12/22/22 Auburn Articles

[aubiefifty 18,254]

#PMARSHONAU: A big day for Auburn football, basketball

Phillip Marshall

4–5 minutes

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Wednesday was quite a day for Auburn athletics. It started with Hugh Freeze and his staff landing a recruiting class of a caliber that would have been deemed impossible three weeks ago. It ended with Bruce Pearl’s basketball team smashing Washington 84-61 on the road.

After Wednesday night’s game, Pearl, as is his way, took time out from praising his own team to congratulate Freeze and his staff for a job well-done.

“I want to congratulate Coach Freeze and his staff,” Pearl said. “When I say staff, I mean all the staff – the coaches, the support staff. … I am just so happy for them. We all have work to do, but he saved us and that roster. I’m just so happy for him and so proud of him.”

Freeze took over a program on life support on Nov. 28. Cadillac Williams had injected hope and energy, and Freeze and his staff hit the recruiting road and took advantage. The Auburn football machine, wheezing and coughing after a strange two years under a strange coach, showed signs of life. Freeze won’t build a championship contender with one recruiting class, but the signal was clear. Auburn football is on its way back.

Auburn basketball has never really gone away, but it often had not looked the part of a team that has won more SEC games than anybody over the last five years. Just in time for next Wednesday’s SEC opener against Florida at Neville Arena, it looked the part Wednesday night in dismantling Washington in the second half.

FOOTBALL THOUGHTS

Perhaps the most impressive part of Freeze’s first recruiting class was the flips. Seven players who were previously committed to other programs signed with Auburn on Wednesday.

Defensive lineman Keldric Faulk flipped from Florida State and defensive back Kaylin Lee from Ohio State. Earlier, center Connor Lee flipped from Miami, defensive back Colton Hood from Michigan State, offensive lineman Tyler Johnson from Texas Tech, offensive tackle Izavion Miller from Ole Miss and quarterback Hank Brown from Liberty.

Is that the most flips Auburn has had in a single recruiting cycle. I have to believe it is.

***

First-year UAB coach Trent Dilfer gets credit for the most bizarre statement of the day, saying “We’re looking for the best players in Alabama. If they go to the University of Alabama, that is awesome. But we are going to be the next best option.”

Really? Maybe it will go something like this:

“Son, you don’t want to go to the SEC, play in front of 87,000 every Saturday and play on national TV against the best teams in the game. Your best option is to play in Conference USA before a crowd of 30,000 on a good day and, on occasion, be televised on ESPNU. I admire what UAB has done, but come on man!

Was Dilfer's statement meant meant as a slap at Auburn? Of course it was. Why did he feel compelled to say it. I have no idea.

***

I don’t believe Auburn’s recruiting class is even close to being done. Players will continue to enter the portal until it closes in mid-January. More will enter when it opens again in mid-April. There will likely also be more incoming freshmen signed on national signing day in February.

***

BASKETBALL THOUGHTS

Freshman Auburn point guard Tre Donaldson isn’t going to be just a good player. He is going to be a great player. In just nine minutes Wednesday night, Donaldson took just two shots, but he had seven assists, four rebounds, two steals and just one turnover.

***

“You are the best player on the floor. Act like it!” That was Pearl’s message to Jaylin Williams during Wednesday’s game. Williams responded with 18 points and eight rebounds. He hit two of three 3-pointers. Pearl’s biggest complaint about Williams is that he is too unselfish, which says a lot about who Williams is.

5COMMENTS

***

Johni Broome was the dominant player Saturday night that he was signed to be. He scored 18 points, had eight rebounds and five assists. He also blocked a shot.

">247Sports

[aubiefifty 18,254]

Every Auburn football commit from the 2023 class with highlights

Published: Dec. 21, 2022, 10:56 p.m.

5–6 minutes

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It was a multi-pronged effort with three head coaches, but the early work is done on Auburn’s 2023 recruiting class. Hugh Freeze made his mark, adding 18 players so far with a handful of high-profile flips.

Overall, it went better than most expected. Per the 247Sports Composite team rankings, the Tigers produced the No. 19 class overall and eighth in the Southeastern Conference. And while Freeze admitted there’s still room for growth in the transfer portal, most of the signees were confirmed on Wednesday.

Here is the future of Auburn football.

OFFENSE

The quarterback: Hank Brown

Lipscomb (Tenn.), 3-star

No. 69 QB

Hugh Freeze never offers a quarterback he hasn’t assessed in person. Good thing he’s watched Brown, a former Liberty commit, extensively.

