Auburn football: 3 transfer portal additions that can make immediate impact

The Auburn football defense isn’t one that saw nearly as much turnover this offseason as the offense. While the departures of Roger McCreary, Zakoby McClain, and Smoke Monday will be noticeable, the ‘next man up’ moniker applies to the Tigers’ point-prevention unit. Enough critical upperclassmen (Derick Hall, Colby Wooden, Eku Leota) are returning to the trenches to feel good about the unit repeating what was by and large not the worst year.

The offense is a different story. Several formerly 4-star and 5-star recruits, including RB Shaun Shivers and three-year starting QB Bo Nix, have left as grad transfers. The WR room is also barren following the departures of Kobe Hudson and Demetris Robertson departing through the portal and in hopes of an NFL roster spot as an undrafted free agent, respectively.

There are sizeable holes in the offense that must be filled, and for Bryan Harsin’s coaching tenure’s sake, it cannot resemble the 2021 campaign’s conclusion.

These 3 Auburn football transfer portal additions could fill those holes in the offense:

Auburn football QB Zach Calzada

At this point, calling Zach Calzada the presumed starter is far from wishful thinking. Based on recently released 2022 Heisman odds, it appears Calzada is the favorite to usurp T.J. Finley as Auburn’s QB1.

As one of the signal-callers signed out of the transfer portal, Calzada has the backing of fans who simply don’t want to see Finley under center come September 3rd against Mercer at Jordan-Hare Stadium. He may not be as flashy as the other transfer QB, Robby Ashford, but he has SEC experience and beat 2022 opponents Alabama and Missouri last year.