aubiefifty

si.com Auburn vs. Alabama: How the transfer portal QBs have fared for the fierce rivals Jack Singley 4–5 minutes The two transfers have fared differently under their new teams. Auburn and Alabama, two of the fiercest and proudest rivals in all of college football, managed to have some similarities this offseason regarding the transfer portal. The teams both got a starting quarterback, or so they thought. Fans, sports personalities, and journalists alike made these two acquisitions a competition, so let us look at how that competition ended up now that we are three weeks into the season. The build-up, for those who are out of the loop, includes two teams up north, Notre Dame and Michigan State. Tyler Buchner, who lost the starting job to Sam Hartman in spring camp, left the Fighting Irish and followed his former OC Tommy Rees to the Crimson Tide. Payton Thorne, the incumbent starter for the Spartans, lost his job to Noah Kim. In late May, Thorne transferred, securing the Tide and Tigers' new starters for the 2023 season. Buchner's departure from the Irish and his arrival to the Tide was much more acclaimed and heralded publically compared to that of Thornes at Auburn. With much more publicity came the take that Buchner would perform significantly better once the season kicked off and the Tide began rolling under the former ND duo. Fall camp came and went, and Buchner was nowhere to be found, sitting behind the announced starter Jalen Milroe and former five-star Ty Simpson. Thorne, however, managed to hold off Robby Ashford and Holden Gernier and was announced the starter before the season. Ashford did have snaps during the first three games in running packages and late in the Samford and UMass blowouts. Production-wise, Throne saw action in all three of Auburn's games and received over 80 percent of the snaps. Buchner has seen action in the Middle Tennessee State game as a late-game substitution for Milroe and then started against South Florida in one of the worst offensive performances in Nick Saban's tenure with Alabama. Thorne has completed 68 percent of his passes thus far, throwing 43 completions on 63 attempts with 517 yards. The touchdown-to-interception ratio could improve, as it is 4:3, but his rushing efforts have covered up this issue for the most part. Thorne has 140 yards on 22 attempts and two touchdowns. His performance against Samford was the most rushing yards from an Auburn QB since the dynamic Nick Marshall. Buchner has played significantly fewer snaps and against much inferior defenses. The reason for a lack of snaps seems evident with his on-field production. Throwing at a 42 percent completion rate, throwing 19 attempts, and only completing eight. Zero interceptions look amazing until you realize he has also thrown zero touchdowns. Buchner has only been responsible for two first downs through the air and two on the ground. Buchner has 20 rushing yards on three attempts and a touchdown. Through three weeks, the Thorne vs. Buchner debate doesn't seem to be much of a debate; it seems to be a blowout in favor of Thorne. In fact, the entirety of the Alabama QB room has performed worse than Thorne. A combined 55.4 completion percentage with 588 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions put them ahead in the touchdown-to-interception ratio but behind in yards and completion percentage. Thorne has also run the ball more effectively but has three fewer touchdowns than the Bama trio.

247sports.com Auburn Opponent Preview Texas AM defense Jason Caldwell 9–11 minutes Auburn takes on Texas A&M at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning on ESPN. It has been feast or famine for the Texas A&M defense through two weeks. Allowing a combined 13 points in wins over New Mexico and ULM, the Aggies showed their dominant side. That was far from the case in a loss to Miami when the Hurricanes ran over, around and through Texas A&M to the tune of 48 points and 451 yards of total offense in a week two game in Miami. Everything starts with a strong, physical front four that has controlled the running game through three games this season, with opponents averaging just 98.3 yards per game and 3.39 yards per carry. As a unit the defensive line has been a key part of the Aggies’ success in shutting down their opponents on third downs as they lead the league and rank third nationally allowing just seven conversions on 34 attempts this season, good for a 20.6 conversion percentage. “They’ve got a bunch of 5-stars in the defensive line and at linebacker and at safety and at corner,” Auburn’s Hugh Freeze said of the Texas A&M defense. “They are really, really talented. When you put on the film you see that. Their closing speed is incredible. They are physical up front. It’s a tall, tall challenge for us in year one to stand toe-to-toe with A&M and Georgia next week and LSU the following week. “It’s our goal to get there, but that’s what reality is. We’ve had about eight months to recruit a half a class. These others have been stacking it. That’s why they’re ranked third in the country in third down defense, they’re incredibly talented.” Senior McKinnley Jackson and junior Shemar Turner are the leaders up front for the Aggies with sophomores like LT Overton, Walter Turner and Shemar Stewart all key contributors after getting some key reps last season as a true freshman. Turner has been the most productive of the bunch with three of the six team sacks this year. It’s a defensive line group that has caught the attention of Auburn center Avery Jones. “Definitely aggressive,” Jones said. “Definitely big, strong and fast. Definitely some NFL talent on the defensive line. We’re just going to prepare our tails off and do what we’ve got to do. I think our guys can handle it. It’s definitely a different league out here in the SEC compared to what we played in our first three games. We’ve just got to be ready to ball out.” At linebacker, 6-3, 230 junior Edgerrin Cooper is the leading tackler for the Aggies through two games with 16 stops. He also leads the team with four tackles for a loss. Joining him in the starting lineup is true freshman Taurean York. A 6-0, 230-pounder, York has 11 tackles in three games. Other players to watch are 6-1, 235 Jurrienta Davis and 6-2, 235 senior Chris Russell Jr. In the secondary, 6-1, 215 senior Demani Richardson is one of the top players in the Southeastern Conference. With 10 tackles in three games this season, he enters Saturday’s game with 255 career tackles, four interceptions and 15 tackles for a loss. Another veteran in the secondary, but in his first season with the Aggies, is 6-1, 180 cornerback Josh DeBerry. Playing in 39 games with 158 career tackles with the Eagles, DeBerry has added a veteran presence for the Texas A&M defense. Part of a physical secondary is 6-2, 215 Jacoby Mathews. He has 10 tackles on the year after finishing with 35 a season ago as a true freshman. DEFENSIVE LINE 3 McKinnley Jackson (15/10) 6-2 325 Sr-3L Lucedale, MS 5 Shemar Turner (14/8) 6-4 290 Jr-2L DeSoto, TX 10 Fadil Diggs (11/3) 6-5 260 Jr-3L East Camden, NJ 0 Walter Turner (6/2) 6-4 290 So-1L Powell, TN 18 LT Overton (4/0) 6-5 280 Fr-HS Milton, GA 34 Isaiah Raikes (4/0) 6-2 320 Jr-3L Woodbury, NJ 17 Alberrt Regis (1/0) 6-2 325 So-1L LaPorte, TX 4 Shemar Stewart (6/0) 6-6 285 So-1L Miramar, FL LINEBACKERS 45 Edgerrin Cooper (12/5) 6-3 230 Jr-3L Covington, LA 21 Taurean York (3/3) 6-0 230 Fr-HS Temple, TX 24 Chris Russell Jr., (12/0) 6-2 235 Sr-4L Dyersburg, TN DEFENSIVE BACKS 26 Demani Richardson (46/28) 6-1 215 Sr-4L Waxahachie, TX 28 Josh DeBerry (3/3) 6-1 180 Gr-TR Grosse Pointe Park, MI 11 Deuce Harmon (6/1) 5-10 185 So-2L Corinth, TX 1 Bryce Anderson (3/3) 6-0 195 So-1L Beaumont, TX 2 Jacoby Mathews (4/1) 6-2 215 So-1L Ponchatoula, LA 7 Tyreek Chappell (21/0) 5-11 185 Jr-2L Philadelphia, PA 20 Jardin Gilbert (12/0) 6-1 200 Jr-2L White Castle, LA 33 Jarred Kerr (3/0) 6-0 195 So-1L Lexington, TX By the numbers: How Auburn statistically stacks up entering SEC play How do the Tigers compare to the rest of the league heading into their first SEC contest? VIDEO: How is Auburn preparing for Texas A&M's defense and SEC play? So far in the early stages of Hugh Freeze's debut season at Auburn, the Tigers have avoided major statistical pitfalls on both sides of the ball. But even after handling Samford 45-13 over the weekend — and as one of only five unbeatens left in the SEC — there's plenty of areas that will need some, if not major improvements for Auburn to compete with some of the teams upcoming on its gauntlet of a schedule. And it starts this weekend against talent-rich Texas A&M. Statistically, here is where Auburn stands in conference and national rankings as it enters its SEC opener at Texas A&M (11 a.m. CDT, ESPN). Auburn Undercover will track and present these weekly statistics moving forward for the rest of the season. Of course, it's still early in the season, relatively speaking, and a major caveat to this statistical breakdown is that things will become clearer for every team in college football by the week. After this weekend, every SEC team will have opened conference play, so strengths and weaknesses will step more into focus in the next few games. OFFENSE QB rating: 147.45 (11th SEC, 54th nationally) Passing offense: 212.3 YPG (12th, 89th) Yards per pass attempt: 8.2 YPA (9th, T-48th) Rushing offense: 215.7 YPG (1st, 18th) Yards per rush attempt: 5.18 (4th, 30th) Scoring offense: 39.3 PPG (4th, T-26th) Total offense: 428.0 YPG (6th, T-48th) Points per play: 0.575 (3rd, 13th) Points per drive: 2.60 (6th, 41st) Third-down conversions: 47.22% (6th, 39th) Red-zone TD rate: 66.67% (T-7th, T-52nd) Explosive passing plays (30-plus yards): 7 (T-5th, T-26th) Explosive rushing plays (20-plus yards): 3 (9th, T-71st) Sacks allowed: 5 (T-5th, T-40th) Tackles for loss allowed: 14 (T-5th, T-47th) Fumbles lost: 4 (T-13th, T-126th) ‌ DEFENSE Total defense: 264.0 YPG (3rd SEC, 15th nationally) Opposing passer rating: 94.38 (2nd, 9th) Opposing completion percentage: 56.8% (4th, T-42nd) Passing yards: 155.0 YPG (1st, 13th) Rushing yards: 109.0 YPG (7th, 43rd) Yards per carry: 3.44 YPC (9th, 54th) Scoring defense: 12.3 PPG (3rd, T-18th) Points per play allowed: 0.178 (2nd, 12th) Points per drive allowed: 0.77 (1st, 6th) Third-down conversions: 24.39% (2nd, 5th) Red-zone TD rate: 42.86% (T-4th, T-26th) Explosive passing plays allowed (30-plus yards): 3 (4th, T-26th) Explosive rushing plays allowed (20-plus yards): 3 (T-11th, T-62nd) Sacks: 8 (T-7th, T-40th) Tackles for loss: 18 (T-9th, T-66th) Interceptions: 5 (T-2nd, T-11th) Forced fumbles: 2 (T-7th, T-57th) ‌ SPECIAL TEAMS Net punting: 38.25 (11th SEC, T-81st nationally) Opposing punt returns: 8.50 YPR (8th, 76th) Own punt returns: 9.86 YPR (9th, 46th) Field goals: 100% (T-1st, T-1st) Opposing kickoff returns: 19.40 YPR (7th, 67th) Own kickoff returns: 25.89 yards (4th, 25th) ‌ Miscellaneous Penalties: 5.3 per game (5th SEC, T-49th nationally) Turnover margin: 0 (T-7th, T-60th) ‌ ESPN FPI Strength of record: No. 8 nationally Game control: No. 35 Remaining strength of schedule: No. 3 Offensive efficiency rating: No. 79 Defensive efficiency rating: No. 4 Special teams efficiency rating: No. 2 ‌ ESPN SP+ Offensive efficiency rating: No. 33 nationally Defensive efficiency rating: No. 17 Special teams efficiency rating: No. 80 Overall ranking: No. 23 ‌ Remaining schedule (ESPN FPI) @ Texas A&M Win probability: Texas A&M 67.3% chance to win Change from preseason ESPN FPI: Auburn +9.2% vs. Georgia Win probability: Georgia 79.5% chance to win Change from preseason ESPN FPI: Auburn +11.3% @ LSU Win probability: LSU 78.2% chance to win Change from preseason ESPN FPI: Auburn +10.5% vs. Ole Miss Win probability: Ole Miss 71.1% chance to win Change from preseason ESPN FPI: Auburn -4.9% vs. Mississippi State Win probability: Auburn 67.0% chance to win Change from preseason ESPN FPI: Auburn +11.6% @ Vanderbilt Win probability: Auburn 85.4% chance to win Change from preseason ESPN FPI: Auburn +16.5% @ Arkansas Win probability: Auburn 57.8% chance to win Change from preseason ESPN FPI: Auburn +9.0% vs. Alabama Win probability: Alabama 77.4% chance to win Change from preseason ESPN FPI: Auburn +14.1% ‌ INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Passing Yards per game: Payton Thorne — 172.3 (12th SEC) Passing touchdowns: Payton Thorne — 4 (T-11th SEC) Interceptions: Payton Thorne — 3 (T-12th SEC) Completion %: Payton Thorne — 68.3% (8th SEC) Yards per attempt: Payton Thorne — 8.3 (T-8th SEC) Rushing Yards per game: Payton Thorne — 46.7 (16th SEC) Yards per carry: Jeremiah Cobb — 6.7 (6th SEC) Touchdowns: Robby Ashford — 4 (T-1st SEC) Receiving Receptions: Jay Fair — 14 (T-11th SEC) Receiving yards per game: Jay Fair — 58.0 (14th SEC) Receiving touchdowns: Jay Fair — 2 (T-10th SEC) ‌