The skill positions: Daquavious Sorey

Chipley (Fla.), 4-star

No. 477 nationally, No. 63 WR

The Tigers only added one pass-catcher to start the signing period but made it count with Sorey who’s a playmaker and should be able to get involved in the offense in multiple ways.

The offensive linemen: Clay Wedin

Carrollwood Day (Fla.), 4-star

No. 411 nationally, No. 28 IOL

At 6-foot-6, 295-pounds, Wedin can use his size and agility to clear the way for Auburn’s ball carriers.

Bradyn Joiner

Auburn, 3-star

No. 471 nationally, No. 33 IOL

The first commit of the class held his commitment all year and was an avid recruit for the Tigers. Now, the former two-way trench player provides the line with depth.

Connor Lew

Kennesaw Mountain (Ga.), 3-star

No. 514 nationally, No. 38 IOL

Freeze identified the 6-foot-3, 280-pound Lew as one of the best high school centers in the country. Lew was a part of the Tigers’ seven flips.

Izavion Miller

Southwest Mississippi Community College, 3-star

No. 11 JUCO, No. 4 OT

Tapped as a possible early starter by Freeze, Miller is a 6-foot-5, 320-pound people-mover.

Tyler Johnson

Natchitoches Central (La.), 3-star

No. 688 nationally, No. 53 OT

A former Texas Tech pledge, Johnson has “sleeper” potential if he can pair technique with his 6-foot-6, 300-pound frame.

DEFENSE

The secondary: Kayin Lee

Cedar Grove (Ga.), 4-star

No. 209 nationally, No. 25 CB

The Tigers had two signing day steals, adding Lee from Ohio State in the afternoon. Lee can be a lockdown cornerback.

Sylvester Smith

Munford, 4-star

No. 222 nationally, No. 17 S

Part of Freeze’s job will be to rebuild relationships in Alabama. He took a step forward with that by acquiring Smith, a hard-nosed tackler.

Terrance Love

Langston Hughes (Ga.), 4-star

No. 275 nationally, No. 24 S

Love recorded 69 tackles and three interceptions while helping his high school team to an undefeated season and state title in the Peach State’s Class 6A.

Colton Hood

Eagles Landing Christian (Ga.), 3-star

No. 530 nationally, No. 54 CB

A Tigers legacy, Hood flipped from Michigan State as part of the Tigers’ pre-signing day rush.

JC Hart

Loachapoka, 3-star

No. 677 nationally, No. 68 CB

Hart figures to be a special teams contributor early with his speed and at cornerback with his ball skills.

The defensive linemen: Keldric Faulk

Highland Home, 4-star

No. 81 nationally, No. 10 DL

The story of the day for Auburn, Faulk has a high motor and the ability to become an SEC star. He’s the Tigers’ lone top-100 prospect.

Darron Reed

Carver (Ga.), 4-star

No. 190 nationally, No. 26 DL

The best signee under interim head coach Cadillac Williams, Reed is a 6-foot-4, 270-pound force that figures to come off the edge for Freeze and co.

Wilky Denaud

John Carrol (Fla.), 4-star

No. 398 nationally, No. 48 DL

Arguably the best name in Auburn or Alabama’s signing class, Denaud has the length to be a factor in the run and pass defense.

Brenton Williams

Opelika, 3-star

No. 778 nationally, No. 73 edge

A big-bodied rusher at 6-foot-4, 245-pounds, Williams is another in-state win.

Quientrail Jamison-Travis

Iowa Western Community College, 3-star

No. 31 JUCO, No. 5 DL

A byproduct of new position coach Jeremy Garrett’s recruiting efforts, Auburn hopes Jamison-Travis can be a second-impact lineman in as many years a la Jeffrey M’ba.

Stephen Johnson

Whitewater (Ga.), 3-star

No. 149 DL

A former Arkansas commit, Johnson is a 6-foot-3, 320-pounder that was one of two SEC flips in one day for Freeze.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at NAlvarez@al.com

[aubiefifty 18,254]

Auburn HC Hugh Freeze: 'We’re really not through anywhere' after massive Early Signing Day

Lance Dawe

4–5 minutes

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The residents of Auburn, Ala. woke up to a “hard Freeze alert” from the Weather channel; although the warning had nothing to do with the university’s imminent early signing day class, the foreshadowing was nothing short of poetic.

