Auburn football: Donovan Kaufman expected to choose Tigers at 3 p.m.

It’s a big day for recruiting in the Auburn world as fans anticipate decisions from basketball transfer K.D. Johnson and football transfer Donovan Kaufman. With his decision time set at 3 p.m. central time, Vanderbilt defensive back transfer is expected to join the Auburn football team.

Though the University of Texas has been a major factor in the DB’s transfer recruitment process, the Auburn Tigers have several advantages over the Longhorns. Most importantly, Kaufman’s former head coach at Vanderbilt, Derek Mason, is now in charge of Auburn’s defense, and the two have a good relationship.

As I explained a few days ago, the Tigers also have a more significant need at the safety position than the Longhorns, meaning more opportunities for Kaufman to be able to fight for a starting position and earn playing time this fall:

"The Tigers may have a slight advantage over the Longhorns in recruiting Kaufman due to the depth chart, according to BurntOrangeNation.com. Texas has Brenden Schooler, B.J. Foster, and Jerrin Thompson all battling for a starting position at safety while Auburn has Smoke Monday, Ladarius Tennison, and…. a couple of question marks."

According to Burnt Orange Nation, another factor for Kaufman is Auburn’s proximity to his hometown of New Orleans, LA. While it’s still about a five-and-a-half-hour drive from NOLA, it’s closer than Austin, TX.

If Kaufman commits to play for Auburn football this afternoon, he’ll join the likes of Smoke Monday, Ladarius Tennison, Nehemiah Pritchett, and recent transfer addition Bydarrius Knighten. Kaufman would be the fifth transfer on the 2021 roster, alongside Knighten, Tony Fair, Dreshun Miller, and Eku Leota.

Though Kaufman was only able to play in two games last season due to health complications resulting from COVID-19, he was widely considered to be one of Vanderbilt’s best returners and would be an instant impact for the Tigers.