How Auburn managed to secure the second-best portal class in the country
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The portal over the past few years for Auburn has been a give-and-take system. Under the guidance of Bryan Harsin, the Tigers had much more taken from them than given. Harsin was at the helm for two seasons and had 38 players leave for other teams, this includes 14 of the 18 enrolled players that were in Harsin's first class in 2021. Harsin managed to bring in 18 overall transfers, however, seven of these transfers have transferred out of Auburn, which leaves the Harsin administration with a net total of 11 players gained through the portal.
This inability to grab onto a solid portal prospect and even if they were signed the likelihood of them transferring was around 40 percent. Auburn in the 2021 and 2022 portal windows was abysmal, so how did they go from mediocre at best to the second-best class in the country? The answer to that is name recognition and proven success.
Hugh Freeze, a talented coach who has been enveloped by controversy for almost a decade was the choice following Harsin. Fans and media alike had their opinions about Freeze, but after almost a month following his hiring as Athletic Director, John Cohen took the risk and so far it has paid off.
Freeze has what Harsin didn't the national recognition that makes recruits say "Oh the coach that turned Ole Miss around" or "Oh, Freeze? Yeah, he is the only coach to beat Saban in back-to-back seasons". There is a certain pedigree that comes with winning and despite the mistakes he has made, Freeze is still held in high regard amongst coaches and former players.
Freeze and staff showed this history of success to players looking to make the decision that could lead them to the NFL. Defensive Coordinator Ron Roberts, whose past experience at Baylor and ULL has produced multiple NFL players helped to bring in 10 recruits in the 2023 portal class, including Justin Rogers, a defensive lineman from Kentucky who was the third overall player taken in this class. On the offensive side of the ball, Philip Montgomery and his past at Tulsa and experience with talented quarterbacks while at Baylor along with Freeze's renowned offensive coaching ability led to Auburn signing 11 offensive players. Most notable were Dillon Wade former Tulsa OL, Caleb Burton an Ohio State WR, Payton Thorne Michigan State QB, and Rivaldo Fairweather Florida International TE.
The resurgence of a fan base, a proven head coach, and a support staff built for recruiting led Auburn from 19th in 2021 and 23rd in 2022 to being second in the country for transfer portal recruiting. The only team that has performed better than the Tigers, is Colorado which is led by one of the most polarizing figures in sports history, Deion Sanders. Colorado brought in 48 total recruits, which is over half the team's whole roster, headlined by former five-star Travis Hunter, Sanders brought in one five-star, five four-stars, and 39 three-star recruits. Auburn led the nation in four-star portal commits with 11 and rounded out its class with seven three-stars and three non-ranked
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