After being named head coach of the Tigers on Nov. 28, Hugh Freeze vaulted the program’s singing class from a low 50s ranking nationally to the top 20 with specific placement varying from site-to-site.

“We’ve been able to, in a short amount of time, depending on what you look at…go from somewhere like 60th to whatever we are today,” Freeze said. “I’ve seen 20th, 19, 16. I never know exactly what those mean, but we’re somewhere in that ballpark.”

The first-year head coach tipped his cap to the likes of Carnell Williams and Zac Etheridge, commending them for their efforts in retaining commitments in a state of uncertainty.

“They deserve a ton of credit for hanging us in the fight until we could get what these families appeared to have some stability and some direction and some vision for our program,” Freeze said. “So I’m thankful for those guys. They were faithful to the Auburn family and held us in there with a lot of guys.”

Between the extensive work put in by the previously employed members of his staff and the group’s ability to make a slew of late pushes, Freeze was pleased with the strides his program made – on both sides of the ball – throughout the early portion of the signing day.

“Thought we really did well with the DB room and made some dents in our needs in the offensive line room,” Freeze said. “Edge guys, I thought we did really well with. On defense interior, we still have a little work to do; we left some work to do on the O-line, we’re not through there.”

While the Tigers successfully added a slew of talent, no additions provided more momentum than the group’s implementation of “flipmas.

Originally committed to Ohio State, corner Kayin Lee made his commitment to the Tigers on national signing day; Freeze noted the significant nature of the acquisition.

“Kayin Lee, man, what a big-time get there,” Freeze said. “Flipping him from Ohio State out of Georgia.”

Lee was not the only commit who was swayed from his original pledge by the orange and blue; rather, he was the tip of the iceberg.

Defensive lineman Keldrick Faulk spent a wealth of time with the Auburn coaching staff in the waning days of his recruitment process, ultimately decommitting from Florida State and pledging the Tigers on Wednesday afternoon.

“Keldrick Faulk, man what a battle,” Freeze said. “I probably spent more time on this one than any. Just love this kid, love his family…so thrilled that they decided to trust in the vision here and to join us.”

Although the 6-foot-5 Highland Home, Ala. native required the most attention from Freeze and company, the Tigers’ new face of the porgram was sure to mention the battle he fought to flip four-star center Connor Lew from Miami.

“Connor Lew, one of the best centers in America out of high school, that was a hard task there,” Freeze said. “To convince them that this vision here and the stability now, he was ready to come. It took us a while, but he and his family came on another visit and it was awesome to get them.”

Between high school signees and transfer portal additions, Auburn’s inking of 19 players provided much-needed momentum as the program prepares for spring ball; Freeze said they are far from done with roster improvements.

“We’re really not through anywhere,” Freeze said. “We still have some big targets out there that, hopefully, we can close on either now or in the second wave when we hit the road when we get back in January or the early visits in January.”

In large, the jury is still out on the current direction of the Auburn football program; however, if today’s results are any implication, it’s difficult to envision a scenario in which Freeze’s staff pumps the brakes on the recruiting trail.

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Some other Auburn signings from Early Signing Day

Clay Wedin signs with Auburn

Bradyn Joiner signs with Auburn

Stephen Johnson signs with Auburn

Tyler Johnson signs with Auburn

Darron Reed signs with Auburn

Sylvester Smith signs with Auburn

Engage with Auburn Daily on Socials!

[aubiefifty 18,254]

Hugh Freeze optimistic about Auburn’s 2022 recruiting class

James Hayes

~2 minutes

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AUBURN, Ala. (WSFA) - Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze held a press conference today to talk about national signing day.

Freeze opened up the press conference by stating, “It’s been a wild two weeks.” He mentioned that when he came to the school, the recruiting was considerably behind, but he was happy with how far they have come to this point.

Coach Freeze also mentioned that he was proud of how the coaching staff was able to bring this recruiting class from 60th in the nation up to a top 20 class. He was particularly happy with the defensive backs, offensive line, and edge rushers saying, “I thought we did really well.”

Understanding there is work to be done, it was also mentioned that the process to improve the offensive line and the middle of the defensive line is still a work in progress.

Amid the recruiting class this year is Loachapoka High School stand-out JC Hart. Hart is a three-star recruit at defensive back that will add some depth to the Auburn defensive backfield.

