow him to mirror at the line of scrimmage. Balanced, coordinated athlete given size. Aggressive with the hands, hanging onto receivers as they worked their way down the field. Fights to break up passes. Not afraid to lower the shoulder and throw his body into someone. Capable of breaking down and making a tackle in space. Intriguing blitz option with experience there. Comfortable in man coverage at this stage in his development, but will need to keep fine-tuning the technique. Doesn’t get leveraged easy. Must, however, add functional strength. Moves well, although top-end speed a bit of a question mark given lack of verified testing data. Produced as a sophomore playing at one of the Peach State’s top programs. Followed that up with a strong junior season. Should be considered one of the nation’s top defensive backs in class of 2022 given what he has put on tape. Has a chance to get it done cornerback, but could get looks at other spots in the secondary. NFL frame.
