aubiefifty

i guess i am a hypocite as i have had sex in the back seat of a car a few times when funds were low as a young man...........

he went to epsteins island as well. i doubt he was down there to smell the flowers...........

i think she chased clinton as well. and i am not excusing clinton of anything.

do you drink?

there were kids in the audience. in porn there are age limits. that is the difference. just like you can drink a beer but not if you are a minor. but you are very correct on the game part so we have agreed on something after all this time.

Texas A&M’s red zone efficiency will face Auburn No.1-ranked goal line defense in a battle of wills Cameron Ohnysty Wed, September 20, 2023 at 5:00 AM CDT·2 min read 0 It’s Auburn week, and in head coach Hugh Freezes’ first season at the helm, visiting Texas A&M for both programs’ SEC opener will be a battle of emotions, and while the Aggies’s predominate strength is behind the arm of sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman, the Tigers’ defense is well equipped to challenge his day in the pocket. However, Freeze’s defense will be missing two starters, linebacker Austin Key and cornerback Keionte Scott, which should provide an opening for Weigman to expose the middle of the field with one of the deepest wide receiver units in the country. Regarding getting to the red zone, the Aggies are one of the top teams to consistently make their way to the goal line in their first three games but only convert at a 74% clip. Just one spot below Washington, Texas A&M’s 52.78% rate of possessions in the red area is a direct result of offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino’s “feed the studs” mantra going into full effect, as the elite receiving weapons, including Evan Stewart, Ainias Smith, Noah Thomas, Jahdae Walker, and Moose Muhammad III are weekly matchup problems for nearly every opposing defense. Still, against Auburn’s No.1-ranked red zone scoring defense, the Aggies will need to find creative ways to either convert their opportunities with a mix of run/pass or focus on explosive down-field plays. Both teams are coming off decisive victories against lesser opponents. Even though we didn’t learn much about The Aggies other than the offense’s continued dominance, the quarterback duo of Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford present a challenge as both can make plays out of structure, so if the defense struggles to contain both options on Saturday, relying on Weigman’s arm and the run game should still result in positive results if this offense is as elite as we’ve witnessed thus far. Texas A&M will host the Auburn Tigers at Kyle Field on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 11:00 a.m., where it will air on ESPN. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty. Story originally appeared on Aggies Wire

i was told a couple of times that ol bobby did not have a motorcycle wreck. it was said the ladies hub or boyfriend beat the hell out of him. do you know? i love that by the way.

i did not know they held two bones together. i just thought it was severe bruising and i always wondered why it was so painful and took so long to heal. now i know.

it appears the samford game is getting more coverage than the aTm game. it is kind of odd. i will be checking throughout the day. we should have Auburn Football Everyday popping out on youtube sometime today.

As an Auburn fan/alum, this was the most SPOT on breakdown of us that I've seen.

Auburn football practice report: How healthy is Auburn heading into Texas A&M? Updated: Sep. 19, 2023, 6:52 p.m.|Published: Sep. 19, 2023, 5:12 p.m. 5–6 minutes Auburn received a major blow Monday when head coach Hugh Freeze announced staring cornerback Keionte Scott will miss considerable time following surgery for an apparent right ankle injury. His injury left Auburn’s secondary without two starters including Scott and Nehemiah Pritchett as well as Donovan Kaufman, who had played well in Auburn’s first two games. Scott joins starting linebacker Austin Keys as players dealing with long-term recoveries, but in a practice period open to reporters Tuesday before Auburn’s trip to Texas A&M, most of the remaining names on Auburn’s injury report were able to participate in practice. Scott and Keys were the only non-participants in practice, as expected. Scott was seen in the Auburn football facility Tuesday with a boot on his right foot and wheeling around with his leg propped up on a scooter. Kaufman was the only player on Auburn’s injury report with any obvious injury limitation in practice as he wore a yellow non-contact jersey. He was evaluated for a concussion after the Cal game. He did not play against Samford. Pritchett, as has been the case ever since practices before the Cal game, was a full participant in practice. He is still yet to play this season. Before the Cal and Samford game, Pritchett warmed up wearing pads though he ultimately went back to the locker room and changed into sweats. Pritchett appeared to have his ankle wrapped in practices before the UMass game, where he stood off to the side. Auburn has not confirmed his exact injury. Offensive linemen Kam Stutts and Izavion Miller, wide receiver Ja’Varrius Johnson and jack linebacker Jalen McLeod all did not finish Auburn’s game against Samford with various injuries, but all practiced in full. McLeod started the game but was hurt in the first quarter, seeming to re-aggravate his ankle injury. “Yeah it was a couple plays where it kept getting rolled up on and then we got a bigger game against Texas A&M,” McLeod said Monday. “I don’t want to make it seem like that, but you know, it’s conference play this week so that’s the main focus. Win all your conference games.” Miller’s injury occurred on a Damari Alston rush when Alston and a Samford tackler rolled up on his leg from behind. He was able to walk off the field on his power after being looked at by trainers. Stutts appeared to suffer some sort of lower-body injury based on game film against Samford. Freeze said Stutts had picked up a lower-body injury in the game against Cal but did not state anything further about Stutt’s injury on Monday. Running back Jarquez Hunter was shown on the ESPN broadcast at the medical table having his leg worked on during the first half, and he too practiced in full Tuesday. Tight end Luke Deal was hurt in the game too, but briefly returned late in the game. He also practiced in full. Auburn’s big question going forward is how to handle its lack of depth in the secondary. During the period open to reporters, cornerback J.D. Rhym, who made his season debut against Samford on Saturday, played with both the nickel corners and safeties. Freeze suggested during his Monday press conference this would be a possibility because of injuries to Scott. Caleb Wooden also spent time with both the nickel corners and safeties. Wooden was Auburn’s immediate go-to in Scott’s spot when he was hurt against Samford. If Kaufman is able to return this week, he would project as the clearest solution to fill Scott’s spot as the nickel corner long term, with Rhym and Wooden as backups. However, because of Kaufman’s versatility at both corner and safety, Auburn has been working with Rhym and Wooden in similar roles for the sake of depth. “Truthfully, we met this morning and we’re just toying with all the different combinations with our current injuries back there, on kind of what’s best,” Freeze said Monday. “Hopefully DK can play and he’ll move into the Star position, and maybe move JD Rhym there and play the younger corners — we’re not really sure — and leave Caleb at the high safety. Because we’ve got to have two deep to function, and we’re just trying to figure out what the best 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 the Star or one of the safeties.” Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. By browsing this site, we may share your information with our social media partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

