AUBURN — Auburn football will add up to three to the spring portal.
The Tigers signed Keylon Crawford, a transfer from Arkansas State University, on Monday. Crawford, an edge defender who had 5.5 sacks in 2023, chose Auburn over offers from the likes of Arkansas, Mississippi State and Kansas State.
Crawford has two years of eligibility remaining. He was rated as a three-star recruit in the Class of 2022, ranked as the No. 985 prospect nationally and No. 33 in the state of Tennessee by the 247Sports Composite, and attended Briarcrest Christian School.
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Briarcrest Christian is the same school that Auburn coach Hugh Freeze coached before getting his chance in the collegiate ranks at Ole Miss. Freeze also served as offensive coordinator and head coach at Arkansas State in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
The 6-foot-4, 243-pound Crawford joins defensive linemen Isaiah Lykes (USC and Texas A&M) and Phillip Bridy (Indiana) as transfers, who committed to the Tigers during the spring portal window. Auburn has lost four players since the portal opened: edge defender Brenton Williams, cornerback J.D. Rhythm, linebacker Wesley Steiner and receiver Jay Fair.
According to Pro Football Focus, Crawford had 39 total pressures in 2023. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison given the competitive nature of the SEC and 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 at X (formerly Twitter name @rich_silva18).
