The transfer portal has its problems, but for teams with critical needs at certain positions, it has become the best way to find those guys who can come in and be reliable and productive immediately.
For Hugh Freeze, the biggest question was at quarterback with Payton Thorne graduating and a bonafide starter needed in the worst way. He seemingly found that in Jackson Arnold while Deuce Knight works his way into college game.
Along with Arnold, here are the five top transfers for the Tigers after spring practice.
1. Jackson Arnold (QB) - This one is plain and straightforward: Arnold was brought in to be the answer at quarterback in a critical year of the Freeze tenure. The former Gatorade Player of the Year has all the assets to be a top quarterback in the SEC. Now, he must show why he was so highly hyped coming out of Guyer HS. He can run, a critical thing a quarterback must do in a Freeze system, and he has a strong arm.
"I thought he had a solid spring," Freeze said following A-Day, which Arnold sat out due to a minor hamstring injury. "I love the way he is poised in the pocket. His eyes are downfield. He uses his legs when he needs to. He's got a strong enough arm to make every throw."
Arnold will be crucial in Year 3 of the Freeze era.
2. Eric Singleton (WR) - Exit KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Enter Singleton. The top wide receiver in the transfer portal came to the Plains after two years at Georgia Tech, where he caught 104 passes for 1,468 yards and nine touchdowns. He joins a loaded wide receiver room that has the potential to be the best in Auburn history. Singleton's veteran presence will have a massive impact on that group.
3. Horatio Fields (WR) - The Wake Forest transfer brings in a big body (6-foot-2, 201 lbs.) and, like Singleton, experience at the collegiate level. Fields caught 39 passes for 463 yards and four scores for the Demon Deacons in 2024. He's also quickly become a leader in the receiver room.
"I've just been making my strides and carrying things I learned at Wake Forest -- trying to be professional all the time," Fields said after A-Day. "I'm bringing that same kind of coaching over here, and I think they gravitate to it. I'm doing things that are positive, so if they want to join the wave, that's what they want. I've been pushing myself to be professional at all times, and whoever wants to take that can join it."
4. Xavier Atkins (LB) - Talented but inexperienced, Atkins comes from LSU after a productive career at Summer Creek HS in Houston. He had a good spring and provides depth behind Demarcus Riddick, something Auburn needed heading into the season.
5. Raion Strader (CB) - The 2024 MAC Cornerback of the Year while playing for Miami (Ohio), Strader brings immediate credibility to a talented secondary. He made 53 tackles last season, 40 solo, while intercepting two passes and breaking up 18 passes.
Notable others: Mason Murphy (OL), Hudson Kaak (P), Durrell Robinson (RB, did not participate in spring practice), Xavier Chaplin (OL, did not participate in spring practice)
