Auburn football: 5 portal targets to shore up Tigers’ biggest weaknesses

At this point in the offseason, the conversation surrounding the upcoming Auburn football 2021 season is all about which weaknesses need shoring up in these final few months of recruiting. This month is already a pivotal one for Bryan Harsin and co., with several key Class of 2022 prospects visiting the Plains.

It could get even bigger if the first-year coaching staff utilizes the full benefits of COVID-19 restrictions being rolled back to woo prospects to a one-of-a-kind football town.

Currently, the Tigers are short on top-line talent on the front five, with Bo Nix serving as a frequent tackling dummy in 2020. The WR room is depleted due to the departure of the three top pass-catchers. Defensively, they could use more talent on the line to match their dominance in the LB room and in the secondary.

With those flaws needing to be addressed in mind, let’s take a look at 5 portal targets that would help shore up the biggest Auburn football weaknesses:

Auburn football portal target #1: Darel Middleton, DL, Tennessee

All For Tennessee’s Caleb Calhoun doesn’t believe the departure of Darel Middleton will do much to effect the bottom-line for the Volunteers program, and to his credit, it may not.

As a Jeremy Pruitt recruit, Middleton was outplayed in 2020 after putting up a monster season in 2019. Now that Pruitt is gone, Middleton is testing the transfer waters, and his past success at Tennessee makes him an in-conference portal option worth considering.

The DL could use another pass-rusher, and Middleton brings great size to any defensive front at six-foot-seven and over 300 pounds.