Auburn football will have to focus on transfer portal after quiet NSD

It may have just become The Year of the Tiger, but unfortunately, it did not serve as a good omen for Auburn football on National Signing Day. February 2 has arrived but it’s looking like the Tigers will add zero new recruits to the class of 2022 on the big day.

While there is typically less action on National Signing Day with Early Signing Day happening in December, Auburn football was looking to add at least 3 prospects today that chose different programs over the Tigers.

First, top EDGE target, 3-star Jack Pyburn, committed to Florida over Auburn after Billy Napier swooped in with a last-minute offer to the lifelong Gators fan. While it seemed for a while that the Tigers were the team to beat, Napier was able to get Pyburn on campus for a hail mary visit and locked down the Florida native.

Head coach Bryan Harsin and his staff were also pursuing 3-star offensive lineman Jalen Farmer, who has been committed to Florida since September. Despite an official visit to the Plains and a late push from the Auburn football staff, Farmer chose to stick with the Gators.

A former LSU commit, Trevonte Citizen took both an official and unofficial visit to the Plains and formed a great relationship with Auburn running backs coach Carnell Williams. However, Florida joined the mix yet again and is likely to take the third recruit the Tigers were hoping to secure.

So, what now?

Unless Citizen surprises everyone and commits to Auburn football, the Tigers will add no prospects to their roster on National Signing Day and will be forced to turn their attention to the NCAA transfer portal. According to Jeffrey Lee of Auburn Live, the Tigers can add 10 more transfers to the roster before fall and are likely to do so in May after spring practices or at the end of the summer.

While coming up empty-handed on National Signing Day is certainly not ideal for Auburn football, there is still time to add to the recruiting class of 2022.