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Auburn OT Xavier Chaplin plans to enter NCAA Transfer Portal

Danby: Daniel Hager12/26/25DanielHagerOn3

Auburn OT Xavier Chaplin plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, On3’s Hayes Fawcett reports.

Chaplin started all 12 games at left tackle for the Tigers this season. Although Auburn compiled a disappointing 5-7 record, Chaplin earned a grade of 90% or higher in five games. His best game of the season (grade-wise) came in Auburn‘s 23-17 loss to Missouri on Oct. 18 (97% grade).

He was the No. 14 ranked transfer in the offseason’s On3’s Top Transfer Portal Players.

Prior to enrolling at Auburn, Chaplin was an All-ACC honorable mention at Virginia Tech. He was ranked as a three-star prospect and the No. 665 overall player in the 2022 class, according to the On3 Consensus. He was the No. 43-ranked OT in his class and the No. 8 overall player from the state of South Carolina, hailing from Whale Branch.

Alex Golesh hired as Hugh Freeze’s replacement at Auburn

Chaplin committed to head coach Hugh Freeze, who was hired at Auburn prior to the 2023 season. After two-and-a-half disappointing seasons however, Freeze was let go following the Tigers’ 4-5 start to the 2025 season. He was replaced by USF head coach Alex Golesh, who led the Bulls to a 9-3 record this season.

“It’s surreal,” Golesh said on the Dec. 3 edition of ‘SportsCenter‘ about taking over at Auburn. “You feel like you’re in a little bit of a movie. But this is something you sit down for and you plan ahead of time. We literally had every single hour planned out for the first six months. The plan is the plan. You obviously deviate a little bit as you go. You prioritize more than anything else. In my program and my personality, you prioritize the players that you’re coaching.”

“The opportunity to come into a place like Auburn and specifically to get here on the Plains… I mean, this is one of the premier jobs in the entire country. For me, I’ve dreamed of an opportunity like this. When this opportunity came about, you sprint with this. It’s life changing, not in the sense that the level that it’s at or what it really is. It’s life changing because this is one of the very few places in the country that you can come and win a national title at.”

Although the program made a coaching hire that excited the fanbase, Chaplin will not be sticking around for the new era. Coming out of high school, he committed to Virginia Tech over Georgia.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.