Auburn football: SEC transfer LB sets visit to the Plains

With Hugh Freeze on the Plains as the head coach of Auburn football, the coaching staff has hit the NCAA transfer portal hard in order to add talent and depth to the 2023 roster after a tumultuous coaching change.

Since taking over the program, Freeze and his staff have brought in 11 transfers from schools around the country, earning the Tigers the #4 transfer portal class at the moment. New players have come in representing over seven different positions on the field, with plenty of linemen on either side of the line of scrimmage.

However, even with 20 signees and 11 transfers, Freeze and the staff are not done yet! The recruiting continues, and this weekend a linebacker from a fellow SEC West school will make the trip to the Plains.

Austin Keys signed with Ole Miss Rebels in 2019 as a 3-star inside linebacker and member of the Rebs’ 2020 class. He was ranked as the #32 ILB in the recruiting class of 2020, and the #21 player out of Mississippi. Keys entered the transfer portal last week after two seasons in Oxford.

The linebacker totaled 51 tackles for the Rebs, broken down as 19 solo tackles and 32 assisted tackles, in addition to two sacks and one forced fumble over his two-year career. He will visit the Plains this weekend, and reunite with a familiar face in Auburn football offensive line coach Jake Thornton, who previously held the same position at Ole Miss.

The Tigers will return several linebackers, including Wesley Steiner, Cam Riley, and Desmond Tisdol, and are also bringing in LSU transfer LB DeMario Tolan. Currently, no 2023 high school linebackers have committed to the program.

Should he choose to make the move to the Plains, Austin Keys could make a big impact on the Tigers’ defense in 2023.