Auburn beats out Georgia & Miami to land four-star safety Eric Winters' commitment

The Auburn Tigers have landed an addition to their 2025 class with the commitment of four-star safety Eric Winters from Enterprise High School. He chose Auburn over Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Miami, LSU, Ole Miss, and USC.

Winters made three game-day visits to Auburn during the past fall and frequently appeared on campus this spring. He also participated in the Tigers' 7-on-7 competition last week.

The competition for Eric Winters' commitment intensified as summer approached, but Auburn's persistent presence paid off. Auburn hosted him last after he completed official visits to Miami and Georgia at the beginning of June.

An official visit to Auburn on June 14 increased Winters' interest in the program. During his visit this weekend, he informed the coaching staff of his decision on Friday, which was then publicly announced on Saturday.

In an interview with the Dothan Eagle, Eric Winters expressed his reasons for choosing Auburn:

"Just going to Auburn games and getting that feeling of the environment … the family feeling they’ve got around here … you walk around town and everybody knows your name. It’s like family around here."

Winters has been a primary target for Auburn's head coach Hugh Freeze, defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin, co-defensive coordinator and safety coach Charles Kelly, and the entire defensive staff. His addition is particularly valuable for Auburn, which is dealing with significant turnover in its secondary following the departure of four starters for the NFL.

Eric Winters' recruitment journey is not completely over yet

Eric Winters' commitment makes him the sixth in-state recruit to join Auburn. He is also the fourth player to commit to Auburn this month, following the commitments of Donovan Starr, Bryce Deas, and Broderick Shull. However, Winters is not locked in yet, despite his commitment to Auburn.

“I feel solid about this, but my recruitment is not shutdown because you never know what could happen within the next couple of months."

During his junior season at Wildcat High School, Winters played both quarterback and safety. However, he noted a shift in his recruitment focus towards the safety position since the beginning of the year. Auburn is aware of his flexibility and might consider him for various roles, depending on the team's needs.

The On3 Industry Ranking places Winters as the No. 8 safety in the nation, the No. 65 overall recruit in the 2025 class, and the No. 5 prospect in Alabama.