The coaching staff also signed quarterback Hank Brown from Lipscomb Academy in Nashville. “He has an NFL arm,” stated Freeze. Brown was committed to Liberty, where Freeze coached before taking the Auburn head coaching job, but he backed off that commitment to follow Freeze to Auburn. Brown threw for 3,264 yards and 47 touchdowns during his senior season at Lipscomb Academy.

“There is no question we improved our current state.” Freeze said about this recruiting class.

Auburn will open up the 2023 football season on Sept. 2nd against UMass at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Not reading this story on the WSFA News App? Get news alerts FASTER and FREE in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store!

Copyright 2022 WSFA. All rights reserved.

[TAYLORKEETON 846]

Put UAB on the schedule 

[alabastertiger 637]

2 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

#PMARSHONAU: A big day for Auburn football, basketball

Phillip Marshall

4–5 minutes

---

 

Wednesday was quite a day for Auburn athletics. It started with Hugh Freeze and his staff landing a recruiting class of a caliber that would have been deemed impossible three weeks ago. It ended with Bruce Pearl’s basketball team smashing Washington 84-61 on the road.

After Wednesday night’s game, Pearl, as is his way, took time out from praising his own team to congratulate Freeze and his staff for a job well-done.

“I want to congratulate Coach Freeze and his staff,” Pearl said. “When I say staff, I mean all the staff – the coaches, the support staff. … I am just so happy for them. We all have work to do, but he saved us and that roster. I’m just so happy for him and so proud of him.”

Freeze took over a program on life support on Nov. 28. Cadillac Williams had injected hope and energy, and Freeze and his staff hit the recruiting road and took advantage. The Auburn football machine, wheezing and coughing after a strange two years under a strange coach, showed signs of life. Freeze won’t build a championship contender with one recruiting class, but the signal was clear. Auburn football is on its way back.

Auburn basketball has never really gone away, but it often had not looked the part of a team that has won more SEC games than anybody over the last five years. Just in time for next Wednesday’s SEC opener against Florida at Neville Arena, it looked the part Wednesday night in dismantling Washington in the second half.

FOOTBALL THOUGHTS

Perhaps the most impressive part of Freeze’s first recruiting class was the flips. Seven players who were previously committed to other programs signed with Auburn on Wednesday.

Defensive lineman Keldric Faulk flipped from Florida State and defensive back Kaylin Lee from Ohio State. Earlier, center Connor Lee flipped from Miami, defensive back Colton Hood from Michigan State, offensive lineman Tyler Johnson from Texas Tech, offensive tackle Izavion Miller from Ole Miss and quarterback Hank Brown from Liberty.

Is that the most flips Auburn has had in a single recruiting cycle. I have to believe it is.

***

First-year UAB coach Trent Dilfer gets credit for the most bizarre statement of the day, saying “We’re looking for the best players in Alabama. If they go to the University of Alabama, that is awesome. But we are going to be the next best option.”

Really? Maybe it will go something like this:

“Son, you don’t want to go to the SEC, play in front of 87,000 every Saturday and play on national TV against the best teams in the game. Your best option is to play in Conference USA before a crowd of 30,000 on a good day and, on occasion, be televised on ESPNU. I admire what UAB has done, but come on man!

Was Dilfer's statement meant meant as a slap at Auburn? Of course it was. Why did he feel compelled to say it. I have no idea.

***

I don’t believe Auburn’s recruiting class is even close to being done. Players will continue to enter the portal until it closes in mid-January. More will enter when it opens again in mid-April. There will likely also be more incoming freshmen signed on national signing day in February.

***

BASKETBALL THOUGHTS

Freshman Auburn point guard Tre Donaldson isn’t going to be just a good player. He is going to be a great player. In just nine minutes Wednesday night, Donaldson took just two shots, but he had seven assists, four rebounds, two steals and just one turnover.

***

“You are the best player on the floor. Act like it!” That was Pearl’s message to Jaylin Williams during Wednesday’s game. Williams responded with 18 points and eight rebounds. He hit two of three 3-pointers. Pearl’s biggest complaint about Williams is that he is too unselfish, which says a lot about who Williams is.

5COMMENTS

***

Johni Broome was the dominant player Saturday night that he was signed to be. He scored 18 points, had eight rebounds and five assists. He also blocked a shot.

">247Sports

Thank goodness you put them in the right spot today.   We would have hated to let you go this close to Christmas   

[aubiefifty 18,254]

2 hours ago, TAYLORKEETON said:

Put UAB on the schedule 

hell yes! i never liked their head coach dilbert much anyway..............