Auburn football: Senior quarterback chooses transfer destination

After former top 50 recruit Joey Gatewood decided to enter the transfer portal in late 2019, Auburn football was undeniably short on scholarship quarterbacks on the roster.

Because of that, walk-on quarterback Wil Appleton was able to rise to third on the Tigers’ depth chart after true freshman and RS freshman Cord Sandberg. Appleton, a senior out of Albertville, Alabama, had not appeared in a game in his first three seasons on The Plains.

The 5-foot-11, 194-pound QB finally saw some action last season against Samford when the walk-on completed both of his two passes for 17 yards late in the fourth quarter of a 52-0 blowout win.

Appleton was unlikely to ever rise past No. 3 on Auburn’s depth chart so in January, he announced that he would enter the NCAA transfer portal and take his talents elsewhere as a grad transfer.

Six months later, Appleton announced his final destination when he posted that he would be transferring to Division-II Benedict College to play out his final year of eligibility after graduating from Auburn.

Benedict College is a historically black college and university (HBCU) in Columbia, South Carolina, The Benedict College Tigers went 1-9 last season and play in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC.)

Although Appleton only appeared in one game for Auburn, the former walk-on was a bonafide star at Albertville high school. As a senior in 2016, Appleton accounted for over 1,500 total yards and 18 touchdowns and was named county and region MVP.

As for Auburn, the team went out and added two new transfer quarterbacks this offseason and added one QB recruit in the 2020 class.

Former Bowling Green quarterback Grant Loy committed to the Tigers back in June. The 6-foot-5 dual-threat QB accounted for 10 total TDs last season and started seven games for the Falcons. Loy will have one year of eligibility.

One of the biggest stories of Auburn’s offseason was adding the younger brother of former Auburn superstar Cam Newton. Caylin Newton is a former three-star recruit that chose to leave Howard University after two seasons.

The 5-foot-11 signal-caller accounted for over 3,000 total yards and 26 touchdowns for the Bison as a RS freshman in 2018.

Lastly, the Tigers signed one quarterback in their 2020 recruiting class. Chayil Garnett is a talented dual-threat QB out of Lakeland Florida. The three-star recruit will likely redshirt as a freshman with more experienced options ahead of him.