Liberty QB in transfer portal deemed Auburn football contingency plan for Cam Ward
On3's Jesse Simonton deemed Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter, who entered the transfer portal on January 2, a Cam Ward contingency plan for Hugh Freeze's Auburn football program; which has pivoted to having a wide-open QB competition after a disastrous Music City Bowl showing from Payton Thorne.
"I mentioned Kaidon Salter as a Cam Ward contingency plan for Auburn," Simonton prefaced before saying, "Well, we’re about to find out how strong Hugh Freeze’s connections are to the Liberty QB."
On3's Justin Hokanson added that the Tigers should be after Salter while mentioning he had previously withheld that information from everyone but his subscribers.
"This is a player I mentioned to our members about to watch for and see if he enters the portal — Auburn should have interest," Hokanson wrote, surrounding the word "interest" with stars.
Another analyst feels Auburn football unlikely to deviate from plan to focus on incumbent QBs
AL.com's Matt Cohen is not on board with Simonton and Hokanson, claiming instead that the Tigers are unlikely to deviate from their plan of focusing on Thorne, Holden Geriner, Hank Brown, and Walker White.
"Thorne was a quarterback picked out by Freeze, but one taken late out of the transfer portal after spring practices had already ended," Cohen prefaced before saying, "From a pure development standpoint, Brown and White are far more tied to Freeze than Thorne — albeit Freeze has on multiple occasions been willing to put his full stance behind his transfer quarterback.
"It still does not appear as if Auburn will change course and add another transfer quarterback. Maybe Brown’s flash of potential alleviates a concern over depth following Ashford’s departure."
After a spectacular season from Salter, one in which he amassed 2,876 yards and 32 TDs through the air and 1,089 yards rushing and 12 TDs on the ground, Salter's stock is naturally higher than anyone in AU's QB room.
If the Tigers want to close the door on any potential remaining WR recruiting flips, perhaps a certain 4-star from Saraland, and ensure their own 2024 receivers are in the best position to succeed out of the gate, Salter is as good as it gets in the portal right now.