al.com Auburn CB Keionte Scott provides update on his ankle procedure, timeline to return in YouTube video Updated: Sep. 19, 2023, 7:06 p.m.|Published: Sep. 19, 2023, 7:02 p.m. 5–7 minutes When Auburn cornerback Keionte Scott left Saturday night’s game against Samford in the first half and later returned in street clothes and wearing a boot, it wasn’t a good sign. “Unfortunately, Keionte did not get a good report,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said during his weekly press conference Monday. “That hurts us a lot. He’s our leader back there. He’s going to have surgery today. Hasn’t been a good year for us with injuries. Losing him and Keys on the defensive side. It stings, it hurts.” The day following the injury, Scott took to the social platform X — formerly known as Twitter — to express his thoughts. “Great battle for me Mentally, Physically, and Spiritually,” Scott wrote. “Thank you Lord I Trust and praise you through the good and bad.” Monday evening, Scott posted to his Instagram that his scheduled surgery was successful. And in another showing of transparency, Scott uploaded a vlog to YouTube, taking viewers through the process of being checked into the hospital, talking with doctors and offering his own thoughts on the challenge that lies ahead of him. About 4:30 minutes into the video, a doctor is overheard explaining Scott’s injury to the Auburn cornerback. “You’ve had a high-ankle sprain before from what I understand, is that right?,” the doctor asks. Scott replied in the affirmative, suggesting that a high-ankle sprain is the injury Scott sustained against Samford. “The high-ankle ligaments are the ones that live on the top of the ankle, that hold the two bones together,” the doctor continues. “And you’ve torn those apart.” In 2019, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered the same injury and received the same surgery Scott did Monday — a tight-rope procedure. “Basically, it’s two little metal brackets. It’s quadrupled over with four tight ropes — synthetic ropes that are super, super strong — that are going to hold the two bones together, okay? And we’re going to put two of them in there,” the doctor said, explaining the procedure. “I’ve done tons and tons and tons of these. And what we’ve found is that we can rehab you pretty fast.” In Scott’s video, the doctor tells him that for four days, no weight will be put on the affected ankle. Instead, Scott will “live” in cold compression to get the ankle’s swelling to go down. After the four-day mark and swelling is under control, the plan is to get the ankle moving again, the doctor told Scott. “Usually sometime around day 10 to 14, we’ll have you walking on the Alter-G, walking on underwater treadmill,” the doctor said. “And it’s not going to feel normal. Sometime in that area, you’re going to take off. And I don’t know what it is, but something will happen and you’ll go from limping and really sore, to walking pretty normal. When you walk normal, we’ll take you off the treadmill and put you on land and we’ll let you start doing straight ahead stuff.” The doctor goes on to tell Scott that when walking and running on land feels normal, he’ll then be promoted to be able to do cutting movements. “You’re a defensive back and returner, so for you in particular, you have the one position that’s probably the most challenging,” the doctor told Scott. “You can do it and I’ve done it a ton, but you’ve gotta be able to back pedal, right. And to be able to back pedal, you’ve gotta be able to get up on your toes... That’ll be the last thing that comes. When you can show me that you can do 15 single-leg hops safely, I’ll clear you.” How long will it take Scott to do 15 single-leg hops safely? The doctor tells Scott that if he “hits all the boxes” in physical therapy, he’ll be cleared. However, the doctor didn’t offer a specific timeframe. In the case of Tagovailoa in 2019, the Alabama quarterback suffered the injury on Oct. 19 and started for the Crimson Tide against LSU on Nov. 9. And while getting Scott back as soon as possible would undoubtedly bolster a quickly thinning Auburn defense, the doctor was sure to remind the defensive back that wasn’t the goal of the procedure. “The reason to do the surgery is not to get you back playing quickly, it’s actually to be able to make your ankle normal,” the doctor told Scott. “That’s No. 1. No. 2 is I’ve got some good MRIs of some guys who’ve had this surgery who’ve had an injury again and it definitely provides some protective mechanisms. So there’s some benefit long-term for it, too.” The good news is Scott seemed to be in a good headspace, all things considered. While he did describe himself to viewers as a “highly, highly nervous person” while changing into his hospital gown, Scott has a good attitude. “Stuff happens, man. And as the end of the day, I feel like this injury doesn’t define me. If anything, it gives me a little bit more hunger and makes me consider — even though I always do — it’s just a reminder that the game could be gone just like that,” Scott said in the video. “Situations can do two things to you. You can grow from it, or you can lose from it. And I ain’t taking no Ls,” Scott said in the video. “So I’m just going to grind, man. Going to chop wood every day. I can’t wait for the get-back. Stay tuned.” If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. By browsing this site, we may share your information with our social media partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is well aware of the challenges ahead before taking on Texas A&M Cameron Ohnysty Tue, September 19, 2023 at 7:27 PM CDT·3 min read 4 Texas A&M (2-1) is set to open the 2023 SEC season against the visiting Auburn Tigers (3-0) in head coach Hugh Freeze’s inaugural season with the program, knowing that striking while the iron is hot is vital within an upcoming schedule that includes hosting Georgia and traveling to Baton Rouge to take LSU after facing the Aggies. Earlier this week, Freeze sat down with the media to discuss Saturday’s battle, focusing on Texas A&M star wide receiver Evan Stewart’s game-changing potential in the passing game with ascending quarterback Conner Weigman leading the offensive charge. “They have great receivers, One of the best I’ve ever seen in (Evan) Stewart,” Freeze stated. “He’s really talented, and I think they’re doing some really good things offensively. They’re going to be a great challenge for us to try to keep them under. Hopefully, keeping them from having explosive plays, particularly ones that lead to points.” Even though the Aggies’ pass rush has been absent outside of defensive end Shemar Turners’ team-leading three sacks, the bevy of blue-chip talent in the defensive trenches will eventually find its footing. If last Saturday’s 47-3 win over UL Monroe doesn’t indicate that said talent is resulting in on-field production, the Tigers may have a shot at moving the ball downfield. However, Freeze remains hesitant to doubt the Aggie D, specifically their third-down defense. “It is a great concern. I want to be really clear; we are getting ready to play three teams that have – over the last four to five years – ranked in the top seven to five in recruiting. You are playing the best recruits in the nation. We are going to be there soon. That doesn’t mean you can’t compete. There is a reason they are third in the nation on third-down defense. They have a bunch of five-stars in the defensive line, linebacker and that safety, and that corner. They are really talented. When you put on the film you see that. Their closing speed is incredible. They are physical up front, and it is a 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 is our goal to get there. But that is what reality is, we have had about eight months to recruit about half a class and these others have been stacking it, and that is why they are ranked third in the country (on third-down defense)”. No matter what it says on paper for both teams, this is the SEC, meaning every matchup for the next two months will be dogfight after dogfight. Regarding Texas A&M vs. Auburn, head coach Jimbo Fisher is looking for revenge after falling to the then Cadillac Williams-led Tigers squad, who narrowly defeated the Aggies 13-10 last season. Texas A&M will host the Auburn Tigers at Kyle Field on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 11:00 a.m., where it will air on ESPN. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty. Story originally appeared on Aggies Wire

