Auburn Faced with Edge Rusher Planning to Enter Portal

Another member of the Auburn Tigers will seek a fresh start as the program turns the page to a new era

The Auburn Tigers lose another member of their defense | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The Auburn Tigers are set to lose another player to the transfer portal as of Friday, this time edge rusher Jamonta Waller. Waller is a former top-100 recruit via the 247Sports Composite and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

Auburn EDGE Jamonta Waller plans to enter the @TransferPortal, he tells @On3Sports

The 6’1 247 EDGE will have 3 years of eligibility left

Top 150 Recruit in the 2024 Classhttps://t.co/RlUbB6EMhS pic.twitter.com/kUpP6gu6Et

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 19, 2025

Waller is the sixth defensive player to enter the portal for Auburn so far this offseason, and the third on the defensive line. Waller joins Antonio Coleman and Malik Blocton as members of the line who have announced their intent to enter the portal.

Waller missed most of his true freshman season with a foot injury that required season-ending surgery, though he did see minimal action against Alabama A&M. He did not see game action in 2025. 

Many of the key contributors on the Tigers’ defensive line, such as Keldric Faulk and Keyron Crawford, will leave for the NFL Draft as the 2025 season ends. The departures were expected to open up more playing time for Waller and some of Auburn’s other talented young defensive linemen.

Amaris Williams and Jared Smith, both of whom had two sacks in 2025, project to see significant time off the edge for the Tigers next season. However, edge is a position that has become increasingly reliant on rotations in modern college football. Most teams either have or need more than two solid players off the edge, and Waller’s departure will put more pressure on head coach Alex Golesh’s staff to pursue the position in the upcoming portal window. 

Thankfully for the Tigers, there is solid talent in the portal already, both at defensive line and off the edge. The headliner is former five-star defensive lineman Chaz Coleman, who saw fairly significant time for a freshman at Penn State and recorded a sack. 

However, there are also some more realistic targets. Auburn could look to bring in a transfer from Miami of Ohio for a second consecutive season and pursue former Redhawk Adam Trick, who racked up 8.5 sacks in 2025, including a multi-sack game against Big Ten opponent Wisconsin. Trick would be an experienced addition off the edge who could both be an impactful rotation piece and serve as a valuable teacher for the Tigers’ fairly young core of pass rushers.

North Carolina’s Tyler Thompson would also be a solid option off the edge. Thompson recorded 7 sacks for the Tar Heels in 2025 on a defense that often struggled, and would likely see an uptick in production surrounded by a higher level of talent at Auburn.

Ultimately, the Tigers need to try to keep what remaining talent there is in-house because no player seems to be safe at the moment, especially following the transfer of Malik Blocton. There is still enough young talent to be excited about the future of the room, but, as we’ve seen in the last few seasons, teams have to attack the portal to keep their heads above water in the current age of college football.