A busy national signing day for Auburn continued with the addition of a top defensive recruit on Wednesday afternoon.
Juwon Gaston, a 3-star safety out of Carver High School in Montgomery, Ala., announced that he has signed with the Tigers. Gaston was the sixth recruit to sign with Auburn on Wednesday.
“I chose Auburn because it’s close to home and I feel like I can come in and play,” Gaston told Chad Simmons of Rivals.com. “I love the coaching staff, they showed a lot of love.”
?COMMITMENT ALERT?
Three-star Alabama DB Juwon Gaston @juwon_gaston3 has committed to Auburn.
"Auburn is close to home, most of my family loves Auburn, and I like the new coaches."
He broke down his decision with @ChadSimmons_ https://t.co/YEGjVnR02C pic.twitter.com/FeXW8kozgO
— Rivals (@Rivals) February 3, 2021
Gaston didn’t receive an offer from Auburn until Jan. 20. Yet, the Tigers edged South Carolina to land the talented defensive back and add him to their 2021 recruiting class. Gaston became the 16th player to send in his national letter of intent in the Tigers’ 2021 class.
“It was a tough decision because I was leaning towards South Carolina before Auburn started recruiting me, but I felt Auburn was too good to not go to,” Gaston said, per Simmons.
Gaston is the No. 49 safety in the 2021 class, per the 247Sports Composite rankings. He’s the No. 24 recruit from Alabama, and he’ll be staying close to home to begin his college career.
Auburn already had two other safeties in its 2021 class (4-star Ahmari Harvey and 3-star Cayden Bridges), so the secondary could end up being a strength for the Tigers in the years to come.
Jake Rill contributes to news coverage for Saturday Down South. He has covered the SEC since 2016.