247sports.com PMARSHONAU Phillips Wednesday morning musings Phillip Marshall 11–14 minutes Does Auburn have what it takes? Show business and college football, a confusing start for SEC and more Does Auburn have enough to win SEC opener? First-year Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze took over a depleted roster last December and made it better. He signed 20 transfers, most of whom have made contributions and some of whom have been very good. We’ll see in Auburn’s SEC opener at Texas A&M where it stands against a team that has been a recruiting machine if not a winning machine in recent seasons. The outcome might be encouraging. It might not. Regardless, Auburn players will return to practice and get ready for No. 1 Georgia. Freeze and his staff have been relentless on the recruiting trail. He has made clear his intentions to return Auburn to its elite status. Win or lose at Texas A&M, that building process will be far from done. What it takes for early success For coaches to have significant success in their first seasons, unusual things have to happen: They inherit a team loaded with talent or the ball bounces their way or they have injury luck and schedule luck or, in the modern era, they get elite transfers at important positions. The driving force behind Colorado’s success isn’t Deion Sanders’ supposed magic as much as it is quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter, who followed him from Jackson State. Without Shedeur Sanders, in particular, Colorado would likely be 0-3 today instead of 3-0. Gus Malzahn took over an Auburn team in 2013 that had won three games the previous season, but there was lots of talent. He added junior college transfer quarterback Nick Marshall and won the SEC championship. Brian Kelley won 10 games in his first season and won the West because LSU had talent. Most importantly, he added quarterback Jayden Daniels, a transfer from Arizona State. He still lost four games, including being blown out in the regular-season finale by a Texas A&M team with six straight SEC losses. Kirby Smart, on the other hand, was fortunate to go 8-5 in his first Georgia season. Nick Saban was 7-6 in his first season at Alabama. Josh Heupel was 7-6 in his first season at Tennessee. Lane Kiffin was 5-5 in his first season at Ole Miss. You get the point. College football and show business I know I am a dinosaur, but I can’t help it. On the field, the college game is still outstanding. But in every other way, there’s not much to like. I hate to be the old dude talking about the way it used to be, but it bothers me that, instead of being about competition, college football has become show business in which attention-seekers like Lane Kiffin and Deion Sanders are glorified. I didn’t love college football from the time I was a young child because of celebrities or flamboyant coaches or any of the things that seem to sell today. I loved the pageantry. I loved the game. That was before the sport sold its soul to television. Now it’s about the show. Coaches and even players are celebrities. The more brash and outlandish they are, the more attention they get and the more their “brands” grow. Believe me, I know nothing is going to change. In fact, it’s going to get worse. And that makes me sad. A three-quarterback rotation I wonder how fans would react if this was happening at Auburn: Oklahoma State has rotated three quarterbacks – one of whom is head coach Mike Gundy’s son – through the first three games. The Cowboys unimpressively won their first two games – 27-13 over Central Arkansas and 27-15 over Arizona State. And then South Alabama came calling. The Jaguars didn’t just win last Saturday. They won 33-7. It was never really a game. But Gundy said at his Monday press conference that he doesn’t see major problems. “I don’t think we have majors,” Gundy said. “I mean, I’m just being honest. I’m going to be able to give you a really good thought three weeks from now. What we did out there Saturday was ugly. I’m not saying anything other than that, but I don’t see it as a major issue. When I watched the tape, I felt a lot better than when I went home. Let’s put it that way.” If being blown out by a Sun Belt Conference team, albeit a good one, at home is not a major issue, I’d hate to see one. Alabama and its quarterbacks Regardless of Nick Saban’s attempts to minimize it, Alabama’s quarterback situation is bizarre. Jalen Milroe started the first two games. He made big plays and big mistakes. Suddenly, his status was uncertain. Sure enough, Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner got the start at South Florida. When he was ineffective, redshirt freshman Ty Simpson took his place. Alabama huffed and puffed to a 17-3 win over the Bulls, who were 1-11 last season. They lost 41-24 to Western Kentucky and beat Florida A&M 38-24 before playing Alabama on Saturday in Tampa. Monday, Saban announced that Milroe will return to the lineup against Ole Miss on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. You’d have a hard time convincing me that Saban decided to experiment because of playing a weak opponent. That’s not his style. What does it all mean? Stay tuned. Mel Tucker creates his own problems Mel Tucker’s firing as Michigan State’s head coach is just a formality now. It is amazing to me why someone with so much to lose would put it all at risk for such a trivial reason. When players get into trouble, at least they are young and irresponsible. But a coach making $10 million a year? Maybe Michigan State really did jump at the opportunity to get out of a bad contract, but he opened the door. Unreal. A confusing start for the SEC The SEC is quite confusing at this point in the season. Georgia doesn’t look like the overwhelming force it was supposed to be. Alabama certainly doesn’t look the part of a contender. Neither does Tennessee. LSU looked awful in losing to Florida State but crushed Mississippi State in Starkville. Texas A&M has two wins against overmatched teams and an ugly loss at Miami. Kentucky is 3-0 against nothing opponents. Arkansas lost to BYU. Florida looked bad in its opener at Utah and terrific in its win over Tennessee at home. South Carolina led Georgia 14-3 at halftime and was dominated in the second half. Auburn is 3-0 with a nice road win. Mississippi State and Vanderbilt seem destined for the bottom of their divisions. That brings us to the other two unbeaten SEC teams – Missouri and Ole Miss. Can either win a division championship? I don’t believe Missouri can. Ole Miss has a chance to make a powerful statement Saturday at Alabama. Deion gets it right Kudos to Deion Sanders for reacting the right way to death threats received by Colorado State safety Henry Blackburn, who knocked Colorado Star Travis Hunter out of the game last Saturday with a late hit. “I’m saddened if there’s any of our fans that are on the side of those threats,” Sanders said. “I would hope and pray not. But that kid was just playing to the best of his ability, and he made a mistake,” Sanders said Tuesday. “I forgive him. CU, our team forgives him. Travis has forgiven him. Let’s move on. But that kid does not deserve that.” Auburn Opponent Preview: Texas A&M defense Auburn takes on Texas A&M at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning on ESPN. VIDEO: How is Auburn preparing for Texas A&M's defense and SEC play? It has been feast or famine for the Texas A&M defense through two weeks. Allowing a combined 13 points in wins over New Mexico and ULM, the Aggies showed their dominant side. That was far from the case in a loss to Miami when the Hurricanes ran over, around and through Texas A&M to the tune of 48 points and 451 yards of total offense in a week two game in Miami. Everything starts with a strong, physical front four that has controlled the running game through three games this season, with opponents averaging just 98.3 yards per game and 3.39 yards per carry. As a unit the defensive line has been a key part of the Aggies’ success in shutting down their opponents on third downs as they lead the league and rank third nationally allowing just seven conversions on 34 attempts this season, good for a 20.6 conversion percentage. “They’ve got a bunch of 5-stars in the defensive line and at linebacker and at safety and at corner,” Auburn’s Hugh Freeze said of the Texas A&M defense. “They are really, really talented. When you put on the film you see that. Their closing speed is incredible. They are physical up front. It’s a tall, tall challenge for us in year one to stand toe-to-toe with A&M and Georgia next week and LSU the following week. “It’s our goal to get there, but that’s what reality is. We’ve had about eight months to recruit a half a class. These others have been stacking it. That’s why they’re ranked third in the country in third down defense, they’re incredibly talented.” Senior McKinnley Jackson and junior Shemar Turner are the leaders up front for the Aggies with sophomores like LT Overton, Walter Turner and Shemar Stewart all key contributors after getting some key reps last season as a true freshman. Turner has been the most productive of the bunch with three of the six team sacks this year. It’s a defensive line group that has caught the attention of Auburn center Avery Jones. “Definitely aggressive,” Jones said. “Definitely big, strong and fast. Definitely some NFL talent on the defensive line. We’re just going to prepare our tails off and do what we’ve got to do. I think our guys can handle it. It’s definitely a different league out here in the SEC compared to what we played in our first three games. We’ve just got to be ready to ball out.” At linebacker, 6-3, 230 junior Edgerrin Cooper is the leading tackler for the Aggies through two games with 16 stops. He also leads the team with four tackles for a loss. Joining him in the starting lineup is true freshman Taurean York. A 6-0, 230-pounder, York has 11 tackles in three games. Other players to watch are 6-1, 235 Jurrienta Davis and 6-2, 235 senior Chris Russell Jr. In the secondary, 6-1, 215 senior Demani Richardson is one of the top players in the Southeastern Conference. With 10 tackles in three games this season, he enters Saturday’s game with 255 career tackles, four interceptions and 15 tackles for a loss. Another veteran in the secondary, but in his first season with the Aggies, is 6-1, 180 cornerback Josh DeBerry. Playing in 39 games with 158 career tackles with the Eagles, DeBerry has added a veteran presence for the Texas A&M defense. Part of a physical secondary is 6-2, 215 Jacoby Mathews. He has 10 tackles on the year after finishing with 35 a season ago as a true freshman. DEFENSIVE LINE 3 McKinnley Jackson (15/10) 6-2 325 Sr-3L Lucedale, MS 5 Shemar Turner (14/8) 6-4 290 Jr-2L DeSoto, TX 10 Fadil Diggs (11/3) 6-5 260 Jr-3L East Camden, NJ 0 Walter Turner (6/2) 6-4 290 So-1L Powell, TN 18 LT Overton (4/0) 6-5 280 Fr-HS Milton, GA 34 Isaiah Raikes (4/0) 6-2 320 Jr-3L Woodbury, NJ 17 Alberrt Regis (1/0) 6-2 325 So-1L LaPorte, TX 4 Shemar Stewart (6/0) 6-6 285 So-1L Miramar, FL LINEBACKERS 45 Edgerrin Cooper (12/5) 6-3 230 Jr-3L Covington, LA 21 Taurean York (3/3) 6-0 230 Fr-HS Temple, TX 24 Chris Russell Jr., (12/0) 6-2 235 Sr-4L Dyersburg, TN DEFENSIVE BACKS 26 Demani Richardson (46/28) 6-1 215 Sr-4L Waxahachie, TX 28 Josh DeBerry (3/3) 6-1 180 Gr-TR Grosse Pointe Park, MI 11 Deuce Harmon (6/1) 5-10 185 So-2L Corinth, TX 1 Bryce Anderson (3/3) 6-0 195 So-1L Beaumont, TX 2 Jacoby Mathews (4/1) 6-2 215 So-1L Ponchatoula, LA 7 Tyreek Chappell (21/0) 5-11 185 Jr-2L Philadelphia, PA 20 Jardin Gilbert (12/0) 6-1 200 Jr-2L White Castle, LA 33 Jarred Kerr (3/0) 6-0 195 So-1L Lexington, TX

