Auburn adds Maryland transfer, 7th-year LB, to 2024 roster
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Auburn has made a late addition to its 2024 football roster.
The program announced the signing of Fa’Najae Gotay on Thursday. Gotay is a transfer linebacker from Maryland entering Year 7 of his college football career.
Signed and ready to WORK ✍️
Welcome to Auburn, @fa_gotay!
Fort Myers, Florida
Linebacker pic.twitter.com/4qgPMYZdIV— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) July 11, 2024
A former North Fort Meyers (Florida) High School standout, Gotay arrived at Maryland in 2018.
Year 1, Gotay made 4 appearances, taking a redshirt. As a redshirt freshman, he played in 9 games Year 2.
The 2020 season, Gotay’s Year 3, did not count against any player’s NCAA eligibility due to COVID-19. Maryland would play only five games, with Gotay appearing in four contests.
Gotay’s Year 4 was cut short as he suffered a season-ending injury in the 2021 season opener against West Virginia. Though Gotay used the limited participation redshirt for 2018, he was granted a medical redshirt for 2021, further extending his eligibility.
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Gotay’s Year 5 was the 2022 season. He returned from his lost 2021 season, making 11 appearances for the ’22 squad, including 4 starts. He was eighth on the team with 37 tackles (25 solo), recording 0.5 sacks, the first interception of his career, and 1 forced fumble.
Last season, Gotay was a regular contributor in Year 6 of his career. He finished eighth on the team with 44 tackles (28 solo), a career-high, logging 2.5 sacks and 1 interception.
The Auburn coaching staff is plenty familiar with Gotay’s play. Gotay led the Maryland defense with 6 tackles (five solo) in the Terrapins’ Music City Bowl 31-13 win over AU on Dec. 31.
In his career, Gotay has 133 tackles, including 82 solo with 7 for loss and 3 sacks.
TBC….. pic.twitter.com/7seDqbrBgO
— Fa’najae Gotay (@fa_gotay) May 15, 2024
Hugh Freeze’s squad is 51 days out from kicking off the 2024 campaign. Auburn opens against Alabama A&M on Aug. 31 at home. The game is set for a 6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET kickoff in Jordan-Hare Stadium. It will stream on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
