Auburn Edge Rusher, Former 5-Star Reportedly Entering Transfer Portal

The Auburn Tigers have suffered a couple of major blows on the defensive side of the football this week, and that trend remained consistent early Friday afternoon.

Sophomore edge rusher Amaris Williams is expected to enter the transfer portal when it opens, per a report from On3’s Hayes Fawcett on X. Williams marks the 18th Auburn player to announce their intention to hit the portal on Jan. 2, 2026.

NEW: Auburn DL Amaris Williams plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, @Hayesfawcett3 reports.

Williams has totaled 14 tackles and 2 sacks this season. https://t.co/W6WXawouR4 pic.twitter.com/9qIkeBNjg4
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) December 19, 2025

This is a considerable loss for the Tigers, especially on defense, as they have also recently learned that sophomore cornerback Jay Crawford, sophomore defensive tackle Malik Blocton, and edge rusher Jamonta Waller also plan to explore other options. Crawford and Blocton, in particular, were key pieces to D.J. Durkin’s unit, and their elite presence next season will certainly be missed.

Williams played in all 12 games as a sophomore this past season, recording 14 total tackles and two sacks. He was brought in off the bench in a pass rush package, as he was rushing the quarterback during about 64.3% of his 210 total snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. The most action he saw was in Auburn’s opener against Baylor with 39 snaps, but he played just one snap against Alabama in the Tigers’ season-ending Iron Bowl loss.

The Clinton, N.C., native was rated five stars out of high school by 247Sports, and the same metric ranked him as the No. 5 edge rusher in the 2024 cycle. He was also listed as the No. 30 overall player and No. prospect from the state of North Carolina.

Williams stood as Auburn’s highest-rated defensive player in its 2024 class, and he was the second-best signee behind five-star phenom wide receiver Cam Coleman. The 2024 class, which was former head coach Hugh Freeze’s first full recruiting cycle during his time with the Tigers, ranked No. 8 nationally in 247Sports’ team recruiting rankings.

Although he was one of the nation’s most coveted prospects a couple of seasons ago, Williams didn’t play as big of a role as other young contributors like Crawford and Blocton. Veteran defensive ends Keyron Crawford and Keldric Faulk, a projected first-round NFL Draft pick, were ahead of him in the depth chart for both seasons on the Plains, but Williams was expected to be their successor as a junior in 2026.

This shouldn’t be a massive surprise to fans, as Williams planned the transfer portal last offseason to explore other options, but the former staff worked extremely hard to retain the former five-star. He ultimately elected not to enter his name into the portal and return to Auburn for his sophomore campaign, but it appears he is once again set to depart from the Tigers.

However, on the other hand, for what it’s worth, there were also rumblings of Williams’ recent comments during an Instagram Live stream a few days ago, where he reportedly said that he’s “staying” when asked by viewers if he was planning to enter the portal. Normally, small comments and/or social media shenanigans don’t mean anything, but some people tend to read into it slightly too much.

Obviously, this is another case in which his remarks should be taken with a grain of salt, as Williams is indeed expected to leave Auburn, contrary to his previous claims.

With Williams’ expected departure, the Tigers’ defensive front gets even thinner. With freshman defensive lineman Antonio Coleman, Blocton, Waller, and now Williams all announcing their intention to enter the portal, and Crawford and Faulk both declaring for the NFL Draft, Durkin and company have a tall task ahead of them to reload the defensive line.

The Tigers’ defensive line room still boasts young talent, including freshmen edge rusher Jared Smith, edge rusher J.J. Faulk, defensive tackle Malik Autry, defensive tackle Darrion Smith, and defensive tackle Jourdin Crawford. These young players could certainly develop in the coming years, but the Tigers will undoubtedly need to attack the position with urgency in this year’s transfer portal window.