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Only 5 signees from Auburn's 2021 class on campus two years later

Justin Hokansonby:Justin Hokanson•04/30/23•

_JHokanson

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(Photo by Matt Rudolph/Auburn Live)

AUBURN — There’s lost signing classes, and there’s however one would describe Auburn football‘s 2021 signing class. Only five of the 22 combined high school and transfer portal signees from the class are on campus just two years later.

The class represented Gus Malzahn‘s last class and technically, Bryan Harsin‘s first class.

From the class, the departed players are as follows: Dylan Brooks, Lee Hunter, Dematrius Davis, Ahmari Harvey, Hal Presley, Tar’Varish Dawson, Marquis Robinson, Tobechi Okoli, Landen King, Ian Matthews, Kamal Hadden, Joko Willis, A.D. Diamond, Ro Torrence and Colby Smith. Juwan Gaston signed, but ended up at Northeast Mississippi Community College, never making it to Auburn.

Five players – Brooks, Dawson, Okoli, King and Smith – all announced their intentions to transfer since the start of Hugh Freeze‘s first spring camp at the end of February.

Of the 16 departures, none were full-time starters. Most saw little playing time or seemed buried on the depth chart.

Who is left?

Jarquez Hunter, Garner Langlo and Cayden Bridges are the only prospects remaining from Auburn’s high school signing class that consisted of 19 players.

LSU transfer T.J. Finley and Vanderbilt transfer Donovan Kaufman are the only two remaining transfer portal players from the class. Georgia transfer Demetris Robertson was also part of the class, but played his one and only season in 2021.

Finley may transfer following his graduation in June. If so, Finley will depart with wins over only Mercer and San Jose State as a starting quarterback. And if Finley does transfer, that’ll be 18 of 22 signees gone within two years and after producing very little, if anything of substance.

Langlo and Bridges remain on the roster as the final day of the spring transfer portal wraps up.

In the end, the entire 2021 signing class might only produce three full-time starters in Robertson, Hunter and Kaufman, and only two full-time starters for more than one season in Hunter and Kaufman.

And even more shocking, the 2021 class could potentially result in only one full-time starter from the high school ranks – Hunter.

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