AUSTIN (KXAN) — With one year of eligibility left, Texas place kicker Bert Auburn is leaving the program.
He announced on social media Thursday that he will enter the transfer portal, leaving behind one of the most prolific kicking careers by a Longhorn.
“Thank you, Texas. Through all the ups and downs, these have been some of the best years,” he wrote. “It’s been an honor to be a Longhorn!”
He’s the program leader with 66 field goals from 2022-24, six more than Cameron Dicker hit from 2018-21. While his 2024 season didn’t end as well as most would have liked, it would have been hard to top what he did in 2023. He made a program-record 29 field goals in 35 attempts and was a perfect 56-for-56 on extra points.
Auburn is No. 2 on the Longhorns’ all-time scoring list for kickers with 373 points, trailing Dicker’s 386. Auburn didn’t miss an extra point in his career, making 175.
Auburn finished his Texas career 66-for-86 on field goals for 76.7% after a down year in 2024. He made 16 of 25 kicks this past season but missed two field goals late against Arizona State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. That led to head coach Steve Sarkisian going with Will Stone to kick against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Cotton Bowl Classic.
The Longhorns have Stone as well as redshirt freshman Spencer Barnett, but there’s an enticing option in the transfer portal that wouldn’t be hard to get to campus right away. Mason Shipley, a Liberty Hill native and Texas State kicker, said he’s transferring as a graduate and will have a year of eligibility left. He connected on 31 of 35 kicks for the Bobcats over three seasons and could help fill the void.
Shipley hit a 60-yard field goal last season and was 15-for-19. He was 15-for-15 in 2023 and was primarily the kickoff man in 2022, but made a 54-yard kick in his only attempt.
