Auburn is down to 19 commitments with No. 1 junior college ATH Octavius Matthews no longer on the list according to Auburn Undercover’s Keith Niebuhr.

Matthews has been showing strong interest in Tennessee lately and took an official visit to Purdue last weekend. With two running backs already in the class, Niebuhr reports that the Tigers felt it was best to cut ties with Matthews. The 247Sports Composite ranks Matthews as the No. 1 JUCO athlete, but he is being recruited as a running back.

The North Jackson (Stevenson, Ala.) product has spent the last two seasons at Itawamba Community College (Fulton, Miss). Matthews, who measures 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, originally committed to AU on June 5, and his decision to continue his recruiting process after pledging to the Tigers could cost him the opportunity to play in the SEC.

While Auburn was reportedly put off by his interest in Purdue and Tennessee, it’s worth noting that Matthews does not yet have a scholarship offer from the Vols. He is visiting Knoxville this weekend, likely in hopes of being a late addition to UT’s class.

The Volunteers already have 28 commitments in their current recruiting class, including three running backs (4-star Ty Chandler, 3-star Trey Coleman and 3-star Timothy Jordan). Butch Jones and his assistants could potentially see value in Matthews’ junior college experience while redshirting one of the true freshmen ball-carriers, but four running backs in one class would certainly turn heads.

Matthews told AL.com’s Drew Champlin that his top three is Tennessee, Purdue and Kansas. The Boilermakers have extended a scholarship offer. His highlights can be viewed below: