Brief thoughts around football, basketball rosters rolling through April

AUBURN — As April is ramping up and both football and basketball portal windows are essentially cranking (football officially starts April 15), here’s some quick thoughts on both rosters.

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— Hugh Freeze said as much after spring camp ended: there will be more players coming and going from the program over the next few weeks. The nature of the transfer portal has made it a guarantee that I think most fans are getting used to. Players will leave every portal window. It’s the new norm.

— Some questions I am thinking about regarding personnel…and in this day and time, you have to think and wonder about these things. The portal has completely changed everything, nothing seems like it’s ever off the table. Questions at the top of my mind…

— Will a quarterback leave, specifically Holden Geriner? Entering his third year at Auburn, does Geriner feel he can still compete for the QB1 job or is it time to move on? The way Freeze has talked about targeting more receivers, you’d have to think the receiver room changes again over the next few weeks. What are players like Caleb Burton, Jay Fair and Koy Moore thinking? Returning players that are now competing with freshmen and new transfers. Sources have mentioned all three of those receivers as possible transfers, so we’ll see what happens.

— In the running back room, are Brian Battie and Jeremiah Cobb satisfied with their place in the pecking order? Battie entered the portal in the winter only to return. Cobb is immensely talented, but is at best third on the depth chart. I’m sure Auburn doesn’t want to lose either, but you know in this world, they are weighing their options. Will Wesley Steiner stick around? He’s a senior linebacker that isn’t going to start, but does add depth. Does he want more in his final season of college football? The defensive line room is surely to change with definite additions, and we’ll see on any subtractions. JD Rhym is still expected to enter the portal officially, that’s one we reported earlier in the spring. Fortunately for Auburn, the secondary is really deep with talent right now.

— Where will Freeze and Co. go in the spring portal window? Well, he said as much on Saturday. “I just don’t think you can ever have enough of (D-linemen). We have a couple of spots left on our roster that if you’re going to fill it, let’s fill it with D-line with receivers. That’s where we need to add some more depth.”

— We talked about it some on the A-Day/spring camp wrap-up show, but another interesting variable in deciding where to bring in transfers is how it competes with the development of the younger players, specifically the talented freshmen on the roster. For instance, Auburn is thin at linebacker and will be counting on Demarcus Riddick, D’Angelo Barber and Joseph Phillips (playing Buck, too) to develop and help. Robert Woodyard is trying to step up as well. While thin, does Auburn want to bring in another portal linebacker that might take valuable snaps away from developing freshmen? That’s one example of how Freeze and Co. have to attack squeezing the most wins out of 2024 versus yes, winning in 2024, but also making sure you’re building the strongest foundation you can for 2025 and beyond.

Freeze has made it clear that recruiting and building through the high school ranks is how they will go about it, with portal additions sprinkled in. It’s something to keep in mind when you watch the roster shift and change, and looking at where portal additions happen and where they don’t happen. It’s a delicate balance every season of making sure you aren’t doing anything to stunt the growth of the young players and run them off, while also trying to fill important holes and make sure quality depth is present.

— On basketball, here’s where I think things stand from talking to sources:

— Dylan Cardwell will return. I expect that official announcement to happen soon. Johni Broome is still hanging out there. Sources say transfer talk hasn’t been discussed once. I’m sure Broome is weighing all options, but there have not been serious indications given to Auburn that Broome will transfer to another program. I think he’s weighing professional options or returning to the Tigers. Obviously, NIL and next year’s roster outlook are important to Broome. There’s still optimism, but no final decisions have been made yet.

— Can Tre Donaldson still return? From talking to sources and reiterating what I wrote earlier, I think the door is still open, but barely. That’s a decision that caught the staff off guard. Nowhere in conversations with Donaldson was transferring talked about. Donaldson is considering a return home to Florida, maybe Miami, maybe Florida State, I’ve heard Georgia at times, maybe somewhere else (NIL and playing time important factors), but I don’t believe it’s completely off the table that he returns. I also think it’s a fluid situation at the moment. The Donaldson camp thinks he deserves 25-30 minutes per game. That’s not happening at Auburn next season.

— For anyone paying attention, the Aden Holloway news wasn’t surprising at all. Auburn would have been fine with Holloway returning, but they are also content with Holloway moving on. There was almost an indifference there after the season ended from talking to sources. Auburn is focused on improving the point guard position, so if Holloway wanted to stay and compete, OK. If he wanted to move on, that’s fine, too. And as I mentioned, Holloway wasn’t seen anywhere around the facilities since the season ended. A source told me a week ago, “he’s gone,” they were just waiting on official word.

— Staying on point guard, all eyes right now are on Furman transfer JP Pegues and Washington State transfers Myles Rice. Pegues looks like an Auburn-Florida battle right now. Sources close to Pegues indicate Auburn still leads, but there’s smoke that Florida is closing the gap. How big a factor will NIL play? That’s something to keep an eye on as Pegues readies for his visit to Florida. Auburn hasn’t pushed for a commitment from Pegues yet, because they want Rice to visit. Sources believe Auburn is in good standing with both, but will obviously only take one. There is risk here. Indiana is a major player for Rice and probably won’t hesitate too toss out a strong NIL offer.

— I think from talking to people, Pegues might be looked at as the better offensive player and Rice as the better defensive player. The real intrigue with Pegues is his experience and adding him to what should be an experienced roster next season. He could be a nice fit in terms of stepping in and leading right away with a veteran group. Rice is younger and has all kinds of upside, obviously.

— IF Auburn were to somehow miss on both, there will likely be other options that might not even be in the portal yet. Every program does their due diligence, let’s be real, so don’t think Pegues and Rice are the only two possible options. They are obviously two good options, but in case the Tigers miss on both, I’m sure there will be some other avenues to go. I don’t think it will come to that, but I do think Auburn is thinking through options already if both of those players commit elsewhere.

— Past that, we’ll see what Auburn does to add depth on the front line. That remains to be seen, as Auburn is waiting on Cardwell and Broome to announce something, and then try and sew up the point guard situation, then move on to filling out the roster.