JUCO OT Markel Bell sets official visit with Auburn football

One of the biggest positions of need for the Auburn football program during this cycle is the offensive line, and new head coach Hugh Freeze has been working on rebuilding the room since his hiring late last year.

Freeze was able to flip and earn the commitments of several big offensive linemen out of high school and brought in key, experienced transfers from the first portal window. However, the work isn’t finished yet, and the staff is still looking for more talent from the second portal window that ended on April 30.

Later this month, the Tigers will get an important official visit from a massive offensive tackle. Markel Bell, out of Holmes Community College in Mississippi, earned an offer from Auburn football at the end of last month and is a big priority for offensive line coach Jake Thornton and the Tigers.

Aside from Auburn, Bell has received offers from seven other schools, including Mississippi State, Texas State, Southern Miss, Old Dominion, Jackson State, Louisiana Tech, and Eastern Kentucky.

According to Auburn Live’s Jeffrey Lee, the 6-foot-9, 345-pound OT could commit to the Tigers soon and enroll later this month, which would be a massive help for the offensive line corps. Although the Tigers have lost 10 players to the spring transfer portal window, only two were offensive linemen—Keiondre Jones and Colby Smith.

Should Bell enroll this month, he would be eligible to participate in the Tigers’ summer workouts in preparation for fall camp, and he would be able to play during the 2023 season this fall. He would be the first spring portal offensive lineman to head to the Plains, but the Tigers are also working to get former Tulsa OL Jaden Muskrat to join their ranks.

Auburn football got their first spring transfer earlier this week when former Appalachian State linebacker Jalen McLeod committed to the Tigers.