statesman.com When Jimbo Fisher and Hugh Freeze meet, any gurus left? Does Nick Saban still qualify? | Toppmeyer Blake Toppmeyer 6–8 minutes Jimbo Fisher and Hugh Freeze each handed off play-calling duties. Their coordinators will match wits when Texas A&M hosts Auburn. Speaking of gurus, if Jalen Milroe plays well vs. Ole Miss, will Nick Saban be hailed for his genius? The Swamp, a 'house of horrors' or a 'torture chamber' for Tennessee? Steve Spurrier didn’t care for being labeled an offensive genius early in his coaching career. He preferred “mastermind.” I wonder where guru ranks on the list of complimentary terms used to describe bright coaches. Somewhere along the way, Jimbo Fisher and Hugh Freeze were known by at least one of these terms. “I call Coach Fisher the quarterback guru,” Jameis Winston said in a 2015 Orlando Sentinel story that fawned over Fisher’s genius. Fisher exhausted his guru dust around the time Winston headed for the NFL. Perhaps, Freeze still has a mastermind membership card tucked away somewhere. Neither coach calls his own plays anymore, though. Their coordinators will match wits Saturday when Fisher’s Texas A&M Aggies (2-1) host Freeze’s Auburn Tigers (3-0). Fisher hired Bobby Petrino – himself called a guru and a few other four-letter words – as his coordinator and play-caller in response to Texas A&M going 5-7 last season. Coaching in this era requires as many CEO skills as Xs and Os skills, so after Auburn hired Freeze in November, he tapped Philip Montgomery as his offensive coordinator and play-caller to free himself up for big-picture duties. Freeze called plays at Liberty and Ole Miss but didn’t think it wise to continue doing so. “Once upon a time, I was probably one of the better play callers in college football,” Freeze said in July, a humble brag that checked out for truthfulness. “I don't know that I was the greatest play caller or one of the best play callers the last few years at Liberty. … Knowing what was all-encompassing to bring Auburn back, sitting in the chair that I have to sit in, I needed help.” Many coaches come to that realization. There’s no database of coaches who call their own offense, but the list gets slimmer by the year. Billy Napier calls Florida’s plays. He did it well in Saturday’s win over Tennessee. But I foresee Napier bowing to public pressure somewhere down the line and passing off the play sheet. Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz stopped pulling double-duty before this season. He tapped Kirby Moore to call plays. “I wasn’t giving us the best advantage that we could have,” Drinkwitz explained before the season. On Saturday, Missouri beat then-No. 15 Kansas State 30-27, marking the highest-ranked opponent the Tigers have defeated since 2018. Coincidence? Too soon to tell whether the Freeze-Montgomery brain trust will be a winning combination at Auburn. Freeze inherited a team with offensive limitations, and Auburn scored 14 points on just 230 yards in its lone game against a Power Five opponent. In simpler times, Fisher and Freeze dueled as play-callers when Florida State beat Ole Miss 45-34 in 2016. That was before Fisher’s offensive brainpower came into question. It took Petrino’s arrival for the Aggies to find offensive rhythm. Sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman is playing well for his new play-caller. But, is it too little, too late for Fisher, who is now known as an embattled coach rather than a mastermind? A real guru move would have been to hire Petrino a few years ago, before Fisher's hot seat warmed. By that measuring stick, Freeze leads in the guru contest. He surrendered play-calling duties as a proactive move, rather than reactive. How Nick Saban’s quarterback juggling could be recast as genius stuff I thought Nick Saban showed a quick hook when he benched Jalen Milroe following Alabama’s 34-24 loss to Texas. Milroe threw two critical interceptions in that defeat, but he’s also Alabama’s most exciting weapon in an otherwise dull offense. The offense got duller when Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson shared snaps in Alabama’s too-close-for-comfort, 17-3, win over lowly South Florida. Saban is turning back to Milroe for No. 12 Alabama’s game against No. 16 Ole Miss (3-0). Saban praised how Milroe responded with leadership despite not playing against USF. Prediction: If Milroe outduels Jaxson Dart and Alabama (2-1) beats the Rebels, Saban will be widely hailed as a genius – dare I say guru? – for benching Milroe and motivating him to recalibrate after the Texas loss. Emails of the week Ron writes (in response to my column calling The Swamp a house of horrors for Tennessee): House of horrors? Overblown. My response: House of failure? House of demise? Torture chamber? The Vols haven’t won there in 20 years. Terry writes: Could the Bama dilemma be as simple as missing Lyle Jones in his analyst position? My response: Good news for Nick Saban: Butch Jones will soon be in need of another internship. Three and out 1. Would you blame Spencer Rattler if he hopped into his G-Wagon and drove toward the NFL before the leaves change colors? Rattler’s 318 passing yards per game ranks sixth nationally, while South Carolina has allowed 13 sacks. One pass forward, one sack backward. 2. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel evaded a reporter's questions as to why offensive lineman Gerald Mincey played on special teams Saturday despite not playing on offense, after Mincey was cited last week for misdemeanor marijuana possession. If Mincey played defensive back, he might never leave the field. Vols safety Jaylen McCollough, who faces a felony aggravated assault charge and is scheduled for a February trial, has played in nine straight games after being withheld from two games following his arrest. 3.Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban can’t agree on who’s calling Alabama’s defensive plays. Kiffin suspects its cornerbacks coach Travaris Robinson. Saban countered that Kevin Steele heads up the defense. Does it matter? Neither Robinson nor Steele is Kirby Smart, who can pick from the list of genius, mastermind, guru, authority, wizard or supreme leader. Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. The "Topp Rope" is his twice-weekly SEC football column published throughout the USA TODAY Network. If you enjoy Blake’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it. Also, check out his podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered, or access exclusive columns via the SEC Unfiltered newsletter.

