12/23/22 Auburn Articles

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Jeremiah Cobb did not sign with Auburn on Wednesday. Why is that?

Taylor Jones

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When Hugh Freeze took over the head coaching job at Auburn on Nov. 28, he entered a tough situation on the recruiting front.

After spending time near the bottom of the SEC rankings, the Tigers ended the day with a top-20 class. The bump was a testament to the hard work of Hugh Freeze and staff to make up for what Freeze felt was unacceptable.

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“It’s been a wild two weeks for us,” Hugh Freeze said Wednesday. “We came into this considerably behind what I think Auburn should be in recruiting.”

Loyal commits such as Bradyn Joiner, J.C. Hart, and Terrance Love all signed with Auburn on the first day of the early signing period, while Keldric Faulk, Connor Lew, and Stephen Jackson signed with Auburn after previously committing elsewhere.

Despite the excitement surrounding Wednesday’s signees, there was one important name that was not announced as an early signee.

Jeremiah Cobb, a four-star running back from Montgomery, did not sign on Wednesday, making him the only 2023 pledge that did not make his commitment to Auburn official.

Should this be a concern for Auburn fans? Christian Clemente of 247Sports says that fans should not worry, as Cobb is still a strong Auburn commit.

Clemente says that Cobb has elected to wait until February to sign his letter of intent so that he can enjoy the special occasion with his teammates at Montgomery Catholic. Although he is waiting an extra six weeks to sign with the Tigers, Clemente is confident that Cobb is locked in with Auburn and does not see another program in the hunt.

Cobb is the No. 12 running back from the 2023 class, and the No. 16 overall prospect from the state of Alabama. Cobb has been committed to Auburn since July 1 and visited the campus three times during the 2022 season.

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Ben Aigamaua named tight ends coach at Auburn

Auburn University Athletics

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AUBURN, Ala. – Ben Aigamaua has been named the tight ends coach at Auburn, head coach Hugh Freeze announced Thursday. Aigamaua comes to Auburn with 13 years of experience at the collegiate level, including seven years at Ole Miss, and spent the last four seasons as tight ends coach at Liberty.

"Ben played for me at Lambuth and has worked on our staff in various capacities over the past decade," Freeze said. "He is a tireless worker and has developed into an excellent coach, teacher and recruiter.  Ben has a unique ability to connect with people and will be a great mentor and coach for the tight ends room."

In his four years at Liberty, the Flames won 34 games and became the third current FBS team to become bowl eligible in each of its first four seasons since transitioning from the FCS (Appalachian State: 2015-2021; Marshall: 1997-2002). The program entered the 2022 season as one of five FBS teams to win three straight bowl games, joining Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana on the list. 

"I've been blessed to play for Coach Freeze and be a part of his staff for over a decade," Aigamaua said. "My family and I are excited to be joining the Auburn family and I'm thrilled to be coaching at this outstanding institution with such a great football tradition."

Under Aigamaua's leadership in 2022, Liberty saw three different tight ends haul in a touchdown pass and the group accounted for 236 yards on 27 receptions. 

In four seasons, Aigamaua's tight end group hauled in a collective 109 receptions for 1,267 yards and 20 touchdowns while Liberty finished top 25 in the country in total offense on a pair of occasions. The Flames finished the 2020 season with a 10-1 record and ranked No. 17 in the final Associated Press poll, its highest end-of-year ranking in program history. 

Individually, a pair of Aigamaua's tight ends earned accolades as Johnny Huntley was named to the Phil Steele FBS Independent All-Conference Team in 2020 and 2021, and Michael Bollinger was named to the 2022 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.

Prior to his time at Liberty, Aigamaua served as a graduate assistant, offensive analyst and assistant athletic director of community relations at Ole Miss from 2012-18, the first five seasons with Freeze as the head coach. The Rebels were ranked as high as No. 3 in the country on a pair of occasions and finished top 10 in the final polls for the first time in nearly 50 years. The team finished top 25 in the country in total offense five times during the seven-year span. 

Aigamaua broke into the industry as a graduate assistant at his alma mater of Lambuth in 2010 before spending a year in the same capacity at Arkansas Tech in 2011. 

Before becoming a graduate assistant in 2010, he was a four-year starter on the defensive line at Lambuth from 2006-09, including the last two seasons with Freeze as the head coach. He was a three-year team captain and two-time all-conference honoree. 

Aigamaua earned his bachelor's degree in sports management from Lambuth in 2010 and master's degree in integrated sports marketing from Ole Miss in 2015. 

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Auburn names Jake Thornton offensive line coach

James Hayes

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AUBURN, Ala. (WSFA) - Auburn University announced today that Jake Thornton will become the football team’s new offensive line coach.

Thornton has spent the past two seasons as the offensive line coach for Ole Miss. During his time with the Rebels, he was instrumental in helping the team achieve a top-ten national ranking in total offense each year.

“Jake Thornton is a rising star in our profession and has established himself as one of the best young offensive line coaches in the country,” Freeze said. “He helped lead one of the top offenses in the Southeastern Conference over the last two seasons and is a great addition to the Auburn program. He will be a difference maker for our offense.”