al.com Auburn football: Hugh Freeze and the talent gap he inherited Published: Sep. 19, 2023, 6:00 a.m. 5–6 minutes When he got to Auburn, one of the first things head coach Hugh Freeze did was start recruiting. He had to. He was already behind before he began. College football remains in an arms race, with life-changing NIL deals, TV money and conference realignment so drastically changing the sport. It all hinges on recruiting, and the spectacle to land the most talented high school players in the nation. Auburn’s recruiting had dipped during former head coach Bryan Harsin’s tenure. Multiple high school coaches within the state of Alabama said they just hadn’t heard from Auburn, one of the two preeminent programs in the state, in two years before Freeze was hired. So, Freeze inherited a talent gap. A big one. It’s fitting his first game in SEC play in his return to the league would come against one of the best recruiting programs in the nation. When 5-star linebacker Demarcus Riddick flipped from Georgia to Auburn, he became Auburn’s first five-star recruit since Owen Pappoe in 2019. In that same time, Texas A&M landed 14 five-stars. That’s Auburn’s opponent this week at 11 a.m. central time Saturday. That’s followed by games against No. 1 Georgia and defending SEC West champion LSU — which have both recruited at a level much closer to Texas A&M than that of Auburn. Freeze knows it. “I’m probably too candid and honest sometimes for some people, let’s just be really clear,” Freeze said during his Monday press conference. “You’re playing the best recruits in the nation. We’re going to be there soon, and that doesn’t mean you can’t compete and win the game, there’s a reason they are third in the nation on third down defense. They’ve got a bunch of 5-stars in the defensive line and at linebacker and at safety and at corner. They are really, really talented.” The SEC West is maybe college football’s most difficult division. In a short time as Auburn’s head coach, Freeze has already done much to catch up. Auburn’s two biggest rivals have been the two best programs in college football over the last decade. But Freeze has already flipped a 5-star recruit away from Georgia in Riddick and another 5-star away from Alabama in Perry Thompson. Auburn’s 2024 recruiting class is currently ranked 14th in the nation, per 247Sports. But Auburn’s class is sixth overall based on the average recruiting ranking of the players in its class. All three of Georgia, Alabama and Texas A&M are in those five spots above Auburn. It’s just the beginning of the process to catch up. Freeze has been insightful in this process. He seems aware this isn’t the team that’s going to vault Auburn to where it wants to be in the SEC. Asked back in August about how to end Auburn’s drought of 1,000-yard wide receivers, Freeze said the solution isn’t on the roster right now. “And I hope every recruit that I’m recruiting for receiver is listening to me, we’ve got to change that here, and you’ve gotta change that through recruiting,” Freeze said on Aug. 17. “Those receivers are a priority for us, the ones that are coming into the ‘24 and ‘25 class.” But those guys aren’t here yet. To get a roster he believes could compete early in his tenure, Freeze hit the transfer portal. He brought in a top-five-ranked transfer portal class, including 11 four-star-rated transfers. Led by Avery Jones, the top-rated interior offensive lineman in the transfer portal. “We know people are going to be watching this game just based off of the D-line and us wanting to play good against them,” Jones said Monday. “We all have a chip on our shoulder. We all came here for a reason, to play in these types of games and be on this stage and compete against the best.” From a pure talent perspective, Auburn’s roster doesn’t match Texas A&M’s. Freeze sees that on film. For this year, Auburn is relying on players that had routes like Jones of earning his way up from playing well at a smaller school. Jack linebacker Jalen McLeod won at Texas A&M last year playing with Appalachian State. But with Auburn, where an upset wouldn’t be as dramatic, McLeod said these games are about earning respect. McLeod is excited to play the five-stars. So are his teammates. A&M currently has eight five-stars on its roster. Auburn has none. So, the chip on Auburn’s shoulder lasts for now but Freeze still plans to close the gap. “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,” Freeze said. “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.” Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

al.com When Auburn visits Texas A&M Saturday, the river will run through third down Updated: Sep. 19, 2023, 11:47 a.m.|Published: Sep. 19, 2023, 10:00 a.m. 8–10 minutes Defensive-minded coaches call third down “money down” for a reason. It’s where you make your money as a defense. You either force a punt and get the ball back into the hands of your offense, or you give up a fresh set of downs and let your opponent keep driving down the field. Through three games, Texas A&M’s defense has banked on the “money down”. After having played New Mexico, Miami and Louisiana-Munroe, the Aggies boast the third-best third-down defense in the country allowing their opponents to convert just seven of 34 third-down plays, good for a conversion percentage of just 20.6%. Michigan State and Utah rank No. 1 and No. 2 in third-down defense, respectively. The team nipping at Texas A&M’s heels to break into the Top 3 of that category? The Auburn Tigers. Through Auburn’s first three games against UMass, Cal and Samford, opposing offenses have had 41 attempts at converting on third down. The Tigers’ defense has allowed their opponents to convert 10 of those, good for a conversion percentage of 24.4% — a mark that’s tied by Louisiana. When asked about Texas A&M’s success on third down, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze was quick to point to the talent on Jimbo Fisher’s roster — especially on the defensive side of the football. “I’m probably too candid and honest sometimes for some people, let’s just be really clear. We’re getting ready to play three teams that have, over the last four or five years, ranked in the top 5-7 in recruiting,” Freeze said Monday. “They’ve got a bunch of 5-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. Their closing speed is incredible. They are physical up front.” The candid response Freeze gave on Monday wasn’t anything new. When Freeze met with the media on Aug. 3 — the first day of Auburn’s fall camp — he mentioned there might be a talent gap between Auburn’s roster and some of the other rosters in the SEC. “I believe we have improved the Auburn football team through recruiting,” Freeze said. “What does that mean as far as closing the gap on the guys in this conference? I don’t know yet, but we’re excited to find out.” Considering Saturday’s visit to College Station is Auburn’s SEC opener, Freeze still has no idea if that talent gap has gotten any smaller. And if we’re calling it like it is, once we finally find out, it’ll be too late for Freeze and his coaching staff to do much about it. So, Freeze and the Tigers are focused on controlling what they can control. And when it comes to battling the Aggies’ stiff third-down defense, that means the Auburn offense focusing on getting to third-and-manageable situations. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the greater the average distance to go on third down, the harder it’s been for Auburn to convert. In all, Auburn has taken 36 third-down snaps on offense. The average distance to go on those snaps has been right around 6.2 yards and the Tigers have converted 17 of them, good for a conversion percentage of 47.2% — a pedestrian rate that ranks 39th in the FBS. But when you omit third-down snaps in which there were no play due to penalties or when Auburn took a knee in victory formation, you end up with 32 true third-down snaps. Of those, 17 of them were played with five or fewer yards to gain. Meanwhile, 15 of them were played with six or more yards to gain. And when the Tigers’ offense needed five or fewer yards, they converted more than 64% of the time. And while it obviously doesn’t tell the whole story, compare that 64% success rate on third-and-manageable to the third-down conversion rate of the rest of the FBS and Auburn would rank third in the country behind Oklahoma and North Carolina. Conversely, when the line to gain was more than five yards away, the Tigers converted just 33% of the time. “The biggest goal for this week against such a talented team, and one that’s really, really good on third down is you’ve got to keep yourself in third-and-manageable,” Freeze said Monday. “You can’t survive and in the third-and-longs.” So how do you get there — to those third-and-manageable situations? Against a team like Texas A&M and the rest of the defenses Auburn will see in the SEC, the only answer is to have a number of answers. And that’s where the run-pass option has to come into play. Last week against Samford, you saw Freeze and offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery make a concerted effort to call a balanced offensive game plan, of which featured a lot of RPO play calls, leaving it up to Auburn’s quarterbacks to make the correct reads. “It’s really a box count issue — if you have six guys to block in the box and there is a seventh (defensive) hat that is present, then the ball should be thrown. That’s about as simple as I can put it,” Freeze explained Monday. Meanwhile, if a defense doesn’t send an additional defender to the box and instead drops back into coverage, it opens the door for a quarterback to call his own number and take off running. Junior quarterback Payton Thorne, in what felt like his first full showing as Auburn’s starting quarterback, managed the RPO play calls well against Samford on Saturday night. Freeze guessed that approximately half of Thorne’s completions against Samford came courtesy of making the correct read on a RPO play. Thorne went 24-for-32 through the air, good for 282 passing yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Thorne added an additional 123 yards of offense with his legs, tallying 11 rushes and two rushing touchdowns. Thorne’s outing — regardless of the opponent — was impressive as he became the first quarterback to pass for more than 200 yards and rush for more than 100 yards in a game since Nick Marshall in 2014. Auburn will need another big night of unpredictability from Thorne against Texas A&M on Saturday. But the Tigers will need more than a one-man show. If we ignore the Cal game and all its wonkiness for the sake of this argument, we’re left with two distinctly different offensive showcases. Against UMass, it was Auburn’s running back room that highlighted the offense. The Tigers played five different running backs, who combined for 250 rushing yards and three touchdowns. It was also the same game Ashford went on to earn his “Red Zone Robby” nickname after rushing for three short touchdowns. Meanwhile, Auburn’s running backs never found a spark against Samford. And while much of that was due to Samford’s defense over-committing to the run — which set the table for Auburn’s success through the air — Freeze left Jordan-Hare Stadium wanting more from his running backs. And to beat a team like Texas A&M, Auburn is going to need production from all of its offensive specialists. Sophomore wide receiver Jay Fair, who has been the most productive receiver on the Tigers’ roster, says that’s the offense’s focus looking ahead. “Consistency. To have it all, the run game and the pass game,” Fair said when asked what the Auburn offense is looking for moving forward. “Because we need each other, when it all comes down to it. The better we can run the ball, the better we’ll be able to pass the ball. So that’s the goal — consistency in both those aspects.” That’ll definitely be needed when the Auburn offense lines up for any offensive snap on Saturday, but especially on third down. On average, the Tigers’ offense has played 12 third-down snaps a game. And if Auburn can take those snaps in a third-and-manageable situations — or better, third-and-short — the tall task of beating Texas A&M’s defense should shrink a bit. “You’re not going to drop back and win a lot of routes against them. They’re really talented,” Freeze said. “So we’ve got to keep it in third-and-manageable — hopefully short — to where we can run or pass.” If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. By browsing this site, we may share your information with our social media partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

