Auburn football transfer portal tracker: Running list of transfers in and out, real-time thoughts
AUBURN — The spring transfer portal window is open from April 15-30. Auburn Live expects a number of current football players to enter into the portal following the completion of spring camp. The Tigers also plan to add another quality haul of transfers coming into the program in the next two weeks.
Bookmark this page as we’ll link relevant stories, provide thoughts and track Auburn’s transfer situation during this spring window.
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Spring transfers out
Running thoughts on Auburn’s spring transfers out
— The decision for Gordon to leave the program isn’t a shocker. He was a Bryan Harsin recruit, a local kid, and his addition made sense at the time, both adding a player for depth and adding a local player to make inroads. Gordon told Auburn Live he’s leaving the door open for a return to the program. Gordon hasn’t found his true position yet, bouncing between linebacker and jack, and remains undersized for either position.
— Dawson, like M’Ba, had thought about entering the portal in the past. Following a spring where he wasn’t able to make a push into the starting rotation, Dawson entering the portal wasn’t a shocker. Auburn has Ja’Varrius Johnson and Jay Fair in the slot, both players who Hugh Freeze singled out for consistent spring efforts.
— M’Ba thought about entering the portal after last season, but stayed. He seemed to be happy about how things were going and his position change to defensive end when he spoke to the media during spring camp. Then again, M’Ba is a generally happy person. M’Ba was poised to play significant snaps this fall and provided important depth to the defensive line.
— Tisdol and Brown both announced their departures in the middle of spring camp. Neither contributed much and don’t really impact Auburn’s roster in a meaningful way.
How many transfers might Auburn target this spring?
Auburn is looking at 6-8 spring transfer portal additions, plus or minus some on either side. Of course, this number is fluid based on two things: Auburn actually finding the right fits at the right positions (meaning not taking a player just to take a player), and current players leaving the program matching up with what Hugh Freeze and Co. expect.
Quarterback, safety, cornerback, jack/defensive end/rush end, and a “few” offensive linemen are all positions Freeze has specifically mentioned as positions of need during the spring window.
Spring transfers in
Players and links will be provided as Auburn adds players in the spring transfer window.
Running thoughts on Auburn’s spring transfers in
Thoughts will be provided as Auburn adds players in the spring transfer window.
Transfer portal background information
The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.
The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.
Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.
The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.
A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.
The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.
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