The Montgomery Advertiser Young guys preparing to get 'baptized' into SEC with Auburn football injuries piling up Richard Silva, Montgomery Advertiser Updated Mon, September 18, 2023 at 3:22 PM CDT·3 min read 0 AUBURN — Auburn football's roster doesn't match up with Texas A&M, and coach Hugh Freeze knows it. The Aggies simply have more star-power than the Tigers, as coach Jimbo Fisher has pulled in a top-10 class in three of the last four years, including the No. 1 haul in the Class of 2022. Auburn, meanwhile, has had just one top-10 class in the last four years; the other three rankings were No. 18, 19 and 21. “You’re playing the best recruits in the nation," Freeze said Monday. "We’re going to be there soon, and that doesn’t mean you can’t compete and win the game. ... (But) they’ve got a bunch of five stars in the defensive line and at linebacker and at safety and at corner. They are really, really talented. When you put on the film you see that. ... "It’s a tall, tall challenge for us in Year 1 to stand toe-to-toe with A&M and Georgia next week and LSU the following week. It’s our goal to get there, but that’s what reality is. We’ve had about eight months to recruit a half of a class. These others have been stacking it. That’s why they’re ranked third in the country in third-down defense, they’re incredibly talented." NEW SEASON: Will the real Auburn football offense please stand up? It's time with SEC play looming GOING FORWARD: Payton Thorne piled up big numbers vs. Samford. Is that the new norm for Auburn football's QB? And if the talent disparity wasn't enough, the Tigers are now dealing with mounting injuries in the secondary. Starting nickel corner Keionte Scott will be out for "a considerable time" with an ankle injury, versatile defensive back Donovan Kaufman missed Auburn's game against Samford and preseason All-SEC cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett has yet to log a snap in 2023. It's been true freshman Kayin Lee stepping in with Pritchett sidelined. He's performed well − his overall defensive grade of 67.3 from Pro Football Focus ranks seventh among Auburn defenders with at least 100 snaps this year − but that's been against a nonconference slate of UMass, Cal and Samford. Not quite an SEC gauntlet. "We've got to get some young guys ready," Freeze said of the Tigers dealing with injuries. "They're going to get baptized into the SEC pretty good in front A&M's crowd and the talent on that team." Sophomore defensive back Caleb Wooden filled in at nickel − also known as the "star" − against Samford with Scott and Kaufman hurt, leading the Tigers with 43 defensive reps Saturday. He'll be a part of the unit one way or another moving forward. Auburn defensive back Kayin Lee (3) during a practice at the Woltosz Football Performance Center on Aug. 7, 2023. "He's got a lot to learn because that star position has got to help get us lined up a lot," Freeze said of Wooden. "... (The staff) met this morning and we're just toying with all the different combinations with our current injuries back there. Hopefully, DK (Kaufman) can play and he'll move into the star position. "Maybe (we'll) move JD Rhym there and play the younger corners and leave Caleb at the high safety. We've got to have two deep to function. We're just trying to figure out what the combination is there, and we're not real sure just yet what that looks like. But Caleb will be a part of it either at he star or one of the safeties." The experience of someone like senior safety Jaylin Simpson suddenly becomes even more important, considering the inexperienced pieces who'll see the field. That goes for special teams, too; Scott was Auburn's punt returner before getting hurt, and Simpson is now listed as the starter on the depth chart distributed to reporters Monday. "He's going to be really, really valuable for his presence in the back end right now," Freeze said. 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. This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: Injuries forcing young guys to see field for Tigers

