LOOK: Auburn quarterback Dematrius Davis sends farewell message to Tigers
Former Auburn Tigers quarterback Dematrius Davis entered the NCAA Transfer Portal last month after one season in the program. Now, nearly a month following his announcement sharing his intention to enter the portal, Davis has penned a farewell to the Auburn football program.
“Thank you to all of Auburn, I’ve made brothers for a lifetime and got to get great coaching from Coach Bobo and Coach Harsin,” Davis tweeted. “I’m so thankful to have spent my first 3 semesters in Auburn, AL.”
Davis, a former four-star recruit, was a national top 200 recruit and the 20th-rated quarterback in the 2021 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average.
As things currently stand, Davis is the 24th-rated quarterback to enter the transfer portal during this cycle. Among quarterbacks currently available in the portal, Davis is the fourth highest-rated signal caller remaining.
Davis hitting the portal takes away an option at quarterback for Auburn
After Bo Nix hit the portal and transferred to Oregon after last season, the Tigers were left with questions at the position entering spring ball. Auburn brought in Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada and LSU transfer TJ Finely, and the two were expected to compete with Davis for the starting quarterback job.
With Davis now heading elsewhere, Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin is down to two in the Tigers quarterback battle. When picking a starting quarterback, Harsin looks for a number of things when it comes to physical traits, but the mental side of things plays a big role, too. Davis might not be around anymore, but Harsin still has two quality options remaining when deciding on Auburn’s starting quarterback.
“When I see quarterbacks, I look for guys that can throw it, that can move, that can do all those things just to play the position, but there’s also a mentality that goes along with it. And I think Zach has it. I think all the guys at the quarterback position, that we have, have that as far as just toughness. Guys that will prepare themselves, guys that will make good decisions, that remains to be seen as we go into spring but you’ve got to be a tough dude.
“And you’ve got to be a guy that will stand in the pocket, will deliver. You’ve got to be somebody that will prepare themselves to make great decisions, will spend the time necessary to really understand what is needed from him at the quarterback position.”