On The Plains with Arlis Boardingham: 'A big transition'

Transfer tight end Arlis Boardingham arrived on the Plains with high expectations and an experienced track record of playing in the Southeastern Conference.

A native of Van Nuys, California, Boardingham developed his passion for the game of football from his father and hasn’t looked back since. 

“My dad was a football player who played in college,” Boardingham said. “He played all his life. I feel like watching and sitting down with him or watching football every Sunday inspired me to play football and just knowing that he was a great player who played behind former players who went to the league is also an experience that I loved hearing about.”

Highly regarded as a four-star prospect coming out of Birmingham Community High School in California, Boardingham chose to begin his college career at Florida, where he transitioned to tight end for the first time in his playing career.

“I didn't start playing tight until I got to college,” he said. “I was a receiver my entire career, and I never even put my hand in the ground until I got to college. I was strictly a receiver and played some defensive end and safety in high school.”

The transition to tight end wasn’t an easy one at the start as Boardingham reflected on an injury that led to a redshirt year before he became a major contributor for two seasons, catching 44 passes for 417 yards and scoring six touchdowns with the Gators.

“In my first year of college football, I ended up getting hurt in the last scrimmage of fall camp and it ended up being a season-ending injury,” Boardingham said. “It was different because the strength you need to be able to move these big defensive ends and still have to carry that speed with you that you have as a receiver is something you don't always think about, but it was definitely a big transition for me.”

But he made the most of the transition and earned a handful of accolades in 2023, being named a FWAA Freshman All-American and a CFN Freshman All-American Honorable Mention.

Following two full years of playing time with the Gators, Boardingham transitioned to Bowling Green for a season before heading back to the SEC. For him, it was a no brainer to spend his final college football season with the Tigers this fall.

“Personally, I think it was being able to feel comfortable around the staff,” he said. “I think that they did a great job, especially on my visit to make me feel welcome. And just seeing how connected they are as a staff and how family driven they are, it's something that I look for, especially being in the back end of my career.”

Another key factor in the decision to choose Auburn was tight ends coach Larry Scott, whom he has developed a strong rapport with in his time on the Plains.

“Coach Scott is my guy,” Boardingham said. “Coach Scott actually had some ties back to Florida as well, and he knows some of the players that I previously played with in my freshman and sophomore years, so we have some familiarity there. He’s super relatable, super easy to talk to, and just a guy that wants the best for you, and he’s not afraid to tell you exactly how it is or what he's looking for.”

The transition back to the SEC has provided Boardingham the opportunity to share some of his insights and experiences with the underclassmen in the tight end room.

“I feel like when you've been in the system for so long, you have so much knowledge you can get to others, not just on a technique base, but just how the SEC works and how different it is from high school or different conferences that people have been in,” he said. “Being able to have that type of knowledge, it's easy for me to help the younger guys that you could tell might need some help here and there or that they might not know just how it works yet but helping them get along is very important.”

While the previous stops during his career have provided him valuable experience, Boardingham spoke about his transition of learning the offense run by head coach Alex Golesh and offensive coordinator Joel Gordon.

“It hasn't been easy, but I think that's something that's needed; oftentimes when offenses are easy, you start to lack the details, but this offense is forever changing,” Boardingham said. “It keeps you locked in. It keeps you focused. It was an adjustment because I've never been in an offense as unique as this one. But with that being said, it's a dialed-in offense that you have to be locked in for.”

He has already felt the connection of the Auburn Family during his first few months on campus and is looking forward to playing his first games in Jordan-Hare Stadium this fall.

“Being around the people so far, you feel how connected they are,” Boardingham said. “It's a strong fan base and you can feel it when you're in the city, that everybody in Auburn wants to be here. I think just seeing how many people attended games last year is just a testament that win, lose or draw, the Auburn Family is strong.

“I’m looking forward to going out on that first Saturday, seeing the crowd light up as we go through, going into the fourth quarter as we swag surf, and just all that experience that you see on TV, or you just kind of get a glimpse of, to really get that full experience as well.”

Looking at the big picture of the season, Boardingham has his goals set and is looking forward to displaying his ability this fall and showing what the tight end room is capable of as a whole.

“I want to be playing in January,” he said, “I want to go play for a championship. I want the tight end room to be known as one of the deepest and dangerous rooms in the country. I think we have guys in that room that are at an NFL level or can be at an NFL level.

“I also want to be regarded as one of the best tight ends in the country,” Boardingham added. “That's a goal that I had initially when I first got to college, and even with the ups and downs that have happened in the last couple of seasons, I feel like that's still something that I still see myself being able to do.”

Looking ahead to the future after his final season of college football, Boardingham has his sights on the NFL and on another goal outside of football.

“I do have aspirations to be able to own and basically be a business owner,” Boardingham said. “I want to own property. I want to be able to get into that world of being able to buy, resell, all that good stuff. The NFL is definitely something that I still aim for, and I think that I will get there. I just want to use the NFL as a building block to branch off into other businesses that I want to start.”