The Nerd's Auburn Football Transfer Portal Big Board: Offense v1.0

Who might Alex Golesh and his staff target to reload the Tigers’ offense in a busy window? Let’s dive deep into the names that stand out.

Today’s Observer newsletter is from a new contributor: The artist known as AUNerd, who some of you may remember from his blogging days at College & Magnolia. Nerd is excellent at breaking down Auburn football, especially recruiting, roster management and Xs and Os.

I (Justin) am in a group chat with Nerd, and I saw him starting to put together an incredibly detailed big board of potential targets for Auburn football in what will be a massive transfer portal window for new head coach Alex Golesh and his staff. I loved the idea so much that I wanted Nerd to publish it on The Observer.

Christmas has passed, but the real gift-opening season in college football is just getting started. Every year, the transfer portal seems to operate on a new set of timelines, and this cycle is no different.

This year features a single portal window, running from Friday, January 2 through Friday, January 16. Players on active College Football Playoff teams receive an additional five-day window (January 20–24), while players on teams that hire a new head coach after January 2 are granted a separate 15-day window.

Gone are the old fall and spring cycles. By the end of January, we’ll have a much clearer picture of what 2026 college football rosters will look like.

It’s also worth noting that players don’t have to commit during this window — it’s simply the only period in which they can enter the portal. That said, spring semester enrollment deadlines at most universities mean many of these decisions will happen quickly.

For Auburn, this portal cycle is critical.

When John Cohen hired Alex Golesh, he emphasized roster retention. Wanting to retain players and actually retaining them, however, are two very different things.

Auburn currently leads the SEC in players entering the portal, with more expected in the coming days. All told, the Tigers may need to add 35-40 new players over the next two weeks.

That number is staggering, but it’s also the reality of modern college football.

What follows is an attempt to identify potential offensive-side portal targets for Auburn. This list is built from a mix of reported intel from Auburn On3 and Auburn247 insiders, along with educated guesswork rooted in prior staff relationships. In today’s portal era, those connections matter more than ever. We saw that last season with Xavier Atkins, who followed a strong relationship with DJ Durkin to the Plains.

One quick note on methodology: you’ll see frequent references to Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades below. PFF is far from a perfect evaluation tool, but without the time — or expertise — to grind full tape on every portal entrant, it serves as a useful proxy for understanding where a player generally stacks up. This is especially true along the offensive line.

Finally, a disclaimer: parts of this list will almost certainly be wrong. A lot will change in a very short window. Think of this as a starting point, both for who Auburn might target and the types of players this staff is likely prioritizing at each position. Everything is subject to change the moment the portal officially opens.

Let’s dive in.

Quarterback

• Byrum Brown | 6’3” | 232 | Graduate Senior | USF

  • 226/341 (66.3%), 3,158 yards (9.3 Y/A), 28 TD, 7 INT — 175 carries, 1,008 yards (5.8 avg), 14 TD