Auburn DB Donovan Starr plans to enter NCAA transfer portal

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Auburn cornerback Donovan Starr plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, On3’s Pete Nakos has learned. Starr spent one season with the Tigers and will have three seasons of eligbility remaining.

Starr appeared in nine games for the Tigers on special teams and as a defensive reserve in 2025. However, he did not record any stats.

Starr played high school football for Ravenwood (TN), where he was a four-star recruit in the 2025 class. He ranked as the No. 150 overall player and No. 23 cornerback in the cycle according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services.

Auburn is coming off of a 5-7 finish this past season to miss a bowl game for the second straight year. The Tigers fired coach Hugh Freeze in the middle of his third season at the helm and hired USF coach Alex Golesh to replace him.

Donovan Starr is not the only Auburn player to announce his intention to enter the transfer portal in light of the coaching change. According to On3, 19 other players have already done so. That includes fellow cornerbacks Kayin Lee and Jay Crawford.

That number is only likely to increase once the portal officially opens in a little more than a week. It will be interesting to see how things shake up for the Tigers in the portal entering the Golesh era as they look to build their roster for next season.

Changes coming for the transfer portal this offseason

The 15-day transfer portal this offseason will be the only window, opening Jan. 2 and closing on Jan. 16. The NCAA opted to eliminate the spring transfer portal window for football, meaning this will be the only opportunity for student athletes to enter their names.

The move to a one-time-only portal is supposed to allow schools to finish their season with their entire team before the transfer portal opens. As has been the previous standard, athletes on College Football Playoff teams still playing would have 5 days beginning the day after their team’s final game to enter the transfer portal.

This season’s CFP semifinals are set for Jan. 8 and 9. The CFP national championship game is scheduled for Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

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