5-star receiver Perry Thompson reveals why he chose Auburn football, when he knew decision

AUBURN — The latest Auburn football commit says he knew what decision he'd make about a month ago.

Five-star wide receiver Perry Thompson flipped from Alabama and to the Tigers at Big Cat Weekend on Saturday, giving coach Hugh Freeze his second five-star commit in four days, as coveted linebacker prospect Demarcus Riddick backed off his pledge to Georgia in favor of Auburn on Wednesday.

Prior to Riddick's announcement, the Tigers hadn't had a five-star commitment since Owen Pappoe in 2019. And as receivers go, Auburn hadn't had a composite five-star player since Ben Obomanu in 2002.

"Really just the legacy I can make," Thompson said Saturday when asked why he chose the Tigers. "We can be back there, running the SEC (like) the Cam Newton era when he came through. I feel like we can bring that back with our '24 class."

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Thompson, who had been committed to Alabama since June 2022, said coach Nick Saban reached out to him Thursday in an attempt to convince him to take a trip to Tuscaloosa for a recruiting barbecue instead of going to the Plains for Big Cat.

"He was trying to get me over there to their little cookout thing and I told him I was heading up to Auburn," Thompson said. "He respected it."

Entering his senior season at Foley High School near Mobile — the alma mater of Alabama legend and NFL superstar Julio Jones — Thompson said carving his own path played into his decision: "The Julio Jones (thing), it's not a bad comparison, but at the same time I just want to be Perry Thompson."

"I watched some film at Liberty and we sat down and he talked me through some of the plays that they run," Thompson said of Freeze's offensive system. "A lot of one-on-one matchups. Just you and the cornerback, make plays and score touchdowns."

Asked about the future of his recruitment, and if he was ready to shut things down, Thompson said he was "pretty much" done and that he would "probably not" be taking any visits to other schools before signing with the Tigers in December; he plans to be an early enrollee. He said the odds of him signing with Auburn are "100%."

Thompson added that wide receivers coach Marcus Davis and director of recruiting relations Trovon Reed were two members of AU's staff who played a big role in his recruitment, saying the latter is like an uncle: "Just that family feeling."

"When I get up here just know, we're going to change Auburn around and get them back to how they was," Thompson said.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Perry Thompson: 5-star receiver breaks down Auburn football decision