This past season at Ole Miss, the Thornton-led offensive line paved the way for the SEC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-SEC running back Quinshon Judkins. Judkins set a single-season school record in rushing yards at 1,476 and touchdowns with 16.

“I’m very honored and excited to join Coach Freeze’s staff at Auburn,” Thornton said. “Coach Freeze is one of the best offensive minds in college football, and I look forward to working with him to help compete for championships at Auburn. Auburn is known for its blue-collar, hard work mentality, and our offensive line will possess that mentality. It’s time to go to work!”

During his coaching career, Thornton spent the 2020 season as the run game coordinator and offensive line coach at Gardner-Webb and was in the same role at FCS school Tennessee Tech in 2019. During his tenure at Tennessee Tech, he helped lead the Golden Eagles to their second-highest offensive yardage production in program history at 4,501 yards.

Auburn ranked 10th in the SEC in total offensive yards at 4,542 and is looking for Thornton to help boost those numbers in the upcoming season.

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Copyright 2022 WSFA. All rights reserved.

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Freeze praises recruiting efforts of Cadillac, Etheridge, remaining staff

Jason Caldwell

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AUBURN, Alabama—Talking to many of Auburn’s football signees on Wednesday, a common theme was their connection to Zac Etheridge, Cadillac Williams and the rest of the staff that stayed engaged fighting the battle for the Tigers through several tough weeks following the firing of Bryan Harsin.

Keeping things together on the field and actually building some momentum despite losing both coordinators as well, the staff did the same on the recruiting trail and laid the groundwork for a Top 20 ranking for the Tigers in the early signing period.

It didn’t go unnoticed by new coach Hugh Freeze.

“I have to say, first and foremost, Zac (Etheridge) and Cadillac (Williams) and even C-Rob (Christian Robinson) and probably others, too, that I’m not totally aware of, but those guys never gave up and trying to hold onto some relationships that had been formed throughout the previous years along with the people in the building,” Freeze said. “They deserve a ton of credit for hanging us in the fight until we could get what these families appear to have some stability and some direction and vision for our program. So I’m thankful for those guys, they were faithful to the Auburn Family and held us in there with a lot of guys.”

All you have to do is talk to the players, but also their coaches. With Auburn slacking in that department at times under Harsin, the remaining staff made it a priority to begin rebuilding those relationships. Guys like Will Friend, Roc Bellantoni and Ike Hilliard played a big part in this as well, but it was Etheridge and Cadillac who kept Auburn in the hunt for a guy like Keldric Faulk, something his coach said was a big deal. Committed to Florida State and one of the nation's top players, Faulk flipped to the Tigers on signing day.

“Bid kudos to Zac Etheridge and those guys for what they’ve done and the relationships they’ve kept through some of the turmoil,” Highland Home’s Will Pouncey said. “Zac and Cadillac were there to hold everything together and it has really put Auburn in the position they’re in now.”

With both Etheridge and Williams stepping in the gap and showing what they can do on the recruiting trail, Freeze said the two were invaluable to Auburn’s efforts to finish off this early class and he appreciates them greatly.

“I don’t think I can say it with any more emphasis: I don’t think we sign the class we have today without Zac’s efforts, and Cadillac also,” Freeze said. “I thought those two just played huge roles. Zac was in on most of the current committed guys and then was very vital in turning some from other schools. He was very vital.”

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Joseph Goodman: Cadillac inspired Auburn with powerful message

Published: Dec. 22, 2022, 8:00 a.m.

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Cadillac Williams said something to me after the Iron Bowl that’s worth repeating this holiday season.

“Anything that comes from love is going to prosper,” he said.

That seems like a message worth remembering this time of year, and every year after this one. Williams was Auburn’s interim football coach for four weeks in November, and during that time his authentic style of leadership inspired Auburn’s struggling team to finish the season with a strong effort. It was so much more than that, though. For everything Williams represented as Auburn’s head coach, and his ability to turn a difficult time for Auburn into a boon for the university, Williams is an easy choice for Alabama’s 2022 sportsperson of the year.

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This is the first time for me to select a sportsperson of the year in my columns, but after Cadillac’s notable success at Auburn, and the meaning behind it, it seems like a good time to start recognizing uncommon inspiration in our time. Williams is a trailblazer like that, and while his stint as interim coach might not have lasted very long, its legacy will endure here in this space.

Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, who is originally from the Gadsden area and starred at Auburn as a running back during his playing days, became the first Black head football coach for either Auburn or Alabama in 2022. On Nov.26, Cadillac became the first Black head football coach in the history of the Iron Bowl. It was Auburn interim athletics director Rich McGlynn who made the decision to promote Williams from running backs coach to interim head coach following the dismissal of Bryan Harsin on Oct.31. Given the opportunity, Cadillac thrived and proved not only that he can be a successful head coach in college football but a program-altering head coach in the SEC.

Alabama won the 2022 Iron Bowl 49-27, but Auburn’s offense rushed for a season-high 318 yards. Williams told his team before the game that they were going to run at Alabama, and the Tigers then set about rushing for the most yards by an Auburn team in an Iron Bowl since 1983 (355 yards). That’s the year Bo Jackson rushed for 256 yards against Alabama.

