Auburn football grabs Deion Sanders recruit from transfer portal

The Auburn football program has been on a mission in the transfer portal since head coach Hugh Freeze was hired during the offseason. With a new coaching staff in place and plenty of recruiting to do, the Tigers knew that leaning on the portal during year one would be a must.

Over the weekend, Auburn football added three new transfers to the roster, bringing the total number to 21. The first portal window saw 12 transfers commit to Auburn, but there was still clearly still work to do after spring practice. Now, the Tigers are up to nine transfers from the spring window.

The newcomers over this past weekend include former Liberty edge Stephen Sings, former New Mexico State CB Syrus Dumas, and former Jackson State WR Shane Hooks.

Hooks, of course, is a former recruit of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, who was once in consideration to be Auburn football’s next head coach before the Tigers zeroed in on Hugh Freeze. Sanders is the only coach in college football who has brought in more transfers than Freeze and the Tigers with a whopping 44 incoming transfers.

Hooks is the fourth wide receiver transfer to make his way to the Plains after Nick Mardner (Cincinnati), Caleb Burton (Ohio State), and Jyaire Shorter (North Texas). In 2022, Hooks caught 64 passes for 748 yards and 10 touchdowns, his longest catch spanning 40 yards. Clearly, the coaching staff was looking to bolster the wide receiver corps ahead of the 2023 season, and have brought in multiple players with talent and proven experience.

Currently the Tigers’ transfer class sits at #2 in the nation behind Colorado. Freeze has brought in more 4-star players from the portal than any other program, and Auburn football is being lauded as a definite winner in the 2023 transfer portal.