Rising junior Sylvester Smith will return to Auburn for the 2026 season, electing not to enter the transfer portal and providing the Tigers with another important piece at the safety position.
He announced his plans on social media Sunday morning with a post saying, “I’m back,” paired with photos from this past season. Independent sources confirm to AuburnSports that Smith is indeed planning to return to the program for another season.
Smith joins youngsters AnQuon Fegans and Eric Winters in announcing his return. Kaleb Harris and Champ Anthony are also expected to return at the safety and/or nickel positions.
Smith has been a steady contributor through the first two seasons of his Auburn career, totaling 59 tackles, two sacks and one interception. His lone career interception came this past season at Arkansas. Smith totaled 11 tackles in the last four games of the 2025 season.
In 2025, Smith logged 290 defensive snaps and graded as Auburn’s 12th-best defender among players who appeared in more than 100 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. While that snap count represented a decrease from the 438 snaps he played in 2024, Smith remained an efficient and reliable option when on the field. As a redshirt freshman in 2024, Smith was Auburn’s 22nd-best defender among players who appeared in more than 100 snaps, according to PFF.
Smith’s decision to return gives Auburn another experienced piece to build around as the staff continues to shape the roster and evaluate roles heading into the offseason. With two years of game experience already under his belt, Smith will enter the spring as a player with an opportunity to expand his role moving forward.
Smith and the rest of the safeties will be playing in the same DJ Durkin defense, but with new coaching, as Tim Banks joins the staff to coach the safety position.
For Auburn, retaining Smith avoids another potential hole in the secondary during a volatile portal cycle and keeps a proven, developing defender in the fold. Same with Fegans, Winters, and the expected Harris and Anthony.
Following the Ball State game this past fall, when Smith recorded a career-high six tackles, former head coach Hugh Freeze praised Smith’s efforts.
“It was really nice to see because we challenged him pretty good after the Baylor game. I know his snaps may not be significant from the past years but, he has some experience we need to be a voice back there to settle us down if we are creating some bust on our own,” Freeze said. “We need him to lead, and I thought he responded to our challenge very well and played a really solid football game. He played physical and tackled well and his MAs (missed assignments) were way down, so really proud of him.”