Auburn football: Why Shaun Shivers transferred to Indiana

Former Auburn football RB Shaun Shivers never received the playing time he wanted on the Plains and is now pursuing that in the Hoosier State with Indiana University.

He’s eyeing something even greater than a starring role in Bloomington, though: a professional football career.

After seeing his role decrease his senior season due to the addition of Jarquez Hunter in the backfield, Shivers took his immediate transfer rights to the portal and chose IU when former NFL coach Deland McCullough was the RB coach. McCullough has since been replaced by Craig Johnson, another former NFL coach.

Here’s what Jack Ankony of SI’s dedicated Indiana site, Hoosiers Now, said in regards to his motivations when choosing IU in the portal:

"As soon as he entered his name in the transfer portal, Indiana, who lost its top four running backs from 2021, was one of the first schools to call him. Shivers, a four-star recruit from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., felt that Indiana represented the best opportunity to make it to eventually play professionally."

And here’s what Shivers himself said about Craig Johnson:

"“[Johnson] knows the ways for us to do things as a running back and get us going. He knows what it takes to get to the next level.”"

Auburn football will replace Shaun Shivers with pair of second-year backs

Damari Alston still hasn’t got to campus yet, so it’s not likely he will be getting a high number of carries in 2022. Instead, expect Sean Jackson to continue seeing touches behind Tank Bigsby (and eventually Jarquez Hunter). Jordon Ingram, who transferred out of Central Michigan and redshirted a year in Auburn, could also get touches early on.

Shivers’ output peaked in 2020 on the Plains, so a transfer following his graduation is definitely what’s best for all parties given his goals. Perhaps Indiana is the springboard to the NFL he needs to close out his college career.