Former Auburn defensive end Jeffrey M’ba has found a new home in the Big Ten.

M’ba, who entered the transfer portal shortly after the end of spring practice for the Tigers, announced Tuesday that he has committed to Purdue. He’s the second Auburn player to transfer to Purdue in the last two years, as former Tigers wide receiver Elijah Canion joined the Boilermakers prior to last season.

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M’ba, the former No. 1 overall junior college player in the 2022 class, spent just one season at Auburn and played limited snaps for the Tigers last fall while moving around among various positions along the defensive line. He finished the year with seven tackles in 10 games.

The 6-foot-6, 307-pounder appeared in line for a bigger role this season after settling in at defensive end this spring. He worked behind returning starter Marcus Harris throughout the spring but still figured to be a key piece of the rotation for new defensive coordinator Ron Roberts and defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett, who wanted to rotate at least eight players for Auburn’s three true defensive line positions.

A former four-star prospect who started his career at Independence Community College in Kansas, M’ba spoke highly of Auburn’s new coaching staff this spring and their trust in him as a player. He sounded comfortable in his switch full-time to defensive end and the progress he was making at the position, saying that his goal for 2023 was to “try to destroy people.”

Now he’ll try to do that with a fresh start at Purdue.

M’ba is one of five players to leave Auburn since the start of spring practice and one of three to, so far, find a new landing spot. Reserve linebackers Kameron Brown and Desmond Tisdol both hit the portal midway through spring practices, with Brown recently committing to UT Chattanooga. Wide receiver Tar’Varish Dawson Jr. entered the portal shortly after it opened on April 15 and has since committed to Cincinnati. Reserve linebacker Powell Gordon also announced his plans to transfer last week but has yet to commit anywhere else.

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