The old railroad town is the type of place to shut down on a Friday night when the local high school football team is playing. It’s the kind of place where you can walk into any of the small handful of businesses downtown, bring up the name Jaquez Wilkes, and hear stories of him, his father and his uncle’s accomplishments on the field.

Four-star EDGE rusher Jaquez Wilkes accomplished a goal Monday by choosing to stay close to home and committing to the Auburn Tigers over Texas A&M, Miami, Florida State, and Alabama.

The Tigers landed four-star Jaquez Wilkes from Wadley High School on Monday afternoon. Wilkes announced his pledge to the Tigers at a ceremony at his high school. Rated as a top-100 recruit nationally in the class of 2026,