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Where Auburn football’s roster stands at the end of the December transfer portal

Pabio December 29, 2024

Few teams were more active in the transfer portal than Auburn during the December window.

The Tigers have added 14 transfers so far and their class ranks eighth On3 Team Transfer Portal Rankings. He’s highlighted by high-profile signees such as former Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold and former Georgia Tech standout wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr.

The December transfer portal window officially closed Saturday night, meaning undergraduate players can no longer enter the portal. There are, however, a few exceptions.

Players participating in their team’s bowl games will have a 5-day window after the game to access the portal. Additionally, whenever a head coach leaves their school, each player on the team has a 30-day window to enter the portal. Graduates can also access the portal at any time.

It’s also important to mention that even though the window to enter the portal is closed, players can sign with new schools up until the start of the semester to enroll in spring practices.

One last thing to note: December 28 is just the deadline to submit the necessary documents to access the portal. It can sometimes take up to 48 hours to process the paperwork to officially register a player in the portal, meaning players can still be officially registered in the portal on Sunday or Monday.

With all that out of the way, here’s where Auburn stands at the end of the December window.

Outgoing transfers

QB Holden Geriner
QB Hank Brown
QB Walker White
WR Camden Brown
WR Caleb Burton III
WR Sam Jackson V
TE Micah Riley
OL EJ Harris
Percy Lewis of OL
DL TJ Lindsey
DL gauge keys
DL Darron Reed Jr.
LB Laquan Robinson
CB Antonio Kite
CB Keionte Scott
S Caleb in wood
S CJ Johnson
P Gabe Russo

Incoming transfers

Strategist

Players in (3): Jackson Arnold, Ashton Daniels, Deuce Knight

Players eliminated (4): Payton Thorne, Hank Brown, Holden Geriner, Walker White

What to know

Auburn lost all four of its scholarship quarterbacks in 2024, meaning it will be starting completely from scratch next season. Arnold appears to be the expected starter in 2025, but Daniels also adds starting experience coming from Stanford.

What tips the competition in Arnold’s favor is the fact that Daniels won’t arrive until the summer, meaning he won’t be with the team during spring practice.

Hugh Freeze also made it known that he wants Auburn to have four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, meaning he would have to add one more, likely in the spring portal window.

Run back

Players in (2): Durell Robinson, Alvin Henderson

Players eliminated (1): Hunter Jarquez

Returning players (2): Damari Alston, Jérémie Cobb

What to know

Losing Hunter certainly hurts, but Auburn will have a quality rotation at running back in 2025. Alston and Cobb both followed Hunter last season and Robinson is coming off a 731-yard, eight-touchdown season at UConn.

Henderson, an incoming freshman, could also play a role. He broke the AHSAA all-time career record in high school and was rated as a four-star prospect.

Wide receiver

Players in (5): Horatio Fields, Eric Singleton Jr., Derick Smith, Sam Turner, Erick Smith

Players eliminated (5): KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Robert Lewis, Camden Brown, Caleb Burton III, Sam Jackson V

Returning players (4): Cam Coleman, Malcolm Simmons, Perry Thompson, Bryce Cain

What to know

Even though Auburn’s receiver room saw a lot of change during the offseason, it retained the youth. “Freeze Four” core of Coleman, Simmons, Thompson and Cain.

It would make sense for Auburn to lean more on these sophomore players this season, but the Tigers have also added veteran receivers like Fields and Singleton into the portal. Both players will likely be major contributors right away, especially Singleton, who was the highest-ranked receiver in the portal.

With his experience and past production at Georgia Tech, Singleton should have a similar impact as Lambert-Smith had last season.

Tight end

Players in (3): Preston Howard, Hollis Davidson, Ryan Ghea

Players eliminated (3): Rivaldo Fairweather, Luke Deal, Micah Riley

Returning players (2): Brandon Frazier, Rico Walker

What to know

Perhaps the most important news Auburn received was that Frazier could return for a sixth season after using a medical redshirt in 2024.

He’ll likely be the main player Auburn leans on here, along with Howard, a transfer from Maryland. It also wouldn’t be a major shock if Auburn pursued another tight end transfer during the spring portal window.

Offensive line

Players in (6): Xavier Chaplin, Mason Murphy, Broderick Shull, Tai Buster, Kail Ellis, Jacobe Ward

Players eliminated (3): Percy Lewis, Ronan Chambers, EJ Harris

Returning players (13): Dillon Wade, Izavion Miller*, Jeremiah Wright, Jaden Muskrat, Tate Johnson, Connor Lew, Bradyn Joiner, Tyler Johnson, Dylan Senda, Clay Wedin, Seth Wilfred, DeAndre Carter, Favor Edwin

What to know

Miller gets a star to his name because he was initially ineligible, but he will now likely have the opportunity to return with the additional year granted by the NCAA to seniors who have played at the JUCO level.

