After losing five members of the team to the NCAA transfer portal at the end of spring practices, Auburn football head coach Bryan Harsin has already filled in the gaps. The final piece came yesterday with the announcement that former Vanderbilt Commodore Donovan Kaufman will be transferring to the plains.
In what he described as a toss-up decision, Kaufman chose the Tigers over Steve Sarkisian’s Texas Longhorns and will reunite his former head coach Derek Mason. Kaufman’s decision hardly comes as a surprise due to his relationship with Auburn football’s new defensive coordinator and cornerback position coach Zac Etheridge.
Kaufman will have four years of eligibility at Auburn after playing only two games during his freshman season due to myocarditis. The true freshman safety still managed to rack up 15 tackles and one pass breakup, in addition to five kickoff returns for 137 yards.
With the recent additions of Tony Fair, Bydarrius Knighten, and Dreshun Miller, the Tigers now have a secondary roster that is packed with talent. Excitement for the 2021 season is mounting as Auburn football fans get hype for the most recent addition to the roster:
🚨 MAJOR PICKUP 🚨
— Power of Dixieland (@PwrofDixieland) May 19, 2021
Former Vanderbilt safety Donovan Kaufman was one of the most talented true freshman safeties and kickoff returners in the country last season. Today he announced that he’ll transfer to Auburn, who now might just have the SEC’s best secondary #WarEagle https://t.co/wvGX49JwSL
— Auburn Barstool (@WarDamnStool) May 19, 2021
— Auburn Tweeter (@Auburn_Tweeter) May 19, 2021
We have the best secondary in the nation.
— Bruce's Broome Room (@Bruces_Room) May 19, 2021
According to Auburn Undercover, Kaufman will be arriving on campus during the first week of June. After spending almost a month in the NCAA transfer portal, the prized transfer is finally off the market and is the next block in Coach Harsin’s plan to rebuild the Tigers.