With the early signing period officially underway, Auburn football is tearing it up on the recruiting trail. After securing 17 letters of intent this week, the Tigers’ recruiting class of 2022 moved up to #16 nationally and #7 in the SEC behind Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee.
While head coach Bryan Harsin and his staff have been working overtime to develop relationships with high school recruits, they’ve also been paying attention to the names entering the NCAA transfer portal. With so many schools experiencing coaching changes this season, the portal is overflowing with talent.
One of the schools being hit the hardest by their coaching change is Oregon, whose former head coach Mario Cristobal traded the Ducks for the Miami Hurricanes earlier this month. Now, Auburn football is targeting two former Ducks for their 2022 squad.
The first is cornerback DJ James, an Alabama native, who entered the portal last week and is receiving heavy interest from Auburn, Ole Miss, USC, and Miami among other programs. James was an Auburn target out of high school and has already heard from the coaching staff, per On3 Sports:
"“I’ve talked to Coach (Zac) Etheridge, the DC (Derek Mason), the head coach (Bryan Harsin) and Coach (Darren) Uscher,” James said. “I’ve talked to all of them. They tell me there is an opportunity for me.”"
James plans to take multiple visits before making his final choice in January but is definitely considering the Tigers as an option. One draw to the Plains could be reuniting with former Oregon teammate and fellow Alabama native Jayson Jones, who is Auburn football’s other transfer target from the Ducks.
Jones is a defensive lineman who played in all of Oregon’s games this season and racked up 19 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He has already received an offer from the Tigers and is receiving interest from Ole Miss and Nebraska, as well. If the pair of Alabama natives are looking to play for the same team again in the 2022 season, the Plains could be the place for them.