aubiefifty

si.com Auburn Reaches An 'Elite' Defensive Back Class Status If KJ Bolden Becomes A Tiger Brian Smith 4–5 minutes The final piece to Auburn's defensive back class reaching elite status could be current Florida State commitment, KJ Bolden. The #1 safety recruit by each of Rivals, On3, 247, and ESPN is still an option for Hugh Freeze and the Tigers. To show his interest in the Tigers, Bolden recently tweeted the following picture of Freeze and himself after meeting with the Auburn head coach: There's been speculation on Bolden signing with any one of Florida State, where's currently committed, Auburn, or Georgia. It's been a long recruiting process to get to this point. Bolden has been sought after by numerous programs around the country including but not limited to Auburn, Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida State. He's recently also had in-home visits with Georgia's Kirby Smart and Florida State's Mike Norvell. To date, Bolden's recruitment has been as highly contested as any prospect in the country and he's expected to make a final decision on Dec. 20, National Signing Day. Now, let's discuss what Auburn would be combining the 6-foot and 180-pound safety from Buford (Ga.) with if he did flip his verbal commitment from the Seminoles to the Tigers on National Signing Day. Auburn has five verbal commitments for their future secondary as of Dec. 14. It's a list of versatile defensive backs with each one possibly able to play multiple positions for the Tigers. Here's each player that already pledged to Freeze and the Tigers: Jalyn Crawford, Cornerback, Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview A'Mon Lane, Cornerback, Moody (Ala.) High School Kensley Faustin, Defensive Back, Naples (Fla.) High School Kaleb Harris, Safety, Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson Laquan Robinson, Safety, Greenville (Ala.) High School / Goodman (Miss.) Holmes Community College Now, why Bolden's commitment would solidify Auburn's defensive back class as one of the nation's best. With the all-around talents of the aforementioned five defensive backs, adding them with Bolden provides the Tigers with incredible flexibility with different defensive packages. Spread-formation football means matchups have been king. A defensive back who's shown the ability to play nickel and safety, as one example, probably has more value than a player who's only been successful as a cornerback, going against the spread. That's why there's good news for the Tigers. Bolden could play about any skill spot, and each of the other five Auburn defensive back commitments could at least play one additional spot as well. For instance, Faustin could be a nickel for the Tigers when they go against a team that uses a tight end or a traditional shifty receiver in the slot. As another example, Robinson could play either safety position by being impactful in the box or playing centerfield. There's also another key component to consider. Numbers. Auburn's defensive back depth needed upgrading and the first five secondary commitments have helped that department greatly. Bolden would be the icing on the cake and another potential impact recruit for the Tigers. Bolden signing with Auburn would give the Tigers an outstanding defensive back class; an elite defensive back class. This has been and continues to be a recruitment that Auburn fans should follow closely.

montgomeryadvertiser.com What Auburn football's activity in the transfer portal says about what Hugh Freeze wants 4–6 minutes AUBURN — Auburn football accepted 20 players from the transfer portal last offseason. Coach Hugh Freeze and his staff likely won't take as many this time around, but there's still some spots on the roster to upgrade. The Tigers have already landed one transfer this cycle in former Georgia State receiver Robert Lewis, who hauled in 70 passes for 877 yards in 2023 and committed to Auburn on Sunday. Lewis is one of six portal receivers the Tigers have shown interest in, joining Jared Brown (Coastal Carolina), Deion Burks (Purdue), Will Sheppard (Vanderbilt), Caullin Lacy (South Alabama) and Zavion Thomas (Mississippi State). Brown, Burks and Sheppard have since committed elsewhere, but Lacy and Thomas remain on the board. Auburn's activity signals the Tigers are still looking to rework the position group, and that's in spite of them currently holding commitments from four receivers — five-star recruits Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson and four-star prospects Bryce Cain and Malcolm Simmons — in the Class of 2024. RECRUITING:How Auburn football can finish with a top-10 haul in the Class of 2024 GET GOING:Establishing Hugh Freeze's offseason to-do list, and how he's already started But receiver is not the only position in which Freeze and his staff are heavily targeting. Auburn has been in contact with at least six offensive linemen in the portal: Matthew Bedford (Indiana), Fernando Carmona (San Jose State), Alan Herron (Shorter University), Easton Kilty (North Dakota), Mak Pounders (Memphis) and Gerquan Scott (Southern Miss). Carmona and Pounders are the only two left uncommitted, and both have played offensive tackle in their careers. Could the Tigers simply be looking for a swing OT to place behind returning starters Dillon Wade (left tackle) and Izavion Miller (right tackle)? Possibly, or perhaps they have a plan to push Wade inside to guard — he's a bit undersized for an OT at 6-foot-3 — and start the newcomer. Either way, it doesn't hurt Auburn to add talent; it's about finding the best five linemen and getting them on the field together. The Tigers have also gone after a handful of players on the other side of the line of scrimmage, which became a big need after standout senior Marcus Harris announced his declaration for the 2024 NFL Draft on Tuesday. Harris, who totaled career-high marks in tackles (40), tackles for loss (11) and sacks (7), was clearly Auburn's best defensive lineman in 2023. Derrick Harmon (Michigan State), Chris McClellan (Florida), Joey Slackman (Penn) and Nate Clifton (Vanderbilt) are all D-linemen who've claimed offers from Auburn since they entered the portal. Clifton, however, announced his commitment to USC on Sunday. Harmon would be a big get for the Tigers. His overall defensive grade from PFF of 78.4 ranks No. 49 nationally amongst FBS defensive linemen, and his run defense grade of 81.1 led D-linemen in the Big Ten. Auburn has also kicked the tires for players in the secondary, dealing out at least eight offers to cornerbacks Akili Arnold (Oregon State), Syeed Gibbs (Rhode Island), Will Lee III (Kansas State) Jermod McCoy (Oregon State) and Ethan Robinson (Bucknell) and safeties Preston Hodge (Liberty), Kobe Savage (Kansas State) and Jakobe Thomas (Middle Tennessee). Both Lee and Robinson pledged elsewhere Sunday, with the former choosing Texas A&M and the latter selecting Minnesota. With starting cornerbacks DJ James and Nehemiah Pritchett off to the NFL and star safety Jaylin Simpson accepting his Reese's Senior Bowl invite, the Tigers are going to have spots to fill in the defensive backfield. Young players such as Champ Anthony, Kayin Lee and JD Rhym, along with junior college commitment Laquan Robinson, will help in offsetting the aforementioned losses, but Freeze and his staff are clearly interested in at least adding some depth. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Auburn's portal activity, though, is the lack of quarterback buzz. The Tigers haven't been directly linked to any of the top transfer QBs, which bodes well for Payton Thorne heading into his second season on the Plains. Unless something changes, and it always can, Auburn looks to have a plan: Upgrade the talent around Thorne and roll with the former Michigan State QB in Year 2. Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18,