247sports.com Faulk showing plenty of promise as he continues to learn Jason Caldwell 5–6 minutes Big games against teams with big-time talent AUBURN, Alabama – First-year Auburn coach Hugh Freeze went to work the day he arrived on closing the talent gap between his program and the SEC’s biggest bullies. But he acknowledged on Monday that the Tigers are about to get a closeup look at three of those bullies. On Saturday, the Tigers play at Texas A&M. A week later, they play Georgia at home. After an open date, they go to LSU. Freeze said massive challenges await. “I’m probably too candid and honest sometimes for some people, but let’s just be really clear,” Freeze said. “We’re getting ready to play three teams that have, over the last four or five years, ranked in the top 5-7 in recruiting. You’re playing the best recruits in the nation. We’re going to be there soon, and that doesn’t mean you can’t compete and win the game. But there’s a reason they are third in the nation on third-down defense. They’ve got a bunch of 5-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. 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.” Freeze filled gaps with 20 transfers. His current recruiting class is ranked No. 14 with two 5-stars. But the massive hole left by a lost 2021 class can’t be easily overcome. Only running back Jarquez Hunter remains from that class. Passes from the 1-yard line Freeze didn’t like Auburn throwing from the 1-yard line on its first possession against Samford. He really didn’t like doing it twice. “I was disappointed in that a little bit,” Freeze said. “I don't mind the first one, truthfully. I didn't like the second one. I think we've got to probably approach that differently. I think I've made that clear. Sometimes you put it in your quarterback's hands, and he probably needs to know. But I think we should put it on us for that, and don't give him that option if we're not OK with him throwing it.” McLeod a Kyle Field veteran Auburn edge rusher Jalen McLeod had one of his career highlights against Texas A&M Kyle Field. He and his Appalachian State went there and pulled off a stunning upset, winning 17-14 last season. He had a huge game with two sacks and two forced fumbles. He looks forward to going back. “It’s a boost of confidence,” McLeod said. “It gets you like, ‘OK, now make it two times.’ Can’t have it be a one-trick pony. It was one game. Got to make it two times.” Kickoff time is fine with Freeze Unlike dealing with a 9:30 p.m. CDT kickoff at Cal, you won’t hear any complaints from Saturday’s 11 a.m. kickoff time for Saturday’s game. “I love early kicks on the road,” Freeze said. “I think our kids will. I don't think that's a huge challenge, truthfully. It's the same time zone. We'll put them to bed a little earlier, eat a little earlier, but we did that all fall camp. We started early, so it truthfully will be just like a fall camp day. I don't think there's a huge adjustment to that at all. And I like the early kicks.” A&M defensive line has Jones’ attention Center Avery Jones has already watched plenty of Texas A&M video, and he recognizes what Auburn’s offensive line is up against. “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 in the SEC compared to what we played in our first three games. We’ve just got to be ready to ball out.” Crowd noise no concern for Fair Wide receiver Jay Fair says crowd noise on the road – be it at Kyle Field or elsewhere – doesn’t bother him because he doesn’t even hear it. Me personally, I kind of black out during all that,” Fair said. “I don’t really hear anything. Maybe coming out the tunnel is the only chance I get to hear the noise for real. But when I’m on the field, it’s just honing in on the call and the signals. I don’t really hear anything else.” The Petrino effect Bobby Petrino, once Auburn’s offensive coordinator and once head coach with Louisville, the Atlanta Falcons and Arkansas, will work his fourth game Saturday as Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator. Freeze says his scheme provides major challenges. “He's very good schematically, very good at scheming,” Freeze said. “Obviously, he checks a lot of his runs based on the looks that you have. That makes it difficult. He's usually right. The thing that we have to do a great job of is disguising things. You know, he's going to make you stop 12 personnel and spread sets and everything that makes it challenging. Then you combine the talent level he's coaching with his balance on offense — play-action, passes, runs, a quarterback that can extend it with his legs when he needs to — it's a very difficult task.”

247sports.com Texas AM matchup carries extra meaning for Auburns McLeod Nathan King 4–5 minutes For a couple different reasons, Jalen McLeod has had Auburn’s SEC opener circled. It won’t be the App State transfer’s first trip to College Station. His previous team beat the Aggies, then ranked No. 6 in the country, last season in one of the biggest upsets in recent college football history. And McLeod was a big reason why, with two sacks and two forced fumbles in the game. He said Monday that Auburn’s defensive coaches have been telling him he’s got to replicate that performance this Saturday (11 a.m. CDT, ESPN). “It’s a boost of confidence,” McLeod said of his showing against Texas A&M last season. “It gets you like, ‘OK, now make it two times.’ Can’t have it be a one-trick pony. It was one game. Got to make it two times.” But before he can do so, McLeod knows he needs to get healthier. The 6-foot-1, 237-pound pass-rusher continues to be nagged by an ankle issue, and he exited Auburn’s 45-13 win over Samford after the ankle was rolled on a couple times. McLeod didn’t play in the team’s season opener against UMass, so he’s essentially been available for only half of the Tigers’ games so far. “It's been annoying,” said McLeod, who’s been bothered by his ankle since preseason camp. “It's been nagging. Hurt a little bit but I'm trying to get it to 100 percent this week. That's the main focus. Right after this I'm going right to treatment to get it right, and then back right after practice.” When McLeod is healthy, though, the difference he makes for Auburn’s defensive front when he comes barrelling off the edge is clear. Hugh Freeze has said since the preseason that McLeod’s presence and skill set alter Auburn’s look as a defense significantly. Though he was disappointed by not registering a sack, McLeod brought the heat in Auburn’s Week 2 win over Cal, with three QB pressures in the game. His absence in portions or entire games has hurt the Tigers’ overall pass-rushing prowess, Freeze said, and adjusting when he’s not on the field is a big key for the defensive front right now. Freeze hasn’t been pleased with how Auburn has pressured the quarterback without the need for extra blitzers. Against a Texas A&M team that’s No. 2 in the SEC so far in pass attempts, he knows Saturday will be a big test — and McLeod’s production could be crucial. “We haven't done really well rushing the passer with just the front (four),” Freeze said. “Some of that is Jalen McLeod's been hurt two of the three games. Hasn't been able to perform. He's probably our best pass rusher, and we've missed having him healthy for sure. We've had to create it other ways.” With Auburn facing likely the toughest stretch of its 2023 schedule to open SEC play — at Texas A&M, at home against Georgia, and at LSU — McLeod hopes he serves as a reminder that even some of the most talented players in the country are mortal. He wreaked havoc on the Aggies’ offensive line last year as an undersized outside linebacker from the Sun Belt — and he’s not the only Group of Five transfer looking to prove himself against the best competition the sport has to offer. “I feel like these next couple weeks coming up with all the 5-stars and big names around these schools that we're about to play, we've got a chip on our shoulder,” McLeod said. “We've got to earn our respect back.” And McLeod’s attitude has been infectious within Auburn’s walls. “You can tell he really wants to be here,” nose tackle Jayson Jones said of McLeod. “You can tell he wants it. Nobody wants it more than him.”

