Auburn Football Transfer Class Makes Significant Jump After New Wave of Rankings

Auburn had multiple incoming transfers making major leaps in 247 Sports' transfer rankings.

Auburn Tigers quarterback Tristian Ti'a made a big jump in the transfer rankings. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Auburn Tigers, now led by head coach Alex Golesh, saw quite a few players depart from the program in the wake of the firing of the Tigers’ last head coach, Hugh Freeze. Over 35 Tigers decided Golesh was not a fit for them, so Golesh went out and found some players who fit into his system.

In fact, the Tigers’ 2026 transfer portal class now boasts 39 total players across a litany of positions. After the recent wave of rankings by 247 Sports, which will be the last for this class, Alex Golesh is the proud leader of the No. 9 transfer portal class in the country.

This is a big step for Golesh, whose class was rated as the 13th-best in the country prior to this wave of rankings. A four-spot jump may not seem like much, but a top-10 transfer portal class is much more likely to inspire confidence in the Auburn faithful than any class outside of the top 10, especially after Hugh Freeze’s dominant recruiting runs of the last few years.

The reason for this jump rests on two major players for the Tigers. First, Cody Sigler, a defensive lineman who was one of the Tigers’ first transfers of this cycle, jumped from a three-star designation and the 201st-best defensive lineman in the portal to the 15th and a four-star, a massive jump for the Arkansas State transfer.

Additionally, expected backup quarterback Tristian Ti’a, who transferred in after a strong season at Oregon State, jumped from outside of the top-50 quarterbacks in the portal to No. 28, likely thanks in large part to his impressive performance at Auburn’s spring game.

The Tigers’ top transfers are still headlined by Byrum Brown, the No. 9 quarterback in the portal and Golesh’s proposed solution to the Tigers’ quarterback troubles. On the defensive side, edge rusher Da’Shawn Womack ranks at the top, currently sitting as the 15th-best edge rusher in this year’s portal cycle.

Of course, as Tiger fans learned with Freeze, it is not the ratings or potential talent of the players you bring in, but rather what they can do as a unit before and once the season begins. Golesh has emphasized team-building (in the relational sense) for quite some time now, so time will tell what this roster can do.

One thing is for sure, though; those who said Golesh would not be able to recruit or land top transfers are likely now attempting to remove their feet from their mouths.

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