Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.
The transfer portal never stops grinding. On Tuesday, days after UAB transfer Tony Fair trimmed his list of top schools down to Auburn, Indiana and Ole Miss, the Tigers pulled in the commitment from the talented defensive tackle.
Recruiting: Fair initially committed to Nebraska over Indiana during the summer leading up to his 2019 JUCO season, but then he and the Huskers parted ways in early December. Back on the market, UAB, the Hoosiers and Louisiana were considered, but it was the Blazers who grabbed his commitment.
At UAB: In his two seasons at UAB, Fair totaled 56 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles and one sack.
Farrell’s Take: Defensive tackles are at a premium in the portal and Fair has become immediately quite popular. As a MIdwest kid I thought he could end up in the Big Ten but playing at UAB and being pursued by Auburn was too much to pass up. He's a massive kid who can not only make it tough sledding in the run game but he has some bounce in his step as a quarterback chaser. He's done very well against Power Five competition and he could be an instant help in the defensive tackle rotation at Auburn.
Impact Meter: 8.1 out of 10
IMPACT METER
The Transfer Portal continues to change the way college football programs recruit and manage their rosters so we here at Rivals.com continue to evolve our coverage. Each time a player of note enters the portal, we will examine their potential impact on the college football landscape and assign an impact rating, both when they enter the portal and when they choose a destination. The scale is from 1-10 and the description below explains the scoring scale.
1.1-4.0 — Not a big impact expected, likely a non-starter and down the bench depth player.
4.1- 6.0 — A solid impact can be expected in the right scenario and has the potential to battle for a starting job.
6.1-9.0. — A high impact player who won’t change a program but will certainly be a very good contributor and starter.
9.1- 9.9 — A very high impact player who should start the moment he steps on the field and will change the outlook of a program immediately.
10 — A franchise transfer who has a chance to be an All American and one of the elite players in college football.
