1/2/23 Auburn Articles

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A look at the best shots of Robby Ashford from the 2022 season

Zac Blackerby

~2 minutes

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Robby Ashford was counted out by almost everyone when discussing Auburn's quarterback battle in the spring and fall. 

Zach Calzada and TJ Finley dominated the talking points with discussions of who would be Auburn's starting man under center. Over the course of the fall, it became a two-man race and rotation at quarterback between Finley and Ashford. 

After a Finley injury, Ashford never gave up the job. He played with fight and through injury. In a Hugh Freeze offense, his skillset could elevate his play to the next level. 

Here are some of our favorite shots from Robby Ashford's 2022 season after transferring from Oregon. 

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

Jason Homan/Auburn Daily

John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Todd Van Emst/Auburn Tigers

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Zach Bland / AU Athletics

Austin Perryman/ AU Athletics

Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

© Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Trey Lee / Auburn Daily

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

© Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

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Auburn transfer QB target withdraws from portal

River Wells

1–2 minutes

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Auburn won’t be getting the services of Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall, but it seems as if no other team will, either.

McCall was the No. 2 transfer quarterback in 247Sports’ portal rankings, but according to 247Sports’ Chris Hummer, he won’t be entering the portal at all. It seems as if McCall will stay at Coastal Carolina for another year, ending the sweepstakes for what would have been one of the most anticipated prospects in the portal.

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Hugh Freeze and the Tigers were set to host McCall in an effort to woo him to the Plains, but McCall canceled his visit at the last moment and did not reschedule due to an “academic issue”. This appears to be the only visit he had set up, and it appears he’s now withdrawn his name from the portal and is expected to continue to play for Coastal Carolina this coming season.

Auburn has not brought a transfer quarterback in as of yet, and it’s looking unlikely that the team will do so as the marquee prospects come off the board.

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#PMARSHONAU: When college football really is about effort, refusing to give in

Phillip Marshall

4–5 minutes

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College football owes TCU a debt of gratitude. At least for three-plus hours Saturday, we could believe again that the game really is about effort, determination and refusing to accept the notion that something can’t be done.

If you go by recruiting rankings or supposed talent metrics that use how many stars a player had before he ever played a college game, TCU didn’t have much of a chance in its playoff semifinal against Michigan. But TCU won 51-45 in the biggest upset in College Football Playoff history.

TCU didn’t win any of the analytics that threaten to swallow college football whole. None of the made-up systems that somehow came to be viewed as real would have given the Horned Frogs much of a chance. With the help of constant promotion – I can’t think of a better word – by ESPN, Fox and national sports columnists – only a handful of teams are deemed to actually be worthy.

TCU reminded us that there remains much about a game played by college students that can’t be measured with a stop watch or a bench press or how somebody is rated in a summer camp or how they look getting off the bus or by NIL money. And sometimes, regardless of what any analytics say, the bounce of the ball means more than all the plays designed by highly paid football coaches. Key players are lost to injuries. Great players sometimes don’t play like great players. Average players sometimes play like great ones.

If Ohio State's Noah Ruggles, a talented and consistent kicker, had made a 50-yard field goal with four seconds left against Georgia, everything about that game would be viewed today in a different light. We wouldn’t be talking about Stetson Bennett or Georgia’s talent. We’d be talking about C.J. Stroud and Ryan Day’s redemption, even though none of those had anything to do with that fateful final kick. We’d be wondering what happened to Georgia’s defense after it gave up 850 passing yards in the last two games.

So many of us have strayed so far from the actual game. The bookies in Las Vegas don’t set point spreads based on what they believe will happen. They set point spreads to attract the maximum amount of money bet on both sides. Yet, there are those – apparently including Alabama coach Nick Saban - who believe those bookies’ opinions should be considered in ranking teams. We talk about so-called QBR, a rating of quarterbacks that someone made up and convinced others that it is a real thing. I could go on.

No analytics can account for a fumble at the 1-yard line. The odds might favor going on fourth-and-two, but maybe not if the players on the defensive line are better than the players on the offensive line. No analytics can account for a defensive back slipping and falling down and giving up a touchdown or the very human thing of a player performing at a higher level than he ever has or a lower level than he ever has. No analytics can decipher targeting or why it is called when it is called.

