aubiefifty

al.com Former Auburn QB T.J. Finley back in transfer portal Updated: Jan. 16, 2024, 3:20 p.m.|Published: Jan. 16, 2024, 3:18 p.m. 2–3 minutes Quarterback TJ Finley (7) led Texas State to an 8-5 record and a victory over Rice in the First Responder Bowl in 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)AP By Creg Stephenson | cstephenson@al.com Quarterback T.J. Finley is back in the NCAA transfer portal, seeking perhaps his fourth school in five years. Finley signed with LSU out of high school in 2020 and spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons at Auburn before transferring last season to Texas State, where he passed for 3,439 yards and 24 touchdowns and helped the Bobcats to their first-ever bowl game. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Finley announced his decision to re-enter the portal via Instagram on Tuesday, with the caption “Thank you Texas State! Business is business!” Texas State quarterback T.J. Finley announced Tuesday he is re-entering the NCAA transfer portal. (Instagram screengrab)Creg Stephenson/cstephenson@al.com Texas State got a commitment on Monday from former Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura. Finley had announced last week he was headed back to Texas State for the 2024 season, but apparently was caught off-guard by de Laura’s arrival. The 6-foot-7, 255-pound Finley passed for 941 yards and five touchdowns in five games as a true freshman at LSU in 2020. He started five games in 2021 at Auburn amid injuries to Bo Nix, passing for 827 yards and six touchdowns with one interception. Finley started Auburn’s 2022 season opener vs. Mercer after Nix transferred to Oregon, but came off the bench behind Robby Ashford in the next three games before sitting out the rest of the season and taking a redshirt year. He started all 13 games at Texas State this past season.

al.com Mountain Brook 2-time All-state running back commits to Auburn Published: Jan. 16, 2024, 7:26 p.m. 2–3 minutes Mt Brook Cole Gamble (19) carries the ball as Clay-Chalkville DÕangelo Barber (6) tackles him during the first half of a high school football game Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, in Birmingham, Ala. Gamble has accepted a PWO to Auburn. (Photo/Butch Dill/preps@al.com)preps@al.com Mountain Brook two-time All-State running back Cole Gamble is headed to the Plains. The senior announced on social media Tuesday night he had accepted a preferred walk-on opportunity with the Tigers. “After a great visit on Saturday, I’m excited to announce my commitment to Auburn as a PWO,” Gamble said in a post on X. “Very appreciative of every coach and school that believed in me and gave me an opportunity. “Thank you to everyone at Mountain Brook for the support, coaching and relationships built along the way.” As a senior, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Gamble rushed for 2,041 yards and 29 touchdowns on 273 carries for coach Chris Yeager’s Spartans. As a junior, Gamble ran 200 times for 1,642 yards with 31 TDs and caught 10 passes for 123 yards in helping the Spartans to a 12-2 record and Class 6A championship game. Auburn LB Cam Riley, DB Donovan Kaufman expected to enter transfer portal Florida State flips Bama 4-star; continues to take advantage of coaching change Recruiting roundup: The latest on Saraland 5-star WR Ryan Williams, comparisons to DeVonta Smith Shawn Murphy becomes the latest Alabama transfer to pick Florida State Travaris Robinson to stay at Georgia after considering Alabama return, per reports If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

al.com New Orleans Saints fire former Auburn quarterback Updated: Jan. 16, 2024, 1:46 p.m.|Published: Jan. 16, 2024, 1:34 p.m. 3–4 minutes New Orleans Saints wide receivers coach Kodi Burns works during an NFL game against the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 26, 2023, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.(AP Photo/Danny Karnik) By Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com Since working as a graduate assistant on Gus Malzahn’s first staff at Auburn in 2013 and serving as Samford’s running backs coach in 2014, Kodi Burns had taken his coaching career all the way to the NFL. But after two seasons with the New Orleans Saints, Burns is out, along with offensive coordinator and offensive assistant Bob Bicknell, the NFL team announced on Tuesday. Jahmyr Gibbs up for annual NFL rookie honor Former Samford standout joins Baltimore Ravens Los Angeles Rams keep former Alabama tight end The Saints retained Dennis Allen as their head coach after a 9-8 showing in 2023 that brought his two-year record with New Orleans to 16-18. “I would like to thank Pete, Bob and Kodi for their service to the New Orleans Saints and to this coaching staff,” Allen said in a release from the team. “These types of decisions are never easy to come to but are necessary as we move forward. “I would especially like to thank Pete for his contributions to this staff for 18 seasons. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the job he has done and as a colleague.” Carmichael came to New Orleans as the quarterbacks coach on Sean Payton’s original staff with the Saints in 2006. He became the offensive coordinator in 2009, when New Orleans won the Super Bowl, and stayed on the staff when Allen moved up from defensive coordinator. Before his coaching career, Burns was a versatile player at Auburn, capping his time on the Plains as a member of the 2010 undefeated BCS national-championship team. In four seasons at Auburn, Burns completed 111-of-225 passes for 1,312 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions, ran for 799 yards and 14 touchdowns on 214 carries and caught 16 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Burns returned to the Tigers to work as co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach from 2016 through 2018 and passing-game coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2019 and 2020. Between Auburn and the Saints, Burns was Tennessee’s wide receivers coach during the 2021 season. FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

