AUBURN — Auburn football has suffered a hit to its 2025 recruiting class.

Tyler Lockhart, a four-star linebacker rated by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 147 player in the country, backed off his pledge to the Tigers on Friday. His decommitment comes two days after four-star offensive tackle Carde Smith announced he would be doing the same.

Lockhart and Smith had been committed to Auburn since May and April, respectively.

The Tigers now have 14 pledges in 2025, a haul that ranks No. 12 in the country, according to the 247Sports team rankings. It ranks No. 7 in the SEC behind Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Tennessee and LSU.

With more than five months remaining until the early signing period, there's still time for the Tigers to chase a class that ends in the top five, which is what coach Hugh Freeze said he's shooting for.

Players still committed to Auburn in the top 200 include safety Eric Winters (65), edge defender Jakaleb Faulk (108), running back Alvin Henderson (113), defensive linemen Jourdin Crawford (162) and Malik Autry (180), cornerback Devin Williams (192) and offensive linemen Broderick Shull (193) and Tavaris Dice (197).

ANALYSIS: Auburn's defensive line could be a swap of star power for depth in 2024

HOOPS: Denver Jones still learning how to be a 'quarterback' at point guard

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Tyler Lockhart: 4-star LB decommits from Auburn football recruiting