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

Auburn football portal target #2: Anthony Shipton, DL, Illinois

Much in the same vein of Darel Middleton, Anthony Shipton would add an active tackler to the DL. During his last season seeing the field, Shipton collected 40 tackles, four sacks, 5.5 TFLs, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery as a sophomore at Cerritos College.

He didn’t get the opportunity to play in Champaign in 2020 despite receiving interest from Arizona, Hawaii and UTEP, and should at least get the chance to compete somewhere after entering the portal for the second time in as many offseasons.

On the Plains, positional battles is the new normal. Shipton would have a guaranteed chance to compete for an opportunity to see the field with Auburn football, if nothing else can be guaranteed.

Auburn football portal target #3: Kyron Cumby, RB/WR, Illinois

With Devan Barrett departing for the portal, a void in the backend of the RB room has been created. Given his versatility, finding just any standard down-hill rusher wouldn’t add much to a room that already features fierce physicality out of Tank Bigsby and Shaun Shivers at the top of the depth chart.

Kyron Cumby out of Illinois is a dual-threat RB who can catch passes–he switched to WR during Illinois’ spring practices–and return the ball. He’s a suitable replacement for the jack-of-all-trades Barrett.