Miami Dolphins sign former Auburn wide receiver Updated: Jan. 15, 2024, 9:21 p.m.|Published: Jan. 15, 2024, 9:10 p.m. 4–5 minutes Cleveland Browns wide receiver Anthony Schwartz runs with the football during an NFL preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles during an NFL preseason game on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke) By Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com The Miami Dolphins signed former Auburn wide receiver Anthony Schwartz to a reserve/future contract on Monday, the NFL announced. A player signed to a reserve/future contract can be added to an NFL team’s roster when it expands from 53 to 90 players for the offseason on the first day of the NFL’s 2023 business year on March 13. The newly signed players become eligible to participate in offseason workouts, minicamps and OTAs as team members. Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts: ‘It’s simply not our turn’ Bucs bounce defending NFC champion Eagles out of playoffs Schedule set for NFL playoffs’ Divisional Weekend Only players who aren’t on NFL active rosters can sign reserve/future contracts. The Dolphins signed eight players from their practice squad to reserve/future contracts on Monday. Schwartz joined Miami’s practice squad on Nov. 13, but did not play in a 2023 regular-season game. Schwartz had been out of the NFL since the Cleveland Browns waived him from injured reserve on Sept. 19. When the Browns reduced their preseason roster to the regular-season limit of 53 players in August, they had waived Schwartz. But because he had a hamstring problem, he carried an injury designation and reverted to Cleveland’s injured reserve when he went unclaimed on waivers. The Browns selected Schwartz in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Schwartz started his NFL career with three receptions for 69 yards in Cleveland’s 33-29 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 12, 2021, but he never reached either of those stats again in 24 more games with the Browns. Schwartz had 14 receptions for 186 yards and one touchdown, 10 rushing attempts for 96 yards and one touchdown and 15 kickoff returns for a 21.5-yard average with Cleveland. Schwartz became the 15th player from an Alabama high school or college to sign a reserve/future contract since the end of the 2023 NFL regular season. The others include: · Offensive lineman Chandler Brewer (Florence) signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. · Running back Spencer Brown (Mortimer Jordan, UAB) signed with the Carolina Panthers. · Safety Shyheim Carter (Alabama) signed with the Tennessee Titans. · Defensive end DJ Coleman (Jacksonville State) signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. · Offensive lineman D.J. Fluker (Foley, Alabama) signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. · Cornerback Allan George (Andalusia) signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. · Cornerback Tae Hayes (Decatur) signed with the New York Jets. · Wide receiver Shedrick Jackson (Hoover, Auburn) signd with the Cincinnati Bengals. · Tight end Jordan Matthews (Madison Academy) signed with the Carolina Panthers. · Tight end John Samuel Shenker (Auburn) signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. · Offensive lineman Lachavious Simmons (Selma) signed with the Tennessee Titans. · Wide receiver Cam Sims (Alabama) signed with the Carolina Panthers. · Outside linebacker Jordan Smith (UAB) signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. · Center Darryl Williams (Bessemer City) signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

