Tavian Branch’s journey to securing his collegiate football future was filled with many trials and tribulations, but he feels good about the final destination.

Having made two previous decisions, one to attend Rutgers and the other to attend Penn State before it fired coach James Franklin in October, the Riverside all-state lineman announced on Wednesday, the first day football players can sign National Letters of Intent in the early signing period, via his social media account on X that he is committed to Auburn University and new head coach Alex Golesh. He will enroll in January.

Last Saturday, Branch had an on-campus visit to Auburn for the Iron Bowl against rival Alabama. Golesh, the former head coach at South Florida, is retaining defensive coordinator DJ Durkin.

Auburn finished the season with a 5-7 record and 1-7 mark in the SEC. Branch’s final five schools were Auburn, Penn State, Ole Miss, LSU, and Virginia Tech.

After decommitting from his two previous schools, Branch, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound, four-star recruit, also recently visited Ole Miss, a program transitioning from coach Lane Kiffin, who is the new coach at LSU, and he received a scholarship offer from Oregon.

“I am super excited for him now to fully give himself and move on to the next chapter in his life,” Riverside coach Harry Armstrong said. “This recruiting journey has been a wild one, and he has been through some very unpredictable situations that brought on unimaginable waves of emotions.

“From all the new information about the programs to the number of places he has visited to the many doors he opened for himself, he maintained that ultimate goal of getting the best opportunity and situation for himself. I can’t imagine how many times he’s been asked the same questions in this process and all that it entails with social media, etc. He has evolved as a young man and has made the most of having to go through some adversity. He puts a lot of faith in God and relies on that faith when making these decisions. I think that gives him peace of mind, knowing that he can’t control everything. He really handled it with nothing but class, and he is a wonderful representative of his family and Riverside.”

Branch has been a sought-after talent since his breakout junior season for Riverside. He received more than 30 offers from NCAA Division I football programs during the recruiting process.

This past season started with him having already committed to Rutgers in the summer, only to reconsider on the day of the Vikings’ Week 2 win over Hanover Area. Branch visited Penn State the following week, and he committed there at the game against Florida International on Sept. 6.

Penn State lost its next three games to Oregon, UCLA, and Northwestern. Following the setbacks, Franklin was fired, and Branch remained committed to the Nittany Lions while reopening his recruiting.

Through all of the distractions, Branch excelled on the field. He led the Vikings to the District 2 Class 2A semifinals and had 40 tackles, 29 solo stops, and 12 tackles for loss. The powerful interior lineman had six sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, four batted passes, 20 quarterback hurries, a blocked punt, and two blocked kicks.

“Tavian performed above and beyond not just on game days, but every day,” Armstrong said. “I don’t think forgoing the opportunity to play as a senior to manage his risk ever came into his mind. He was so committed to playing and developing. He knew that the only way to get better was to compete. He did that every day.

“His competitive stamina is amazing in the way he approaches everything. He lives in the present moment, and having that mindset will help him fulfill his dreams.”

In his career at Riverside, Branch had 117 tackles, 49 tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, two blocked punts, and four blocked kicks.

During his recruiting process, his strength and athleticism made him an intriguing prospect. Branch attended camps to showcase his skills and had a time of 4.95 seconds in the 40-yard dash, a broad jump of 9 feet, 4 inches, and 30 bench presses of 225 pounds with a maximum lift of 450 pounds.