Hugh Freeze is balancing present, future at Auburn with latest transfer additions

Hugh Freeze exited his first spring practice at Auburn with a clear mandate to his first-year Tigers’ staff: We need to continue to upgrade the roster. 

If we want to compete in the SEC in 2023, then we need better players.

During the initial transfer portal window, the Tigers filled major holes at offensive line (three additions), defensive line (three additions), linebacker (three additions) and tailback. But it wasn’t enough. 

Bryan Harsin left a roster lacking depth at some of the most important positions on the team. 

Freeze publicly identified a handful of positions he believed Auburn still needed help at. At the top of the list was quarterback, pass rusher and receiver.

While the spring transfer window (April 15-30) didn’t have the star power some anticipated, plenty of quality football players — many G5 guys looking to make the jump to the Power 5 or others looking for fresh opportunities — submitted their names to the portal to see their options. 

And the Tigers pounced.

In the last week, Hugh Freeze & Co., have landed a quarterback (Payton Thorne from Michigan State), a pass rusher (Jalen McCleod from App. State) and a wideout (Caleb Burton from Ohio State). Auburn is also the favorites to add Colorado wideout transfer Montana Lemonious-Craig and James Madison edge Isaac Ukwu. 

The Tigers still might add another offensive lineman, linebacker and defensive back, too.

In totality, it’s as good as a haul as Freeze could’ve hoped for in Year 1. With 15 total transfers this offseason, Auburn has the nation’s No. 4 transfer portal class in 2023, per On3. That ranking would only improve if the Tigers officially add Lemonious-Craig and Ukwu to their depth chart, too.  

Lemonious-Craig was the star of Colorado’s spring game, and while Deion Sanders is partaking in a roster reckoning the likes we’ve never seen, he didn’t want to lose his 6-2, 185-pound playmaker. As for Ukwu, the grad transfer from James Madison was an All-Conference honoree the last two seasons, with 27 tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks in 2021 and 2022. 

For an Auburn roster bereft of receiver and rush talent — both additions would be large. 

Hugh Freeze has something cookin’ on the Plains. Notably, the Tigers’ aggressive approach with the transfer portal hasn’t been about simply about shoring up some glaring needs for the fall. They’ve aggressively targeted prospects who could help them for the future, too. 

Only Ukwu is a senior in 2023. The rest of Auburn’s spring additions or current targets have at least two years of eligibility remaining. Of the 12 transfer signees during the first portal window, half come with multiple years of eligibility. 

McCleod is a 6-2, 230-pound JACK who flashed his potential against Texas A&M last season. He’s a bit undersized as a pure edge, but he could provide some speed for a defense needing to replace pass rushers Derick Hall and Eku Leota. He had six sacks, nine hurries and 8.5 tackles for loss in 2022, and McCleod was one of the stars of App. State’s upset over the Aggies with a pair of strip-sacks. 

Burton was a true freshman at OSU in 2022, buried on a loaded depth chart stacked with future 1st Round draft picks. He’s a former Top 150 recruit, and while it’s no guarantee he’s ready to be a Day 1 rotational piece for Auburn this fall, he has the talent to help the Tigers down the road. 

Then there’s Thorne. Many around college football shrugged at the news late last week, and while Thorne may truly be a JAG — the pejorative phrase when folks want to label a prospect ‘just another guy’ — the Tigers didn’t even have that in their QB room this spring. 

Robby Ashford is an athletic freak, but he’s not steady distributor or consistent passer (see: 49% completion percentage and seven touchdowns to seven picks). For all the consternation around Thorne’s lack of upside, he’s a 62% passer with two years of experience and 51 career touchdowns. His floor is on a different level than Ashford. 

And like McCleod and Burton, Thorne has multiple years of eligibility remaining, as well. Maybe he’s just a bridge starter in 2023, or maybe he’s Hugh Freeze’s guy for two seasons. Either way, he provides Auburn options. 

“He’s a way better player than he got credit for,” a Big Ten defensive coordinator told On3’s Matt Zenitz. 

“Athletic, tough, competitive. Think he played hurt last year. I was worried about his ability to keep plays alive (with his athleticism and mobility). I liked him.”

“I think he’s an excellent pickup for them,” another Big Ten defensive coach added. “Kid is a competitor.”

Auburn is not going to contend for the SEC West in 2023. But they’re not going to miss a bowl game like it did last season, either. Hugh Freeze and his staff have done a great job duct-taping a roster together to make the Tigers a more dangerous team in the fall, while also eyeing a potential leapfrog season as a contender in 2024.