AUBURN — Auburn football is up to three additions in the spring portal.
The Tigers signed Arkansas State transfer Keyron Crawford on Monday. Crawford, an edge defender who logged 5.5 sacks in 2023, chose Auburn over offers from Arkansas, Mississippi State and Kansas, among others.
Crawford has two years of eligibility remaining. He was rated as a three-star recruit in the Class of 2022, slotted by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 985 overall player in the country and the No. 33 prospect in the state of Tennessee, where he attended Briarcrest Christian School.
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Briarcrest Christian is the same school Auburn coach Hugh Freeze coached at before getting an opportunity in the collegiate ranks at Ole Miss. Freeze was also the offensive coordinator and head coach at Arkansas State in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
The 6-foot-4, 243-pound Crawford joins defensive linemen Isaiah Raikes (USC and Texas A&M) and Philip Blidi (Indiana) as transfers who have joined the Tigers during the spring portal window. Auburn has lost four players since the portal opened in edge defender Brenton Williams, cornerback JD Rhym, linebacker Wesley Steiner and receiver Jay Fair.
Crawford had 39 total pressures in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus. It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison given the difference in competition between the SEC and the Sun Belt, but for reference, Jalen McLeod led Auburn with 38 total pressures last season.
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.
