Pike Road’s 4-star defensive lineman Malik Blocton makes it official, inks with Auburn

Admittedly, Pike Road defensive lineman Malik Blocton was a bit early as the early signing period doesn’t officially get underway until Dec. 20. But that’s the price you pay when you’re invited to play in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star game Dec. 16 and have to get to Hattiesburg, Miss.

And though a few days early, Blocton didn’t pull any surprises on Monday morning as he inked his national letter of intent with the Auburn Tigers, who earned his commitment back in July, beating out the Texas Longhorns.

Blocton, who rates as a 4-star defensive line commit and sits just inside the top-25 of the state of Alabama’s 2024 prospects, says it was Auburn’s defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett who played a significant role in his pledge to Auburn.

“I had a really close relationship to Coach Garrett before he even got to Auburn,” Blocton said, adding that Garrett recruited him when he was on Hugh Freeze’s staff at Liberty. “We already had a relationship, so when he got to Auburn, he was right up the street from me. And I just made the decision to go to Auburn.”

Garrett, a former SEC defensive lineman himself, is often regarded as a “player’s coach.”

And if there’s any Auburn recruit that has learned that, it’s Blocton, who is the younger brother of current Auburn defensive lineman Marcus Harris.

“He was telling me that what I see is what I get with coach Garrett,” Blocton said of he and his brother’s conversations. “He’s not one of those guys who switches up. He always gonna be the same, so he was just telling me to come in and work hard. He’s not going to be easy, but it’s going to be worth it.”

Blocton’s addition will add a 6-foot-4 and 275-pound body to Auburn’s defensive line — something that paid dividends for Pike Road this season as Blocton led the Patriots in tackles with 118 total tackles, 30 tackles for a loss, 14 sacks, two fumble recoveries and an interception.