How has the portal treated Auburn football? Grading last five transfer hauls for Tigers

AUBURN — It may be difficult to picture a time without it in today's day and age, but the transfer portal has only existed since October 2018.

Created to assist athletes in finding their next stop once deciding to transfer, the popularity of the portal has boomed over the last handful of years. The 2021 cycle saw 786 players enter, according to On3 Sports. That number skyrocketed to 2,269 in 2022, jumped again to 2,689 in 2023 and currently sits at 3,214 in 2024.

Auburn football is no stranger to the portal. This offseason alone, the Tigers have lost 20 transfers and have brought in 14 replacements. There's still some space to add some pieces, too, as Auburn currently sits at approximately 80 scholarships. Look for the Tigers to continue targeting a linebacker and defensive back.

"It's about over, really," coach Hugh Freeze said May 8 when asked about the transfer portal. "... If a linebacker or a DB was one we thought would fit, we would certainly go down that road."

With the 2024 transfer cycle still wrapping up, here's a look at how the Tigers have fared over the last five offseasons:

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2019 (3 additions)

Things were quiet in the portal's infancy. Auburn brought in three transfers in 2019 — h-back Jay Jay Wilson, receiver Zach Farrar and offensive lineman Michael Cone. Cone never saw the field, but Farrar provided some depth (62 offensive snaps) and Wilson proved to be a versatile piece to the offense, totaling 243 snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and hauling in 14 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown.

Grade: C+ — Considering how slow the portal moved in 2019, adding a piece of depth at receiver and a notable contributor on offense feels like passable, but not very notable.

2020 (4 additions)

Another sleepy portal window in 2020 saw the Tigers add four transfers in quarterback Grant Loy, receiver Caylin Newton, offensive lineman Brandon Council and defensive lineman Nick Curtis. Curtis and Loy barely got on the field, but the Tigers added a starting-caliber offensive lineman with Council and a key special teamer in Newton, who notably blocked a punt in Auburn's comeback win over Georgia State in 2021.

Grade: B — The fact Council started 26 games makes this haul a bit better than the 2019 edition, plus Newton's clutch play against the Panthers gives the grade a small boost.

2021 (9 additions)

This is where the portal really began to pick up not only in Auburn, but also around the country. Seven of the nine transfers Auburn added played at least 200 snaps in their respective careers with the Tigers, and six played at least 400. The group is headlined by a trio of defensive pieces: Defensive lineman Marcus Harris, edge defender Eku Leota and defensive back Donovan Kaufman. All three of those players started multiple games for the Tigers, as did quarterback TJ Finley, receiver Demetris Robertson and DB Bydarrius Knighten.

Grade: B+ — More than half of this transfer class ended up starting more than one game at Auburn. That's a win, all things considered.

2022 (9 additions)

Auburn went out and brought in another nine transfers in 2022, matching its total from 2021. This haul, however, was more hit or miss. The success stories of linebacker Eugene Asante and cornerback DJ James are noted, but so are the misses. Defensive linemen Jayson Jones and Marcus Bragg came in during this cycle, but the rest of the group left much to be desired when on the field or could never work their way into meaningful snaps.

Grade: B- — Opposite to the 2021 haul, nearly half of the transfers added in 2022 never started more than one game while at Auburn. The success of Asante and James carry the weight here.

2023 (19 additions)

This group is harder to evaluate, given that 10 of the 19 newcomers still remain on the roster and are poised to play in 2024. One of the better portal additions Auburn has ever made — Asante, Harris and James also have arguments — came in the form of tight end Rivaldo Fairweather, who hauled in 38 catches for 394 yards and six touchdowns in his first season at Auburn. That earned him second team All-SEC honors. With Georgia's Brock Bowers off to the NFL, Fairweather can become the conference's top TE.

Grade: B+ — Fifteen of these transfers were meaningful contributors in 2023. Outside of receiver, there were few misses.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: Grading how the Tigers have fared in portal era