If he returns, Auburn will have an ultra-experienced offensive line with returning players such as Miller, Wright, Wade and Lew, combined with experienced transfers such as Murphy and Chaplin.

With Auburn’s current numbers on the offensive line, the biggest question will be who makes the starting lineup. Murphy and Chaplin both started at their previous schools, but if Miller returns, Auburn will return all five starters from last season’s offensive line.

Interior defensive line

Players in (5): Dallas Walker IV, Malik Autry, Jourdin Crawford, Antonio Coleman, Darrion Smith

Players eliminated (6): Isaiah Raikes, Philip Blidi, Jayson Jones, Trill Carter, Gage Keys, TJ Lindsey

Returning players (2): Quientrail Jamison-Travis, Malik Blocton

What to know

If there’s one position where Auburn will still be looking to add players, it’s on the interior defensive line. Walker is the only transfer the Tigers have signed so far after losing three key contributors.

The freshman class on the interior is promising, but it’s hard to tell in December what the initial impact of any of them will be.

Defensive end

Players in (1): Jared Smith

Players eliminated (2): Zykeivous Walker, Darron Reed Jr.

Returning players (2): Keldric Faulk, Amaris Williams

What to know

Not much movement on the defensive end, as Auburn returns arguably the best player on its defense in Faulk. Smith, a five-star recruit, is a promising prospect but could play either end lineman behind Faulk or BUCK linebacker.

Retaining Williams was also a big win for Auburn after initially planning to enter the transfer portal. With him still in the fold, Auburn has a solid defensive rotation with some exciting young talent.

Linebacker BUCK

Players eliminated (1): Jalen McLeod

Returning players (3): Keyron Crawford, Jamonta Waller, Joe Phillips

What to know

Not much movement at the BUCK spot yet as Auburn missed a few of its early transfer targets. Don’t be surprised, though, if the Tigers are still looking to bring in an experienced replacement for McLeod.

Crawford also appears more than capable of playing the starting role after seeing significant playing time in 2024. Waller and Phillips will also likely see increased roles in 2025, along with the aforementioned possibility of Smith playing at BUCK.

Middle linebacker

Players in (4): Xavier Atkins, Jakaleb Faulk, Elijah Melendez, Bryce Deas

Players eliminated (5): Eugene Asante, Dorian Mausi, Austin Keys, Fa’Najae Gotay, Laquan Robinson

Returning players (3): Robert Woodyard Jr., Demarcus Riddick, DJ Barber

What to know

Middle linebacker is another position where Auburn can still look to add experience. He added a transfer – Atkins – who only played one season at LSU and was not a starter.

Riddick’s development heading into his sophomore season will be important, but Auburn could still use some experience around him after losing three seniors who played significant snaps.

Cornerback

Players in (4): Raion Strader, Donovan Starr, Blake Woodby, Devin Williams

Players eliminated (2): Keionte Scott, Antonio Kite

Returning players (6): Kayin Lee, Champ Anthony, JC Hart, Tyler Scott, Jay Crawford, Kensley Louidor-Faustin

What to know

Auburn is currently pretty loaded at corner, returning both of its starters from last season and adding Strader, a former All-MAC corner at Miami (OH).

The Tigers also return players like Anthony and Scott, who missed most or all of the 2024 season due to injuries. How Auburn handles all the players in this room will be worth watching over the course of next season, but there is no shortage of options.

Security

Players in (3): Taye Seymore, Anquon Fegans, Eric Winters

Players eliminated (3): Jerrin Thompson, Caleb Wooden, CJ Johnson

Returning players (5): Jahquez Robinson, Terrance Love, Sylvester Smith, Kaleb Harris, Amon Lane-Ganus

What to know

Auburn’s outlook at safety is positive through 2025, especially considering the emergence of young players such as Smith and Harris in 2024.

Seymore is the only transfer addition, and he could be more of an experienced depth piece since Smith and Harris appear to be the likely starters next season.

Kicker/Punter

Players in (3): K Connor Gibbs, P Hudson Kaak, P John Alan McGuire

Players eliminated (2): P Oscar Chapman, P Gabe Russo

Returning players (3): K Alex McPherson, K Ian Vachon, K Towns McGough

What to know

Auburn added transfers at punter and kicker during the December window. Kaak, a former Oklahoma State punter, fills the void left by Chapman, who is ineligible.

The most interesting situation is at kicker, where Auburn added Gibbs from Southern Miss when it already had three kickers. This raises the question of McPherson’s future since he only appeared in one game during the 2024 season due to a gastrointestinal illness.

With McPherson’s health still a question and potential concern, adding Gibbs makes sense given Auburn’s struggles last season.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on @peter_rauterkus or send him an email to [email protected]m

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