In today's edition of Auburn Tigers News, Hugh Freeze talks about adjusting to recruiting from the transfer portal, and Auburn football makes the top five for 5-star safety
In the last few years, the NCAA transfer portal has changed the way recruiting works and given more freedom than ever to student-athletes. It's now more than ever necessary to strongly utilize the transfer portal to bring in key additions, and although Auburn football has done well in the portal, it was not without struggles.
Head coach Hugh Freeze is big on relationships, which are vital in high school recruiting but harder to establish in the fast-paced world of transfer portal recruiting.
"You've got to try to prove to them, initially on a phone call, that they should look at Auburn," Freeze said, per The Montgomery Advertiser. "We've done OK with that. But we've had many visits set, and they never even get to campus. They've already decided where they're going before we get to get in front of them, which is a bit different for me."
Freeze is still working to adjust to the new style of building a football team, but the Tigers plan to stay competitive in the portal.
"The portal world, maybe we need to start trying to visit them as soon as you can instead of setting up for a weekend that never happens," Freeze said. "I don't know. It's been challenging to figure out."
Auburn football makes top five for 5-star safety
Over the weekend, the Auburn football team hosted a group of recruits including 5-star safety Zelus Hicks. The Carrollton, Georgia, native is ranked as the #2 safety in the recruiting class of 2026 and the #4 prospect out of his state.
Hicks has made several trips to the Plains during his recruitment, his most recent trip before this weekend being in January. He noted that one of his main reasons for visiting Auburn again was his strong relationship with coaches Wesley McGriff and Charles Kelly, who are his primary recruiters.
Though he hasn't officially cut his list of programs down yet, Hicks plans to drop a top-10 list soon and hopes to make a decision by the end of the summer. For now, the Tigers are keeping themselves at the top of the 5-star safety's recruitment.
"Auburn definitely sits in my top five for sure," Hicks said, per Auburn Rivals. "They have the facilities, they have the coaches, I’ve seen the development they’ve put into players, they got everything."