Can Auburn football address key weaknesses before fall camp? Auburn closed the spring transfer portal window with just six players leaving the program. However, this doesn’t prohibit teams such as Auburn football from making additions. The portal is closed to new entries. If a player is already in the portal, he can spend as much time as he wants looking for a new program to play for the following season, as long as he enrolls in time for the fall semester.
The Tigers had only six departures during the spring window, the most notable of which was redshirt freshman cornerback Colton Hood, who had been ranked third on the depth chart behind starters Kayin Lee and Keionte Scott. Auburn’s leading receiver in 2023, Jay Fair, has also left. Hood enrolled at Colorado alongside his brother, three-star recruit Brandon Hood, while Fair attended USC.
Auburn’s Biggest Needs After Spring Portal Closes:
With a few gaps to fill along with some major improvements and seven open scholarship opportunities remaining, the Tigers may target the following positions of need over the next few weeks:
Linebacker:
Auburn already has veterans like Austin Keys, Eugene Asante, Robert Woodyard Jr., and Dorian Mausi Jr. on the roster, along with DJ Barber and freshmen Demarcus Riddick, so placing one more linebacker could make sense after fifth-year senior Wesley Steiner left in April.
The Tigers rotated four linebackers last season and plan to do so again in 2024. Asante, Keys, and Mausi have already locked down three of these spots. Even if Auburn gets a linebacker from the transfer portal, that player wouldn’t be guaranteed a starting spot. They would likely be competing with three other guys (Woodyard, Riddick, and Barber) for the backup linebacker position. In the best-case scenario, they might win that competition. In the worst case, they would still be a valuable addition to the team’s linebacker depth.
Cornerback:
Auburn has many talented secondary players, including Jay Crawford, JC Hart, Terrance Love, and Kaleb Harris. They also have Antonio Kite, who transferred from Alabama, and Champ Anthony, a former junior college standout. The loss of Hood, however, was a blow to the team.
Kite could play a larger role as a backup to Lee and Scott, but the Tigers need another cornerback. The coaching staff agrees so San Jose State transfer Jayvion Cole will officially visit Auburn from May 7th to May 9th. He announced on social media on Thursday.
Wide receiver:
Since coach Hugh Freeze took over in November 2022, the majority of the team’s wide receivers have changed. Only one player, junior Camden Brown, was present before Freeze arrived. Caleb Burton III is the only other receiver from last season who will return in 2024.
Auburn currently has nine scholarship receivers on its roster. They lost Fair and Koy Moore to the spring portal but added KeAndre Lambert-Smith from Penn State. In 2023, Lambert-Smith led the Nittany Lions in receiving yards (673 on 53 receptions). Normally, teams have around ten scholarship receivers.
With four freshmen (Bryce Cain, Cam Coleman, Malcolm Simmons, and Perry Thompson) and a former quarterback (Sam Jackson V) joining the team, adding one more experienced receiver could benefit the Tigers.
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Take Away:
As the spring portal window closes, Auburn football is still looking to fill key positions, particularly cornerback and wide receiver. Richard Silva, Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser, provided an insightful analysis of these remaining needs. Silva’s article “Biggest remaining needs for Auburn football as spring portal window closes” outlines the team’s areas for improvement and emphasizes the importance of recruiting new players. With contributions from Jayvion Cole and KeAndre Lambert-Smith, the team is making progress, but there is still room for improvement. For more information on Auburn athletics, readers can contact Richard Silva via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.
