Auburn football: Why the Tigers’ newest linebacker can make an impact
A former Alabama high school standout is now headed to Auburn and he has a good chance to make an impact.
Auburn football already has one of the country’s best group of linebackers going into the 2020 season. Headlined by 2019 All-SEC first-team selection K.J. Britt, Auburn is pretty set at the position for the foreseeable future.
With that being said, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for other players to make an impact either this season or in the future. On Sunday, Kent State freshman linebacker Nick Curtis announced via his Twitter that he was transferring to Auburn.
Coming out of high school, Curtis was a three-star prospect from Hoover high school in Hoover, Alabama. Standing at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, Curtis was recruited as both an outside linebacker and defensive end.
The No. 56 player in the state of Alabama for the class of 2019, Curtis received interest from the likes of UAB, Troy, Kent State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt but only had one Power 5 offer from Virginia.
Curtis appeared in one game for the Golden Flashes last season, a 48-0 blowout loss to Wisconsin but the freshman failed to record any stats. Having played in fewer than four games, Curtis took a redshirt year.
If Curtis wants to be eligible for the upcoming season, he would have to file for a waiver with the NCAA but still a very raw prospect, Curtis will likely sit out in 2020 per normal NCAA transfer rules.
Even if was eligible, Auburn has the trio of Britt, Owen Pappoe and Zakoby McClain manning the top linebacker spots with players like Chandler Wooten and Colby Wooden also in the rotation.
However, after this season, both Britt and Wooten will have graduated and with McClain possibly leaving a year early for the NFL, the door could be open for the former Alabama high school star to make an impact.
Now, Auburn has recruited well over the past few seasons and outside linebacker is no exception. Former five-star recruit Owen Pappoe has already made an immediate impact and In the past few recruiting classes, Auburn has signed four-star OLB’s Cameron Riley and Romello Height, as well as three-star prospect Octavious Brothers.
However, if he can add a few more pounds of muscle, Curtis’ 6-foot-5 frame could allow him to be a versatile and valuable piece in Kevin Steele’s defense.
Whether they intend to play him at outside linebacker, transform him into a defensive end or use him in the hybrid “Buck” position, I truly believe Curtis has the talent to at least make some sort of impact by the time he leaves Auburn.
He may never be a starter, in fact, I don’t ever expect him to be one but the Tigers like to rotate multiple different players on defense and the Kent State transfer can absolutely find himself a role in that rotation.
Curtis joins offensive tackle Brandon Council and quarterbacks Caylin Newton and Grant Loy as one of the four players to transfer to Auburn this offseason. On the other hand, the Tigers have had eight players leave the program this offseason via the Transfer Portal most notably backup QB Joey Gatewood and starting running back JaTarvious Whitlow.