Auburn Football Tight End to Enter Transfer Portal

When the portal opens at the start of the new year, an Auburn Tigers tight end intends to enter and exit the Plains

The Auburn Tigers will lose a piece of their offense to the transfer portal | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

he Alex Golesh era is just over a week old on the Plains, and the Auburn Tigers are seeing multiple players from last season's squad reported to have plans to exit the program.

Friday, tight end Hollis Davidson announced that he’d be entering the transfer portal. He’s the first tight end departure under Alex Golesh. 

Davidson is also the seventh player to announce intent to transfer in 2026, joining the likes of quarterback Jackson Arnold, corner Raion Strader, linebacker Caleb Wheatland and defensive lineman Antonio Coleman.

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The NCAA Transfer Portal opens on Jan. 2 and closes on Jan. 16. After recent NCAA portal rule changes, this is the lone portal window after the spring window was eliminated.

Auburn backup TE Hollis Davidson plans to enter the transfer portal: https://t.co/HMrwQlCMm3 pic.twitter.com/0unAsecN9l

— Justin Hokanson (@_JHokanson) December 12, 2025

Davidson was a true freshman in 2025 and never recorded a snap as an Auburn Tiger. He was suspended from the team early in the season due to disciplinary issues and never found the field after.

Davidson was a four-star coming out of McIntosh High School in Peachtree City, GA. At 6-foot-5 and 238 pounds, he’s a formidable weapon on offense, but not in a traditional way.

“[Davidson] plays more like a big, outside receiver than a traditional tight end,” Greg Biggins, a 247Sports recruiting analyst, said. “Really fluid athlete with some twitch as a route runner, fluid, gets in and out of his breaks like a receiver as well. Polished, soft hands and high-level body control.”

At this time, it’s unclear where Davidson will choose to be his next team, but he’ll certainly have options if he’s able to stay out of trouble. Hugh Freeze, Auburn’s former head coach, was reportedly working towards giving Davidson another chance after his disciplinary issues, but he didn’t last long enough on the Plains to see that plan come to fruition. 

With Davidson’s departure, the stage is set for incoming freshman DJ Broughton, who’d once committed to Alex Golesh at USF and is now committed to him with the Tigers.