Auburn football HC Hugh Freeze: Transfer portal slower than anticipated

The Auburn football program has a lot to do before it’s time for the season this fall. With a new coaching staff on board and a rebuild that is badly needed, players have to learn new schemes, the coaching staff has to get to know and evaluate the players, and they have to stay on top of roster management throughout the transfer portal windows.

Head coach Hugh Freeze said early on that he anticipated that the Tigers would lean heavily on the portal during his first year on the Plains, which was to be expected with the Freeze staff coming in late on class of 2023 recruiting.

12 transfers were brought in during the first portal window that took place before spring practice, but it has been made clear that they planned to be just as active during the second shorter portal window this month.

However, the spring transfer portal window is from April 15-30 and is complicated by the fact that many teams from around the country are still finishing up their spring practices and scrimmages. With the closing of the window just days away, the Auburn football coaching staff is running out of time for impact transfers to enter the portal.

Although players do not have to be signed on with their new program in the window, they do have to enter by the end of the 30th, so there is still time for more entries. According to Freeze, the Tigers are still trying to improve the roster, but things are not going at the pace that was expected, per Auburn Live:

"“We weren’t sure what to expect,” Freeze said on Tuesday evening before an Auburn alumni event in Buckhead. “It’s been slower than, and I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. We have the SEC agreement that we don’t go SEC to SEC in this portal. I haven’t kept up with the number of kids that would have been of interest to for us, but outside of that, it’s been slower than what we anticipated."

Freeze went on to say that it does look like the pace has picked up over the past few days and that there could be some surprises before the window closes. So far, the Tigers have focused mostly on offensive linemen, with offers for edges and wide receivers out as well but no movement in the quarterback department.