Auburn Poach Former Five-Star DL From Fellow SEC School

The Auburn Tigers add another veteran piece to the defense who was a top talent out of high school

Auburn lands another veteran talent on defense via the transfer portal | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Though the NCAA Transfer Portal officially closed for new applicants on Friday night, players already in the portal are still able to transfer to other programs. One such player, Ole Miss defensive lineman Da’Shawn Womack, officially announced that he’d signed with the Auburn Tigers on Saturday afternoon. 

He’s the 29th incoming commit for a Tiger team that lost 38 players to the portal.

BREAKING: Ole Miss transfer EDGE Da'Shawn Womack has signed with Auburn, @PeteNakos & @JLeeAUSports reporthttps://t.co/kSYG7dYADj pic.twitter.com/XgJJh9g8Lz

— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) January 17, 2026

Womack is an incredibly solid pickup for an Auburn team that’s been hurting for transfer portal commits throughout this cycle, as he’s officially listed as a four-star transfer commit. His 92.000 247Sports ranking is tied with former Baylor running back Bryson Washington for the second-best in Auburn’s class, only behind former USF quarterback Byrum Brown.

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His high ranking is far from unfounded, as he was a five-star in 2022, when he committed to LSU out of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore. He was quite solid with the Tigers, putting up 23 tackles throughout his freshman and sophomore years, before transferring to Ole Miss for his junior season.

At Ole Miss, Womack saw a sharp increase in counting stats, as he put up a total of 27 tackles, 14 of which were solo tackles. He also had two sacks and forced a fumble, the first of his collegiate career.

The addition of Womack should go far in terms of making Auburn’s defense much stronger, particularly in the wake of the loss of Amaris Williams, who’s also a four-star in the portal. Combined with Xavier Atkins, Malik Autry and Jourdin Crawford, DJ Durkin’s defense seems to be looking more copacetic by the day.

Last season, the Tigers were one of the best defensive teams in the country, allowing less than 24 points in all but two games while Xavier Atkins, another former LSU player, dominated headlines with top-level play. 

Atkins and Womack were both at LSU in 2024, so there’s sure to be some natural cohesion there that bodes well for the future of the Auburn defense.