The Auburn football team finished up their 2022 season, and now with head coach Hugh Freeze in the driver’s seat, the program will turn their attention to recruiting. Early Signing Day is right around the corner on December 21, and the Tigers’ coaching staff will stay busy traveling and hosting recruits up until that date.
While recruiting kids out of high school is important, especially this year with so much talent coming out of the state of Alabama, Freeze has noted that the transfer portal will be especially important in his first year on the Plains as they try to fill the talent gaps left by graduating and transferring players.
Several SEC wide receivers have hit the portal and received interest from Auburn football, but the program’s most important target this offseason will almost definitely be offensive linemen. The Tigers’ o-line struggled this season, and most of them will be parting ways with the team before the 2023 season due to expired eligibility.
Two offensive tackles that have already entered the transfer portal have already caught the eyes of Hugh Freeze and the Tigers, including one from just across the state.
The first is former Rhode Island offensive tackle Ajani Cornelius. Called “the most popular player in the transfer portal” by 247 Sports, Cornelius was a two-year starter for the Rams and ended the 2022 season with the second-highest PFF grade of all FCS offensive tackles. He already has over 23 FBS offers from big schools, but so far, Cornelius is trending to the Plains.
The second is Alabama offensive tackle Javion Cohen, who has started 25 of the Tide’s last 27 games at left guard and is likely known to most Auburn football fans as the guy who did the crimson crane at the Tigers’ bowl practice in Birmingham.
The Tigers certainly have a need for talent at the line of scrimmage, and both guys’ experience and stats prove they could make a big impact on the Plains.