Redshirt freshman LB returns to the Auburn football program

In today’s world of college football, the NCAA transfer portal keeps coaches on their toes and has the option to majorly help or hurt teams. During this offseason, the Auburn football program has leaned on the transfer portal in a big way, bringing in 20+ new faces to the roster, many of whom are expected to significantly contribute this fall.

However, the Tigers faced departures, too, with players from a variety of positions putting their names in the transfer portal to test the waters of another school.

Back in April, linebacker Powell Gordon announced that he would be entering the portal, and he received offers and interest from several schools. Nothing stuck, though, because over the weekend it was reported that Gordon’s name reappeared on the team roster, indicating that the linebacker withdrew his name from the portal.

According to Auburn Live, there has been talk within the program about trying to move Gordon around on the defense, potentially moving the redshirt freshman to the jack or edge position. Returning linebacker Cam Riley believes the move would be good for his teammate:

"“Powell, he’s grown tremendously. I actually saw a play during the scrimmage last week. I can’t describe it, it was some move he did I had never seen before. Once I saw that, I’ve been trying to tell coach, we need Powell on the edge. He would make every play. After the play I saw him make, I was like yeah, we need him down there.”"

Gordon’s return comes at a good time considering the Tigers recently lost another linebacker, DeMario Tolan, who has left the team for personal reasons. Gordon will help with depth issues on the defense with Tolan gone.

A native of Auburn, Gordon was a 3-star prospect out of high school and was ranked as the #57 LB in the recruiting class of 2022 and the #23 recruit out of the state of Alabama. He will be entering into his second season with Auburn football.