Sep 23, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; A detailed view of an Auburn Tigers helmet on the sideline of the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
College football rosters are never truly settled. Players come and go all the time. Sometimes the ones you least expect to leave are the ones who end up walking out the door. Auburn has seen roster changes before but this one feels different. The news has left a lot of people with more questions than answers.
The player who left came in with a big reputation. Recruiters from all over the country were after him and he was the kind of athlete that programs dream about signing and when Auburn got him it felt like a major victory. Fans were excited. The coaching staff had big plans. Everyone believed something special was on the way.
He got some playing time in his first season and showed enough to keep people interested. His role was small but that was normal for a young player still learning the game at this level. The feeling inside the building was that his best days were still ahead of him. Nobody was thinking about an early exit at that point.
Duke Smith is no longer an Auburn Tiger. The wide receiver came to Auburn as one of the most recruited players in the country. He was rated among the top five athlete recruits in the nation by every major scouting platform. Now he is gone. No clear reason has been given and the program has not said much publicly about what led to his departure.
What makes this harder to digest is the family angle. Duke has a twin brother Erick who is still on the Auburn roster. Two brothers came to the same school together and now they are heading in completely different directions. That is a tough situation for everyone involved and it gives this story a very personal side that goes beyond just football.
Auburn will move forward because that is what teams do. The wide receiver room still has pieces to work with and the coaches will find a way. But losing a player with that kind of talent before he ever reached his potential leaves a real gap. The door has closed on Duke Smith at Auburn and right now nobody is explaining exactly why.
