Texas A&M football fans probably haven't thought about Jacoby Mathews in quite some time, if I had to guess. I know it had been a while since the former five-star defensive back had crossed my mind, given that he departed College Station after Elko's arrival and hadn't ever committed anywhere.
Well, that all just changed. Despite the fact that Mathews never selected a landing spot immediately after departing Aggieland, that doesn't preclude him from doing so now that he's taken a year off— and that's the news that came down today.
Mathews has apparently joined up with the Auburn Tigers after a year out of football, and barring something going wrong, will be with the Tigers when they come to Kyle Field in late September this year to play against the Aggies. The Louisiana native will look to make an impact on an Auburn team that is looking to have a huge year under Hugh Freeze, who is battling for his job this fall.
Jacoby Mathews commits to Auburn more than one year after leaving Texas A&M football
Mathews will have a chance to make an impact, given his clear physical talent, but a year off of football won't have done him any favors.
After a year in the transfer portal, Jacoby Matthews had committed to Auburn: https://t.co/Hh7Y1tgeOU
— Jaxson Callaway (AT) (@AggiesToday) July 1, 2025
You have to wonder about some of the details here. You don't just miss a year of football and then land with a power program like Auburn because you were being indecisive— there's something more going on.
The two things that jump to mind for me are that there may have been some personal matter that drew Mathews away from the field or that he was academically ineligible. The latter would be tough to achieve, as JUCO ball is always an option, and you don't exactly need all A's to get into that level.
Whatever the case may be, this is an intriguing move from a Texas A&M perspective. Mathews never quite lived up to the hype while in College Station, but he certainly flashed some potential. It would be some pretty sore luck for him to turn out to be a major contributor for the Tigers against A&M, but we've seen stranger things happen.