REPORT: Auburn Picks Up Commitment From Former Maryland Tight End

The Auburn Tigers have dipped into the transfer portal for former Maryland Terrapins tight end Preston Howard.

Tight end Preston Howard will join he Auburn Tigers from Maryland / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The Auburn Tigers picked up its second transfer portal addition of the day, landing the commitment of Preston Howard, a former Maryland tight end, Caleb Jones reported on X. Howard joins kicker Connor Gibbs as a new Tiger.

Howard, a 6-foot-4, 231-pound redshirt sophomore, made 37 receptions for 349 yards and one touchdown over his two seasons with the Terrapins.

According to On3, the Arbutus, Md. native is a three-star transfer and is currently the No. 20 tight end available in the portal. Coming out of high school, ESPN ranked Howard as a four-star athlete.

Tight end is a position that will have a new look for the Tigers in 2025. Rivaldo Fairweather, Auburn’s top contributor at the position since arriving on the Plains in 2023, caught 31 passes for 372 yards and two touchdowns in 2024.

Additionally, Auburn lost two tight ends to the portal this cycle in Grant Hidalgo and Micah Riley. The Tigers added two players at the position in its 2025 recruiting class, four-star Hollis Davidson and three-star Ryan Ghea.

The addition of Howard gives Auburn, who has landed 12 players in the portal so far, the No. 5 portal haul according to On3, placing it behind Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Michigan and Oregon. The Tigers’ 14 transfers away from the program ties them with Houston for the second-most of any team in the top 10 with 14 behind Michigan’s 21.

Howard is one of 19 Maryland players who have decided to insert their name into the transfer portal this cycle.

Click here to read about the 14 players who have announced their intention to transfer from Auburn as well as keep track of the Tigers’ activity in the portal.

Preston Howard Bio from Maryland Terrapins:

As a Redshirt Sophomore (2024):

• Three receptions for 15 yards vs. Rutgers (11/16)
• Two catches at Minnesota (10/26) & at No. 1 Oregon (11/9)
• 26 yards on two catches at Minnesota (10/26)
• Career-highs in receptions (5) and receiving yards (59) vs.
  Northwestern (10/11)
• 38 receiving yards on career-high tying three catches vs.
  Villanova (9/21)
• Career-high three catches for nine yards at Virginia (9/14)

As a Redshirt Freshman (2023):

• Appeared in all 13 games, starting in 11
• Tallied 160 yards on 13 receptions and one touchdown
• Caught first career touchdown to put Maryland ahead 14-0 in the first quarter of the TransPerfect Music City Bowl
• Totaled a career-high 49 receiving yards on two receptions at Rutgers (11/25)
• Tallied two receptions for 11 yards at Nebraska (11/11)
• Had two receptions for 16 yards vs. #9 Penn State (11/4)
• Caught one pass for 20 yards vs. Illinois (10/14)
• Tallied two catches for eight yards at #4 Ohio State (10/7)
• Had one reception for nine yards in each of the wins over Michigan State (9/23) and Indiana (9/30)
• Caught first pass of career, a 33-yard reception where he hurdled a defender to make the #SCTop10 in win over Virginia (9/15)
• Earned first start of career vs. Charlotte (9/9)

Redshirted in 2022

Before Maryland:

• Top-ranked offensive player in Maryland
• 6th-ranked player in Maryland overall, according to ESPN
• Played Quarterback at McDonogh, going 21-4 as starter 
• As a sophomore in 2019, completed 59.4% of his passes for 899 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions, while adding 540 yards and five touchdowns on 93 carries with two 100-yard rushing games.