Top Prospect Kaiden Prothro Confirms College Football Future Stance After His Confession to Auburn’s Hugh Freeze

Out with the old, in with the new. Another season of college football is in the history books, and a new class of freshmen is ready to fill the void left behind by departing seniors. This proverbial conveyor belt of talent, a carousel of players hopping on and off, is a perpetual cycle. Nearsightedness is a cardinal sin in this sport, and programs already have one eye beyond the upcoming 2025 season. The no. 32 overall recruit in the class of ‘26, Kaiden Prothro, has just dropped a bombshell. He’s condensed his list of possible landing spots, as revealed by On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

As towering as 6 ‘7, 210-pound tight end Kaiden Prothro is, his “shortlist” only comprises 6 schools. Call him an Avatar because he’s essentially only dealing in blueblood schools. Plus, another that perpetually lives in the shadow of one. The list includes Georgia, Texas, Florida, Alabama, and Auburn. An all-SEC affair for the Bowden, Georgia native. He’s clearly wanting to stay close to home. That said, the inclusion of Auburn does stick out as a bit of a sore thumb. More on that later, but the other inclusions are in line with who you’d expect to be vying for a prospect of this ilk. 4-star Prothro is the 2nd-highest-rated TE in his class.

With Bowden being merely 140 miles east of their Athens campus, the Georgia Bulldogs are naturally perceived as a front-runner. Georgia is the closest thing to an active dynasty in the sport right now. Even in a down year, Kirby Smart and his Dawgs won the SEC. They’ve already got the 2nd-highest-rated recruiting class for 2025, and ‘26 is shaping up nicely, too. The Bulldogs are built for sustained success. Plus, their track record of preparing NFL-ready tight ends precedes them. Brock Bowers’ instant stardom is a huge proponent of why turning down UGA will prove hard for Kaiden Prothro. That said, the road to Athens is short but far from linear.

While Prothro made or is making official visits to Georgia, he also has ones to Tuscaloosa, Auburn, and the Swamp. None to Austin to see the Longhorns, though, which does imply they’re lagging behind their adversaries. In terms of Florida, Kaiden Prothro has said, “I’ve built a relationship with them, and [tight ends] coach [Russ Callaway] has really shown me he loves me and wants me down there. I feel like Florida has always had some good tight ends, so I feel like coach is really coaching the players up well.” If Georgia have the Brock Bowers factor, then the Gators have Kyle Pitts. Prothro also said, “[Callaway] talks to me, and I talk to him. Just man-to-man talks. Just what it’s like, checks in on me. I feel like he really loves me, and he shows that.” 

Alabama, meanwhile, will seek to make inroads when they finally host Prothro on campus. The sheen has dissipated after Nick Saban’s departure; however, it’s still Bama. You wouldn’t put it past them to flex their muscles as they’ve done over the years to get this over the line. Speaking of Alabama, their neighbors, Auburn, are the proverbial elephant in this room. Those who haven’t followed this recruitment process keenly shall be wondering how Hugh Freeze and co. have managed to stick around on the shortlist. That’ll be explained by the impact he had on Kaiden Prothro during his visit this past weekend.

Hugh Freeze is relatively well-positioned to add Kaiden Prothro to his 2026 class

The “Loveliest Village on the Plains” had little love in reciprocation in the 2024 season. Auburn has been a bit of an afterthought amidst the fervor toward the top end of the SEC. However, Hugh Freeze’s Tigers did salvage their season down the stretch. That said, a below .500 season was very real, and so is Freeze’s placement on the coaching ‘chopping block.’ Despite the negatives, Kaiden Prothro is still not deterred after what he saw firsthand.

“I just really like how they run things around here. The coaches are great, and I feel like they use their tight ends a good amount here,” said Protho after the visit. He plans to visit again in the spring, which is always a good sign. In lieu of this successful visit, On3 ‘s RPM tracker gives Auburn the 2nd best chance to land him, only behind Georgia. But that’s just the glass-half-full perspective.

The glass-half-empty perspective shall be that Prothro has pending visits to 3 other schools. There’s plenty of opportunity for coaches to leave their mark. Hugh Freeze has recruited him very strongly, but he is probably outmatched here. It remains to be seen if Auburn can pull a surprise here. So far, Kirby Smart and Georgia do appear to be trending towards their next TE star in Kaiden Prothro.