Auburn won a national championship in 2010 and played for one in 2013, losing in the final seconds. Did it have more talent top to bottom than Oregon or Florida State? Probably not. It didn’t matter. Could analytics predict Auburn’s basketball team would lose in the national semifinals in 2019 because an official looking directly at the ball didn’t call a flagrant double dribble that would have ended the game?

2COMMENTS

For a bettor, betting on the more talented team is probably the right way to go. The more talented team is going to win more often than not. Bad teams don’t often win unless they are playing other bad teams. But teams with enough talent to have good records in strong conferences can win, even over teams that are believed to have more talent.

TCU players and coaches believed that last Saturday. No matter what they do against Georgia in the championship game, they did a great service for college football.

">247Sports

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Auburn football WR depth chart: to rely on deep room in 2023

Lance Dawe

3–4 minutes

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Auburn's receiver room may end up being one of, if not the deepest unit on the team in 2023.

Sure, the Tigers are losing Shedrick Jackson to graduation and Dazalin Worsham to the transfer portal - but considering the fact that Hugh Freeze will bring in and establish a legitimate passing scheme and the quarterback play can only go up from here, there's a lot of excitement surrounding Auburn's WR core.

Here's a look at what the receiver depth chart could look like in 2023:

Z Receiver

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

Koy Moore

Moore was a solid transfer pickup for the Tigers, finishing second on the team in receiving yards. He should step into a larger role at the Z position.

Malcolm Johnson Jr.

After only having two catches for 28 yards there's reason to believe that Johnson should be more productive simply because of the new offensive system.

Omari Kelly

The freshman receiver had three catches for 58 yards.

H Receiver

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Ja'Varrius Johnson

There's reason to believe that Johnson will be in contention to be Auburn's No. 1 receiver again in 2023. After positing nearly 500 yards a three touchdowns in a system that struggled to create open looks, Freeze should be able to get him open downfield quite a bit.

Tar'Varish Dawson Jr.

Speed. That's what Dawson brings. We've yet to see it at Auburn, but a more polished passing attack should help him shine.

Jay Fair

Fair groups in with this collective of speedy, smaller receivers - but whether or not he makes great strides on the field after only grabbing two catches as a freshman is up in the air. There's a lot of depth in front of him.

X Receiver

Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Camden Brown

It is now Camden Brown's time to shine in Philip Montgomery's offense. He's a tall, physical receiver that should allow the Tigers to generate some more consistency in the downfield passing game.

Landen King

After entering the transfer portal, the 6-foot-5 King is back. Copy and paste here - King should be utilized more in the passing game, as Freeze has had success with tall, hybrid TE/WR types.

Daquayvious Sorey

The true freshman receiver fits the "physical, hard-nosed" receiver type that Freeze can really work with. Described as acrobatic on the outside.

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Auburn offers Eastern Michigan OL transfer

Christian Clemente

2–3 minutes

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As the search for more immediate help along the offensive line continues, Auburn extended an offer to former Eastern Michigan left tackle Marcellus Johnson on Saturday night.

Johnson — listed at 6-foot-4, 308 pounds — spent the last three seasons as the starting left tackle for Eastern Michigan. He is a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.

"I am open to any part of the country," Johnson told 247Sports recruiting analyst Allen Trieu. "It is my last year so I want to take advantage of the time that I have left in college football. But I am really looking forward to a new opportunity. I have been at Eastern Michigan for five years so I thought for this last year I'd take a chance."

Since entering the portal on Dec. 29, Johnson has reported offers from Colorado, Auburn, BYU Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, South Carolina, Troy, Louisville, Illinois, Old Dominion, Coastal Carolina, Cal, Mizzou, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, Virginia, Kansas and Illinois.

In 2022, Johnson had a PFF grade of 71.6.

Johnson told Jeremy Werner of Illini Inquirer that he has one planned official visit to Colorado during the Jan. 4 through Jan. 8 window for transfers to make visits.

“I plan on taking all of my visits from the 4th through the 8th, and I will make my decision while I am either on a visit or soon after,” Johnson told Werner. “I will try to hit East Coast to West Coast first. But the biggest deciding factor for me is the O-line coach. I want to make sure I have a great connection with him.”

