Auburn Football: Top-5 Most Impactful Transfers Leaving

As with all coaching changes, come player changes. This offseason Auburn fired Hugh Freeze and hired Alex Golesh as the next head football coach of the program. Golesh was candid with players when he was hired by the Tigers, too, stating, “this will be the toughest thing you have ever been through.” That statement probably helped encourage same players to leave, and others already had their minds made up. With that in mind, let’s look at the top-5 most impactful transfers leaving the Auburn football team.

Auburn Football: Top-5 Most Impactful Transfers Leaving

5. Preston Howard, Tight End

Unfortunately for Preston Howard, he is a major addition by subtraction. Howard started his career at Maryland and had tons of potential when he came to Auburn. He was a good fit for the previous scheme, but never lived up to his potential.

Dropped passes and untimely missed blocking assignments did him in during his time with the Tigers. Now, Howard is now back at Maryland where he can hopefully return to his former glory.

4. Malik Blocton, Defensive Line

Malik Blocton played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Auburn. While there, he compiled 33 total tackles, and two sacks as a backup interior defensive linemen. Blocton has a ton of potential as a former four-star recruit. At 6-foot-3 and 286 pounds, Blocton served a role as a backup on the defensive line for two season. Yet, with players graduating and moving on, this was Blocton’s year to takeover at Auburn.

Instead, he went to pursue what he thought was a better opportunity at LSU, where he ultimately transferred. Auburn and LSU play on October 24 in Jordan-Hare Stadium. This was pointed out by Jared Smith, current Auburn edge rusher, who had something to say about it when Blocton transferred. Hopefully, this helps to reinstate the rivalry between LSU and Auburn.

3. Deuce Knight, Quarterback

This is one of the transfers that hurts the most because Deuce Knight was supposed to be the quarterback of the future for Auburn. In the one full game, Knight showed the full gamut of who he could be as the starter, albeit against lesser competition versus Mercer. Knight had 162 yards and four rushing touchdowns, while also throwing for 239 yards and two more touchdowns. He was extremely explosive when running the ball and made it look easy. However, he did not want to wait at Auburn, and with what he was probably promised by Hugh Freeze that makes a little bit of sense.

Unfortunately for Knight, he transferred to Ole Miss. When he did so, Ole Miss had Austin Simmons coming back or Trinidad Chambliss coming back. Simmons ended up transferring to Missouri. However, Chambliss won his waiver to get another year of eligibility and is the presumed starter for the 2026 season. So now, Knight is at another location without a guarantee that he’s a starter. Nor does he have a guarantee that Ole Miss will not seek another transfer quarterback.

2. Jay Crawford, Cornerback

Jay Crawford was a freshman All-American in the 2024 season and has first-round NFL draft potential. His 2025 season was plagued by injuries early, and he did not play to the full potential he showed in his freshman season. He is the type of cornerback that can eliminate one half of the field when he is playing at his best. The way that he is so effective is his closing speed. Crawford is able to react quickly and deflect balls with his closing speed and athleticism.

Like Knight, Crawford transferred to Ole Miss, and looks to be a leader for the Rebels as well. Auburn made a comparable offer from a money standpoint, but maybe not one that Crawford agreed with totally. Ultimately, his 2025 season hurt him physically and financially. While we know he has the potential to be an elite cornerback, he did not live up to that potential last season, which is likely why he transferred out of Auburn.

Ole Miss and Auburn play in Oxford on Halloween. Hopefully Auburn will send Crawford and the aforementioned Knight with a trick and not a treat.

1. Cam Coleman, Wide Receiver

This one hurts the most for Auburn football fans. Cam Coleman had the potential to be one of the greatest Auburn wide receivers ever. The former five-star led Auburn in receiving as a true sophomore in 2025, accumulating 708 yards on 56 catches and caught five touchdowns. This is after a freshman campaign of 598 yards on 37 catches and eight touchdowns.

Coleman has the athleticism and catch-radius to snag anything thrown in his direction. Yet somehow, Hugh Freeze still underutilized him. His recruitment to Texas makes sense for two reasons. He is getting a known commodity at quarterback and he is going to have an easy path to maintaining his projected first-round draft status.

Coleman will be sorely missed at Auburn and was great in the Tigers uniform. Unless they play in the SEC championship, Auburn will not play Texas this year, so fans will likely not see him again until he is in the NFL. Cam is one of those guys that should have ended his college career as an Auburn Tiger. However, after two disappointing years of quarterback play that led to a regime change, the change in scenery was probably necessary for Coleman.

Honorable Mentions

Honorable mentions of players who transferred out are Deandre Carter, Kayin Lee, and Eric Singleton. These players all transferred out after disappointing seasons on the Plains in 2025.