Auburn football's top priorities when the transfer portal reopens this week

The Tigers have a few open spots, and there should be more roster movement over the next several weeks. Here are the positions to watch.

Hello. It’s EDSBS Charity Bowl Week.

Our internet friends Spencer Hall and Holly Anderson hold this annual fundraiser to support New American Pathways, an Atlanta organization that works to help settle refugees here in the United States. College football fans donate money in the name of their favorite team, and there’s a running scoreboard for all the donations throughout the week.

As we’ve done for the last several years here at The Observer, any subscriber who donates to the Charity Bowl can send a screenshot of their receipt to the1andonlyJF@gmail.com, and we’ll add some free time to your subscription as our way of saying thanks for helping this very special cause.

We’ll also donate all money we get from any new subscriptions this week to the Charity Bowl in Auburn’s name, so this is honestly the single-best week to subscribe.

Click the button below to donate. We’ll have links to this all week long.

(Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers)

Hugh Freeze has made it quite clear during his time at Auburn that he and his staff want to rebuild the Tigers back into championship-contending form through high school recruiting first and foremost.

In the portal era, where teams can reinvent themselves on the fly or even become known as go-to destinations for transfers, it can be tempting to go for the get-right-quick approach of stockpiling a roster with experienced players.

But the best of the best in college football are doing it through recruiting and development, and Auburn wants to get back into that territory. Landing a top-10 class for the first time in several years was an important step in that direction, especially after the Tigers struggled on the field late in the 2023 season.

That’s not to say Auburn is completely avoiding the portal, though. In the first (and larger) winter window, the Tigers landed nine FBS transfers: wide receiver Robert Lewis, quarterback-turned-receiver Sam Jackson V, tight end Rico Walker, left tackle Percy Lewis, defensive tackles Gage Keys and Trill Carter, linebacker Dorian Mausi Jr., cornerback Antonio Kite and safety Jerrin Thompson.

The majority of those transfers will have a chance to start or be in the main rotation at their respective positions this fall. Getting them in the first window is crucial, as they get to go through spring practices and take advantage of a full offseason of work.

But the second (and smaller) spring window is the time to put the finishing touches on a roster. You can’t sign any more high schoolers right now, so rounding out the team will have to be done via the portal. Players can hop in the portal to find a new home, which is helpful after finding out where they stand during spring practices.

The second transfer window will open Tuesday and close two weeks later on April 30. Players don’t have to make final decisions by that deadline — but they need to be in the portal by then if they want to be eligible for the 2024 season.

Additionally, the SEC doesn’t allow immediate eligibility for intraconference transfers in this second window, unless they have already graduated.

So, what will Auburn do with its 2024 roster when the portal opens up this week? First, let’s take a look at the roster situation for the Tigers as a whole.

According to the 2024 Auburn Football Roster Tracker here at The Observer, the Tigers currently have around 80 players on scholarship for the upcoming season. (Let me stress that this is an unofficial count.)

Teams can have up to 85 scholarship players on a roster, although most don’t max out all of their slots. If they have any available right before the start of the season, you’ll usually see teams put specific walk-ons on scholarship.

Here’s a snapshot of how many scholarship players Auburn has in each position group, based on who was playing where in spring ball and the few remaining 2024 signees who are expected to join this summer:

• QB: 4

• RB: 5

• WR: 10

• TE: 5

• OL: 15

• DL: 8

• EDGE: 6

• LB: 7

• CB: 9

• S: 8

• ST: 2

What are the top priorities? Freeze himself mentioned two of them after the A-Day Game in Jordan-Hare Stadium earlier this month:

“We've got a couple spots left on our roster. If you're going to fill it, let's fill it with D-line and receivers. I think that's where we need to add some more depth.”

Let’s take a closer look at these two position groups, along with some other spots that Auburn could address over the next few weeks in the portal.