si.com Auburn's defense has been excellent on third down this season Andrew Stefaniak ~3 minutes Auburn's defense has been getting stops on third down this season. One interesting stat from Auburn's football season thus far is how good the Tigers have been on third down. Auburn is currently fourth in football in defensive third down conversion percentage. Opponents so far this season are ten for 41, converting third downs for a .244 percentage against Auburn. This is the fourth-best percentage in college football, but the funny thing is that Auburn's next opponent, Texas A&M, is third in this metric. Opponents are only getting first down on .206% of third downs against the Texas A&M Aggies. This means that this upcoming football game on Saturday will be won by which offense is able to pick up a big-time third down conversions. Let's take a look at the numbers on third down for Auburn against their opponents this season. UMass was 1-9 on third down, Cal was 4-18, and Samford was 5-14. If Auburn can continue this trend and slow the Aggie's solid offense on third down, they can win this game on the road. However, Payton Thorne and company will need to be successful in picking up first downs if Auburn wants to score a lot. This is going to be a fun football game that has a real opportunity to shake up the West if Auburn can leave the Lone Star State with the victory.

saturdaydownsouth.com Auburn football: Are the stars lining up for the Tigers again? Glenn Sattell | 7 hours ago 4–5 minutes Auburn opens SEC play at noon ET on Saturday in College Station. Texas A&M is the opponent, a program some believe whose time has come to take its spot atop the SEC West. Winning on the road in the SEC is challenging enough, but against a quality opponent like the Aggies it will certainly be a test for the Tigers and head coach Hugh Freeze in his 1st season on The Plains. Needless to say, a victory on Saturday would be huge for Auburn. The Tigers are looking to improve to 4-0 on the season. They haven’t done that since the 2019 season, when a 5-0 start preceded a 9-win season and a No. 12 ranking in the final College Football Playoff poll. But fast starts aren’t terribly uncommon at Auburn. Who can forget that in his 1st season as Auburn head coach, Gus Malzahn’s 2013 team made it all the way to the BCS Championship Game. Then, in just his 2nd season as head coach of the Tigers, Gene Chizik’s 2010 team won the national championship with a perfect 14-0 record. It’s far too early to be thinking such thoughts in the middle of September. But could the stars be aligning 1 more time at Auburn? They certainly seem to be falling into place. One would have to admit that the SEC West is down this year compared to the past decade or so. With Alabama, LSU and Texas A&M all stumbling out of the gate, suffering embarrassing nonconference losses, it seems the door has been opened for someone else — perhaps Auburn — to walk through and take the title. Could Freeze follow in the footsteps of Chizik and Malzahn with their early success at Auburn? Would that be so far-fetched? Just looking at the numbers, 2 stats give an indication that the Tigers might just have a puncher’s chance at contending this year. The 1st is defense. And, in particular, pass defense. Through the 1st 3 games of the 2023 season, the Tigers lead the SEC in defending the pass. Auburn is giving up just 155 yards per game through the air. Granted, the Tigers haven’t faced a passing attack like the one they’ll see on Saturday in Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman and that group of talented receivers. But so far, the Tigers have yielded just 2 TD passes in 3 games and have picked off 5 throws while allowing the opposition (UMass, California and Samford) to complete just 56.8% of their passes. The encouraging aspect of those stats is that it hasn’t been a 1- or 2-man show but an overall team effort. A total of 10 different players have recorded at least 1 quarterback hurry, and 7 different Tigers have broken up at least 1 pass this season. In addition, the Tigers have been able to get home on defense in passing situations. They’ve already accumulated 8 sacks over the 1st 3 games. Eugene Asante and Marcus Harris lead the group with 2 sacks each. The other statistical category of interest is rushing offense, where once again the Tigers lead the SEC in the early stages of the 2023 season. Auburn is averaging a league-best 215.67 rushing yards per game. The big surprise there is that quarterback Payton Thorne leads the team in rushing. Thought to be the passing quarterback in Auburn’s 2-QB system with dual threat Robby Ashford suited more for the run-option scheme, Thorne is averaging 6.36 yards per carry and has already scored 2 rushing TDs. Don’t expect that trend to continue but do expect Jarquez Hunter to get more touches and eventually lead the way. Damari Alston has also proven he can get the job done, averaging right at 5 yards per carry on a team-high 24 attempts this season. A solid running game, coupled with a defense that limits opposing high-flying offenses sounds like a formula for success. So far, for Freeze and the Auburn Tigers, it has been. Now we’re going to find out how well it travels as Auburn heads into the meat of the 2023 schedule. That’s where we’ll find out if this indeed turns out to be another one of those magical seasons on The Plains.

