The last few years have not been kind to Auburn football. The Tigers have a record of just 17-19 over the last three seasons, while their two bitter rivals in Alabama and Georgia have combined to win the last three national championships. Much of their struggles fell on head coach Bryan Harsin, who they fired in October after less than two seasons on the job.

Auburn has all the potential to compete with its rivals, it just needs someone to unlock it. The Tigers are hoping that someone is Hugh Freeze, the ex-Ole Miss and Liberty coach who Auburn hired this offseason. While Freeze definitely has his fair share of controversy, his early recruiting results have been very encouraging.

On the high school front, Freeze managed to pull together a strong class despite only arriving in November. According to 247Sports, Auburn finished with the 18th-best high school recruiting class in the country, the best of any team with a first-year head coach. Pulling in 10 five-star recruits from high school alone is particularly impressive in such a short time.

Additionally, Auburn has also cleaned up in the transfer portal this offseason. The Tigers have the fifth-best transfer class in this cycle, featuring eight four-stars and four three-stars.

Interestingly, Auburn took a very unique approach in the transfer portal. Of the Tigers' 11 incoming transfers, six of them come from Group of Five teams (counting Cincinnati, which joins the Big 12 next season).  This means that some college football fans may not be familiar with these players.

Of all these under-the-radar players, one stands above the rest as Auburn's sneakiest transfer portal move. Without further ado, let's meet that player.

Auburn football's sneakiest transfer portal move: TE Rivaldo Fairweather

For the last three seasons, Rivaldo Fairweather has called Florida International home. The Panthers tight end had a pretty quiet first two seasons, with 10 catches for 165 yards and one touchdown in 2020, then 16 catches for 247 yards and one touchdown in 2021. It seemed like 2022 was going to be more of the same, as he had just 20 catches for 274 yards and no scores. However, that last game against Middle Tennessee changed everything.

Fairweather went off against the Blue Raiders, catching eight passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns. One of those touchdowns came on a 75-yard catch, the longest of his Panthers' career. Although FIU lost the game 33-28 to finish the season 3-9, Fairweather went out with a bang in what would be his last game with the team.

After entering the transfer portal on December 5, Fairweather received Power Five offers from Maryland, Rutgers and Auburn. Two weeks after entering the portal, he chose to take his talents to the SEC. If his final game at FIU is anything to go by, then he could make an immediate difference for Auburn.

The Tigers' passing offense was dreadful in 2022, finishing dead last in the conference with just 172.7 yards per game. Even worse, they only had nine passing touchdowns all season compared to 12 interceptions. Starting quarterback Robby Ashford had a rough freshman season, completing less than 50% of his passes and throwing as many touchdowns as interceptions. If the Tigers want to compete in 2023, Ashford will have to take a big step forward.

That said, Fairweather's presence should help the quarterback tremendously. Tight end was a particular weak spot for the Tigers in 2022, as John Samuel Shenker led the position with just 208 yards and one touchdown, and he isn't returning. The two returning tight ends, Tyler Fromm and Luke Deal, combined for just 85 yards and no touchdowns last season.

With this in mind, Fairweather should be the starting tight end right away. If he can carry the momentum from his final FIU game, then he can be an impact player in 2023.