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Hugh Freeze has been the head coach of the Auburn football team for two years now, and he has not experienced a lot of success with the program. Auburn finished with a 6-7 record in Freeze's first year, and last season was even worse. The Tigers finished 5-7 in 2024, and they failed to qualify for a bowl game. That isn't going to get the job done. The 2025 season will be Freeze's third season leading this program, and he needs to show that he can bring some success to Auburn. One thing that can help make that happen is the college football transfer portal.
In today's era, the college football transfer portal is crucial. Unless a team had a phenomenal season and is bringing back all of their starters, there is reason for every squad to go shopping during the offseason. There is a lot of experienced talent in the transfer portal, and it gives any team the opportunity to build something special ahead of the season.
The Auburn football team is one that is in need of a lot of experienced talent that can flip the switch in a short period of time. The Tigers didn't have the talent last year, but a good haul in the transfer portal can completely change a team's outlook.
A lot of teams are already done with their transfer portal shopping as it is very late in the cycle, but there is still a lot of good talent available in the portal. Auburn has already landed 19 transfers, but it has also lost 28. The Tigers have picked up some good experience at a lot of positions of need, but there are still some good options out there for them. Here are a few last-minute targets for Hugh Freeze:
Markevious Brown, CB, Purdue
Markevious Brown is a player at a position of need that has a lot of experience. He has played four seasons of college football, and all have been at the power four level. Brown started his career at Ole Miss before transferring to Purdue, and he has put up some good numbers at both schools. His most impressive season came with the Boilermakers in 2023. Brown finished the year with 45 total tackles, five passes defended, two forced fumbles and one sack.
Brown is the type of player that coaches like to see in the transfer portal. He has had success at the power four level and he has a lot of experience. That is a good mix that typically results in success. Auburn could use some more CB talent.
Ja'Den McBurrows, CB, Michigan
Another Big Ten transfer that could be an intriguing option for Auburn is Michigan transfer Ja'Den McBurrows. McBurrows doesn't have the experience that Markevious Brown has despite playing for three seasons, but he has still shown some promising flashes. McBurrows didn't receive a ton of playing time with the Wolverines, and he finished his career with 13 total tackles, two passes defended and one interception. He would be a good depth piece for the Tigers.
Andrew Simpson, LB, Boise State
Auburn has done a good job addressing its linebacker need, but it's hard to ignore Boise State transfer Andrew Simpson. Simpson has spent the last three seasons with the Broncos, and he has had a lot of success. He has finished with 29 or more tackles in all three of his seasons at Boise State, and his sophomore year in 2023 was a big one. Simpson racked up 66 total tackles, 6.5 sacks, 2 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions. It was a monster season, and Simpson is capable of doing that again.
Transfer portal overview
One of the biggest parts of the college football offseason is the transfer portal, and the festivities begin before the offseason actually starts. Teams that don't qualify for the postseason have entered their offseason when the portal first opens, but there are a lot of teams that still have bowl games/playoff games to play. The transfer portal opened up for the first time on December 9th, so it created some issues for players that want to transfer but still have a season going.
The transfer portal is a massive part of college football now, and there are definitely positives and negatives to it. One of the biggest issues that people have with it is the timing of the first window. It is open in early December so players can pick a new school and start the next semester there when January rolls around. However, it does create issues as we have seen players this past season on College Football Playoff teams have to miss out on the opportunity to participate in the CFP because of their transfer.
On the flip side, the transfer portal gives teams a chance to completely rebuild their squad in just one offseason. New head coaches can come in and bring in a lot of experienced players from the jump, and it can make for a quick turnaround. Any team has hope in the offseason because of the transfer portal.
The transfer portal opened up for the first time this season on December 9th and it stayed open until December 28th. This window is the main window where a lot of the action takes place, but the transfer portal is open during the spring as well.
From April 16th until April 25th, the transfer portal will be open. That way, players can go through spring ball and have a better idea of what their upcoming season will look like. If they aren’t satisfied, they can leave. We even sometimes see players that transferred in the first window transfer again in the second window, sometimes back to their original school.
The transfer portal is a crucial part of the offseason, and we will be hearing a lot about it from now until the end of the spring.
