Tag: gage keys

DL Gage Keys enters transfer portal after one season in Auburn

Keys, who transferred to Auburn from Kansas last cycle, is searching for his fourth collegiate home.

This week is important in terms of shaping the 2025 roster for the Auburn Tigers. In addition to the early signing period, the transfer portal is beginning to field names before its opening day of Dec. 9.

Three players from Auburn’s 2024 roster: QB [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag], TE [autotag]Micah Riley[/autotag], and OL [autotag]EJ Harris[/autotag] have announced their intentions to enter the transfer portal when it opens next week, and a defensive lineman is set to join them.

[autotag]Gage Keys[/autotag], a junior defensive lineman from Hilliard, Ohio, announced Monday that he will enter the transfer portal after spending one season with the program. Keys will be searching for his fourth home, as he made stops at Minnesota and Kansas before joining Auburn’s roster last cycle.

Keys transferred to Auburn in hopes of cracking the rotation on the Tigers’ defensive line. However, he managed to play in just two games, totaling 18 snaps in Auburn’s wins over Alabama A&M and New Mexico. He failed to record a tackle during his time on the Plains but registered a quarterback pressure in Auburn’s season-opener vs. Alabama A&M according to Pro Football Focus data.

Keys is the fourth Tiger to declare his intention to enter the transfer portal Several others could follow him once the early signing period begins Wednesday and concludes Friday. Check Auburn Wire for updates as transfer portal news continues to pour in.

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Sophomore Keldric Faulk talks leadership at SEC Media Days

The Tigers’ defense is full of new faces, which gives the 6-6, 290-pound sophomore a unique opportunity to have his voice heard. 

Auburn defensive lineman [autotag]Keldric Faulk[/autotag] made history a few weeks ago after his coaches selected him to be one of Auburn’s representatives at SEC Media Day, the first-ever Auburn sophomore to earn such honor.

The second-year Tiger told media members the designation “means a lot…It shows that I’m becoming a leader on my team, and I’m leading the right way on my team.”

A sophomore becoming a leader on a squad as capable and talented as Auburn is a rare feat, but Faulk, who won’t graduate from his teenage years until this fall, has taken command of a defensive front full of new faces. Auburn head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] has taken notice,

“Keldric has just had an incredible voice that people listen to — because he’s wise for his age and his work ethic is incredible,” Freeze said.

That work ethic and wiseness has been imperative for Faulk to lead a defensive line filled with transfers and freshman. The current Tigers unofficial opening depth chart features just two incumbent Tigers in the top six of the defensive line rotation. Besides Faulk and senior tackle [autotag]Jayson Jones[/autotag], transfers [autotag]Isaiah Raikes[/autotag], [autotag]Philip Blidi[/autotag], [autotag]Trill Carter[/autotag], and [autotag]Gage Keys[/autotag] are all expected to soak up snaps up front on the Plains.

Despite the college football experience from the aforementioned quartet of big men, none have played a snap with the Tigers, giving the 6-6, 290-pound sophomore a unique opportunity to have his voice heard.

Faulk will not only try to build off an impressive freshman campaign in which he registered 36 tackles and a sack, but he’ll also look towards replicating the qualities of his former Tiger mentors from a season ago.

“Guys like Marcus Harris and Justin Rogers, those two guys, they showed me that being a leader is more than just showing people how to do stuff,” Faulk said. “It’s getting people to follow you in the right way.”

An Alabama native, Faulk’s leadership on the field will be put to the test as camp rolls on in early August before Auburn kicks off the season at the end of the month against Alabama A&M.

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Hugh Freeze breaks down Auburn’s most notable position battles ahead of season

Rotations will be key for the Tigers this season, and Freeze wants the best players possible to be involved.

Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers took the stage at SEC Media Days Thursday and one of the many topics up for discussion was position battles within the program.

The most notable battle, at least in the eyes of those outside of the program, is at wide receiver. The Tigers have a revamped wide receiver room which will feature three transfers, four true freshmen, and two returners. However, the most contested battle is on the other side of the line.

Freeze told reporters Thursday that the defensive line will feature a steady rotation this season.

“The most contested, we have six guys on defensive line you might say it’s contested, but I think we need to rotate all six of them,” Freeze said.

Auburn’s defensive line will be experienced as [autotag]Jayson Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Keldric Faulk[/autotag] returning with the additions of [autotag]Trill Carter[/autotag], [autotag]Philip Blidi[/autotag], [autotag]Isaiah Raikes[/autotag], and [autotag]Gage Keys[/autotag] joining the program from the transfer portal. Experience will not be an issue, but it will be up to Freeze and defensive line coach [autotag]Vontrell King-Williams[/autotag] to find the perfect combination to give the Tigers the best chance to succeed.

Another position group of concern is at safety, which was ravaged by the NFL draft. [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag] is out, meaning Auburn will need to look to transfers and new faces to fill the role.

