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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

One of the area’s top-rated prospects will head to the Plains to kick off his college career.

Thompson punter and kicker John Alan McGuire committed to play college football at Auburn University in a social media post on Sunday, July 28.

McGuire thanked God, his family and coaches at Thompson High School and beyond in his post for giving him the opportunity to play at the next level.

In addition, McGuire announced that he will enroll early at Auburn in January following the conclusion of the Warriors’ 2024 season.

The Tigers offered McGuire just a day before he committed on Saturday, July 27 during Big Cat Weekend. His other offer came on July 17 from Florida State.

McGuire is currently nationally ranked as the No. 2 punter in the Class of 2025 and as a five-star prospect by Kohl’s.

As a punter, McGuire earned MaxPreps Junior All-American Second Team honors in 2023 for his average of 42.4 yards per punt, which came off 28 punts for 848 total yards.

He will also play in the Adidas All-American Bowl on January 11 on NBC after he was selected on June 28 at Football University’s Top Gun camp.

McGuire is also a highly-rated kicking prospect, and in 2023, he went 51-55 on extra points, 6-10 on field goals with a long of 49 yards and earned touchbacks on 46 of his 56 kickoffs.

As a result, he earned All-County First Team honors for the second straight season and his first All-State nod on the Class 7A Second Team.

Now, McGuire will turn his attention to his senior season at Thompson in hopes of returning to the mountaintop of Class 7A and win a state championship before he heads to play in the SEC.

McGuire is the 19th commitment for the Tigers in the Class of 2025. He joins the 11th-ranked recruiting class in the country according to 247Sports as Auburn coach Hugh Freeze has secured commitments from eight players in the site’s top 200 prospects.

He also joins former Warriors defensive back Kaleb Harris in Auburn after Harris graduated and started with the Tigers following the 2023 season.