247sports.com Preview Texas AM passing game vs Auburn pass defense Jeff Tarpley 24–30 minutes Everything Jimbo Fisher said about Conner Weigman, preparing for Auburn Here is a look at everything Jimbo Fisher said about facing Auburn, his impressions recruiting Conner Weigman. VIDEO: Decision date looming for 5-Star ATH Terry Bussey | College Football Recruiting Show Texas A&M is getting set to open SEC play on Saturday against Auburn inside Kyle Field at 11 a.m CT. The Aggies (2-1, 0-0 SEC) and Tigers (3-0, 0-0 SEC) are both coming off comfortable victories this past weekend over ULM and Sanford respectively. The stakes get a little higher this weekend as both look to get off to a good start in SEC play. Head coach Jimbo Fisher met with the media to look ahead to the game as well as his past experience coaching against Hugh Freeze. He also talked about some aspects of his own team including the play of sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman. Fisher shared what his early impressions were when he first started recruiting Weigman and how his baseball background has impacted the way he plays quarterback. The former five-star has been very efficient through his first three games as the starter completing over 70 percent of his passes with eight touchdown passes and just two interceptions. Here is a look at everything Fisher had to say about Weigman’s development and taking on Auburn. Opening statement… "Happy with the guys and performance on Saturday. Come out very focused, great intent. What I was happy about they executed throughout the ball game. Did not say once, played to a really good standard and played well, but then didn't let up. Stayed focused. And the guys that came in the game that came off the bench who don't get as many reps did the same thing. Was happy with their performance. Move the football on offense and made plays on defense. Special team guys did a really good job. As I said, I thought special teams wise, we kicked the ball very well in the game. Our field goals were very good. Our kickoffs were good, our coverages were good. The one punt we had did a great job. He stuck a wedge, I guess, right at the one and made that thing. If he could do that with the golf ball, he'd be in the wrong sport. I mean, he stuck that one. But we did a good job in that aspect. Defensively, I thought we played well, covered well, tackled well. They got a couple of plays early. They made plays and made good throws with nothing wrong with what we were doing. ‌ They're right there, but they responded back. I was very proud of Deuce Harmon. That's the first time he's played and the way he's been banged up. Been through a lot since he's been here with some surgeries. It was great to see him on the field, Deuce Harmon. Like I said, gave up, was in really good position on a play and turned around and made three great plays after that. Never let it affect him, which is important for guys that haven't played tons of football. If you give up a play, how you come back. Very proud of that. The way he did it. Up front did a good job of getting some pressure and their RPO, which is hard, you know you're playing run and transition but we got a couple sacks, got a couple holding calls out of that. Thought offensively, very efficient. I think Mark Nabou stepped in, did a great job at center. Like I said, he'd played the whole camp at center, most of it. Did a great job in there making calls and blocking and him and Kam stayed in there the whole time in at guard and played well. Trey [Zuhn] played well. Guys did a good job. ‌ I thought Conner utilized the people. I mean, got the ball to the tight end, got the ball to the backs got the ball to the receivers. When the shots were there down the field, he got them there. When he didn't, he dumped it off. I mean, a good distribution and we ran the ball well. We ran the ball very efficiently. All guys had eight or more carries but transitioned well and all caught balls. All caught balls out of the backfield. Blitzes picked up, got recognitions and played a very solid game. But the thing I was happy and like I said, they stayed that way all the way through the game, kept playing that way all the way through the game, kept a good standard, and we're going to have to this week. We're playing a very good Auburn team. Auburn's 3-0, very physical, as always. Auburn is always a physical football team. Defensively, up front inside. They're big, man, Jalil Irvin and them inside guys are physical, really strong big guys. Hard to move once you get their guys down inside. And like I said, Jayson Jones and Jalil Irvin are great big guys. Linebackers, Eugene Asante can run like heck. ‌ I know Austin Keys broke a thumb. I don't know if he'll be back or not, but he'll play. The transfer Larry Nixon does a great job. Secondary, D.J James, the corner, is a really good player. The nickel Keionte Scott, the nickel Donovan Kaufman, those guys stand out. Safeties, tackle well. Nehemiah Pritchett, he hasn't played all year, but the other corners, along with him, Lee and those guys man, they're all really good players, and he's played, and they get those guys back. So they'll be good in the secondary. Constant pressures, mixing coverages, different coverages in the secondary. On offense the quarterback Payton Thorne played a lot of football at Michigan State. Was a starter, two or three year starter, I believe. Had a great week last week. Rushed for, I think, 127 yards,threw for 260 or 270 or whatever it was. Can throw the football. Ashford behind him is athletic, big, strong. They use him in the red zone, tight zone when he runs the football and mixes things, different packages. But the quarterback is a really good player. Back, Jarquez Hunter is strong, other backs are fast, athletic. Like I say, Jay Fair, the receiver we knew, he's from Texas. We recruited him. Slot does a great job for them. The big guy, Shane Hooks from Jackson State, very good player, tight end, athletic, Rivaldo Fairweather, can catch and run and vert. Tackles are big and physical. Punter, about a 42-43 yard average with a 4.2 hang, does a great job. Returners are good. The kickoff guy and their field goal guy, McPherson and his brother is the one in the NFL. We recruited this guy as a really good player. So, I mean, they're sound all the way across. Hugh Freeze is a great coach. Going to have to play well, play in the SEC, get the season started and play here and we need to play well. Got to play well in all facets and be physical in the game and compete in the game very well and it'll be a battle." ‌ On matchup problems Rivaldo Fairweather presents… "Well, it just depends if you're zone or man or how you're playing and what your other schemes are, what you're trying to stop by them. He's long, he's athletic, he can get vertical. The verticality in tight ends is how I measure those guys. Those guys that can get vertical and catch the ball down the field, which he can, great ball skills, man. It becomes a hard matchup and they make you play the middle of the field. If you don't have to respect the middle of the field defensively, if you can be, I say, light there, you can double your guys outside and play. But when you can't do that and the things he brings in the middle of the field, it makes it very tough. Then the different schemes they use, they do a good job on offense, but he's a good player, man, athletic." ‌ On running back by committee approach, how carries are decided… "No, you get series and how the play call goes. You're going to get the first two series and see how that goes. If you're hot, you go. If not, we're going to put you in the game. We keep rotation, keep guys going, and then you try to wear people down. You got to wear your defenses down. You got to remember, this is a long haul. You got 12 regular season games and the physicality of this league, the pounding. You look in the NFL, everybody's by committee, I mean, there's very few guys and very few teams, even the great players, have a guy that comes in and goes with them because that's a long season and the brutality and the physicality of a running back in this game, you see him run the ball when he gets hit. But how about when he's chipping a guy? How about when he's pass blocking a guy? How about when he's coming through on a fake and they're taking shots at him. Those guys, you got to have a great diversity of guys and we try to keep them by rotation in series, and then as games go, who's hot, who's whatever. Then also by play, I mean there may be certain things that one does stronger than the other, and you'll play them by play or by call." ‌ On play of linebackers so far… (Photo: Matt Bush, USA TODAY Sports) "I mean, a lot more consistent in fits. I think our eyes are better, we're fitting things, we're getting downhill better, in my opinion, and triggering on things. I think having a great front helps. I mean, you got those guys that can do it, but as a backer you still, no matter what, you got to trigger and get those double teams off of you when those things happen. I think their maturity and I think like I say it's the old, be quick, but don't hurry. I think they're seeing things better and they're playing with better eyes. At the end of the day, obviously you hear me talk all the time, eye violations and eye discipline. It's No. 1 thing as a player. Your eyes are the number one thing you have. If you can't see it, you can't make the play. You can't catch the ball, you can't make a read, can't run. So where you're looking and triggering and processing information, they're doing a much better job of that." ‌ On Shemar Turner’s team-high three sacks and if he’s surprised at all… "It doesn't surprise me. Listen, I said this, there's nobody on our football team that loves football more than Shemar Turner. That guy loves to play, he loves to practice, he loves to work out, he loves to run. He loves to do everything that's associated with football. That doesn't always happen. I mean, plays with passion and energy in everything he does. He's an inside guy, he's an outside guy. He has versatility. I love everything about what he does and the intensity he brings and the competitiveness he brings on a daily, not just a game basis, on a practice. I mean, every play in practice to him is like the national championship and that's what you want." ‌ On first impressions of Conner Weigman during recruitment… "I think the diversity and the naturalness when you watch guys do things and you've ever watched somebody do something say, you know, something that looks natural, the old term, he looks natural doing that looks like he belongs doing it. Conner looks like he belongs playing quarterback. What I mean by that is he has such great skills, but he's very comfortable. You see guys with great arms that can run and even still look awkward at times or not always. Everything he does about the game, he fits in the game. The game makes sense to him. It's natural to him. He's competitive, he's tough, he's athletic, he can throw, he can do all the things. But the processing of the things around him, the feel of the pocket, how he moves and how he naturally will slide and not panic but then take off, I mean, just there's a naturalness to playing that position because you're having to process so much information playing quarterback. There's no other position in any sport like it. The decision making and everything's scrutinized and when you watch a guy that can just get it right, say, not all the time, say 95% of the time or whatever it is, but the way they do it, it's like they're in slow motion." ‌ Everybody around them is going 100 miles an hour, but they can't ever get caught or they can't ever get grabbed or they can't ever not make the play. They have the great sense and feel around. That's when I first watched him, that was my first impression. Just he looks like he belongs doing what he's doing. Then when you get to know him, he's very intelligent, he's very charismatic. He's not quiet, but he's not loud. He's just very confident in himself, you know what I'm saying? He brings confidence, and he exudes confidence, and he gets it to people and how he communicates with people. Then great hands, his speed up, and then to play baseball. Listen, baseball players and quarterbacks have always related. When you're a great baseball player, man, you go back in the history of it and you're a baseball player, right? Yes, sir. What's the number one thing when you're hitting? What do you got to have great. ‌ What did you hate with guys that pitch? They could see it and speed those hands up and slow them down. You'd fool them, you see they'd be sitting change up, and all of a sudden they'd speed it up and foul it off or you'd get them out on that front foot and they'd keep those hands back. What I'm saying is, those baseball guys and he was