Auburn football HC Bryan Harsin recently made it clear that the Tigers weren’t done yet in transfer portal recruiting. With the portal now resembling professional sports free agency, as radical anti-NIL activist Nick Saban would tell you, June is now a month where contributors for the upcoming fall will make the jump to a new school.
The Tigers have a few holes still needing addressing, with a Class of 2022 that finished No. 20 in the nation. One would think that is a fine finish, but six of their upcoming opponents this fall finished ahead of them. That is a sting that will be felt in the coming years…but only in theory.
The transfer portal could now be the equalizer a surprise finisher from the season prior could use to tip the scales.
Obviously, Auburn football lacks that at the current moment, but what they don’t lack is one of the strongest traditions and home-field advantages in the SEC. In particular, student-athletes with immediate transfer eligibility should see the bright lights of Jordan-Hare Stadium–and even the disappointments of the 2021 season, Harsin’s first on the Plains–as a reason to sign up for the challenge of playing the defending National Champions (Georgia), the defending SEC Champions (Alabama), and the team that finished with the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation (Texas A&M) all in the span of a month and a half to close out their collegiate playing days.
These 3 recent transfer portal entries make sense for the Tigers to pursue:
Auburn football transfer portal target No. 1: WR A.J. Davis
A.J. Davis sat behind a trio of talented receivers in the UAB WR room in 2021, hauling just a total of 10 catches for 95 yards.
The Maryville, Tennessee product won’t have the same opportunity to break out in a more talented Volunteers receiving corps but could seek opportunities to stand out in a young Tigers room devoid of known producers outside of Shedrick Jackson and (to a lesser degree) Ja’Varrius Johnson.