When Ahmad McCullough looks at Auburn, he sees opportunity.

He sees a chance to play against the best of the best and build his NFL Draft stock. When Auburn hit up his phone, it was unexpected, at least initially. However, following a New Years' conversation with Auburn linebackers' coach Josh Aldridge, the Tigers have grabbed his attention.

"I’m not gonna lie, Auburn came out of nowhere," McCullough said. "Just as far as the conference, the opportunities that Auburn helps players with and being able to market them to the next level, they are very high."

McCullough spent the last five years at Maryland before opting to transfer at the end of the season. He appeared in 33 games total for the Terps, although he had become a regular name on defense over the previous two seasons.

By the time he wrapped up his Maryland career, McCullough had recorded 89 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, a sack and two fumble recoveries.

McCullough's play from his time at Maryland attracted several programs looking to add an experienced linebacker to their defense.

"I’ve had pretty much every conference reach out to me from top to bottom," McCullough said. "It's just really keeping my options open and just being more open to the whole transfer portal thing."

When it comes to options, McCullough's got them. UConn, Georgia Southern, Western Kentucky, Washington State, Baylor and Auburn are the ones pushing hardest right now.

He's taken an official visit to UConn, Georgia Southern, Western Kentucky and Washington State. With one more official visit remaining, McCullough has to decide to use it on either Baylor or Auburn.

Right now, he's working to finalize the visit with Auburn for this weekend.

The Tigers have moved fast with McCullough, who appreciates Aldridge's straight-to-the-point mentality.

"It’s like a rollercoaster," McCullough said, "You don’t know what to expect at the next turn. All the coaches that reached out, even Auburn, it’s ‘What are you doing? What are you looking for? Can we get you down here?’ It’s like really quick."

The plan is for McCullough to visit officially this weekend, his fifth and final official visit. From there, he'll evaluate his options, but Auburn is already in a good spot heading into the final stretch and a good visit could boost the Tigers even more.

"I will say Auburn really has jumped up there in my top choices," McCullough said. "Just because of the opportunity that lies with being in the SEC. It just has so much more power and more pull for the next level and so, that’s under consideration. But, right now, where I’m at, everything has to make sense before I commit”