a great hitter. If you watch him play quarterback, he's in the pocket, alright, here comes a rush. He can speed those hands up and get it out and still then put a little bit, throw it early, put a little bit of air on it that waits. Sometimes I'm waiting for the cut and I drive it, but then there's times I got to let it go because the rush dictates and the route's not there. So you got to have that feel to speed your hands up, but then take off a little bit and put a little bit more air. Or sometimes the receiver cut the route short on you sometimes, and all of a sudden it's there, and you got to speed it up and put juice on it. When you go back and watch a lot of your great quarterbacks, a lot of them are great baseball players. Why? They were great hitters. They could speed those hands up, slow them down, and they could process what they saw, like seeing the spin on a baseball, processing what's happening. It's a lot of naturalness in what he does that way. Then the footwork, when you're playing middle infield, it's like playing quarterback. You always got to have your feet up under you. Then when you do have to bring the sidearm throw or that, he'll do that. Sometimes I get on him about sometimes I tell him well, I tell him sometimes when you play shortstop and we play middle infield, sometimes you'll get it and you know you got plenty of time, and you watch them in the pros, they'll just make that throw. Well, when you're playing quarterback, you can't make that throw, you know what I mean? I said you can't play quarterback like you play shortstop as far as you got to play, like it's going to be a close play. Now all of a sudden, it's a close play and you see those guns come across. When you play quarterback, he's so good with his hands. He knows what's going on. Sometimes he'll get lazy and sidearm it. But that's the difference in football? Alright I'm throwing that drag route. It's behind me here, the guy gets tackled. Instead of putting it a foot in front where he can accelerate through it and make a run. That makes a big difference at times. That's something he does. We joke about that all the time. They all do it. You can do it when you have to. You don't do it till you have to because you don't do it all the time. I mean, Aaron Rodgers, all those great ones can do it, but when they're sound, they throw it the right way, you know what I'm saying? But, I mean, he has a lot of those other tools, though, that can get you the things that you can't teach the guys that can drop down and do those different arm angles and things. Listen he's got a lot of work to do. He's still a young. ‌ He's only played seven-eight games. He's got a lot of football to go. We got an SEC schedule to go. We got a lot of things to do. But love where he's at, love his demeanor. But I like his psyche, and I also like his disposition. It's competitive, it's natural, it's learning. He don't mind getting coached. He don't mind getting coached hard. When he makes mistakes, he admits to them. He's very competitive. He's got the right DNA, so hopefully we can keep doing the right things." ‌ On Weigman coming from right down the road… "It makes it a heck of a lot easier, man. Sometimes they're there, sometimes they're not. You know what I mean? And that has interest, you know what I mean? That's the other thing. Do have interest in you. Sometimes guys want to go different places. That's the world today and that was great. And him being here and being local, man, makes a big difference." On when is the right time for off platform throws… "Well, it's a feel. Here's the right time, when you can't make the normal throw. If you can make the normal throw, you should always do it the right way. There's nothing, get your feet right, get your arm right, be over the top, make your throws, do what you can. It's when you're ad libbing and reacting, there's no time to coach that. What the good ones can do. They're really not making that throw with their hands. They're making them with their feet. And what I'm saying is when they get just moved off their spot and they can get that one foot back in the ground to get a little bit of power to generate that arm angle and get those hands out. Also where you carry the ball, I mean, where you're carrying those things you get in habits of carrying that thing really low. Your arm drags just like a pitcher. When you drag that arm, you don't want to drag. You got to loop and get on top, and you get it back. But keeping that ball up and where you displace it and keeping two hands on the ball, I mean, you get guys that separate their hands a lot, they have a hard time generating those throws. So there's a lot of mechanics that go with it and a lot of teaching goes with it. But he does it, and at the end of the day, listen, they can either do it or they can't. You can teach until you're blue in the face, and you can give them all the mechanics, and then there's a part of it you can either do it or you can't. He can do it." ‌ On Jake Johnson emerging as security blanket for Conner Weigman… "Yeah, I hope so. I mean, there's a guy, a 6-6 guy and he's got verticality. You know, those guys are open when they're covered, and he's got really good ball skills. So I love the way Jake's development is coming, and the more you can get a guy like that, the better it is. Also, Max had two nice catches in the game. I think we had what, eight catches between tight ends. Max had two and he had six. I mean, that's big bodies, and it helps." On who is the better blocker between Johnson and Max Wright… "I can't tell everything, dagum. I can't tell you everything [laughing]. I can't tell you, but listen, they're in there on all those plays. They're all in there blocking on all those plays, so they all have to do it all. I mean, that's one thing about a tight end, man. You're going to be exploited in some part of your game at some point if you're not all the way through." ‌ Injury updates on players that sat out last week’s game and Noah Thomas… "Should be good, hopefully. We'll find out this week. We'll see as we go." On dropping edge rushers into coverage and teams throwing their way as a result… "Good. Because they'll get killed because he's right on top of them. Now you got a 260 pound guy and also, you got to remember, those guys are rerouting. They're playing zone. They're not in, man, so you're re-routing. I'm going to tell you, the hardest guy I ever went against in my life in college football is a guy named Mark Herzlich who played at Boston College. Remember, it was 6-foot-5, 265-pounds. I would take 20 defensive backs, I could name guys that are in the NFL right now that would be in the slot that we would rather run routes by than he would get in the slot and reroute our guys with his length, wingspan and play leverage on. Because when they would reroute them, they go from the hash to the numbers. You know what I mean? You're rerouting guys. You're bringing different guys and then you'll bring packages and you're trying to play you bring pressures from the other side because, I mean, you understand something. An offensive lineman, what do you know on the offensive line. Alright that's a big guy out there, right? ‌ So if you account for him with a back, he can walk in and do what? Blitz. So now I got to count for him on the back. So I'm sliding two linemen this way. Now what does that open up on blitz possibilities on the other side because it's personnel mismatches. See, I can think, okay, he's going to drop him, but what if he doesn't? If I account for somebody else and slide to protect the other way, then I got a 260 pound guy rushing on a 200-pound back. I got a mismatch. What you see this week may be something set up for next week. What maybe you see here, it creates the mismatches by how they play it. How they slide line or what they do and everybody does it. I mean, if you go look at everybody in football right now, it's what everybody's doing. You're going from three down to four down within the same personnel, which cause offenses a lot of thinking, a lot of problems, because how you match that and how you slide protections can match up. Do they blitz them or do they not blitz them and do they reroute? I mean, those big guys are 260 pounds and can sit there and know, listen, all I got to do is cover this box and you got to run by me. All we're trying to do is what? Buy time for him to reroute, get out in another zone, different things like that. So there's different principles when you do that totally to different things. This game has become a very intricate game, a lot more than it ever was before I promise." ‌ On how A&M goes about preparing for Auburn staff with only three games to go off of… "I think you go back to their history and past histories, too. I mean, guys don't ever deviate very far. I mean, you're not going to say guys don't go from running the wishbone to the run and shoot, you know what I'm saying? Now how they use their players. That's the thing you got to be who their featured guy is. What are they trying to do different? How are they trying to, they're probably still learning their guys too, a little bit and certain talents to how to feature guys to get them the ball or different things, but it stays relatively similar. But then again, that's why you got to teach. When you teach offense and defense, you're teaching concepts and everything you do has a rule based off if its a three man group, a four man surface, a two man surface, a four man side, a three man side, a two man side. So how your rules apply? So if there is different things that happen which there always are in a game, you have rules that apply to, you know, that's part of the early season things in which you go. That's why you got to teach conceptually and not just you're not memorizing exactly what they do all the time." ‌ On area he wants to see the most improvement… "I always say this. I always go back to the trenches. I really do because I think the game is you don't understand how the game is won and lost there based on everything you do, how we fit the runs, how we want to pressure the quarterback, getting pressure and how you're making your calls in your protection schemes and blocking schemes in the run pass. I always think because the intricacies of the offensive line, defensive line, I don't think people give the true credit for how complicated and tough it truly is and understand how the game is truly won and lost there. We get so enamored by the skill guys in space. But the greatness is really measured by the guys with the hand. So I always think in the lines of scrimmage, I think you're always trying to improve in every way, shape, or form. Then I always think the play of a quarterback, I mean, all the little things and the more experience you can always put in a guy, and not that our guy's not playing really good. I'm not saying that, but, I mean, there's never enough, as I call saddle time for those guys and experiences and scenarios for them to go through." ‌ On response defensively after Miami game and if they've fixed everything… "We'll see. We weren't playing the same kind of opponent, but again, I said this, we got beat physically in the Miami game. There weren't guys running scott free. We got beat on physical. Guy got beat on a one-on-one or things like that. So hopefully we'll continue to do that and we'll go against good guys in practice. Listen their receivers. Last week, they had two or three guys have a shot at being really good players. So I think we played a lot better there. So I think there's always things that way. You're trying to improve and do better. I mean, it's not like you're blowing coverages. It's not like you're doing different things. You got to win those one-on-one battles, and then you got to help with technique and then other pressures and do different things in which we can do. But hopefully we'll see the step up this week as the level of competition steps up in the SEC. Hopefully we'll find out. But I like what we did. I thought we played well, thought we practiced. We gave up four first downs until what, the last drive? And I don't care. ‌ That's hard to do on anything. That's also a team that just beat a really good Army team who beat a really good UTSA team here. ULM had some good players, man. They had some really good players. So it's not like and I'm not saying it's just you had good competition. Now we'll find out, we step up another level and hopefully will carry over this week." On coaching against Hugh Freeze… "Listen Hugh is going to be open. He's going to be wide open. He's going to be aggressive on offense. He's going to be dynamic. He's going to create things on special teams. Not afraid to call a fake, not afraid to do things, very good. Coach going to have his guys motivated, ready to play. Hugh isa good guy and a very good football coach."

