Former Auburn Cornerback Jay Crawford Selects SEC Rival in Transfer Portal

Former Auburn Tigers cornerback Jay Crawford has committed to the Ole Miss Rebels, via Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett on X. Crawford played two seasons with the Tigers and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. He is the first of Auburn’s outgoing transfers to make a decision on another program.

Crawford was a revelation for Auburn his freshman season in 2024, recording 13 solo tackles and an interception and playing the majority of snaps for the Tigers on his way to true freshman All-American honors from On3. The impressive season led to high expectations entering 2025, which he delivered on.

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Despite missing the Oklahoma game with a knee injury, Crawford played in the Tigers’ other 11 games, starting 10 of them. He recorded just a single interception for a second consecutive season, but still kept opposing receivers mostly under wraps. He didn’t quite repeat his freshman coverage grade of 77.5 via Pro Football Focus, but did still put up a solid mark of 68.7.

As a result, Crawford has drastically lifted his stock for fellow college football programs. Coming out of Parkview High School in Lilburn, Ga., Crawford was a 3-star recruit via 247 Sports and a 4-star recruit via On3, ranked just on either side of the top 30 at his position by either outlet.

However, in the portal, Crawford ranks as the No. 2 cornerback and No. 31 overall player via On3. 247Sports has him ranked slightly lower at No. 42 overall, though they also list him as the No. 2 player in the portal at his position.

Crawford is new Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding’s first transfer portal commitment, and joins a squad that currently finds itself in the College Football Playoff Semifinals against Miami despite the recent debacle around the departure of Lane Kiffin.

Only one player has currently announced intent to transfer out of Oxford, and it is former starter and now backup quarterback Austin Simmons.

The Rebels’ secondary could very well be led by two former Auburn Tigers next season, as Antonio Kite has been playing well for Ole Miss down the stretch and establishing himself as a solid option for 2026 if he remains with the program.

Kite was dismissed from Auburn in 2024 after missing multiple practices following a decrease in playing time. The former Alabama transfer was on The Plains for less than a full season. He has played in a starting cornerback role for the Rebels all season. Despite not recording an interception, he earned a 78.3 coverage grade via PFF for his performance.

Auburn will get a chance to see both Crawford and Kite again on Halloween night in 2026, as the Tigers will travel to Oxford, Miss., to take on Ole Miss for the first time since 2023, and for the first time in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium since 2022.