Auburn offers SEC transfer wide receiver, and current Tigers players lend their support.
Hugh Freeze, the head coach at Auburn, was kept busy on Monday as the transfer site officially opened for business.
Six Tigers entered the transfer portal between the days leading up to Monday and Monday itself, three of them were wide receivers. And, given that Auburn has a pair of 5-star wide receivers committed for 2024 in Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson, those departures — who saw limited action in 2023 — aren’t surprising.
However, Freeze demonstrated that he still wants to add some experience to his wide receiving corps when Vanderbilt wide receiver and transfer portal entrant Will Sheppard confirmed Monday afternoon that he’d been offered by Auburn.
Sheppard has four good seasons at Vanderbilt during the last four years.
Sheppard will finish his career as the Commodores’ seventh-leading receiver all-time with 2,067 career passing yards. He really burst onto the scene during his junior season, when he tallied more than 770 yards and nine touchdowns. Sheppard had 684 yards and eight touchdowns on 47 receptions in 2023.
Sheppard would have been Auburn’s leading receiver by over 300 yards both seasons if he had those numbers.
That being said, it should come as no surprise that members of Auburn’s existing team would be overjoyed if Sheppard were to join them on The Plains.
Running back for Auburn Damari Alston retweeted Sheppard’s statement, writing, “1of1.”
Auburn Jack linebacker Elijah McAllister, who previously played with Sheppard at Vanderbilt, appeared to promote Sheppard by writing “Mr. “Go up and get it,” Sheppard said immediately after announcing his offer.
Despite the Commodores’ offensive troubles, Freeze was sure to express his admiration for Sheppard before Auburn’s visit to Vanderbilt early last month.
“That receiver is something special,” remarked Freeze of Sheppard.
Sheppard was a three-star prospect out of high school. Sheppard, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound transfer, is now ranked a 4-star and the seventh-best wide receiver in the transfer portal.
