While the Auburn football team may have lost a few members of the defense to the NCAA Transfer Portal, it seems they’ll be making up for it with the acquisition of UAB grad transfer Tony Fair, who spent the last two seasons playing defensive tackle for the UAB Blazers.
After signing with Indiana State out of high school, Fair spent two seasons at Pima Community College before earning a scholarship to UAB, where he played from 2019-2020. Fair announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on May 3, and soon offers were pouring in from Power 5 schools such as Michigan, Iowa, and Indiana.
Eventually, Fair cut his list down to Auburn, Ole Miss, and Purdue, but ultimately the Tigers came out on top. Less than 10 days after entering the portal, Fair found his new home on the Plains with a commitment to Auburn football:
I Thank EVERY Coach for finding interest in me. Especially Coach Hagen At Purdue. Thankyou Coach🙏🏾‼️But with that being said the team I have Chosen to finish my Last college season with is The Auburn Tigers🐯🐅 🦅 ‼️Let’s go get a NATI 🏆 ‼️Follow my IG @TFair__ @AuburnFootball pic.twitter.com/aRWk6YY2xN
— Tony Lamar Fair (@TFair__) May 12, 2021
Tony Fair is a welcome addition to the Tigers’ roster with Jeremiah Wright out due to a torn ACL and the defensive exodus to the transfer portal, including linemen Jay Hardy and Jaren Handy. Auburn Undercover’s Keith Niebuhr reported that defensive line coach Nick Eason’s resume was instrumental in his decision:
"“That was huge,” Fair said. “If Coach Eason didn’t have that background I might have had a different decision. He knows what he’s doing and you can’t argue with that.”“With the new coaching staff, especially Nick Eason and Derek Mason, I’m excited to see what they can turn me into,” Fair said."
Fair graduated from UAB last week and will join the Auburn football program in the coming year with one season of eligibility left.