Auburn football reaching out to former Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders

The Auburn Tigers are going after one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the transfer portal.

Lance Dawe | Dec 23, 2022

Auburn football reaching out to former Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders /

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Hugh Freeze tried for a couple of different portal quarterbacks. He's now trying for a third.

After Auburn had a cup of coffee with transfer portal signal-callers Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina) and Devin Leary (NC State), the Tigers have now turned their attention to a QB that some thought would be a solid fit in Freeze's the moment he entered the transfer portal - former Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders (per 247Sports' Chris Hummer).

Sanders, a four-year starter at Oklahoma State was the Big 12 offensive freshman of the year and made 2nd team All Big-12 in 2019. He has over 9,500 total yards and 67 touchdowns as a 61% passer. He is a grad transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.

ESPN analyst Tom Luginbill joined The Next Round a few weeks back to point out that Sanders would be a solid fit for Hugh Freeze.

"The first thing I thought when I saw Spencer Sanders going to the transfer portal is one, that he's using the extra year of eligibility, and two - he would look awfully good in a Hugh Freeze offense," Luginbill said.

As far as skill set goes, Sanders is strikingly similar to one of Freeze's best quarterbacks at Ole Miss. Take a look at his numbers in comparison to Bo Wallace (Ole Miss, 2012-14):

Stat Categories	Spencer Sanders	Bo Wallace
Passing Yards	9,553 yards	9,534 yards
Passing Yards Per Game	233.1 yards	244.5 yards
Passing Touchdowns Per Game	1.63 touchdowns	1.59 touchdowns
Completion Percentage	61.0%	63.0%
Rushing Yards	1,956 yards	944 yards
Rushing Yards Per Game	47.7 yards	24.2 yards
Rushing Touchdowns Per Game	0.44 touchdowns	0.49 touchdowns
Total Touchdowns Per Game	2.07 touchdowns	2.08 touchdowns

It's clear that Auburn is trying to find a quarterback to help the transition in Freeze's first year on the Plains while incumbent Robby Ashford develops behind him.

Whether or not the Tigers are able to land Sanders' services is yet to be seen. There are no crystal ball predictions on his final destination.