al.com Hugh Freeze called continuity ‘invaluable.’ But Auburn has only faced change. Published: Jan. 16, 2024, 6:15 a.m. 5–6 minutes "I don't need someone to tell me I didn't get it done" says Hugh Freeze after Maryland pounds Auburn A man who was soon to be fired and another about to leave waited outside the interview room set up at the Gaylord Opryland resort in Nashville, Tennessee. On the other side of the doors, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze told reporters how continuity on a coaching staff is “invaluable.” A reporter had asked Freeze about keeping his staff together because — as of that Dec. 29 afternoon fewer than 24 hours before the Music City Bowl — Auburn hadn’t made any changes. Certainly, continuity is Freeze’s goal. But in his response, he hinted that it wasn’t going to happen. “We live in times where I doubt very seriously that all of the coaching changes are over,’ Freeze said on Dec. 29. “It’s probably just now getting ready to pick up. Who knows exactly what everybody’s staff will look like in a month from now.” The next day, Auburn’s offense put up one of its worst performances of the season in a 31-13 loss to Maryland in the Music City Bowl. Payton Throne threw for 84 yards and re-opened a quarterbacks competition Freeze thought he’d closed. It left Freeze with a clear decision. After a season sputtering out like that, continuity wasn’t going to be an option. So he fired offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery on Jan. 5, one of the men waiting outside that door. Soon after, it was reported defensive coordinator Ron Roberts would leave for Florida after what was regarded to be a personal fit that just didn’t work. Auburn’s new offensive coordinator will be its seventh in seven years. The new defensive coordinator with be the fifth in five years. It will be five consecutive seasons where Auburn has a first-year offensive coordinator and first-year defensive coordinator. Continuity may be invaluable, but Auburn has been nowhere close to it. “I don’t know that I ever feel like I took over a program and I got every single hire in the whole building right the first time because you’re just so crazy with recruiting,’ Freeze said before the Music City Bowl. “So I think there’s always the evaluation from our chair of can we improve ourselves some way.” Freeze’s goal when he hired Montgomery was someone who would take charge of the offense and allow him to focus on recruiting. And while Freeze was able to land a top-10 class, the offense suffered when Freeze wasn’t a hands-on participant in game-planning. Freeze said after the Music City Bowl disappointment that he wasn’t involved with the prep because he was on the recruiting trail. Montgomery and Roberts were two Freeze hires that did not work out. Freeze will have to hire again to replace them. He hasn’t fully filled the open spots on the staff. On Friday, Auburn announced the hire of Charles Kelly as Auburn’s co-defensive coordinator who will help with the defensive backs. Secondaries coach Wesley McGriff is back listed on Auburn’s coaching staff after being announced by Texas A&M as taking a job with new head coach Mike Elko’s staff. Hiring Kelly as a “co-defensive coordinator” implies Auburn will have someone teamed up with him. It isn’t clear exactly who that will be just yet. Auburn has also yet to make a hire to fill Montgomery’s spot. Ole Miss associate head coach Derrick Nix, Freeze’s former running backs coach at Ole Miss, has been reportedly linked to the job. But the lack of continuity has stretched into hires Freeze didn’t make, too. Former running backs coach Cadillac Williams, who was brought back under former head coach Gus Malzahn, resigned on Jan. 11. Former defensive backs coach Zac Etheridge, hired by the Bryan Harsin staff, resigned on Jan. 12. Williams and Etheridge and Auburn alumni. Both are gonna after one year of Freeze’s tenure. Kelly, another Auburn alum with his background in the secondary, will seemingly fill Etheridge’s spot. Auburn has had five head coaches since 2020 including Williams’ interim stretch and a one-game under Kevin Steele. Auburn hasn’t won a bowl game since 2018. It has had three consecutive losing seasons. It hasn’t been ranked since 2021. It hasn’t had a double-digit win season since 2017. Winning takes continuity. Auburn hasn’t had it. “Continuity is invaluable,” Freeze said. “Driving the same culture, the same voice from the staff rooms to the position rooms, and hopefully from the position rooms to the locker rooms is when you get to be a special team. It starts with the staff believing the same things and saying the same things and not wavering from those.” Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

al.com With 3-0 SEC start, Auburn climbs up to No. 13 in AP top 25 poll Published: Jan. 15, 2024, 12:04 p.m. ~2 minutes AUBURN, AL - JANUARY 13 - Auburn's K.D. Johnson (0) during the game between the #16 Auburn Tigers and the LSU Tigers at Neville Arena in Auburn, AL on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. Photo by Zach Bland/Auburn TigersZach Bland/Auburn Tigers After a 2-0 week, Auburn jumped up three spots in the AP Poll released on Jan. 15 to be ranked No. 13. Auburn beat both Texas A&M and LSU in Neville Arena last week to improve its record to 14-2. Auburn sits atop the SEC alongside Alabama as the only 3-0 teams in league play. Alabama is not ranked. Auburn has won nine consecutive games since the Dec. 3 loss to Appalachian State. The Tigers’ jump comes after a week where much of the top 25 around Auburn struggled. Fourteen teams in last week’s top 25 poll lost a game. That includes four of the top five teams and seven of the top 10. Houston and Oklahoma, both of which were ranked in the top 10 last week, lost twice. Auburn continues to be rated even better in computer metrics. KenPom has Auburn as the No. 4 overall team and as one of only two teams with top 10 offensive and defensive efficiency ratings. Arizona is the only other. Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

they did not say. probably vacation.

for the record tigetrland will not be posting anything new until the 22nd which is monday of next week.

this is it sports fans. as always i will look again later. tigerland has not had a new football article in two days.

