Auburn Retains Two Key Members of Defense

Two members of Auburn's secondary have announced they will play for the Tigers in 2026.

The Auburn Tigers are retaining two key members of its defense. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Amidst the opening of the transfer portal, which is set to run just once this year, the Auburn Tigers have been riddled with a litany of players deciding to leave the program. In fact, over 30 players that were on the 2025 roster will not return to the Plains in 2026, but this safety duo is set to stay.

AnQuon Fegans and Eric Winters, two of the Tigers’ top safeties in 2025, announced that they’d be staying with Auburn for the 2026 season in a joint post on Instagram. 

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War damn baby!! Back for year ✌🏽 #WDE pic.twitter.com/I8tnygxb25

— Anquon “Newboy” Fegans ✪ (@FegansAnquon) January 3, 2026

Fegans was one of just three freshmen to play in all 12 games of the 2025 season, which stands as a testament to the young Alabama native’s development. Over those 12 games, Fegans tallied up 18 solo tackles, a pass defended and an interception.

Fegans was a four-star out of high school, ranked as the ninth-best safety in his class and the fourth-best player in his home state of Alabama.

Winters also played in all 12 games in 2025, tallying 24 solo tackles and a pass defended. He only started a single game, but still managed to put up impressive numbers for any safety, let alone a freshman. His 33 total tackles were the most of any Auburn freshman this year.

Winters was also a four-star out of high school, though he was ranked as the 11th-best safety in his class and the ninth-best player in Alabama. 

At a time in which Auburn has seen many of its top defensive players depart, including Keldric Faulk, who has declared for the 2026 NFL Draft, it’s certainly reassuring to see the Tigers make moves as the transfer portal window opens.

Tiger fans certainly hope that Golesh can keep this momentum riding, land some key pieces and build a dominant Auburn team. Winters and Fegans are a strong start to the portal window, but Golesh will certainly need more if he’s to turn the struggling Tigers into a contender.