Alvin Henderson turned down Auburn once, but he could not do it a second time.
The Elba (Ala.) High School star running back, who put up more than 3,000 yards and 60 touchdowns in 2023, announced his verbal commitment to the Tigers on Tuesday with Rivals.
Henderson had been committed to Penn State since April 11.
“I’ve flipped from Penn State,” he said. “I’m ready to work with the guys that’s already committed, staying in-state and take over the SEC. I’ve always felt sure about Auburn.
“Coach (Hugh) Freeze, Coach (Derrick) Nix and the rest of the staff…I already knew how special Auburn was but they showed me how staying in-state can help me in ways on and off the field.”
Henderson has long frequented AU, just about two hours from EHS, including multiple trips to the Plains following the Penn State pledge.
The four-star’s priority status was never in question with the Tigers, he says.
“They just preached to me, ‘we need you!'” he said. “What do we got to do to get you?
“Coach Freeze said for two or three years now, I’ve been his guy at Auburn. Even when I was committed, he was like, ‘Alvin you’re my guy.’
“They proved to me, with the offensive system they are gonna use…without taking a back in 2024…they presented me with things that really opened my eyes.”
Once official visits began, Auburn hosted several other backs on campus but the Tiger staff came back to Henderson and his family even without the official visit to the Plains on the books.
“He just kept it real with me,” he said of Freeze. “They were saying, ‘we may need to take another dude but you’re who we want.’
“He preached to me and my family how much not only he needed me, but how much the Auburn family needed me.”
The No. 3 back in the class feels some relief in this commitment flip, not to mention some finality this time around.
“I’m 100 percent locked in with Auburn,” he said. “I had to do what was best for not only me, but for my family, at the same time.”
Henderson tells Rivals his focus is on recruiting other recruits to AU. His recruitment is otherwise shut down moving forward.