Five key transfers that left Auburn under Bryan Harsin
Bryan Harsin is out at Auburn.
The announcement came two-days after 41-27 loss to Arkansas in Jordan-Hare Stadium and minutes after agreeing to hire Mississippi State’s athletic director, John Cohen.
Harsin, who was on one of the hottest seats in college football, was 9-12 overall and 4-9 in the SEC in less than two full seasons as the Tiger’s head coach after arriving from Boise State. Now that Harsin has been relieved of his duties, Auburn players have a 30-day window to enter the NCAA transfer portal.
Last week tight end Landen King, wide receiver Tar’Varish Dawson, cornerback A.D. Diamond and defensive lineman Zykevious Walker each announced their intent to enter the portal. Now, they can officially do so.
The reasons Harsin was not successful at Auburn are many but, for our purposes, we look at the five impactful transfers to transfer during his tenure.
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A three-year starter, Nix entered the portal last December and announced his transfer to Oregon just over a month later. Nix came to Auburn under Harsin's predecessor, Gus Malzahn, who is now at UCF. He played in 34 games and threw for 7,251 yards and 39 touchdowns. He started 10 games for Auburn in 2021 before suffering a season-ending ankle injury against Mississippi State. Through eight games with the Ducks, Nix has thrown for 2,221 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 72.3 percent of his passes. He has also carried the ball 60 times for 441-yards and 11 touchdowns.
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Pegues came to Auburn as a tight end, and saw some action at fullback his freshman season, but moved to defensive tackle during Harsin’s first season. Last season, in a reserve role, he appeared in every game posting 17 tackles, two tackles for loss, and forced one fumble. Pegues entered the portal in January and transferred to Mississippi where he has 18 tackles, two tackles for loss and two sacks through eight games. He also has one rushing attempt for four yards.
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Tennison entered the portal last November and, like Pegues, transferred to Ole Miss. He started two games in the 2020 and 2021 seasons and was a key contributor on special teams as a hard-hitting tackler. He appeared in 21 games in two seasons with the Tigers, including every game as a true freshman, seeing action in the secondary and deep on kick returns. Through nine games with the Rebels, Tennison has posted 36 tackles – 19 solo – seven tackles for loss, one sack and has recovered two fumbles.
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Losing an experienced offensive lineman hits different. Manning appeared in 30 games for Auburn during his career at guard. Last season the 6-foot-4, 330-pounder appeared in all 12 games, saw time at both left and right guard and started the final three games of the season. Like Tennison and Pegues, Manning chose to stay in the SEC by transferring to Kentucky for his final season of eligibility after spending five seasons at Auburn. Manning has started each game for Kentucky this season.
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Height entered the portal in January and committed to USC less than two weeks later. A reserve edge linebacker, Height posted 18 tackles and three tackles for a loss in his two seasons at Auburn. Expected to compete for playing time at rush end, Height sustained a season-ending injury during Week 2.