Auburn safety Marquise Gilbert becomes eighth Tiger to announce plans to enter transfer portal

Auburn junior safety Marquise Gilbert has entered the transfer portal, he announced Thursday morning on the social platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

In doing so, Gilbert becomes the eighth Auburn player to try their luck in the portal and the first out of the defensive secondary. The Tigers first lost tight end Tyler Fromm, wide receivers Omari Kelley, Malcolm Johnson Jr. and Jyaire Shorter, defensive lineman Stephen Johnson and Enyce Sledge as well as jack linebacker Stephen Sings V.

Gilbert first arrived to The Plains in 2022 after being recruited out of Hutchinson Community College, where his efforts helped him become rated the No. 1 available safety out of the junior college ranks.

In his first season at Auburn, Gilbert played in four games as he rotated into safety as a depth piece.

This past season, however, Gilbert only appeared in three games — UMass, Samford and Texas A&M. Gilbert’s only stats on the season come via a pair of tackles against the Aggies on Sept. 23.

With Gilbert’s planned departure, he joins senior Jaylin Simpson as outgoing departures as Simpson accepted his Senior Bowl invite on Wednesday, pointing to him likely turning pro in 2024.

The Tigers are set to return Zion Puckett, Donovan Kaufman, Caleb Wooden, Terrance Love, Austin Ausberry, Sylvester Smith and C.J. Johnson, while also adding JUCO transfer Laquan Robinson, 4-star commit Kensley Faustin and 3-star commit Kaleb Harris