The Last Ten: A look back at Auburn’s last ten meetings with Texas A&M Taylor Jones Wed, September 20, 2023 at 2:00 PM CDT·6 min read 0 Since 2012, the series between Auburn and Texas A&M has featured several strange matchups. Texas A&M leads the overall series, 7-6, with Auburn winning the most recent meeting at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2022. Auburn will travel to College Station for this season’s meeting which is set to take place on Saturday morning and will host the Aggies in 2024 as part of the revamped SEC schedule due to the addition of Oklahoma and Texas. The road team has won eight of the last 11 meetings, which could be a good sign for Auburn. However, early betting lines and ESPN are favoring Texas A&M early on despite the game being played at Kyle Field. As you prepare to watch Auburn face Texas A&M on Saturday, here is a look back at the last ten meetings between these two squads. Nov. 12, 2022: Auburn 14 Texas A&M 10 John Reed-USA TODAY Sports Sure, it was a four-point win over a fellow non-bowl team, but the win was special for Auburn football. Auburn was two games into the Cadillac Williams era after the midseason firing of Bryan Harsin when they logged their 4th win of the season. The Tigers were in control for most of the game as Ja’Varrius Johnson put Auburn on the board first with a 16-yard touchdown reception from the arms of Robby Ashford. Alex McPherson nailed two field goals to keep Auburn ahead. Nov. 6, 2021: Texas A&M 20 Auburn 3 Bob Levey/Getty Images This strange series experienced a first in 2021, the Texas A&M Aggies defeated Auburn on the turf at Kyle Field. It took the Aggies five tries, but they were able to finally get it done. The offenses were held out of the end zone in this game, as they relied on kickers Seth Small and Anders Carlson to put points on the board. Carlson nailed his only field goal of the game with 9:16 remaining in the 3rd, while Small went 4-for-5 with a long of 47 yards. Texas A&M found the endzone once thanks to a 24-yard fumble recovery from Michael Clemons early in the 4th quarter. Texas A&M quarterback, Zach Calzada, who was apart of Auburn’s roster in 2022, completed 15-of-29 passes for 192 yards in the Aggie win. Dec 5, 2020: Texas A&M 31 Auburn 20 John Reed-USA TODAY Sports As has been the tradition in this series, the visiting Aggies won the 2020 game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Behind Kellen Mond’s 196-yard, two-touchdown passing game, and a 120-yard rushing performance by Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M erased a 20-14 deficit by scoring 17 unanswered points in the 4th quarter. Sept. 21, 2019: Auburn 28 Texas A&M 20 John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports Texas A&M tried to erase a 21-3 deficit heading into the 4th quarter but ran out of time in 2019’s edition at Kyle Field. The Aggies outscored Auburn 17-3 in the final stanza, but a dominating first quarter by the Tigers saw them score 14 quick points, giving them an early advantage. Kellen Mond threw for 335 yards for Texas A&M, but could not lead the Aggies to victory. November 3, 2018: Auburn 28 Texas A&M 24 John Reed-USA TODAY Sports Auburn trailed Texas A&M, 24-14 in the late stages of the 4th quarter, but stormed back to score two unanswered touchdowns over the final five minutes of the game to secure the come-from-behind win at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn’s first home win over the Aggies in series history. Chandler Cox’s one-yard rush with 5:14 remaining in the game trimmed the Texas A&M lead to 24-21. The deciding score came from the arm of Jarrett Stidham (who is from Texas, in case you were not aware) when he connected with Seth Williams from 11 yards out to put Auburn ahead with 1:41 to go in regulation. Nov. 4, 2017: Auburn 42 Texas A&M 27 Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports After a slow start to the game, Auburn scored 35 points over the 2nd and 3rd quarters to pull away and earn its seventh win of the 2017 season. Jarrett Stidham passed for 184 yards and two touchdowns while Kerryon Johnson rushed for 145 yards and an additional score. Sept. 17, 2016: Texas A&M 29 Auburn 16 Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports Auburn could not build off the momentum of an early Kam Pettway touchdown rush, ultimately falling to Texas A&M in 2016. The Aggies trailed 7-3 at the end of the 1st but would pull away on four field goals by kicker Daniel LaCamera. Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight passed for 247 yards while running back Trayveon Williams rushed for 127 yards. 89 of those yards were recorded on a 4th quarter touchdown. Nov. 7, 2015: Auburn 26 Texas A&M 10 Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports Auburn played consistently in 2015’s win over Texas A&M. Marcus Davis and Jovon Robinson scored two first-half touchdowns, they then turned the keys over to Daniel Carlson, who kicked four field goals in the 2nd half to preserve the win. Robinson would end the night with 159 rushing yards, while Jeremy Johnson threw for 132 yards and a touchdown. Nov. 8, 2014: Texas A&M 41 Auburn 38 Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports Auburn recovered from two large deficits in 2014’s game, but two late fumbles kept Auburn from doing it a third time, which would have potentially given them the win. A poor exchange between Nick Marshall and Cameron Artis-Payne on a read option resulted in the first fumble of the 4th quarter with 2:37 remaining in the game. The “nail in the coffin” was a miscommunication between center Reese Dismukes and Marshall. Dismukes snapped the ball as it appeared that Marshall was calling for an audible. Texas A&M recovered with 0:54 remaining in the game to end the comeback attempt. Marshall passed for 219 yards while Artis-Payne recorded 221 rushing yards. Oct. 19, 2013: Auburn 45 Texas A&M 41 Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports “Here in the home of the 12th man, the Auburn Tigers have served notice to the College Football World that they are back.” Those words were spoken by the late Rod Bramblett after Nick Marshall took a knee in the 4th quarter to solidify Auburn’s win over Texas A&M in 2013. After suffering a blowout loss at home to the Aggies and eventual Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel one year prior, the Tigers were able to get its revenge over the Aggies in what was a turning point of the season. Auburn would go on to win the SEC Championship that season and play for a Bowl Championship Series National Championship. Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire

Deion Sanders Worked His Way Up To An Estimated $45M Fortune, But His 5 Children Are The Real Proof Of The ‘Prime’ Effect Josh Rodgers Wed, September 20, 2023 at 12:20 PM CDT·3 min read 87 Deion Sanders Throughout history, the world has been introduced to many people with the “it” factor. While it may not be possible to articulate exactly what “it” is, it’s a beautiful combination of talent, influence, likeability, and authenticity. Some of the people described this way are Beyonce, Michael Jackson, Denzel Washington, and Tina Turner. And when it comes to sports, one of the names sure to come up as having “it” is Deion Sanders. From his multi-sport professional career to his captivating personality, fans have admired Sanders for years. But this star power wasn’t by happenstance — it came from hard work, dedication, and faith. Sanders was born in Fort Myers, FL, and began his sports career early in life across several sports, eventually attending Florida State University as a decorated athlete. His collegiate career would land him a spot in the NFL and the MLB. Simultaneously playing in both professional leagues for several years, Sanders completed 270 solo tackles, five forced fumbles, and 53 interceptions as a cornerback for the NFL, mainly with the Atlanta Falcons and the Dallas Cowboys. For his MLB career, Sanders would play for four teams as a left fielder with a .263 batting average, 39 home runs and 168 RBIs. His athletic prowess would transfer off the field, with him releasing two rap albums, making guest appearances in movies and television shows, starring in his own reality TV series, and working as a sports analyst. With a diverse and wide-reaching career, all of Sanders’ work would earn him an estimated fortune of $45 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. As the 56-year-old’s career evolved, he would go on to work as a football coach. His first position was at the high school level with the school he co-founded, Prime Prep Academy. Sanders then coached at the collegiate level with Mississippi-based HBCU Jackson State University (JSU). While his exit from JSU was met with mixed emotions and responses, his current role as head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder proves why he is known as “Coach Prime.” The Colorado Buffalos went from being off everyone’s radar to having sold-out games, weekly celebrity appearances, and an early winning record. Although this success is noteworthy, Sanders takes pride in his ability to coach, bond, and work with his children. Sanders’ children have followed in their father’s athletic and influential footsteps in some capacity, but they are making their own waves and forging their own paths. Here is how Coach Prime’s children are upholding the Sanders legacy. Deiondra Sanders KFC and Meshella Rose. Deion Sanders Jr. according to USA Today. He’s “building an audience” for Colorado’s football and his father’s coaching journey with behind-the-scenes access through his brand, Well Off Media. Shilo Sanders NIL deals with KFC, Oikos, and Actively Black. Shedeur Sanders AFROTECH report, Shedeur has the highest NIL valuation among NCAA football athletes. Since that writing, his valuation has gone up to $5.1 million and includes his signing with Gatorade as its first HBCU player during his tenure with JSU. Shelomi Sanders

get back to me when your side does something good.................

