Auburn Defensive Back, Former 4-Star to Enter Transfer Portal

The Auburn Tigers suffered another hit to their defensive back room late Wednesday night.

Freshman cornerback Donovan Starr is planning to enter the transfer portal, per a report from On3 college football insider Pete Nakos. Starr marks the 23rd Auburn player to announce his intention to depart from the program via the portal.

NEW: Auburn CB Donovan Starr plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, @PeteNakos reports.

Starr was a 4-star in the 2025 class.https://t.co/jcioHOf94x pic.twitter.com/sjg913GrQn
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) December 24, 2025

Starr was an extremely talented recruit out of high school, but struggled to find a role in the Tigers’ defensive rotation in his first season on the Plains.

The Brentwood, Tenn., native was rated four stars by 247Sports, and he was ranked as the No. 18 cornerback in the 2025 cycle and the No. 136 overall player in the class. The same metric listed him as the top prospect from the state of Tennessee.

However, despite being Auburn’s eighth-highest-rated signee of its 2025 class, which was No. 6 nationally, Starr only saw action in nine games this past season. The majority of playing time he received was on special teams, including punt return and kickoff coverage, but he also saw minutes at corner in Auburn’s games against Ball State and Mercer.

The former four-star recorded 18 total snaps in his freshman campaign, but he managed to earn an impressive 77.2 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus in his limited action.

Starr becomes the fifth Auburn cornerback to announce his intention to enter the transfer portal, joining Jay Crawford, Kayin Lee, Raion Strader, and Amon Lane-Ganus as the other defensive backs who are planning to leave when the portal opens on Jan. 2, 2026.

The two most impactful departures, Crawford and Lee, announced their plan to transfer over the course of the last two weeks, and it may have come as a surprise to some fans to see both intend to leave. There are numerous potential reasons why one would want to enter the portal, including NIL opportunities, coaching changes, and a desire to play for a playoff contender, but a crucial element to keep in mind is that an intended portal entry is not a “done deal.”

Similar to defensive end Amaris Williams’ situation last offseason, anyone can enter the portal and withdraw their name. Furthermore, at this point, nobody’s name is officially in the transfer portal – players are simply announcing their intention to do so when it opens.

Assuming Starr, Crawford, Lee, Strader, and Lane-Ganus all ultimately leave the program, Auburn’s stable of corners is extremely thin. Junior Rayshawn Pleasant would stand as the only proven contributor remaining, with freshmen Blake Woodby and Devin Williams joining Pleasant as the only other corners on scholarship.

Additionally, Auburn didn’t sign a cornerback during the 2026 Early Signing Period. The Tigers signed three defensive backs – three-star Wayne Henry, three-star Damonte Tabb, and three-star Shadrick Toodle Jr. – but all are designated safeties.

Thus, Alex Golesh, D.J. Durkin, and company will need to hit the transfer portal hard this offseason to bring in as many proven corners as possible to fill the voids in Auburn’s defensive backfield.

One of the Tigers’ more reliable defensive strengths last season has transformed into a prominent area of uncertainty, but time and Auburn’s performance in the upcoming portal cycle will tell how strong the room will turn out to be in 2026.