Auburn football: 2 transfer portal targets Tigers are pursuing

Auburn football transfer portal target #1: LSU CB Eli Ricks

The fall of ‘Coach O’ on the Bayou in 2020 and 2021 has led to an exodus of incoming recruits already, and now it appears as though established talent could follow suit.

Eli Ricks is the headline name in LSU’s current list of outgoing talent, and he is coming off of two breakout seasons in Baton Rouge.

During his freshman year, Ricks emerged next to Derrick Stingley as a ball-hawking threat, though the defense largely struggled during a down year following the program’s 2020 National Championship win.

With Stingley on his way to the NFL, Ricks is not sticking around with Ed Orgeron headed for retirement. Instead, Ricks is going to find a new home post-injury recovery.

According to Rivals’ Mike Farrell, the Tigers are one of a handful of teams interested, but might not be the top team considered at this time:

"After almost getting Ricks out of high school, Ohio State and USC are once again hot on the trail. Not surprisingly, Alabama will also be a major player this time around. Aside from these three programs, others are trying to make a serious push include Georgia, Florida State, Auburn, Penn State and Texas."

AU has a leg up on Texas and Florida State, but it’ll be an uphill battle with CFP teams like Alabama and Ohio State in the mix.