Childhood Rape Survivor Slams Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron In Brutal New Campaign Ad Jennifer Bendery Wed, September 20, 2023 at 1:26 PM CDT·4 min read 241 Scroll back up to restore default view. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) on Wednesday released a brutal new campaign ad against his GOP challenger, Daniel Cameron, featuring a childhood rape survivor ripping Cameron over his hardline opposition to abortion — even in cases of rape or incest. “I was raped by my stepfather after years of sexual abuse. I was 12,” a young woman named Hadley says in the ad. “Anyone who believes there should be no exceptions for rape and incest could never understand what it’s like to stand in my shoes.” “This is to you, Daniel Cameron,” Hadley says, looking directly into the camera. “To tell a 12 year-old-girl she must have the baby of her stepfather who raped her is unthinkable,” she says. “I’m speaking out because women and girls need to have options. Daniel Cameron would give us none.” You can watch the ad here: Cameron’s campaign quickly responded with a video of its own, featuring Cameron speaking directly into the camera and calling Beshear’s ad “despicable.” “Andy Beshear is running the most despicable campaign in Kentucky history. He lectures us on partisanship and unity, then runs disgusting, false attacks,” he said. “I have said if the legislature were to bring me a bill with exceptions, I would sign it.” But Cameron, who is currently Kentucky’s attorney general, has suggested for months that he opposes any exceptions to abortion for survivors of rape and incest. It wasn’t until this week, as the Nov. 7 gubernatorial election nears, that he’s changed his public position. Beshear’s campaign has made abortion a central issue in their race, casting Cameron as an extreme and dangerous candidate for governor in a state where voters rejected an anti-abortion constitutional amendment last year. In a Monday interview on the Tony & Dwight local radio show, Cameron was asked about attacks against him over his opposition to abortion and, specifically, to exceptions for survivors of rape. “If our legislature was to bring legislation before me that provided exceptions for rape and incest, I would sign that legislation,” Cameron said. “There’s no question about that.” “The Beshear administration and the Beshear campaign are running a smear campaign against me,” he continued. “But it’s not going to work because people see through the trash they are trying to put out on television.” Cameron’s comments on Monday are a stark contrast to his longstanding support for the state’s near-total ban on abortion, which has no exceptions for rape or incest. In an April interview on WKYT, Cameron was asked if he supports the existing ban. “I’m going to continue to support and defend the Human Life Protection Act and continue the work that we’ve done in court to make sure that law stays intact,” Cameron said. When the anchor specifically asked if he supports the bill’s lack of exceptions for rape or incest, Cameron responded, “Well, there is an exception, obviously, for the life of the mother. And I’m going to continue to support that Human Life Protection Act.” Kentucky Republican gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron has said for months that he supports a near-total abortion ban that includes no exceptions for survivors of rape and incest. As his election nears — surprise! — he says of course he would sign a bill with those exceptions. Kentucky Republican gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron has said for months that he supports a near-total abortion ban that includes no exceptions for survivors of rape and incest. As his election nears — surprise! — he says of course he would sign a bill with those exceptions. Earlier in April, Cameron said in an interview with another local TV station that he was “not going to waver in my position” on Kentucky’s abortion ban and said he would “continue to defend the law as is,” without exceptions for rape or incest. Cameron echoed his position again in Nov. 2022, when asked by an Associated Press reporter if he personally supported adding rape and incest exceptions to the state’s abortion ban. “I support what the Human Life Protection Act says,” Cameron told the reporter, expressing support only for an exception to save the life of a pregnant woman. Public polling on the race has been sparse, though Beshear released an internal poll earlier this month showing him with a 51% to 42% lead over Cameron. The Kentucky governor’s race is one of a handful of elections this year that may be a bellwether for how the issue of abortion rights plays out in 2024, a presidential election year. Democrats embraced abortion rights in the 2022 elections and it delivered major victories — a trend that has taken hold since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Democrats continued their winning streak Tuesday night, when their party handily won special state legislative elections in both Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.

US attorney general tells Republicans defunding FBI would be 'catastrophic' Sarah N. Lynch Updated Wed, September 20, 2023 at 2:30 PM CDT·4 min read 473 Scroll back up to restore default view. By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland told a House committee on Wednesday that Republican threats to defund the FBI would be "catastrophic" if carried out and that the Justice Department did not exist to do anyone's political bidding. Garland pushed back against Republican lawmakers who have criticized the Department of Justice for its handling of the indictments of Republican former President Donald Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden. "Our job is not to take orders from the president, from Congress, or from anyone else, about who or what to criminally investigate," Garland told the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. "I am not the president’s lawyer. I will add I am not Congress’s prosecutor. The Justice Department works for the American people." Some of Trump's hardline Republican allies have called for a defunding of the FBI to protest its investigation into and prosecution of more than 1,140 Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in a bid to overturn his election defeat. Garland warned that carrying out that threat would leave the nation "naked" to everything from the "malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party" to "domestic violent extremists." "I just cannot imagine the consequences of defunding the FBI," Garland said. "They would be catastrophic." Wednesday marked Garland's first testimony before Congress since two historic firsts: the department's criminal charges against a former U.S. president and against a sitting president's adult child. It also comes a week after the Republican-led House launched an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, related to Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings and as congressional inaction threatens to cause the fourth partial U.S. government shutdown in a decade beginning next month. The White House has dismissed the impeachment probe as politically motivated and unsubstantiated. The committee's ranking Democrat, Jerrold Nadler, on Wednesday accused Republicans of wasting "countless taxpayer dollars" on investigations into Biden "to find evidence for an absurd impeachment." Special Counsel Jack Smith, appointed by Garland last autumn, has twice secured indictments of Trump over his alleged mishandling of classified records and for his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has pleaded not guilty to those charges and to two state criminal indictments he faces in New York and Georgia. The former president has repeatedly verbally attacked Smith, potential witnesses, and U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the election subversion case, saying the prosecutions he faces are politically motivated. Republicans have also been critical of the department's handling of a five-year-long tax investigation into Hunter Biden, 53. The younger Biden was set in July to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts and to agree to enroll in a program to avert a gun charge as part of a deal with the then-U.S. Attorney for Delaware, David Weiss. The deal collapsed after a federal judge questioned its terms. Shortly before that, an Internal Revenue Service whistleblower who worked on the criminal tax probe also claimed that the Justice Department stymied Weiss from pursuing more serious tax charges by failing to appoint him sooner as special counsel, so that he could pursue the cases in either Washington, D.C., or Central California. Hunter Biden lives in California. Amid mounting Republican criticism, Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel so he could continue to investigate and possibly pursue tax charges in other federal districts. Weiss' office this month charged Hunter Biden with three counts related to purchase and possession of a firearm while he was using illegal drugs. He intends to plead not guilty. Republicans on Wednesday grilled Garland about the Hunter Biden case. "Has anyone from the White House provided direction at any time to you personally or to any senior officials at the DOJ regarding how the Hunter Biden investigated was to be carried out?" Republican congressman Mike Johnson asked. "No," Garland said. The attorney general also defended how the investigation was carried out under Weiss, saying he never "intruded" into Weiss' work and telling Congress that Weiss always had "full authority to conduct his investigation" as he saw fit and only recently sought special counsel status. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Scott Malone, Matthew Lewis and Jonathan Oatis)

