As the transfer portal and NIL have become more massive in the college athletics world over the past several years, and coaches have started to describe their sport as the Wild West, college athletes have started to earn more and more money to play for your favorite team.
Sometimes these players don’t work out. Just look at what Jackson Arnold, Payton Thorne and Xavier Chaplin were able to achieve at Auburn after earning a big payday. But every now and then, you find players who earn their paycheck and more.
These are the three players who joined the Tigers and had successful careers in the orange and blue.
Xavier AtkinsÂ
When Atkins arrived last offseason after a quiet freshman season at LSU, most were not predicting him to have a breakout year, but that’s exactly what happened as he earned All-SEC honors after putting up 84 total tackles (60 solo), 17 tackles for a loss, nine sacks, seven quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, one interception and one pass broken up. Needless to say, he was the star of last year’s defense.
The good news? He returns for DJ Durkin’s defense as a junior in 2026. If he has another year like last season, expect his name to be called early in the 2027 NFL Draft.Â
KeAndre Lambert-Smith
The Freeze Four were getting the headlines and attention heading into the 2024 season, but it was the Penn State transfer who proved to be Auburn’s most reliable and leading receiver. In his one year on the Plains, he caught 50 passes for 981 yards and eight touchdowns, even though the Tigers’ offense wasn’t precisely explosive.Â
If a ball was thrown his way, he was likely to catch it.
Jalen McLeod
McLeod arrived from Appalachian State with several impressive highlights, but he was even better when he got to Auburn. The Washington, D.C., native put up 105 total tackles, 24 tackles for a loss, 13.5 sacks, seven quarterback hurries and forced three fumbles in his two seasons with the Tigers.
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