Auburn WR reverses course on transfer intentions, will be back with Tigers in 2026
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Auburn wide receiver Sam Turner has had a change of heart, so instead of heading to the transfer portal he’s staying on the Plains for the 2026 season.
The true freshman who was a highly coveted recruit from the Class of 2025 had told On3 on Wednesday afternoon that he was headed to the portal when it officially opened on Friday. But just 4 days later, the 6-foot-2, 207-pound product of Decatur, Ga., took to his own social media to announce that he wasn’t going anywhere, instead choosing to stay on for Alex Golesh‘s first season as head coach at Auburn.
Turner wrote on social media on Sunday: “God you will. Nothing More. Nothing Less. Nothing Else.”
Despite the lofty expectations for Turner in 2025, he didn’t make an impact, appearing in only 3 games, playing a combined 27 snaps and catching 0 passes. According to Pro Football Focus, Turner was targeted 2 times back in Week 2 in Auburn’s victory over Ball State, but obviously he failed to catch a pass in that game or in any game this season.
At the time of Wednesday’s report about Turner being headed to the portal, he was the 6th Auburn receiver to reveal that he was headed elsewhere for the 2026 season. His change of course though alleviates some of the sting that the Tigers have already felt at the position this offseason.
Auburn wide receivers Cam Coleman, Horatio Fields and Malcolm Simmons had already made it known that they were heading to the portal, but Turner won’t be, as it turns out.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
