Hugh Freeze addresses remaining needs in transfer portal

Auburn Tigers head football coach Hugh Freeze has done a respectable job acquiring talent from the NCAA transfer portal this offseason. But with questions at varying positions entering the summer, including at quarterback, there is more portal work to be done.

At this week’s Regions Traditions Pro-Am in Birmingham, Freeze discussed any remaining transfer needs for the Tigers as they prepare for the upcoming 2024 campaign.

“Well, it’s about over, really. I mean, we would love—I’ve said all along—one more linebacker [and] one more DB for sure. And I think you saw we got the O-lineman at the one spot we had left, and [I’m] excited about that. But if a linebacker or DB was one that we thought would fit, we would certainly go down that road,” said Freeze.

The recent offensive lineman transfer acquisition that Freeze was referring to was Ronan Chambers. Chambers, a transfer from the Akron Zips, recently committed to Auburn on May 6. Outside of him, the Tigers have acquired some high-caliber talent to help them be competitive in the gauntlet known as the SEC in 2024. However, Freeze is still on the hunt and would like to bolster the defensive secondary and defensive trenches should the right player become available in the transfer portal.

Freeze explains decision to develop Payton Thorne, not ‘spend a million dollars’ on transfer QB

As Auburn enters the 2024 season, all eyes will be on the quarterback room. Freeze opted not to pursue a transfer quarterback this offseason, leaving Payton Thorne in charge of the position going forward.

The Tigers have a handful of other options they’d like to see develop — Holden Geriner, Hank Brown and Walker White — but Thorne figures to be the guy in 2024.

Freeze explained his reasoning for the offseason approach.

“The options that you’re presented with: develop Payton, develop Holden, develop Hank, develop Walker or go spend a million dollars on this guy, I just couldn’t bring myself to doing that, because I wanted to put all the pieces together,” Freeze said on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning.