Walker White – Syndication Server

Freshman QB Walker White to enter transfer portal

White’s Auburn career concludes after just one season on the Plains.

One piece of disappointing news has surfaced on an otherwise positive day for Auburn football.

According to reports from multiple outlets, including On3 and 247Sports, Auburn freshman quarterback [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] intends to enter the transfer portal after spending one season on the Plains. The news comes hours after former Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold signed with Auburn as a transfer.

White saw action in one game this season, passing for 18 yards on two pass completions in Auburn’s 48-14 win over ULM on Nov. 16. The Little Rock, Arkansas native signed with Auburn as the No. 5 quarterback of the 2024 signing class and the No. 1 overall recruit from Arkansas.

Although disappointing, White’s decision to transfer is understandable. Auburn signed five-star quarterback [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag] to its 2025 recruiting haul and snagged Jackson Arnold from the transfer portal early in the cycle. [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and the Auburn coaching staff has also made contact with Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy and Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels, as it is expected that Auburn will sign another transfer portal quarterback this cycle to fill in for the departures of Payton Thorne, Holden Geriner, and Hank Brown.

Following White’s anticipated departure, Auburn will bring zero scholarship quarterbacks from 2024 into its 2025 season. Thorne has graduated, Brown will sign with Iowa as a transfer, and Geriner remains in the transfer portal at the time of this post.

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Auburn football lands Oklahoma transfer QB Jackson Arnold

Has Auburn found its QB1 for the 2025 season?

Following the graduation of [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag], the Auburn Tigers must look to a new name to lead the offense as the team’s starting quarterback.

Their search may have ended on Saturday morning.

Pete Nakos of On3 reports that former Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold, who visited Auburn on Friday, has committed to the Tigers. He commits to Auburn after passing for 1,984 yards and 16 touchdowns in 16 games throughout two seasons.

Auburn head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] says that Arnold is a quarterback who can succeed at Auburn due to his understanding of the current offensive system.

“He’s as natural operating the RPO game as any kid mechanically that I’ve seen,” Freeze said Saturday. “I’ve seen enough on tape that he has a clear understanding of it. The thing that excites me the most is his mechanics are as good as they get. We’re not going to have to change a thing with that.”

Arnold signed with Oklahoma as the No. 4 quarterback of the 2023 recruiting cycle, a class that included Texas quarterback Arch Manning, Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava, and South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers. The Denton, Texas native won Gatorade Player of the Year for his state after a senior season in 2023 that saw him pass for 3,476 yards and 33 touchdowns while rushing for an additional 921 yards and 24 scores.

According to Auburn athletics’ official website, Arnold is the highest-rated quarterback (based on high school ratings) to sign with Auburn. Arnold, along with 2025 signee [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag], will be the first five-star duo to grace the Auburn quarterback room at the same time.

Arnold will now join a quarterback competition between redshirt freshman [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] and 2025 signee Deuce Knight. Following the departures of [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] and [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag], Auburn is expected to add one more quarterback to its 2025 depth chart. Names to watch for in this regard are former Duke QB Maalik Murphy and former Stanford QB Ashton Daniels.

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Auburn football to host former Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold

Hugh Freeze looks to make a splash with the former five-star quarterback.

Former Gatorade Player of the Year and five-star quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] is in the transfer portal, and [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] is getting a chance to persuade him to join the Auburn Tigers.

[autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], formerly of the Oklahoma Sooners, is scheduled to visit Auburn on Friday according to Steve Wiltfong of On3. The Tigers are in a stiff competition with Mississippi State in the race to win his transfer.

Arnold began the season as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback, where he passed 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns with three interceptions while rushing for 444 additional yards. However, he struggled to keep his starting job throughout the season and was in constant competition with Michael Hawkins Jr.

John Williams of Sooners Wire broke down what went wrong for Arnold during his time at Oklahoma:

The 2024 season didn’t go as planned for the Oklahoma Sooners on the offensive side of the ball. Injuries at wide receiver and along the offensive line and the relative inexperience and talent deficiency that came with that put a damper on what had a chance to be a good offense for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Arnold, was left to try to pick up the pieces of the offense. It was a rough season for the former Gatorade National Player of the Year, who struggled with turnovers and, at times, indecision as a passer. Arnold was benched in the first half of the loss to Tennessee after three turnovers in the first half.

He regained the starting job after a solid performance against South Carolina in relief of Michael Hawkins Jr., but could never put it together as a passer given the circumstances.

Arnold’s debut season saw him pass for over 200 yards twice and rush for over 100 yards in the Sooners’ win over Alabama. Arnold is one of two “starter-worthy” quarterbacks set to visit this week, joining Duke’s Maalik Murphy. Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels is projected to transfer to Auburn, but the Tigers hope to bring in a quarterback who is ready to start immediately and become a role model in the development of freshmen quarterbacks [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] and [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag].

Former Auburn QB Hank Brown to visit Big Ten program

The former Auburn QB will look to find another starting opportunity at a fellow Power Four program.

Former Auburn quarterback [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] is looking for a new home and could find a suitor in the Big Ten.

According to a report by Pete Nakos of On3, Brown will visit Iowa on Thursday, his first known visit of the window.

Brown entered the transfer portal this week after spending two seasons on the Plains. He played in one game as a true freshman, completing seven passes for 132 yards in Auburn’s Music City Bowl loss to Maryland. He saw action in three games as a redshirt freshman in 2024, earning two starts. He excelled in his first start against New Mexico by passing for four touchdowns. However, he was removed from his start against Arkansas one week later after throwing three interceptions in the first half.

Brown signed with Auburn as a three-start quarterback from the 2024 recruiting cycle. Originally committed to play for Hugh Freeze at Liberty, Brown followed Freeze to Auburn by committing to the program one day before signing with the Tigers on Dec. 21, 2022. His Auburn career ends with 403 passing yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Brown joins [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag] as an Auburn quarterback currently looking for a new home in the transfer portal. [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] returns to the unit, while [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag] is set to join the program as a true freshman ahead of next season. Freeze will look to add two quarterbacks from the transfer portal in this window to fill the void left behind by Brown and Geriner.

Auburn named a potential landing spot for former USC quarterback Miller Moss

ESPN’s Max Olson believes Auburn has weapons that will allow Moss to succeed.

Auburn football has two young quarterbacks with bright futures in [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] and [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag]. However, following the departure of two-year starter [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag], Auburn will need a “bridge year” to allow both quarterbacks to another season to develop.

Because of this, it is expected that head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] will look to fill the void by using the transfer portal. Several key names have declared their intention to enter the portal, including Washington State’s [autotag]John Mateer[/autotag] and Oklahoma’s [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]. Ahead of the portal’s official opening on Dec. 9, ESPN’s Max Olson feels that one portal addition could fit in well at Auburn.

Olson suggests Auburn would be a great fit for former USC quarterback [autotag]Miller Moss[/autotag]. Moss, who has one season of eligibility remaining, passed for over 2,500 yards as a junior in Los Angeles last season and could find success by throwing to Auburn’s many targets at wide receiver.

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze knows he needs to go get a transfer QB who can take the Tigers to the next level in 2025. Auburn has a ton of promising young talent to build around, especially at wide receiver, with standout true freshmen Cam Coleman, Malcolm Simmons and Perry Thompson. Their presence makes Auburn an appealing destination for QBs like Moss, who have one year left and are looking to put up big numbers next season.

Outside of Auburn’s targets, Moss fits the mold by having starting experience and one season of eligibility. Moss took over the starting quarterback role for Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams this season, where he passed for at least 200 yards and one touchdown in nine games played. However, following a tough stretch of games that included a loss to Washington, where he threw three interceptions, USC head coach Lincoln Riley pulled Moss in favor of Jayden Maiava for the final three games.

Moss is looking for a home he deems a “better fit.”

“There comes a point where there’s a time to move on to new opportunities,” Moss said in an interview with ESPN. “And I’m hoping to better myself as a person and a player.”

In four seasons at USC, Moss has completed 65.9% of his passes for 3,469 yards and 27 touchdowns with just ten interceptions. The winter transfer portal window officially opens on Monday, Dec. 9, and will close on Dec. 28.

Five-star quarterback Deuce Knight signs with Auburn over Ole Miss

Auburn signs the five-star QB from Mississippi despite late flip attempt by Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels.

Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels worked tirelessly to flip Auburn commit [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag] in the days leading up to the early signing period. However, [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] will get the last laugh at the end of the day.

Knight, a five-star quarterback from Lucedale, Mississippi, flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to Auburn in October. On Wednesday, he honored his commitment to the Tigers by signing during the first day of the early signing period, spurning Kiffin and his home-state Ole Miss Rebels.

Knight visited Ole Miss several times after committing to Auburn, most recently for the Rebels’ win over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl last Saturday. Talks of a possible flip began with David Johnson of 247Sports submitting a “crystal ball” prediction for Knight to flip to Ole Miss in November. However, Auburn never waivered and ultimately ended up with Knight in their 2025 recruiting haul.

Knight had a spectacular senior season at George County High School, where he passed for 2,082 yards and 24 touchdowns, throwing just five interceptions. On the ground, Knight added 450 yards and nine touchdowns to his overall total. In 26 total games as a high school quarterback, Knight completed 57% (324-of-560) passes for 5,618 yards and 50 touchdowns while adding 1,282 yards and 31 touchdowns on the ground.

Knight is a 6-4, 206-pound quarterback from Lucedale, Mississippi, and is the No. 4 quarterback from the 2025 class according to 247Sports composite rankings. He will compete alongside [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag], [autotag]Walker White[/autotag], and a possible transfer quarterback for the role of QB1 next fall for the Tigers.

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Former Boston College QB Thomas Castellanos receiving interest from Auburn

Is Castellanos a great fit for Auburn?

Auburn football will enter the 2025 season with two fewer quarterbacks following the graduation of [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] and the intent to transfer from Holden Geriner.

[autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] and [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] remain on the team, and [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag] is expected to sign with the team this week. Could Auburn add experience at the position while White and Knight develop? According to a report from Rivals, it appears that Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is exploring the possibility.

Adam Gortney of Rivals reported late Monday that Auburn is one of four schools showing interest in former Boston College quarterback [autotag]Thomas Castellanos[/autotag], joining Florida State, Missouri, and Miami.

Castellanos, a 5-9 196-pound quarterback from Waycross, Georgia, has played his two most recent seasons at Boston College after signing with UCF in 2022. While in Boston, Castellanos passed for 3,614 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions. The 2024 season saw Castellanos expand his touchdown-to-interception ratio, where he threw 18 touchdowns to five interceptions.

The biggest storyline surrounding Castellanos took place during the Eagles 37-31 win over Syracuse on Nov. 9. Castellanos left the game due to a leg injury, which forced Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien to play Grayson James in the position. Following the game, O’Brien elected to keep James at the starting quarterback slot.

“I think what’s best for the team right now is for Grayson James to be the starter,” O’Brien said of the change at quarterback. “(Castellanos) has done a great job for us. He’s an awesome competitor. We have a lot of respect for Tommy. Obviously he wasn’t real thrilled with that. He’s taken a couple days.”

A few days later on Nov. 14, Castellanos announced that he was officially leaving the program and would enter the transfer portal once it opens on Dec. 9.

In eight games this season, Castellanos led Boston College to four wins while completing 99-of-161 passes for 1,366 yards and 18 scores. According to Pro Football Focus, Castellanos was pressured 69 times, which resulted in 18 sacks and seven turnover-worthy passes. As a runner, Castellanos rushed for 194 yards on 93 carries with a score.

The transfer portal officially opens on Dec. 9 and will remain open until Dec. 28.

Auburn quarterback Holden Geriner to enter transfer portal

The former top-15 quarterback prospect was buried on the quarterback depth chart for the entirety of his Auburn tenure.

Auburn sophomore signal-caller [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag] is reportedly entering the transfer portal following another season in a reserve role on the Plains.

A former top 15 quarterback prospect in his class, Geriner was buried on the quarterback depth chart for the entirety of his Auburn tenure. After spending his first collegiate season as the third-string quarterback behind [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] and [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] in the quarterback room, Geriner failed to beat out transfer [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] for the starting quarterback role in 2023. With the aforementioned Ashford relegated to backup duty, the former four-star recruit saw his role once again reduced to “mop up” duty at the end of blowout games.

Things didn’t change for the better this season, as Geriner attempted just two passes in two appearances, both coming in the early season. The 6-foot-3 quarterback found himself fourth on the depth chart by the end of the season, behind the aforementioned Thorne, and freshmen [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] and [autotag]Walker White[/autotag]. With White and Brown expected to return next season and the likely arrival of five-star quarterback [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag] and at least one transfer portal signal-caller, Gernier will seek a better opportunity at a new program next fall.

Over three seasons on the Plains, the former four-star quarterback completed 9 -of-20 pass attempts for 116 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. Geriner officially recorded five rush attempts in an Auburn uniform, although three were sacks for negative yardage.

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Will Hugh Freeze make a change at quarterback?

Auburn needs to win its final three games in order to qualify for a bowl game. Will a change be made?

Auburn football’s season and year two under head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] is not going as many people thought it would, and if many questions were not already raised about this program, even more are coming up now.

The Tigers are currently 3-6 on the year and 1-5 in SEC play. As if that is not enough, Freeze is sitting at 9-13 in his Auburn tenure, similar to where Bryan Harsin was in his second season on the Plains.

One of the main questions that has surrounded the team, though, is the quarterback play on the field. While [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] has shown flashes of talent at moments this season, his play throughout his career with the Tigers has had many shaking their heads.

In two years, Thorne has recorded a 62% pass completion percentage, throwing 29 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He was benched in the team’s week two loss to Cal after throwing four interceptions for backup [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag], before returning to the starting job against Oklahoma.

Despite this season being Thorne’s final one of eligibility, Freeze said his staff is considering a change at the position during Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference.

“Payton’s played pretty solid, but at the same time you start thinking big picture and well, that’s a tough that’s a tough quandary for you as a coach,” Freeze said. “When you start thinking big picture, as opposed to one of your players that really hasn’t done anything wrong, but we certainly aren’t winning. And so we’re debating all of that this week and we’ll continue into next week, debating that.”

Outside of Brown, [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] has been working with the scout team for most of the year but is also in the running to earn some playing time here at the end of the season.

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Hugh Freeze updates QB competition as preseason camp continues

Incumbent QB Payton Thorne is expected to be QB1 for Auburn’s season opener. What’s the pecking order following him?

Several position groups remain undecided as fall camp continues at Auburn, including at quarterback.

Incumbent starter [autotag]Payton Thorn[/autotag]e is expected to resume the role as QB1 this season, but who is behind him? Many Auburn fans and college experts are curious about who would step up in the unfortunate event of an injury to Thorne or possible struggles. Head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] says that he is close to establishing the pecking order.

“Yeah, I haven’t told the quarterbacks yet, so I won’t say, but I kind of know in my mind where we’re headed next week, but I’d rather tell them before I say it,” Freeze said during his media availability on Friday.

Freeze followed by saying that he, offensive coordinator Derrick Nix, and quarterbacks coach Kent Austin are on the same page when it comes to [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag], [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag], and [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] and their position within the depth chart.

As for Thorne, Freeze says that he continues to develop and mold into a quarterback that fits into the current system.

“From spring until now, his understanding of what the expectations are for him have grown leaps and bounds,” Freeze said. “He does some things out there that I’m really proud of. That doesn’t mean he always executes it exactly right, but he’s thinking the right way.”

Each quarterback provides a solid case for QB2. Geriner is the veteran of the group and holds more experience, Brown had a strong showing in last season’s Music City Bowl, and the true freshman White has the tools to be one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC. Who will win the race for second place?