Auburn announces depth chart ahead of matchup with Texas A&M JD McCarthy Tue, September 19, 2023 at 9:00 AM CDT·3 min read 0 For the second week in a row, Auburn has made some changes to its official depth chart. The Tigers unveiled their depth chart for their Week 4 showdown with Texas A&M on Monday and there is a change on offense and on special teams. With primary punt returner Keionte Scott expected to miss “considerable time,” Jaylin Simpson has been named the new starter. Simpson has returned one punt in his time at Auburn, back in 2021 he had a return of -1 yards. The other change to the depth chart was the addition of freshman running back Jeremiah Cobb. He has looked impressive in the first three weeks of the season and has earned more playing time in a crowded backfield. Here is a look at the full depth chart ahead of their game against Texas A&M Saturday in College Station. Quarterback Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK Starter: Payton Thorne Backups: Robby Ashford OR Holden Geriner Running Back Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK Starter: Jarquez Hunter Backups: Damari Alston, Brian Battie, Jeremiah Cobb Tight End Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK Starter: Rivaldo Fairweather OR Luke Deal Backups: Tyler Fromm OR Brandon Frazier, Micah Riley Wide Receiver Photo by Jamie Holt/Auburn Tigers Starter: Jyaire Shorter OR Omari Kelly Backups: Koy Moore Wide Receiver (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images) Starter: Jay Fair OR Ja’Varrius Johnson Backups: Caleb Burton III Wide Receiver (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images) Starter: Shane Hooks Backups: Camden Brown OR Nick Mardner Left Tackle John Reed-USA TODAY Sports Starter: Dillon Wade Backup: Jaden Muskrat Left Guard Photo By Austin Perryman Starter: Jeremiah Wright Backup: Tate Johnson Center Photo by Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers Starter: Avery Jones Backup: Connor Lew Right Guard AU/Athletics Starter: Kam Stutts Backup: Jalil Irvin Right Tackle Photo by Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers Starter: Gunner Britton Backup: Izavion Miller Defensive End Photo by Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers Starter: Mosiah Nasili-Kite Backups: Keldric Faulk OR Zykevious Walker Nose Tackle Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers Starter: Jayson Jones Backup: Justin Rogers Defensive Tackle AU/Athletics Starter: Marcus Harris Backup: Lawrence Johnson Jack Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports Starter: Jalen McLeod Backups: Elijah McAllister, Stephen Sings V Middle Linebacker Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers Starter: Larry Nixon III Backup: Wesley Steiner Weakside Linebacker Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers Starter: Eugene Asante Backup: Cam Riley Fieldside Cornerback Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports Starter: D.J. James Backups: Kayin Lee OR Colton Hood Star Austin Perryman/Auburn Athletics Starter: Keionte Scott Backup: Donovan Kaufman Field Safety Photo by Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers Starter: Jaylin Simpson Backup: Griffin Speaks Weak Safety Zach Bland/AU Athletics Starter: Zion Puckett Backups: Marquise Gilbert, Terrance Love Boundary Cornerback Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK Starter: Nehemiah Pritchett Backups: Champ Anthony OR J.D. Rhym Punt Returner Photo by Jamie Holt/Auburn Tigers Starter: Jaylin Simpson Backups: Keionte Scott Kick Returner (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton) Starters: Brian Battie, Jarquez Hunter Special Teams Photo by Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers Punter: Oscar Chapman Place Kicker: Alex McPherson Holder: Oscar Chapman Long Snapper: Reed Hughes Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire

i wish we could flood the young man with get well cards to lift him up and show we love him off the field as well as on the field.