“I’d probably say safety. You are going to have Keionte (Scott) and Kayin (Lee) getting the bulk of reps at corner, but we really need (Antonio) Kite and (Jaylin) Crawford, Amon Lane (Ganus), some of these younger guys to get ready to play there,” Freeze said. “(Jerrin) Thompson is the vocal leader there, but we need other pieces to give us depth there.”

Freeze went on to mention that [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] will get the nod at quarterback and that the rotation of running backs will feature [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag], [autotag]Damari Alston[/autotag], and [autotag]Jeremiah Cobb[/autotag]. At receiver, Freeze calls for six receivers to step into the rotation. Freshmen [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag] and [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag], as well as transfers [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Robert Lewis[/autotag], look to be prime candidates to earn steady playing time at the position.

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Veteran Texas DL transfer Trill Carter commits to Auburn

Auburn has landed a second veteran defensive linemen in Trill Carter, who played at Texas and Minnesota.

Auburn has landed the veteran defensive linemen that it was looking for in Texas transfer [autotag]Trill Carter[/autotag] who committed to Auburn Monday on social media.

Carter started his career at Minnesota before spending one season at Texas. Appearing in 46 games, he has made 49 tackles, 4.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss between the two schools. The 6-foot-2, 300-pounder will have one season of eligibility at Auburn.

He joins Memphis transfer [autotag]Gage Keys[/autotag] as additions alone the defensive line as Auburn works to offset the loss of three-year starter [autotag]Marcus Harris[/autotag] to the NFL.

Carter is Auburn’s sixth addition overall and second today from the transfer portal after Maryland tight end Rico Walker picked the Tigers earlier Monday.

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Auburn lands Duke LB Dorian Mausi from transfer portal

Mausi is the third transfer to sign with Auburn on opening day of the early signing period.

Auburn football has been on a roll today by signing several of the nation’s top recruits.

Among those signees are three additions from the transfer portal.

Earlier Wednesday, Georgia State transfer [autotag]Robert Lewis[/autotag] and Kansas transfer [autotag]Gage Keys[/autotag] officially signed with the Tigers. Later, head coach Hugh Freeze revealed that a third transfer officially signed his intent to transfer to the Plains.

[autotag]Dorian Mausi[/autotag], a former Duke linebacker, signed with Auburn on Wednesday according to Christian Clemente of Auburn Undercover.

Mausi played four seasons for the Blue Devils and has recorded 193 total tackles. The 2023 season was his best as far as production goes, as he was able to make 61 stops with two pass deflections and an interception. He also created four pressures according to Pro Football Focus.

Stay up-to-date with the latest signing day news by checking out Auburn Wire’s early signing period tracker.

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Transfers Robert Lewis, Gage Keys officially sign with Auburn

The Tigers’ early transfer portal acquisitions have officially signed with the program.

Early signing period is underway, and two of Auburn’s transfer portal acquisitions are now official members of the program.

Former Georgia State wide receiver [autotag]Robert Lewis[/autotag] and former Kansas defensive lineman [autotag]Gage Keys[/autotag] have signed their national letter of intent with Auburn according to the program’s official X (formerly Twitter) page.

Lewis comes to Auburn after a stellar season at Georgia State, where he caught 70 passes for 877 yards and seven touchdowns. He put his name on the map last season by being a complementary receiver to former Panther, now Louisville, receiver Jamari Thrash. Lewis was Georgia State’s second-leading receiver in 2022 with 379 yards on 22 catches with six scores.

Keys fills a major hole left behind by Marcus Harris, who has declared for the NFL Draft. After spending his freshman season at Minnesota, Keys boosted his stock by making 21 stops as a true sophomore at Kansas. According to Pro Football Focus, Keys played 301 snaps for the Jayhawks this season. During his time on the field, he recorded 13 pressures with one sack and nine quarterback hurries. [anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media]

Stay up-to-date with the latest signing day news by checking out Auburn Wire’s early signing period tracker.

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Kansas transfer defensive lineman Gage Keys commits to Auburn

The sophomore joins the Tigers with two years of eligibility remaining.

Hugh Freeze has landed another highly-touted transfer to reinforce his football team.

Kansas defensive lineman and former three-star recruit [autotag]Gage Keys[/autotag] will be taking his talents to the Loveliest Village on the Plains in 2024.

The defensive lineman announced his decision in an Instagram post-Sunday afternoon.

Keys played a fairly large role for a surprisingly solid Jayhawks team this season, collecting 21 total tackles after accumulating just 5 in his freshman campaign at Minnesota.

The true sophomore now moves to Auburn where he will help try to rejuvenate a Tigers’ defensive line set to lose leader [autotag]Marcus Harris[/autotag] to the NFL Draft.

Replacing [autotag]Marcus Harris[/autotag] and his 7 sacks of production is a tall task, but the 6-foot-5 defensive tackle is certainly up for it.

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