Garland grilled by House Republicans on Hunter Biden, Trump investigations ALEXANDER MALLIN and LUKE BARR Wed, September 20, 2023 at 2:46 PM CDT·7 min read 438 Scroll back up to restore default view. Attorney General Merrick Garland testifyied before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday in a high-stakes hearing where Republican lawmakers lambasted him over his department's handling of criminal probes into former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden, the events of Jan. 6 and other high-profile investigations. "The fix is in," chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said as he kicked the hearing off. "Even with the face-saving indictment of Hunter Biden last week, everyone knows the fix is in." Jordan accused Garland several times of "slow walking" the Hunter Biden investigation to benefit President Biden. But Garland, in his opening statement, took criticism of his tenure head-on -- arguing that some Republicans' efforts to target career officials is "dangerous" at a time when threats against public servants are on the rise. "We will not be intimidated," Garland said. "We will do our jobs free from outside interference. And we will not back down from defending our democracy." PHOTO: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on 'Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice' on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 20, 2023. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) Trump investigations The appearance is Garland's first time sitting before lawmakers since special counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump for both his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House as well as his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Rep. Jerry Nadler, the Democratic ranking member of the committee, in his opening statement countered "extreme MAGA Republicans have poisoned our vital oversight work" in an effort to distract from the legal troubles the former president is facing. MORE: Special counsel seeks 'narrowly tailored' gag order against Trump, citing 'disparaging and inflammatory attacks' Garland said Wednesday he wasn't instructed to charge Trump after being pressed on the former president's comments this past weekend that Biden directed the attorney general to act. "No one has told me to indict," Garland said, "and in this case, the decision to indict was made by the special counsel." Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him and has denied any wrongdoing. Hunter Biden and President Biden investigations Garland's testimony comes nearly a week after special counsel David Weiss, also appointed by Garland, indicted Hunter Biden on felony gun charges after a plea deal between Weiss and Hunter Biden's lawyers fell apart in court in July. Garland was peppered with questions about the timeline of the Hunter Biden investigation. In one exchange, Rep. Jordan levied several allegations about Hunter Biden and Burisma -- the Ukrainian gas company on which Hunter Biden was a board member, accusing the DOJ of letting prosecutors "slow walk" the probe. PHOTO: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan speaks as Attorney General Merrick Garland appears before a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Sept. 20, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) The attorney general emphasized he gave Weiss authority and independence to bring the case as he saw fit. "One more fact that is important, and that is that this investigation is being conducted by Mr. Weiss, an appointee of President Trump," Garland responded. "You will, at the appropriate time, have the opportunity to ask Mr. Weiss that question and he will no doubt address it in the public report that will be transmitted to the Congress." Garland also pushed back against Republicans' claims that the Justice Department is seeking to tilt political scales in Democrats' favor leading up to the 2024 election -- and vehemently denied he has taken any directives from President Biden or the White House with respect to any criminal investigation. "Our job is not to take orders from the president, from Congress, or from anyone else, about who or what to criminally investigate," Garland said. "As the president himself has said, and I reaffirm today: I am not the president's lawyer. I will add that I am not Congress's prosecutor. The Justice Department works for the American people. Our job is to follow the facts and the law, and that is what we do." MORE: How Trump has pushed House Republicans to go after Biden: 'They did it to me' Several Republicans on the committee, including Jordan, have previously threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings against Garland over the department's handling of the criminal probe into Hunter Biden. Jordan has cited testimony before Congress from IRS whistleblowers who have claimed the president's son received preferential treatment from investigators, and that Garland's past testimony before Congress claiming Weiss was given ultimate authority to make charging decisions was inaccurate. Both Garland and Weiss, in letters to Congress, have disputed the whistleblower's claims. Garland has argued his appointments of all three special counsels represents a commitment to ensure the integrity and independence of each of their investigations, and repeated that assertion in fielding questions from Republicans who have sought to portray them as evidence of politicization by the Justice Department. "Our job is to pursue justice, without fear or favor," Garland said. "Our job is not to do what is politically convenient." A third special counsel appointed by Garland, Robert Hur, continues to examine circumstances surrounding documents with classified markings that were found in President Biden's home in Delaware as well as a post-vice presidency think tank in Washington. Hunter Biden has not yet entered a plea as part of his case, though his attorneys have said they will fight the charges brought last week. President Biden has denied wrongdoing in his handling of classified materials and vowed to fully cooperate with special counsel Hur's investigation. White House spokesperson Ian Sams called the hearing a "distraction" and said House Republicans have "cranked up a circus of a hearing full of lies and disinformation with the sole goal of baselessly attacking President Biden and his family." PHOTO: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland stands for the Pledge of Allegiance prior to testifying before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the 'Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice,' on Capitol Hill, Sept. 20, 2023, in Washington. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) Fiery exchange over Catholic memo In one particularly animated exchange, Garland and Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., clashed over a memo written by an analyst in the FBI's Richmond field office about "radical traditional" Catholics within the bureau. Both FBI Director Christopher Wray and Garland both immediately recalled the document and called it not representative of the department's feelings on Catholics. Garland pushed back on Van Drew's questions about the memo, at times raising his voice. "The idea that someone with my family background would discriminate against any religion is so outraged us is so absurd," Garland said. In his opening statement Wednesday, Garland got choked up as he spoke about his how his family fled religious persecution in Eastern Europe and why it influences his work as a public servant. Calls to defund the FBI Democrats on the committee asked Garland about the impact of threats to federal agents and calls from some Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates to defund the FBI. "Defunding the FBI would leave the United States naked to the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party, to the attacks by Iranians on American citizens and attempts to assassinate former officials up to the Russian aggression, to North Korean cyber attacks, to violent crime in the United States, which the FBI helps to fight against, to all kinds of espionage, to domestic violent extremists who have attacked our churches, our synagogues, our mosques and who have killed individuals out of racial hatred," he said. "I cannot imagine the consequences of defunding the FBI, but they would be catastrophic." Jan. 6 and Ray Epps' charge Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., said a lot of Americans are "afraid" of being prosecuted by the department. "This is a big problem when people are afraid of their own government," she said. She said that while there were "probably" some people who came to D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, with "bad intent," there were "a lot of good Americans" who were "sick and tired of this government not serving them" -- including some in her district. "They came with strollers and the kids, and there was a chaotic situation because the proper security wasn't provided," Spartz said. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., questioned Garland on the misdemeanor charge against Ray Epps announced Tuesday by the DOJ. Epps, a former Oath Keeper, became the subject of conspiracy theories around Jan. 6 -- including Republican claims he was an undercover federal agent. Massie called Epps' charge a "joke" compared to others indicted for their participation in the Capitol attack, and asked Garland how many assets of the government were present on that day. "In the cases that were filed with respect to Jan. 6, the Justice Department prosecutors provided whatever information they had about the question that you're asking," Garland responded, after stating he had no personal knowledge of the issue of whether federal agents were in the crowd. "With respect to Mr. Epps, the FBI has said that he was not an employee or informant of of the FBI." ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler and Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report. Garland grilled by House Republicans on Hunter Biden, Trump investigations originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Merrick Garland Says GOP Allegations About Hunter Biden Case Have No Basis In Reality Arthur Delaney Wed, September 20, 2023 at 12:05 PM CDT·3 min read 1.8k Scroll back up to restore default view. WASHINGTON ― The nation’s top law enforcement officer said Wednesday that Republican allegations of a two-tiered justice system favoring the president’s son are a fantasy. During a House Judiciary Committee hearing with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Republicans said Garland’s Department of Justice has gone easy on Hunter Biden while throwing the book at former President Donald Trump. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, asked if the rhetoric regarding the Hunter Biden case had “any basis in reality.” “No, it does not,” Garland replied. It was a more direct answer than Garland gave to numerous Republican questions about the investigation, which this month resulted in a grand jury indictment against the president’s son for illegally owning a gun and could lead to more charges. Despite Hunter Biden’s legal peril, Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) declared Wednesday that “the fix is in” at the Justice Department. He alleged that top brass had interfered with an IRS probe into Hunter Biden’s taxes and that other officials had hobbled Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss’ pursuit of the case. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the American public doesn’t trust the Justice Department. “They see the DOJ, of course, aggressively prosecuting President Biden’s political rival, Mr. Trump, while at the same time, they see slow-walking and special treatment given to the president’s son,” he said at the hearing. Garland stressed that he wasn’t meddling with Hunter Biden’s case, repeatedly noting that Weiss had been tasked with the investigation during the Trump administration and that President Biden left him in his position to finish the case. Weiss initially reached a plea agreement with Hunter Biden, but the deal collapsed in August amid a disagreement between prosecutors and Biden’s legal team over the scope of his immunity from further prosecution. Garland then elevated Weiss to special counsel status upon his request. Republicans cited testimony from two IRS whistleblowers who said Justice Department officials blocked some of their efforts to pursue the case, such as by disapproving certain search warrants and by alerting the Secret Service to plans to approach Hunter Biden for an interview. More recent testimony from FBI officials has cast doubt on some of their claims. While insinuating there were efforts to shield the Biden family, Republicans faulted Garland for not being more involved in the case. Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), for instance, asked Garland if he was aware prosecutors had not filed certain tax charges against Hunter Biden before it was too late under federal law to do so, citing a complaint from the IRS whistleblowers. Garland said prosecutorial decisions were up to Weiss. “I have intentionally not involved myself in the facts of the case, not because I’m trying to get out of responsibility, but because I am trying to pursue my responsibility,” Garland said at one point. The message was lost on Republicans. Earlier, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) asked Garland if he knew about certain cash transfers connected to Hunter Biden’s business, which Garland said he did not. “It’s like you’re looking the other way on purpose,” Gaetz said.

