AL.com’s Tom Green sent a strong message on the success Auburn football enjoyed during Hugh Freeze’s first transfer window — one that opened on December 5 and concluded on January 18 –, calling the Tigers “winners” of the initial window.
“As Auburn showed in the first transfer window, the program is willing to be aggressive in filling some holes on the roster with portal additions as it heads into Year 1 under Freeze,” Green prefaced before saying, “The Tigers were one of the biggest winners of the initial transfer window, adding a dozen players to the fold before the start of spring.”
Already, Freeze has landed RB Brian Battie (USF), TE Rivaldo Fairweather (FIU), WR Nick Mardner (Cincinnati), EDGE Elijah McAllister (Vanderbilt), DL Lawrence Johnson (Purdue), DL Mosiah Nasili-Kite (Maryland), DL Justin Rogers (Kentucky), LB DeMario Tolan (LSU), LB Austin Keys (Ole Miss) via the portal, and rebuilt the Auburn football offensive line with the additions of center Avery Jones (East Carolina), Dillon Wade (Tulsa), and Gunner Britton (Western Kentucky).
Auburn football transfer set to be top option in the return game
Freeze brought transfer talent to every facet of his first Tigers roster, including the return game. The addition of South Florida’s former game-breaking rusher Battie will also give Auburn a top option in the return game — with Green expecting him to make a big difference for the offense and in special teams.
“While Battie should be Auburn’s top option in the return game, he has the makings of a dynamic playmaker in space when he has the ball in his hands,” Green wrote. “It’ll be interesting to see what kind of role he can carve out in the offense while competing with Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston for touches at running back.”
If Battie is as advertised, there’d be no denying Freeze as a portal winner.