Auburn went into the transfer portal looking for edge help after losing players such as Keldric Faulk and Keyron Crawford to the NFL, and Nate Johnson was one of the answers it brought in.
Johnson arrives in Auburn after spending the 2025 season at Missouri, giving the Tigers an experienced pass rusher with SEC time on his résumé. He began his career at Appalachian State before making that move to Missouri, then on to Auburn.
His numbers at Missouri were modest - six tackles and one tackle for loss across 10 appearances - but the people who lined up across from him in practice say the production doesn’t tell the full story.
“Auburn’s getting a dog,” Missouri linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez said at SEC Media Days. “Nate Johnson was a pretty good player for us. He works his butt off.”
Rodriguez wasn’t the only former teammate with praise. Missouri offensive lineman Cayden Green saw Johnson up close in practice and described a player who never let up.
“He was a high motor guy. You had to block through the whistle with him, or else he was going to get there,” Green said.
“He was a bigger guy, so he really knew how to play the run pretty well. So, yeah, I’m excited to see what he does at Auburn.”
Johnson’s best season came at Appalachian State in 2023, when he posted 43 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. Now he’ll battle Da’Shawn Womack, Jared Smith and others for snaps at Auburn, with his former Missouri teammates already expecting him to make his presence felt on the Plains.
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Gus Malzahn Buzz Is Stirring An Auburn What If Again
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Eli Drinkwitz has added to that chatter by describing Malzahn as the kind of coach who watches the game and might decide he wants one more shot on the sideline. For Auburn fans, the most natural what-if still feels like some kind of return to familiar ground, perhaps in a role that would let Malzahn stay connected without jumping straight back into the full grind, but for now it remains exactly that: a possibility, not a plan. [Read more 🡒]
Former Auburn Guard Aden Holloway Just Took A Surprising Step At Alabama
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The program calls for Holloway to meet several conditions, including community service, monthly payments, educational courses and drug screenings, along with other steps laid out by the school. It is a notable show of structure from Alabama for a player whose arrival already carried plenty of attention because of where he came from, and now the next phase depends on whether he can finish the process the university has put in front of him. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Just Took Another Painful In-State Recruiting Hit Up Front
Auburns push up front took another hit on the recruiting trail, this time with one of Alabamas best young defensive linemen choosing to go elsewhere. Karlos May, a highly regarded Birmingham prospect in the 2027 class, sits near the top of the national board for his position and remains one of the states most coveted players, the kind of in-state target Auburn usually needs to land when it is trying to build a defensive front that can hold up in the SEC.
Instead, the Tigers are left watching a player they chased as Ohio State continues stacking elite line talent in that class. Mays decision adds to the frustration for Auburn because the Buckeyes already have multiple defensive line commitments and now have another top-end piece in place, while Auburn has to keep sorting through the rest of its board and trying to avoid more losses to national powers in its own backyard. [Read more 🡒]