As Auburn’s first spring under Hugh Freeze winds down this week, officially wrapping up with Saturday’s A-Day game at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Tigers’ new head coach is already thinking about the next steps.

A week after Auburn’s spring game, the spring transfer portal window will open, running from April 15-30 after the NCAA moved it up two weeks from its original May 1 start date. Auburn was among the most active teams in the first transfer window at the end of last season, adding a dozen players at key positions during a busy and prosperous push by Freeze and his staff.

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While Auburn addressed several needs during that first window, the Tigers aren’t done yet. Freeze wants to add players — assuming he can find the right fit — at five positions during the spring transfer window.

“None of us have dealt with this spring portal,” Freeze said Thursday during an appearance on The Hard Count with J.D. Pickell of On3. “This will be our first experience with it. It can affect you both ways: I think you can lose some that you may not want to lose, and obviously you hope that there’s some out there that you can track to help create more depth and experience on our team…. We’ll take a few more O-linemen. We’ll take another safety, another corner, a rush guy. We’ll take a quarterback, possibly, if it’s the right now.

“I mean, we’re open. So, I’m curious to see kind of who all goes in.”

As of Thursday, Auburn is at 86 projected scholarships for the 2023 season. That’s one more than the NCAA limit of 85. That number is sure to change, as Auburn — like most programs — will experience some post-spring attrition of its own while trying to address those positions Freeze aims to prioritize in the portal.

“We are open to the portal business for anyone that fits our culture at Auburn and can help us improve our team quickly,” Freeze said last week.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at how each of those five positions currently looks for Auburn just ahead of A-Day and before what’s sure to be another frantic portal period:

Quarterback

It’s no surprise that Freeze mentioned the most important position on the field. The Tigers have three quarterbacks who have been competing for the job this spring — returning starter Robby Ashford, last year’s opening-game starter T.J. Finley and redshirt freshman Holden Geriner — and the competition will run well into the fall, as Freeze and offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery take their time in evaluating the quarterback room.

Auburn already tried to add a quarterback during the initial transfer window, with NC State transfer Devin Leary visiting campus before committing to Kentucky. Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall was also reportedly set to visit before withdrawing from the portal and returning to the Chanticleers. It’ll be interesting to see who enters the portal this spring that could pique Freeze’s interest and add another layer to the Tigers’ quarterback competition.

Edge rusher

Another one that’s not a surprise, as Freeze has publicly stated on more than one occasion that Auburn is “deficient in true pass-rushers” and needs to add more talent to a thin group at the Jack linebacker position. Auburn already added Vanderbilt transfer Elijah McAllister during the first window, and true freshman Keldric Faulk has been the talk of spring practices. Auburn only has two other scholarship players in a room that lost Derick Hall, Eku Leota and Marcus Bragg from last year’s roster: former four-star recruit Dylan Brooks and true freshman Brenton Williams.

Cornerback

Auburn has some quality talent in its cornerback room, with starters Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James both back for their senior season after opting not to enter the NFL Draft. Behind them, however, things have been thin this spring, especially with sophomore J.D. Rhym sidelined with a lower-body injury. That has limited Auburn to three outside corners on scholarship, with true freshman Kayin Lee (another spring standout who will factor into the equation in the secondary this season) joining Pritchett and James.

Reinforcements are on the way this summer, with a trio of 2023 signees joining the fold: Tyler Scott, Colton Hood and JC Hart, though the latter could reportedly start his career at receiver after being a two-way standout at Loachapoka.

Safety

Auburn’s top-four options at safety have been fairly consistent during spring practice, with Jaylin Simpson and Zion Puckett both back, and Marquise Gilbert and Cayden Bridges returning behind them. Other guys have repped on the back end of the secondary while also rotating at the Star position (Donovan Kaufman, Caleb Wooden, Austin Ausberry among them).

Of course, in this age of college football, you can never have too many capable defensive backs.

Offensive line

Auburn overhauled its offensive line this offseason, with the addition of three key transfers who have slotted into starting roles this spring: left tackle Dillon Wade (Tulsa), center Avery Jones (Eastern Carolina) and right tackle Gunner Britton (Western Kentucky). That’s on top of adding top JUCO transfer Izavion Miller and highly regarded freshman Connor Lew, both of whom have made an impact this spring. Auburn also welcomed freshman early enrollees Clay Wedin and Bradyn Joiner, while fellow 2023 signee Tyler Johnson will arrive this summer.

In all, Auburn has 16 scholarship offensive linemen in place for the fall. That number could change, of course, with any outgoing transfers at the end of spring.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.