Spotlights and Show Stealers: Auburn's players to watch in the Birmingham Bowl

For players coming back to the Plains in 2022, the showdown against Houston could go a long way to their futures on a roster in transition.

RB Jarquez Hunter (Todd Van Emst/Auburn Athletics)

Auburn football is focused on snapping a four-game losing streak and ending 2021 with a victory against Houston — and a winning record for Bryan Harsin’s first season — in the Birmingham Bowl on Tuesday.

When it comes to their roster, the Tigers are having to play a game during a particularly massive time of transition. A few stars, such as Roger McCreary and Zakoby McClain, opted out of the bowl game to focus on the upcoming NFL Draft. Several seniors are playing in one more game before ending their college careers. And then there are the players like Bo Nix and Shaun Shivers, who decided to transfer elsewhere during the month between the Iron Bowl and the Birmingham Bowl.

The biggest news of the last few weeks for Auburn football has largely been focused on the recruiting trail, where Harsin and his coaches have put together a top-15 class for 2022 and have been hard at work looking for more targets — including ones in the transfer por…