Zeek

Added some more visitors to the list that showed up on the 6th. Auburn doesn't have any other visits scheduled until May. This period will likely be focused on the portal.

https://www.on3.com/teams/auburn-tigers/news/transfer-portal-players-that-make-sense-for-auburn-to-pursue-vol-3/ Free article so I am going to just list the names here. Pink does a good job with his blurbs so give it a read and support their site if you have the time. Isaiah Raikes | DL | USC Philip Blidi | DL | Indiana Tre'quon Fegans | CB | USC Myles Jernigan | LB | Cal Justus Ross-Simmons | WR | Colorado State Damien Alford | WR | Syracuse Jermayne Lole | DL | Louisville KeAndre Lambert-Smith | WR | Penn State Rayyan Buell | DL | Ohio Bill Norton | DL | Arizona Sam Brown | WR | Houston Dallan Hayden | RB | Ohio State Dayon Hayes | ED | Pittsburgh Jason Zandamela | OL | USC Savion Washington | OT | Colorado CJ West | DL | Kent State

Mmhhmm

A little sad about this one I have liked him a lot since his high school recruitment. He does seem to be down the depth chart a bit though. The freshmen have been performing well.

Hard for him when he didn't know whether or not he would get to play last year and our play calling was abhorrent. I agree he needs to step it up but there were a lot of excuses for his performance last year.

When I think of scholarship running backs I don't even think about Sean Jackson anymore.

I expect at least one to leave. There is a possibility of two.

Yeah I think Marcus Harris is a good example of a small school guy that outperformed what I think a lot of people would have expected at the time. It is definitely a gamble but it's better than just being stuck until the 2025 class shows up.

Auburn is very interested, but so is literally every single other team. While we will shoot our shot it’s not clear if Auburn is willing to spend what it will take to get him here. Quite frankly our quarterback play might not be all that attractive to him.

Talented player but I don’t think Auburn is looking for a 1 and done at this position. He would likely have to sit behind McLeod. If he’s okay with rotating in like that then sure but I don’t suspect Auburn will make a push.

I figured someone might ask about this potential target. Just don’t see it. He burned a lot of bridges with the way he handled his recruitment the first time.

Auburn recruited him out of high school and we currently expect one of our running backs to hit the portal soon. There is definitely interest between the two programs. I am not sure that would be an upgrade from the player that is expected to leave however, I know high school recruiting position has been tough and we don’t particularly love a lot of the backs in this class.

Brenton Williams is the first Auburn Tiger to hit the portal in this spring cycle. Auburn signed Williams out of Opelika High School in the 2023 class as a 3* edge prospect needing to add some mass. Michigan State, Missouri, Penn State, Georgia Tech, Kansas, and others had offered Brenton Williams out of high school. This does sting a little because of Auburn's lack of depth at the edge position. During the spring game BW looked like he was doing a decent job sealing the edge and tracked one outside run really well while evading a blocker. However, when he was signed relatively late in the 2023 class it was a well felt that Williams was added simply because there was still room and Freeze was filling spots; plus you don't want to miss on a guy in your own backyard. I wish him luck moving forward and I think this is probably a good decision for him and his career. This will add a spot that Auburn will likely fill with an edge from the portal. Maybe not a splash pickup but possibly a productive player from a smaller school to add to the rotation.

Today the transfer portal has officially opened. I will track the incoming and outgoing players in this second wave of the portal. Auburn is expected to lose a handful and to be relatively aggressive looking for starting defensive tackles, production at receiver, and depth elsewhere. This original post will be for confirmed names only and not rumors. Incoming (9): DB Antonio Kite from Alabama TE Rico Walker from Maryland DB Jerrin Thompson from Texas LB Dorian Mausi from Duke WR Robert Lewis from Georgia State OT Percy Lewis from Mississippi State QB/WR Sam Jackson from Cal DL Gage Keys from Kansas DL Trill Carter from Texas Outgoing (18): ED Brenton Williams -> ??? LB Cam Riley -> NCST DB Donovan Kaufman -> NCST QB Robby Ashford -> South Carolina DL Wilky Denaud -> Mississippi State DB Austin Ausberry -> LSU DL Enyce Sledge -> Illinois QB Sawyer Pate -> ??? DB Tony Hunley Jr. -> ??? Malcolm Johnson Jr. -> Bowling Green WR Jyaire Shorter -> Memphis WR Omari Kelly -> Middle Tennesee WR Ja'Varrius Johnson -> ??? TE Tyler Fromm -> Georgia Southern DB Marquise Gilbert -> ??? DL Stephen Johnson -> ??? ED Stephen Sings -> ??? DL Enyce Sledge -> ??? Possible Targets (names in bold have a visit scheduled): Ohio State RB Dallan Hayden -> ??? Penn State WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith -> my pick is Texas A&M USC IOL Jason Zandamela -> ??? Indiana DL Philip Blidi -> my pick is Auburn USC DL Isaiah Raikes -> ??? Arkansas State LB/Buck Keyron Crawford -> my pick is Auburn Pitt LB/Buck Dayon Hayes -> ??? USC DB Tre'Quon Fegans -> my pick is Auburn

He is currently burning bridges on X. I am more than over him and his recruitment to be blunt. Running backs are honestly a dime a dozen, especially with our track record at the position.

It won't be long (if not already) that teams don't have a whole staff of portal employees like they have a recruiting division. Some of the head coaches have expressed pleasure in the talent they get but none have seemed happy about the added time and frustration it adds. One would hope it eventually settles to a more manageable level.

Updated. I expect Henderson to Penn State and Husan to Texas A&M Will need to reshuffle the deck at QB and RB

At this time I think top 5 would be hard because of two factors. That is always hard to do Our staff genuinely has a different evaluation of several players than the recruiting sites. We have a different opinion on some OL and the RBs. Me personally, it's a little underwhelming compared to what I had hoped but it's also on pace to be a solid class.

Updated but I need to add defense when I have more time.

It's finally official. The deal will actually start in 2025 but I am thankful we can move on to the better brand.

Not a lot to judge off but honest to God I think Hank Brown is our best QB

Excited and hoping we get to see a depth chart drop sometime soon. Football starts tomorrow at 1 CST. Don't love the format but w/e

Honestly, if there is one position I don't mind "missing" on a kid it's running back. They're a dime a dozen if any position is. He has looked impressive but against incredibly weak competition. Akylin Dear is a kid I would love to see us get if we could pry him away from Ole Miss. Ousmane Krumah is another one that has visited who I like.

Yup, this one has been weird. Felt like he’s been waiting for too long.