Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers have won the commitment of Elba’s 4-star running back and two-time Class 1A Back of the Year Alvin Henderson, a major flip away from his previous commitment to Penn State.

Henderson announced his commitment to Auburn in a post to Instagram on Friday afternoon.

Henderson committed to Penn State in April, within a week of taking an official visit to head coach James Franklin’s program.

Measuring 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, 247Sports ranks Henderson as the 8th-ranked running back in the 2024 class and the 11th-ranked prospect — regardless of position — in the state of Alabama. Henderson is ranked just outside the top 100 players nationally in the 2025 class.

With Henderson in the fold, Auburn has secured its first running back commitment since the 2023 recruiting cycle and brings the Tigers’ 2025 recruiting class to a total of 16 commitments. Auburn’s 2025 class was already ranked sixth nationally by 247Sports ahead of Henderson’s commitment, and Henderson is now one of the five highest-rated players in Auburn’s class.

Auburn’s class is expected to jump into the top five nationally with Henderson’s addition. Auburn now has five of the top 15 in-state players committed.

Henderson’s commitment comes less than a week after Auburn landed Eric Winters, a fellow in-state prominent high school player. Winters is a four-star safety from Enterprise.

Auburn also remains in the mix for several other top in-state recruits including four-star edge rusher Zion Grady and four-star safety Anquon Fegans.

Henderson visited Auburn in May after already committing to Penn State and took his official visit to Penn State just a week prior to flipping to Auburn.

Winning Henderson comes on the heels of a 2023 season that saw him rush for 3,523 yards and 61 touchdowns on 225 carries – an average of 15.7 yards per carry and 251 yards per game. With Henderson in the backfield, Elba finished 13-1 this past fall in a season that ended in the state semifinal, where the Tigers lost 27-24 to eventual state champion Leroy.

Henderson also held offers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M and others.

The commitment of Henderson comes after a bit of turnover in his recruitment as a pair of Auburn’s new coaches in offensive coordinator and running backs coach Derrick Nix and co-defensive coordinator Charles Kelly took the reins of Henderson’s recruitment after the departure of former running backs coach Cadillac Williams, according to Henderson’s 247Sports profile.

After winning his second Class 1A Back of the Year honor on Jan. 30, Henderson admitted to AL.com’s Ben Thomas that he was “hurt” by the exit of Williams, but was confident he could build a relationship with Nix.

“Coach Nix and coach (Hugh) Freeze and coach (Charles) Kelly came down to my school last Monday,” Henderson said of the Auburn staff in an interview on Feb. 1. “Coach Nix FaceTimed me last night and said he would be at my game Thursday. I’m already bonding with him, and he’s only had the job like two weeks.”

And as evidenced by Henderson’s commitment, it appears Nix and Kelly have quickly settled into their new roles.