A new coach at Auburn meant significant roster turnover would surely follow. Before Hugh Freeze’s team lines up for fall practices in a few weeks, his roster has more than three dozen new faces, including more than 20 transfers. In his first offseason back in the SEC, Freeze took advantage of the new landscape the transfer portal has made for college football to reshape the Tigers. Auburn brought in the fifth-ranked transfer class, according to 247Sports, and led the nation with 11 four-star rated transfers.

Here’s a look at one of them…

No. 8 Nick Mardner, wide receiver

Hometown: Oakville, Ontario

Previous University: Cincinnati

Height: 6-foot-6

Weight: 206

A look back at the past: Auburn will be Mardner’s third collegiate stop. He started at Hawaii in 2019, but didn’t produce any significant numbers until the 2021 season, by far the best year of his college career. That year, he caught 46 passes for 913 yards and five touchdowns. And his wide receivers coach at Hawaii in 2021? Marcus Davis, the former Auburn wide receiver who now coaches that same position group on The Plains. Davis was only at Hawaii for one season before going to Georgia Southern. After Davis left, Mardner did too, transferring to Cincinnati. His numbers declined with the Bearcats, with only 19 receptions and 218 yards across 12 games in 2022.

2023 roster outlook: The fit here is clear: wide receiver reunites with coach who helped produce his most successful season. Mardner is Auburn’s tallest wide receiver by at least two inches over anyone else in the position group. The Tigers’ wide receiver struggles last season are well known: Auburn only returns three players who had more than 200 receiving yards last season and one of them was running back Jarquez Hunter. Because of his size, Mardner could make an impact around the endzone and on third downs. Marder is unlikely to be a starter, but will probably see the field in situational roles. Regardless, in one of Auburn’s position groups with the most turnover from last season, someone has to step up.