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Major SEC Program Makes Transfer Portal Splash With Surprising 5-Star Addition
Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Most of the buzz surrounding the college football transfer portal has died out, but there are still a handful of players who need to decide on which program they'd like to join.

One name that remained up for grabs was defensive back Jacoby Matthews, who had originally started his career with the Texas A&M Aggies in 2022, where he stayed for two seasons.

However, after that, he spent the 2024 season at the junior college level due to academic reasons, according to On3's Jeffrey Lee.

Now, though, it's clear that Mathews is ready to come back and pick up where he left off, and on Tuesday, it was reported that the defensive back will be transferring to the Auburn Tigers for the 2025 season.

It's a surprising move as there wasn't much buzz surrounding a potential pairing. However, it's a nice addition to Auburn's already solid transfer portal class, which ranks No. 5 in the SEC and No. 8 in the nation.

Coming out of the 2022 recruiting class, Mathews was one of the most sought-after players, with On3 Industry Rankings placing him as a five-star recruit, the No. 2 safety and the No. 32 player in the nation.

In his two seasons with Texas A&M, Mathews put up solid numbers, appearing in 21 games, accumulating 66 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception, seven pass deflections and one fumble recovery.

He's not the only defensive back that Auburn has brought in through the portal, as he'll be joining three-star safety Taye Seymore (Georgia Tech), three-star cornerback Rayshawn Pleasant (Tulane) and four-star cornerback Raion Strader (Miami (OH)).

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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