al.com ‘We knew how big it was’: Auburn capitalizes on spotlight, stuns Kim Mulkey and No. 7 LSU Published: Jan. 14, 2024, 6:33 p.m. 5–7 minutes LSU head coach Kim Mulkey went to her All-American. Trailing by two points, Angel Reese – LSU’s junior forward and last season’s Final Four Most Outstanding Player – dribbled the basketball down the floor with 15 seconds to play while her four teammates stood parallel to the baseline. It was LSU’s last resort. “I wasn’t getting anything out of every other thing we tried to do for 40 minutes,” Mulkey said when asked about isolating Reese with the game on the line. “So what the heck? Just do a 1-4 flat and let’s see.” Reese made her move to the rim, looking to sink the game-tying layup from the right block. But before she could collect the ball to move into her shot, she was greeted by Auburn’s JaMya Mingo Young, who was ready for the moment and stripped Reese of the ball. “I knew I had a clean shot at the ball,” Mingo-Young said. “So I just went for it.” After picking Reese’s pocket, Mingo-Young was tagged – first with a foul as Reese tried to reach back in and recover the ball, and then with celebratory punches from Auburn’s Honesty Scott-Grayson. Mingo-Young and Scott-Grayson tacked on a combined three free throws in the final 10 seconds of play, paving the way for Auburn to knock off the seventh-ranked LSU Tigers 67-62 With Sunday’s win at Auburn’s Neville Arena, Auburn (12-5, 1-3 SEC) notched its first SEC victory of the season, while No. 7 LSU (16-2, 3-1 SEC) saw it’s nation-leading 16-game win streak snapped. The line to get into Sunday’s matchup wrapped around the corners of Neville Arena with over an hour before tipoff. Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris and her team knew they’d be playing in front of a sizeable crowd when Mulkey and LSU’s star-studded roster came to town. However, Harris admitted telling her team she didn’t know who fans would be coming to see. “We knew how big it was,” Harris said of the matchup against LSU, which was the first time since 2004 that an Auburn women’s basketball game was televised on ESPN’s flagship network. “We knew it was going to be a big crowd. We wasn’t sure how much of the crowd was coming to see us, or how much was coming to see LSU.” All Harris and her squad knew was they wanted to give Sunday’s record crowd for a women’s basketball game in Neville Arena a reason to come back. And by all accounts, knocking off the defending national champions is a way to do that. Right out the gate, Auburn came out with defensive intensity, holding LSU to just 15 first-quarter points, which put the Bayou Bengals on pace for a 60-point game – a remarkable feat considering LSU entered the afternoon with the nation’s best scoring offense at 93.8 points per game. “We knew Auburn would get into passing lanes and pressure you and make it very difficult to just make a pass,” LSU’s Mulkey said. “And we didn’t handle that very well.” At the close of the first quarter, Auburn maintained a 23-15 lead over LSU. Come the second quarter, however, LSU appeared to have settled in and was looking more like the seventh-ranked team in the country as it went on a 10-0 run in the opening minutes. LSU went on to outscore Auburn 22-11 in the second quarter, which gave the defending national champions a three-point lead at halftime. And while still a one-possession game, for a team as talented as LSU’s any advantage feels dangerous. “We wanted to come back out, just like in the first quarter, and get them on their heels,” Auburn’s Harris said of her halftime message. “We wanted to come back out and get a stop the first possession. We wanted to come out and score and then get a stop. We just kind of broke it down there – right there.” Evidently, Harris’ squad heard the message loud and clear as Auburn’s Kaitlyn Duhon scored the opening points of the second half and Auburn’s defense forced a quick turnover on the opposite end of the floor. Scoring off the turnover was Scott-Grayson, who made a jumper to put Auburn back out in front. Scott-Grayson went on to lead Auburn’s scorers with 21 points in a game that was “super personal” for her. “Coach Mulkey, I played for her my freshman year. Things didn’t go well. I don’t want to get too much into it,” said Scott-Grayson, who played for Mulkey at Baylor during the 2018-19 season. “But I’ve been waiting for this moment. And it came.” Leading LSU’s scoring efforts was Reese with 24 points. And while some of the folks in attendance might’ve decided to spend their Sunday afternoon at Auburn’s Neville Arena to put their eyes on some of the sport’s stars in Reese and Mulkey, Harris and her squad were going to make sure they left with reason to return -- regardless of what team is sitting on the opposing bench. Before the arena could clear and Harris went to be with her team in the locker room, Auburn’s rather soft-spoken head coach asked for a microphone. “You guys showed up and you guys showed out,” Harris said. “We appreciate you. Y’all come and support these ladies. They work their butts off and they’re getting better and better.” If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.