After a season like Auburn football had in 2021, many people across the organization took heat for it. Bryan Harsin caught the most flak and was almost cast off the Plains entirely, and the coaching staff’s handling of certain players led to an exodus of talented, but underperforming and likely underutilized Tigers.
AU fell apart down the stretch in the most brutal way imaginable after closely trailing Alabama in the SEC West at the beginning of November. Come-from-behind losses to Mississippi State and South Carolina in consecutive weeks set the stage for heartbreak in both the Iron Bowl and the Birmingham Bowl.
By last season’s end, what 2022 was going to look like became a mystery. Whatever was going to happen this upcoming fall, it couldn’t resemble the 2021 formula that led to those results.
Of course, bad feelings resulted from said failures, and departures via the transfer portal became commonplace.
These 3 particular transfers, though, have the best chance of making Auburn football look bad in 2022:
Transfer #1 that could make Auburn football look bad in 2022: QB Dematrius Davis
The most recent entry (well, second-most recently before Ro Torrence) into the transfer portal Dematrius Davis, was brimming with potential.
His high school numbers were video game-like, per former Opelika Auburn News’ writer Jordan D. Hill:
"Davis placed his name among the best quarterbacks in Texas high school football history by piling up 13,583 total yards of offense — 10,536 through the air and 3,047 on the ground — and 171 touchdowns over a four-year run that saw North Shore capture state titles in 2018 and 2019 and Davis post a 51-3 record as a starting quarterback."
Despite getting second-team reps, Davis wanted out and now finds himself in search of a school that believes in him as a top option. The word is that his style of play isn’t what Harsin is looking for out of the leader of the offense.
If he finds a school that can grant him immediate minutes, we’re talking about someone with a chip on their shoulder and the skills to back up a major redemption campaign.