Auburn’s 7.4 yards per carry against Alabama in 2022 were the most for the Tigers against an SEC opponent since 2016 (9.53 yards per carry vs. Arkansas), and the most rushing yards allowed by an Alabama team coached by Nick Saban. Williams played in the NFL from 2005 to 2011. He started his coaching career in 2015 at Henderson State through a program for former NFL players. Naturally, I asked Williams after the Iron Bowl if he thought he was a better player or a coach.

He offered a long answer to that one.

“Well, that is a damn good question,” Cadillac said. “I’ll tell you this. It’s neck and neck because I had the opportunity, God gave me a gift, and I had a dream of going to the NFL and I accomplished that. Buy my momma’s house. I accomplished that.

“This is different. So different. It just gave me a joy and a feeling that I can’t even explain. To see those young men, the staff, people around the complex who work in academics, just to see how uplifted they were, how giving they were, the smiles on people’s faces. Just by guys’ attitudes. The way they treat people now. Like, I’m super, super proud of that, and it’s a different type of feeling. So, I would have to say that I’m a better coach.”

No argument here.

Cadillac was 2-2 as a head coach, but it felt like he scored victories in games even when the Tigers lost. Inside the locker room, Williams changed lives. Inside the Auburn football complex, Williams made people enjoy going to work again.

How do you measure that kind of greatness? In dollars, but also in renewed dedication. Auburn’s NIL collective, On To Victory, celebrated enormous gains thanks to Williams, and Auburn sold out games for victories against Texas A&M and Western Kentucky despite a losing record.

Williams expressed interest in being Auburn’s permanent football head coach, and he is now Auburn’s associate head coach after the university hired Hugh Freeze on Nov.28. Two days before Freeze was hired, and moments after his time as Auburn’s interim coach was over, I interviewed Williams in the visiting locker room of Bryant-Denny Stadium. Of everything he accomplished in such a small amount of time, Williams was proudest of all for how he and his staff changed the culture within the team.

“What I have learned about myself through this whole process is the Good Lord would take an ordinary guy like myself, a guy who was broken, with no experience, and can have an impact on people like I have never seen before,” Williams said. “And, look, I know we’re 2-2 and everyone looks at the football part of it, but if people only knew, man.

“We had 12 guys give their lives to Christ. Seven guys get baptized. And we had such a problem with kids going to class, kids missing workouts, kids showing up late. And these kids, their whole attitude changed. That has been mind-boggling to me, and Brother Chette and I talk about it all the time, ‘Bro, I haven’t ever seen anything like this.’”

Brother Chette is Chette Williams, who has been Auburn’s team chaplain since 1999. After his post-game prayer following the Iron Bowl, Brother Chette told the team, “This is the most incredible ride I’ve had since I’ve been at Auburn.”

Cadillac ran himself ragged in his one month as head coach. He didn’t sleep much. His voice was tired and faded after the Iron Bowl. He was sick and coughing and needed rest. Learning how to sail a vessel during a storm will do that to anyone. The ship did not sink, though. Auburn finished 5-7 on the season, but with Williams as coach the Tigers will go into the 2023 season riding a two-game winning streak at home.

After taking over the program on Halloween, Williams and his staff had only a few days to prepare for an away game at Mississippi State. It started off ugly in Starkville, but Auburn rallied at halftime and stormed back from a 21-point deficit to take the lead. Auburn lost 39-33 in overtime to coach Mike Leach and Mississippi State, but the Tigers’ resiliency in the second half lifted the team’s spirits.

Leach went out of his way to meet with Cadillac before the game. It was a poignant moment then, but one that will be with Cadillac for the rest of his life after Leach passed away on Dec.12. With Cadillac as the coach, Auburn football captured the hearts of fans, players and coaches throughout the SEC. Closer to home, Williams’ message of selfless service reenergized Auburn’s fanbase, christened Auburn’s new football facility with momentum and sparked a movement inside Auburn football that carried over into early National Signing Day.

His message is simple, but it carries great weight. “Anything that comes from love is going to prosper,” Williams said. “Auburn is going to be successful, but it’s got to start with that — caring, serving.”

What does that mean? What does that look like in practice? Consider this act of kindness by Williams this holiday season. On Nov.14, I published a column about a family that had lost a child in 2004, but was forever connected to Cadillac through an autographed football he signed for a fellow Auburn student, Kimberly McClendon. McClendon passed away on June 10, 2004. Before her death, she gifted Cadillac’s signed football to her father, Randy.

Cadillac read that column, and then read it to his team, and then invited the McClendons to Auburn on Nov.20. He visited with them that Sunday — the beginning of Iron Bowl week — and signed the same ball again. This time he signed as Auburn’s head coach.

Beautiful. Priceless. Permanent. In four weeks, Coach Cadillac put his mark on Auburn, and it will remain.

Joseph Goodman is a columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama: A season of hope and the making of Nick Saban’s ‘ultimate team’”. You can find him on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.

Auburn coach Cadillac Williams signed this ball as a player and then later as a coach for Auburn fan Randy McClendon.courtesy photo

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