Arlis Boardingham calls return to SEC with Auburn 'opportunity of a lifetime'

When tight end Arlis Boardingham chose to move on from his days at University of Florida, he did not know what exactly was next for him in his journey, whether it was how his career would play out or where he would go.

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Little did he know, his road circled him back around to the part of the country that got him started in his collegiate career, a place far away from where he grew up in Van Nuys, California.

“The opportunity is one of a lifetime for me,” Boardingham said. "I didn’t really know where I would go out of the portal, I didn’t know what my future would look like for college football, so just being able to one, get back into the SEC and two, be a player for Auburn, is a dream.”

Boardingham was sidelined for his 2025 season at Bowling Green with an injury, which he has since recovered from and regained full health.

Despite the challenges he faced like any athlete going through rehab, Boardingham got through things smoothly. However, taking on a new offensive scheme that is complex has taken some time to adjust to.

Getting to now be fully involved in the offense and compete for a significant role on the field, Boardingham has sensed a heavy improvement from spring to fall.

“I feel like from spring to fall, I feel like the details in terms of what I’m doing is way more refined,” Boardingham said. “Just being able to get in there and get those live reps, those mental reps are always important and you need those, but being able to get that experience on the field is equally important as well.”

The tight end has been harping on his route running and hand placement when blocking, trying to note more critiques he can make himself in order to go out and execute in drills.

Fellow senior Jake Johnson has noticed his attention to detail, which was a good impression to set.

“Arlis has been awesome,” Johnson said. “He’s a fifth year guy as well. We’re just going out and competing. He’s also been a leader. We’re just trying to bring the whole tight end room along and really just going out there and competing, showing every guy in the tight end room what it looks like to go out there and do our job. He’s been great for the tight end room and highly respected.”

The bond that the Boardingham has with Johnson is reciprocated as well, as the Florida transfer emphasized just how much Johnson makes him on a daily basis.

“It’s actually a great experience,” Boardingham said. “We get to work off each other. He sees things that I don’t, I see things that he don’t and it’s really just a healthy competition between us to just work hard and work off each other. If I see him running, I’m picking it up. If he sees me running, he’s picking it up. We’re always in competition to get beeter with each other.”

Boardingham senses that with the tight end room being versatile, there is a chance for the room to be utilized heavily on the field. 

It helps both him as a player and the team as a whole, something he is excited about going into the 2026 campaign.

“We have a lot of guys in the room that can do a lot of different things,” Boardingham said. “We have guys who are bigger, who are faster, speedier route runners, who are more of blockers, so we have all that versatility which helps us down the long run in any play we can run.”

Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.