Elijah Melendez becomes 5th Auburn football player with plans to return
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AUBURN — After seeing 30 players disclose plans to enter the transfer portal ahead of its opening Friday, Jan. 2, Auburn football had a notable day for roster moves, with four different players announcing Thursday they’d return to the Plains next season, the latest of which was linebacker Elijah Melendez.
Melendez joined fellow linebacker Demarcus Riddick and defensive linemen Jourdin Crawford and Malik Autry in announcing their plans to return Thursday. Linebacker Xavier Atkins announced the same earlier this month.
The rising sophomore Melendez was perhaps the most-productive player this past season from Auburn‘s top-10 2025 signing class. His 29 total tackles were a top-10 mark within the program, and that included three tackles for loss, two interceptions and one sack.
Who’s returning to Auburn football in 2026? Full list
- Auburn football players who have announced they’ll return in 2026
- DL Jourdin Crawford
- DL Malik Autry
- LB Demarcus Riddick
- LB Elijah Melendez
- LB Xavier Atkins
Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.To support Adam’s work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football LB Elijah Melendez announces plans to return for 2026
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