my band used to play at Katz. fran somebody was the owner and at one time the second leading receiver in state history. and i remember bill at oxford high. he was always a fun read in the papers.

i hate this. i knew rick burgess of rick and bubba from back in the day. he told some funny stories about his father. coach was standing out on the practice field getting into his players behinds a little bit. one player kept trying to interupt and he would not let him speak. finally he asked the player "WHAT"! the kid said coach you are standing on an ant bed. without flinching coach told the kid "i know i am and i am trying to show you men how to be tough! that is a true story and it is as close as my memory will allow. call rick or tune in as i bet he tells some wonderful stories. i can say from living in anniston off and on coach was verymuch loved..............

saturdaydownsouth.com Auburn remembers Bill Burgess, former player and Jacksonsville State coach, who died at 82 Grant Bricker | 18 hours ago 2–3 minutes Auburn mourned the loss of former player Bill Burgess on Wednesday. Burgess played running back for the Tigers from 1961-1962 and died at the age of 82. He is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and was the coach at Jacksonville State for 12 seasons. Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Alvin Briggs shared some insight into the kind of person Burgess was as a coach. Burgess took pride in preparing players for life after football. “We are indeed saddened to learn of Coach Bill Burgess’ death,” Briggs said. “He was a legendary coach and strong leader who helped mold his teams and players into champions – several former players following him into the coaching profession. He was a mentor to so many and always a gentleman of outstanding character and faith. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to the many student-athletes who had the opportunity to play on one of his teams.” Burgess had an overall record of 79-22-4 while with the Gamecocks. He won the 1992 Division II National Coach of the Year award at Jacksonville State. Coaches don’t have to have an interest in their players lives, but Burgess did. The game of college football lost a great example of what it means to be a coach. TRENDING 58,148 READS 51,772 READS 23,016 READS Grant Bricker Grant Bricker was a former freelancer for The News TN in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. He now freelances for Saturday Football. Follow on Twitter @GrantBricker.

thank you golf for getting my rear end out of the fire! i am not sure how many favs i owe now but they are building up..................may your stroke be beautiful and your wife amazed...............grins

i apologize folks for this ending up in media. i am old and sometimes my best is not what it should be. i do keep on trying for you guys.

i guess i lied. when the highlights show up i willpost them.

our kicker never missed a single kicklast year! and we need some KY because we got screwed with the 24 schedule. anyway you guys have fun out there today.

cbs42.com Auburn defensive lineman Marcus Harris declares for NFL draft Associated Press 1–2 minutes Auburn All-Southeastern Conference defensive tackle Marcus Harris says he will skip his final season to enter the NFL draft. Harris, who was a first-team Associated Press All-SEC pick, made the announcement in a social media post Tuesday night. The 6-foot-3, 295-pounder made 40 tackles with 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks this season, easily the best of his college career. He didn’t indicate if he would play in Auburn’s Music City Bowl game against Maryland on Dec. 30. Harris transferred from Kansas after the 2020 season. He had 11 sacks and 23 1/2 tackles for loss in 37 games with the Tigers, making 97 tackles. His younger brother, Pike Road (Alabama) High School defensive lineman Malik Blocton, has already signed to play for Auburn next season. ___

si.com Alex McPherson will be a weapon for the Auburn Tigers in 2024 Andrew Stefaniak ~2 minutes Alex McPherson will be one of the best kickers in college football next season. One of the most underappreciated positions in college football is the kicker. Kickers don't get much praise when they do well, but a ton of hate when they don't make a kick. An Auburn Tiger that hasn't been discussed enough is kicker Alex McPherson, who was a perfect 13-13 on-field goals this season, including three kicks in the 40-49 yard range and a 53-yarder. McPherson was also a perfect 39-39 on the season, kicking extra points. This means not one time this season did an Auburn fan have a reason to be upset at a field goal kicker. The Tigers have been blessed with some really good kickers over the last few years, and that trend will continue during McPherson's career on the Plains. Heading into this season, we didn't really know what we had with McPherson, as he only kicked seven field goals in 2022, making six of them. We assumed he was going to be great, but needed to see it this season to be sure. McPherson sure did exceed expectations, as he didn't miss a single kick for the Tigers this season. Hugh Freeze has to feel great heading into the 2024 season, knowing anytime a drive stalls while he would much rather have a touchdown, he is all but certain to get three points. It needs to be discussed more how good McPherson was for the Auburn Tigers this season.