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. 92 Lawrence Johnson, defensive line, graduate transfer

Hometown: Fort Wayne, Indiana

Previous University: Purdue

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 310

A look back at the past: Johnson’s stats aren’t going to jump off the page. But he will bring experience to The Plains — a lot of it. Johnson will be playing his sixth year of college football this fall in Auburn. He played one game and took a redshirt as a freshman in 2018 — notably that game being Auburn’s Music City Bowl blowout over Purdue. He then played in every single Purdue game from 2019-2022, according to Purdue’s website, including being a consistent starter over the last two seasons. He leaves Purdue with 88 total tackles in 46 games played. He had 7.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. In 2022, he both forced a fumble and blocked a pass.

2023 roster outlook: Lawrence most likely projects as a depth piece on Auburn’s defensive front. Auburn brought in three transfers from Power 5 programs for the defensive line. Justin Rogers, who comes to Auburn from Kentucky, figures to be a starter on the interior. Three true freshman also join the group of new faces in the defensive line room. Behind Rogers, fall practices will provide some clarity on how the depth chart with shake out for a reshaped unit. Lawrence only has one year of eligibility and in an article posted on Auburn’s website, said he wanted to use that last chance to play at an SEC school. He picked Auburn in part because his mom was a fan of the Tigers, according to that article. Lawrence brings the most experience in terms of game plays among this new group. He also was on campus to play in Auburn’s A-Day game. He may have a head start on some of the freshman.