Auburn Tigers' Menacing Defense an Anomaly in 2025

The Auburn Tigers had the No. 8 transfer portal class according to 247Sports, However, scanning the roster and reviewing the spring, one interesting thought comes to mind: the Tigers may not have a single transfer start on defense. 

Ourlads shows four incoming players as starters on offense, including quarterback Jackson Arnold, but zero on defense. It’s a depth chart we can endorse at this stage of the season. 

The construction of Hugh Freeze’s previous recruiting classes means this doesn’t come as a total surprise. Freeze had a young, talented defense last year, with the major shortcomings in the 2024 season happening on offense.

The transfer portal rankings reflect the bigger need for Auburn to fix its offense in a pivotal 2025 season. Yes, Auburn finished with the No. 8 class, but only one of their defensive transfers was ranked above 3-stars by 247Sports: cornerback Raion Strader from Miami (OH). 

Freeze and defensive coordinator DJ Durkin built a defense that many of the players started in a year ago and showed serious progress. While Auburn brought in just one 4-star transfer on the defensive side of the ball, Auburn has seven high school recruits in the past two classes who were ranked top 10 at their respective positions nationally.

And that’s not taking possible top 10 draft pick Keldric Faulk into account.

With truly no need to grab a bunch of defensive talent from the portal this year, why upset the apple cart? 

Three players that will help define Durkin's season will be Faulk, 2024 top-100 linebacker Demarcus Riddick, and Kayin Lee, a 4-star cornerback from two classes ago. Faulk just needs to put together one dominant season, from beginning to end. With the ability to win with power and speed, Faulk's best football at Auburn is ahead of him. 

Next, the sophomore Riddick brings agility and speed to the linebacker position. If he can polish his ability to finish tackles with force, the versatile 'backer can most certainly impact the defense.

Lee's name rarely gets discussed, and that remains a mystery as to why. His skill set looks untraditional. He covers well, but an aspect of his game goes relatively underdiscussed. Lee loves to hit. Tackling is his forte, and he looks toward the jarring shot that could dislodge the ball. 

Hugh Freeze and his staff have assembled an enviable quantity of talent on defense, recruiting the high school ranks, and they’ve entrusted Durkin to coordinate it. 

Without a doubt, the pressure is on him to turn his scheme into one that slams the door on comebacks and demolishes weaker opponents early while locking down better teams.

It’s a pivotal season for the Auburn Tigers, and they should be able to lean on experienced, talented defense while the new pieces on offense come together.