Fact check: Jim Jordan makes false claims about Trump, Hunter Biden to begin hearing on handling of the federal cases against them Daniel Dale, CNN Wed, September 20, 2023 at 12:56 PM CDT·3 min read 2.9k Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan made false claims in his opening remarks at a Wednesday hearing at which Jordan and other Republicans pressed Attorney General Merrick Garland about the Justice Department’s handling of investigations into former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden. Here is a fact check of two inaccurate remarks from Jordan. The hearing is ongoing; this article might be updated with additional fact checks. FBI search of Mar-a-Lago Criticizing the FBI search of Trump’s home in Florida in August 2022, Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, falsely claimed in his opening statement at Wednesday’s hearing that Trump did everything the Justice Department had asked him to do prior to the search. Among other acts of compliance, Jordan said, Trump immediately turned over 38 documents he discovered prior to the search, then complied with a Justice Department request to further secure the storage room where official documents were being stored. “Everything they asked him to do, he did. And then what’s the Justice Department do? August 8, last year, they raid President Trump’s home,” Jordan said. Facts First: Jordan’s claim that Trump did “everything” the Justice Department asked him to do is incorrect. When the Justice Department obtained a May 2022 grand jury subpoena demanding that Trump turn over all documents with classification markings, Trump did not do so. Instead, Trump’s indictment alleges, he turned over just 38 documents with classification markings in June 2022, far fewer than he had; the August 2022 FBI search of Mar-a-Lago found 102 additional documents with classification markings. In addition, the indictment alleges that, upon producing the 38 documents, Trump intentionally had one of his lawyers sign a document that falsely certified that all the documents demanded by the subpoena had been produced. The indictment, brought by special counsel Jack Smith, also alleges that Trump committed multiple other acts of obstruction to try to avoid complying with the May 2022 subpoena. The indictment says that Trump directed an aide, Walt Nauta, to move boxes before Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran conducted a search for the documents in early June 2022 in response to the subpoena, “so that many boxes were not searched and many documents responsive to the May 11 Subpoena could not be found – and in fact were not found – by (Corcoran).” The indictment also alleges that Trump suggested that Corcoran falsely represent to the government that Trump “did not have documents called for by the May 11 Subpoena” and that Corcoran “hide or destroy documents called for by the May 11 Subpoena.” Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Hunter Biden’s qualifications Jordan claimed that Hunter Biden has himself admitted that he was unqualified for his former role on the board of directors of Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings. “He wasn’t qualified to be on the board of Burisma. Not my words, his words,” Jordan said. “He said he got on the board because of his last name.” Facts First: It’s not true that Hunter Biden himself said he wasn’t qualified to sit on the Burisma board. In fact, Hunter Biden said in a 2019 interview with ABC News that “I was completely qualified to be on the board” and defended his qualifications in detail. He did acknowledge, as Jordan said, that he would “probably not” have been asked to be on the board if he was not a Biden – but he nonetheless explicitly rejected claims that he wasn’t qualified, calling them “misinformation.” When the ABC interviewer asked what his qualifications for the role were, he said: “Well, I was vice chairman on the board of Amtrak for five years. I was the chairman of the board of the UN World Food Programme. I was a lawyer for Boies Schiller Flexner, one of the most prestigious law firms in the world. Bottom line is that I know that I was completely qualified to be on the board to head up the corporate governance and transparency committee on the board. And that’s all that I focused on. Basically, turning a Eastern European independent natural gas company into Western standards of corporate governance.” When the ABC interviewer said, “You didn’t have any extensive knowledge about natural gas or Ukraine itself, though,” Biden responded, “No, but I think I had as much knowledge as anybody else that was on the board – if not more.” Asked if he would have been asked to be on the board if his last name wasn’t Biden, Biden said, “I don’t know. I don’t know. Probably not.” He added “there’s a lot of things” in his life that wouldn’t have happened if he had a different last name. A side note: Biden had served as the board chair for World Food Program USA, a nonprofit that supports the UN World Food Programme, not the UN program itself as he claimed in the interview. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Read next

if they broke the law with hunter i hope he cleans house. the man has a drug problem which i hope he kicked. but they smear him and throw crap around they cannot prove. and again if hunter is guilty of something get him. but do it within the law.

i applaud your change sir. i know trump let you down and this is not a dig.

i love him and i am not sure i have ever disagreed with him. i do fear some nut on the right will hurt him..........

we need to tighten requirements for anyone wanting to run for office.

he will not do time but he is a convicted rapist and assaulter. he should be taken off the streets or put somewhere he can no longer hurt anyone.lock him up!

rollingstone.com Donald Trump Privately Frets He Could Be Headed to Prison Adam Rawnsley 8–10 minutes Skip to main content Trump Privately Frets He Could Be Headed to Prison Would he be sent to a “club fed” style prison — or a “bad” one? Would he have Secret Service protection? And what would they make him wear? Those are some of the questions Donald Trump is asking his lawyers as his many trials loom Former President Donald Trump walks out to speak at the Concerned Women for America Summit held at the Capitol Hilton on Friday, Sept 15, 2023, in Washington, DC. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images In the past several months, Donald Trump has had a burning question for some of his confidants and attorneys: Would the authorities make him wear “one of those jumpsuits” in prison? As the criminal cases against him have piled up, the former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner has wondered aloud in recent months about what life would be like if he’s convicted, and if appeals fail. While Trump publicly professes confidence, privately, three sources familiar with his comments say, he’s been asking lawyers and other people close to him what a prison sentence would look like for a former American president. Would he be sent to a “club fed” style prison — a place that’s relatively comfortable, as far these things go — or a “bad” prison? Would he serve out a sentence in a plush home confinement? Would government officials try to strip him of his lifetime Secret Service protections? What would they make him wear, if his enemies actually did ever get him in a cell — an unprecedented set of consequences for a former leader of the free world. What would happen — including in the Fulton County, Georgia criminal case against him and various co-defendants — if he were convicted and sentenced, but also re-elected? The private questions are a departure from the air of supreme confidence invincibility Trump has projected. In interviews and elsewhere, he has claimed that the thought of losing in court and going to prison simply cannot enter his mind. “I don’t even think about it,” Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker during an interview last week. “I’m built a little differently I guess.” Trump’s attorneys like Alina Habba have amplified that bravado. Habba told Fox News’ Shannon Bream last month that the former president was so confident he would be vindicated that he’s not even preparing for his various trials. “If it was a normal person, honestly Shannon, I could understand the concern,” she said, adding that “You don’t have to prep much when you’ve done nothing wrong.” But now out of office, sources close to Trump and those who’ve heard him ask these questions about a hypothetical sentencing tell Rolling Stone that it’s clear the gravity of his mounting legal peril is getting to Trump, regardless of whether the former president can admit to it in public. A Trump spokesperson did not respond to questions from Rolling Stone. Trump’s private concerns mark a significant departure from some of the private confidence he displayed during his first brush with a special counsel investigation. One former White House official who worked on the Mueller investigation said Trump was not remotely worried about consequences from the Russia inquiry. Not only was he convinced he had done nothing wrong; Trump was also aware of the Justice Department policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted while in office. Even before he faced criminal charges, Trump showed at least a distant concern about looming criminal liability. As Rolling Stone reported in 2022, the former president told associates that he was looking forward to running for president again at least in part because the office would afford him at least temporary immunity from prosecution. He and his legal team have also grasped at exotic legal theories in seemingly desperate attempts to shut down the cases against him in Fulton County and New York City. Experts say that, in the event of a conviction, Trump would still be entitled to Secret Service protection for the rest of his life. But the answers to many of his other questions — like where he’d have to serve a sentence and under what conditions — would vary based on whether he’s convicted and on which charges. Still, the former president faces daunting math given the scope of charges against him. At the moment, Trump is set to stand trial in four criminal cases spanning 91 charges, including several felony counts. The jeopardy places the former president in rare company with few historical examples to illustrate what he might expect in the event of a conviction. The closest equivalent to Trump’s legal predicament lies in the 1973 federal prosecution of Nixon Vice President Spiro Agnew on charges related to bribes from his tenure as governor of Maryland. In that case, Agnew struck a plea deal that netted him only probation. Like Trump, Agnew campaigned as a populist pugilist eager for conflict with the political left. But as the criminal investigation of him mounted, privately “Agnew was utterly terrified of going to jail,” his biographer Charles J. Holden told Rolling Stone. “He was still terrified of that and the humiliation of it haunted him as well.”

here is something i believe people have missed about all this. it was alluded to this being their first date.

let me point out to you sir that woman helps make policy and laws.......many of them stupid that hurt this country. the more she is ridiculed the more people see her for what she is and maybe......just maybe she loses her seat and someone smarter gets it. there is a method to my madness but i am surprised you threw me under the bus ichie. maybe she will shut up about gays and trans.if it saves one person from being hurt mentally or physically it is a good thing. sounds like you have an axe to grind. i mean come on this bag is racist as hell. how can you not see all that bro? or maybe we are not bro's. iam will sign you up for the fiddy haters club if you are interested..........