After more than 2,000 college football players entered their name into the transfer portal during the fall window, the portal opens for business on Monday. The spring portal window will remain open until April 30 for undergraduate student-athletes and until May 1 for grad transfers.

While Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze has maintained his desire to build Auburn’s roster via the high school ranks, he recognizes the transfer portal as an opportunity to quickly address areas of attrition on the Tigers’ roster.

So, for about two weeks, as the college football exchange ramps back up, it’s expected that Freeze and the Tigers will do their fair share of poking around the portal to address a few areas of need — two areas of need in particular.

“We’ve got a couple spots left on our roster. If you’re going to fill it, let’s fill it with D-line and receivers,” Freeze said following Auburn’s spring game. “I think that’s where we need to add some more depth.”

All spring, Freeze mentioned a plan to dip into the portal in hopes of landing more talent along the defensive front.

“I think inside is where we’re still a little thin,” Freeze said of the defensive line on April 2. “We’ll be looking, maybe, for some portal help there.”

The defensive line was also an area of focus during the fall portal window, which saw the Tigers add a pair of experienced defensive linemen in Texas transfer Trill Carter and Kansas transfer Gage Keys.

Together, Carter and Keys joined a defensive line room that was tasked with replacing the production of Marcus Harris and Justin Rogers — two guys who have their sights set on the NFL Draft later this month.

Together, Harris and Rogers combined for 57 total tackles and 13 tackles for a loss in 2023.

“We miss Marcus and Justin for sure,” Freeze said.

Paired with the transfer additions, Auburn’s defensive line room currently consists of a mixed bag in terms of experience as seniors Jayson Jones and Zykeivous Walker join forces with an impressive crop of freshmen and a few young returners mixed in between.

And while Freeze and Auburn’s staff like what they have in the room, they’re currently hinging on the young guys coming along quick.

So just to be safe, it’s likely they’ll look for another defensive lineman or two in the portal this spring.

One name Auburn has been tied to already is Indiana transfer defensive lineman Philip Blidi, who posted about his offer from the Tigers on March 25.

Auburn joins LSU, Oklahoma, Washington and countless others as teams in pursuit of Blidi, who tallied 30 tackles and four tackles for a loss with the Hoosiers last fall.

In addition to adding depth along the defensive line, Freeze also revealed after April 6′s spring game that he might be looking to add more talent to Auburn’s wide receiver corps.

“I think the more talented receivers we get, the better our passing game is going to be,” Freeze said after Auburn’s A-Day spring game. “But I’m confident we can move the football if we continue to add pieces to the talent of the roster. I think we’ve done that some. We need to continue to do that.”

Auburn will unveil a historic signing class of wide receivers in 2024 as the room has added freshmen Bryce Cain, Cam Coleman, Malcolm Simmons and Perry Thompson. Cain and Coleman both enrolled early and appeared in Auburn’s spring game, while Simmons and Thompson are set to arrive to The Plains this summer.

While Freeze admitted to not knowing how Cain will fit into the offense as a freshman, Coleman has proved to be too good not to see the field next fall. That was put on display as Coleman led the Tigers’ receiving efforts on A-Day and hauled in the only touchdown of the day.

“I think he changes us,” Freeze said of Coleman. “We need more. Just anxious to get the other signees here like Perry (Thompson) and Malcolm (Simmons) to join with that group.”

Auburn also added a pair of transfer receivers during the offseason as Georgia State transfer Robert Lewis and Cal transfer Sam Jackson V onboarded with the Tigers.

Lewis, who Jackson called Auburn’s most “polished” receiver, had a strong showing during the spring game. Meanwhile, Jackson, who is still coming back from a shoulder injury, has been highly regarded as a “freakish athlete” who guys like quarterback Payton Thorne believes can have a role in Auburn’s offense.

The new faces in Auburn’s wide receiver room join a handful of returners as Koy Moore, Camden Brown, Jay Fair and Caleb Burton III are all still with the Tigers.

But Freeze and Auburn’s staff want to add more.

Should the Tigers go on to add additional talent to the wide receiver room, it’s likely fair to question whether some of Auburn’s returning pass catchers will look to transfer themselves in hopes of securing more playing time. But only time will tell.