Despite a successful early signing period for Auburn football, the Tigers still only have one offensive lineman signed to the recruiting class of 2022 and the position is becoming a huge area of need. With Brodarious Hamm heading to the NFL and Eston Harris Jr. standing alone in the class of 2022, head coach Bryan Harsin and the staff are turning their attention to the NCAA transfer portal.
Though recruiting offensive linemen has been an issue for the Tigers recently and many fans believe the problem is mostly caused by lack of talent rather than coaching incompetency, there’s no doubt that this year will be important for the future of offensive line coach Will Friend.
Coach Friend’s main goal at this point should be recruiting new offensive linemen to beef up the roster for 2022, because the O-line was certainly a problem in 2021. Auburn football has recently offered two offensive linemen in the portal, Cornell’s Hunter Nourzad, and Louisiana’s O’Cyrus Torrence.
Hunter Nourzad is scheduled to graduate from Cornell in May and is considered a grad transfer with two years of eligibility left. Just yesterday the OL announced he has narrowed his options down to a final five schools, including Auburn:
I greatly appreciate all the coaches, staff, and fans who have recruited me so far! These are the schools I'll be focusing on from here on out. pic.twitter.com/PAy2XpwVaq
— Hunter Nourzad 🇮🇷 (@NourzadHunter) January 3, 2022
Nourzad earned All-Ivy League honors in his last two seasons with Cornell and was named second-team All American this year. After making 20 consecutive starts at right tackle at Cornell, it’s imperative that Will Friend follows through and gets this grad transfer to the Plains.
Auburn football offered offensive lineman O’Cyrus Torrence today after news of his transfer from Louisiana hit yesterday. Although it seems that the OL may have plans to follow former coach Billy Napier to Florida, he’s also being targeted by Ole Miss and the Tigers. The three-year starter from Louisiana could make an instant impact for Friend’s O-Line, but keeping him away from the Swamp could prove to be a challenge.