Auburn quarterback Dematrius Davis enters transfer portal

Only two weeks into spring football, Auburn is already down a quarterback in its competition to replace Bo Nix.

Redshirt freshman Dematrius Davis announced on Twitter that he will enter the transfer portal and leave the school.

A native of Houston, Davis landed at Auburn as a 4-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class. He did not play in any games last season, but holds the distinction of being the winningest quarterback in Texas high school football history.

Davis pledged to Gus Malzahn, prior to Auburn hiring Bryan Harsin as football coach.

A somewhat smaller (5-foot-10) and more dual-threat option at the position, Davis never quite fit into what Harsin typically works with at quarterback, so his transfer doesn't come as much of a surprise.

Davis' departure leaves Auburn with four options at quarterback: junior T.J. Finley, Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada, Oregon transfer Robby Ashford, and true freshman Holden Geriner.

Harsin has not specified a timeline for how or when he will choose a starter, but said he and his staff should know more after the first half-dozen practices.

NCAA transfer portal

The NCAA created the transfer portal on Oct. 15, 2018. That decision has helped transform the game of college football by giving players an easier opportunity to change teams and direct their playing careers.

Players no longer require permission from their coaches in order to transfer. They just have to request that their school’s compliance department enter their name into the portal.

Names appear in the transfer portal in one or two days, and schools are free to contact transferring players without restriction thereafter.

Players that enter their name into the transfer portal don’t necessarily leave their schools. A player is free to take his name out of the portal at any time. But schools are not under an obligation to keep transferring players on scholarship once they put their names into the portal.