The postseason transfer portal window was like an all-out sprint through a marathon for Hugh Freeze and his staff, but the spring window has seen a much more leisurely pace.

Auburn was one of the busiest and most successful teams during the initial transfer window, bringing in a highly rated transfer haul that included a dozen newcomers for spring practice. Since the spring window opened April 15, however, things have been much quieter on the Plains — somewhat to Freeze’s surprise.

“We really weren’t sure what to expect, and I do think it’s been quite a bit slower,” Freeze said Tuesday evening in Atlanta before the first stop on the AMBUSH tour. “I’m not sure that it’s a bad thing.”

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Since the start of spring practices, Auburn has seen just a handful of players depart the program, with three of those coming since spring culminated on A-Day. Reserve linebackers Kameron Brown and Desmond Tisdol opted to transfer during spring practice, while defensive end Jeffrey M’ba, wide receiver Tar’Varish Dawson Jr. and reserve linebacker Powell Gordon have hit the portal since spring ended. Meanwhile, Auburn has yet to land any incoming transfers in the post-spring window, even though Freeze is open to additions at any position and specifically cited five positions he’d like to address during this transfer period, which runs from April 15-30.

Those spots include quarterback, edge rusher/Jack linebacker, cornerback, safety and offensive line.

“It’s kind of been a bit slower than we anticipated,” Freeze said. “Feel like it picked up a little bit today, maybe. Or the last couple of days. Will be curious to see what the rest of the week brings. I think it’s well-documented that we’re always trying to improve our roster. So, we’re constantly monitoring it.”

The Tigers have an ongoing competition at quarterback, where Robby Ashford, T.J. Finley and Holden Geriner split reps throughout the spring, and Freeze has been forthcoming in his public evaluations of the position, even saying on A-Day that he’s open to bringing in someone else to compete if it’s the right fit but adding that he believes Auburn can win some games with who it has in the room currently.

Freeze noted early in spring that the Tigers are “deficient” in true pass-rushers, and adding depth to the Jack position would be a priority. Auburn finished spring with just three healthy outside cornerbacks, including true freshman Kayin Lee, and while more freshmen will arrive this summer, adding more experience to that room with the likes of Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James would be a luxury. The same goes for safety, where Auburn returns Zion Puckett and Jaylin Simpson atop the depth chart but would like to add another contributor to a generally young position. The Tigers already overhauled their offensive line in the first transfer window, with plug-and-play additions at both tackle spots and center but adding another guard to compete for a starting role would be helpful.

Auburn has been in contact with a handful of players at some of those positions of need, including offensive guards Jaden Muskrat (Tulsa) and Emmanuel Pregnon (Wyoming), as well as edge rushers Isaac Ukwu (James Madison) and Jaheim Thomas (Cincinnati), among others.

As Auburn tries to find more pieces to raise its ceiling in Year 1 under Freeze during this spring transfer window, the first-year head coach is also navigating the challenges of roster management with this new recruiting calendar. Auburn is currently projected to have approximately 83 players on scholarship for the upcoming season, two shy of the NCAA limit.

“Figuring out the 85 in this new world is very, very challenging and very, very difficult,” Freeze said. “It also promotes some difficult conversations at times…. You sit here and you do what’s best for Auburn. That’s not always enjoyable by all. But it’s tough to manage the 85. And we go into the spring portal saying, ‘Here’s the ideal plan. We sign this number at this position and this number at this position, and this is how we get to the 85, by doing that.’

“But all of that is subjective to everything going exactly your way and players going into the portal who think can improve you. When that doesn’t happen, you hope that your Plan B is able to be successful. So, it’s a challenge.”

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