A list of players Auburn football has kept from the transfer portal

The Tigers have brought back a number of players who could have left.

Author:
Lance Dawe
Publish date:
Jan 10, 2024 4:30 PM EST

In this story:

The Auburn Tigers have brought back a number of players who could have left for the transfer portal.

Brian Battie, the Tigers' third-string running back in 2023, was the most recent example. Battie entered the transfer portal a few days ago before it was announced on Tuesday afternoon that Battie would in fact be withdrawing from the portal and coming back for another season on the Plains.

Hugh Freeze and Auburn have prevented a number of players from going into the portal or withdrawing so far this offseason. Here are some of the guys that Auburn has brought back for 2024:

RB Brian Battie

Prior to his arrival at Auburn, Battie spent three seasons with the South Florida Bulls. He rushed for 1,841 yards over the course of 32 games with the USF (6.6 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns. During his time with the Tigers, Battie rushed for 227 yards, one touchdown and returned 28 kicks for 645 yards.

He'll be a valuable returnee for both the backfield and the special teams unit.

DB Keionte Scott

Scott announced that he will be withdrawing his name from the transfer portal and returning to play another season with the Tigers.

"Thankful for the patience and the honest opinions but the REAL know where home is for me. #WDE" Scott said in a tweet. Auburn running back Damari Alston quoted the tweet, saying "Let's do what we talked about..." To which Scott replied "Starts now (UP! emoji)."

Over the course of 22 games, Scott has recorded 97 tackles, six tackles for loss, and one interception for Auburn. The Tigers are losing a large majority of their defensive backfield from 2023 - four of the ten cornerbacks that recorded a snap for Auburn in 2023 are gone. Three of the nine safeties are gone. Bringing back Keionte will be big for the secondary.

TE Micah Riley-Ducker

Riley-Ducker could have elected to enter the transfer portal considering where he fell on the depth chart following the 2023 season. Instead, he's choosing to stay - and now compete for playing time not just with starter Rivaldo Fairweather but also former Maryland tight end Rico Walker. Walker transferred to Auburn at the beginning of the year.

OT Dillon Wade

There was speculation that Wade would enter the transfer portal after spending one season at Auburn (previously at Tulsa). Wade tweeted out a peace sign emoji on January 8th - possibility indicating that his departure was imminent - but replied to the tweet later that afternoon saying "I’m on the way to Auburn, Lock in!!" with a clip from the movie The Wolf of Wall Street where Leonardo DiCaprio exclaims that he isn't leaving his company.

Auburn needs as much help as they can get on the offensive line in 2024.

EDGE Jalen McLeod

McLeod also could have left Auburn, but was interested in the NFL Draft instead of transferring. Instead, he came back, and the Tigers' defensive line needed it.

After a slow start to 2023 due to injury, McLeod took off in the back half of the season. He recorded 48 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks in total. The former Appalachian State transfer returns to Auburn for one more season in what could be the best year of his career.

DB Kayin Lee

After some worry surrounding Lee's status as a Tiger, the former four-star cornerback decided to return to Auburn for his sophomore season. He played in all 13 games for the Tigers this season and started the Music City Bowl.

He recorded 18 tackles, two tackles for loss, six pass deflections and one forced fumble.

Lee was highly recruited coming out of high school. With a composite rating of 0.9386, he was the second-highest-rated prospect in Auburn's 2023 recruiting class according to 247Sports.

Getting him back for 2024 is huge, especially considering the lack of experience in this season's backfield.