Where are they now?: The curious case of Auburn’s 2021 signing class
Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin was dealt a great hand to open his tenure on the Plains.
Just one week before the official announcement of the Harsin hire, Auburn signed the nation’s No. 18 recruiting class according to 247Sports, a class that consisted of 18 high school players, six of whom were rated as four-star prospects.
However, just two years after faxing their National Letter of Intent to the university, half of those signees that were expected to be the future of the program now appear on another program’s roster. The number has grown now that tight end Landen King has announced his intent to enter the transfer portal. One day later, wide receiver Tar'varish Dawson and cornerback A.D. Diamond also announced that they were looking to test the transfer waters once the season concluded, moving the number of departures from seven players to ten in just two days.
Why is that? No one can for sure say at this time, but it is definitely a concern. Not only are the departures concerning, but the lack of production from this class is worrisome.
The headliner from this class is running back Jarquez Hunter, who has been given an opportunity to complement Tank Bigsby in the running game. Outside of Hunter, defensive players such as Dylan Brooks, Cayden Bridges, marquis robinson, and Joko Willis have combined to play just 236 of Auburn’s 513 defensive snaps according to Pro Football Focus. Between those four players, Bridges is receiving the bulk of those snaps with 173.
With the recent news of King, Dawson, and Diamond’s departure, Auburn Wire is here to break down Auburn’s 2021 signing class, and who is still a part of it.
Related
BREAKING: A.D. Diamond enters the transfer portal
BREAKING: Auburn receiver Tar'Varish Dawson hits the transfer portal
BREAKING: Landen King enters transfer portal
Auburn defensive lineman hits the transfer portal
Who is still here? Who has gone on to play for another program? All of that information is below:
Those that remain
Dylan Brooks
AP Photo/Stew Milne
Rating: 4-star
Position: EDGE
Hometown: Roanoke, Ala.
State ranking: No. 4
Position ranking: No. 6
Marquis Robinson
Pensacola News Journal
Rating: 4-star
Position: DL
Hometown: Milton, Fla.
State ranking: No. 51
Position ranking: No. 42
Tobechi Okoli
Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics
Rating: 3-star
Position: DL
Hometown: Kansas City, Mo.
State rank: No. 7
Position rank: No. 67
Colby Smith
Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics
Rating: 3-star
Position: OT
Hometown: Reidsville, N.C.
State ranking: No. 34
Position ranking: No. 50
Garner Langlo
Tallahassee Democrat
Rating: 3-star
Position: OT
Hometown: Ocala, Fla.
State ranking: No. 86
Position ranking: No. 43
Jarquez Hunter
AP Photo/Butch Dill
Rating: 3-star
Position: RB
Hometown: Philadelphia, Miss.
State ranking: No. 12
Position ranking: No. 44
Joko Willis
Jake Crandall via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Rating: 3-star
Position: LB
Hometown: LaGrange, Ga.
State ranking: No. 5
Position ranking: No. 4
Cayden Bridges
AP Photo/Butch Dill
Rating: 3-star
Position: S
Hometown: Magee, Miss.
State ranking: No. 32
Position ranking: No 151
Those that have departed
Lee Hunter
Alex Menendez/Getty Images
Current program: UCF
Rating: 4-star
Position: DL
Hometown: Eight Mile, Ala.
State rank: No. 5
Position rank: No. 12
Ahmari Harvey
Tallahassee Democrat
Current program: Georgia Tech
Rating: 4-star
Hometown: Tallahassee, Fla.
State rank: No. 30
Position rank: No. 14
Dematrius Davis
The Montgomery Advertiser
Current program: Alabama State
Rating: 4-star
Position: QB
Hometown: Houston, Texas
State rank: No. 35
Position rank: No. 24
Hal Presley
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Current program: Baylor
Rating: 3-star
Position: WR
Hometown: Arlington, Texas
State rank: No. 55
Position rank: No. 63
Ian Matthews
The Montgomery Advertiser
Current program: Missouri
Rating: 3-star
Position: DL
Hometown: Columbus, Ga.
State rank: No. 57
Position rank: No. 82
Ro Torrence
AP Photo/Matthew Hinton
Current program: Arizona State
Rating: 3-star
Position: CB
Hometown: Bessemer, Ala.
State rank: No. 8
Position rank: No. 4
Kamal Hadden
The Knoxville News-Sentinel
Current program: Tennessee
Rating: 3-star
Position: CB
Hometown: River Rouge, Mich.
State ranking: No. 10
Position ranking: No. 5
Landen King
AP Photo/Vasha Hunt
Current status: Plans to enter transfer portal
Rating: 3-star
Position: WR
Hometown: Humble, Texas
State ranking: No. 88
Position ranking: No. 29
A.D. Diamond
Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics
Current status: Plans to enter the transfer portal
Rating: 3-star
Position: CB
Hometown: Eight Mile, Ala.
State ranking: No. 57
Position ranking: No. 116
Tar'varish Dawson
Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics
Current status: Plans to enter the transfer portal
Rating: 4-star
Position: Athlete
Hometown: Lehigh Acres, Fla.
State ranking: No. 57
Position ranking: No. 22