4COMMENTS

It's unclear right now if Auburn will get a visit or not from Johnson.

From the transfer portal Auburn has already picked up former Tulsa offensive tackle Dillon Wade, who is the No. 36 overall player in the 247Sports transfer portal player rankings. Still with the departures, Auburn is after another offensive tackle or two along with an interior offensive lineman or two.

">247Sports

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Jarrett Stidham sets Raiders’ record in first NFL start

Updated: Jan. 01, 2023, 8:14 p.m.|Published: Jan. 01, 2023, 8:00 p.m.

6–8 minutes

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Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham became the second player in NFL history with at least 350 passing yards and three touchdown passes in his first start on Sunday. The former Auburn standout also successfully executed a two-minute drill against the NFL’s No. 1 defense to send the game into overtime.

But Stidham’s final pass soured the quarterback on his record-setting performance.

In overtime, with Stidham passing under pressure from San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, safety Tashaun Gipson returned an interception 56 yards to the Las Vegas 7-yard line, with the Raiders QB pushing him out of bounds.

That set up the 23-yard field goal by Robby Gould that ended the game 37-34 in the 49ers’ favor to extend San Francisco’s winning streak to nine games.

“The ball’s in my hand every play,” Stidham said. “I’m the only one who gets to touch it every play. Unfortunately, there was two interceptions in the game and probably some things that I definitely could have done better to win. …

“I definitely feel like I left some football out there on the field today.”

The San Francisco defense had yielded the fewest points and yards in the NFL entering Sunday’s game. The Raiders became the third team to score more than 20 points on the 49ers this season, and the Las Vegas offense’s 500 yards was 56 more than any other team had gained against the 49ers in 15 games in 2022.

Stidham completed 23-of-34 passes for 365 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions and ran for 34 yards on seven carries.

RELATED: HOW HAVE 7 FORMER AUBURN QUARTERBACKS FARED IN THEIR FIRST NFL STARTS?

Stidham became the sixth player with at least 365 passing yards in his first NFL start. The record is held by former Auburn All-American Cam Newton, who had 422 in his debut for the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 11, 2011.

The previous high for a Raiders QB in his first NFL start had been 243 passing yards by Todd Marinovich in a 27-21 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 22, 1991. Marinovich and Matt McGloin (against the Houston Texans on Nov. 17, 2013) were the only players in franchise history with three touchdown passes in their first starts before Sunday.

The only other player in NFL history with at least 350 passing yards and three touchdown passes in his first start is Mike White in the New York Jets’ 34-31 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 31, 2021.

“I thought Jarrett put in a great week of work,” Las Vegas coach Josh McDaniels said. “Obviously, he knows what to do. He’s been in our system a long time and has that grasp of it. Understands what to do. I thought he executed a lot of things the right way today, gave our guys the chance to make some plays down the field. He skipped third down in the first half for the most part. We didn’t hardly have any third downs. He had a solid performance, I think, for his first start.

“I’m sure he’d be the first one to tell you the turnovers you want back. Obviously, there were some other things involved in those turnovers. But I thought leading our team, his energy, his communication, I thought we had good rhythm, and, obviously, you can tell the guys really played well for him and played hard for him, as they should. And so it didn’t surprise me that he was ready to go and played the way that he played.”

Stidham opened the scoring with a 24-yard pass to tight end Darren Waller with 11:40 left in the first quarter.

Stidham connected with Davante Adams on a 4-yard touchdown pass as Las Vegas took a 17-14 lead with 10 seconds left in the first half and a 60-yard touchdown pass to push the Raiders’ lead to 24-14 with 10:22 left in the third quarter.

After San Francisco rallied to take a seven-point lead with 2:17 remaining in the fourth quarter, Stidham threw 21 yards to wide receiver Mack Hollins and 45 yards to Adams, then had defensive pass interference on a toss to Waller that put the football on the 49ers 1-yard line. Running back Josh Jacobs scored from there with 1:11 left in the fourth quarter, and when Gould missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt on the final snap of the period, the game went to overtime.

“I didn’t feel like I had really any nerves at all this week,” Stidham said. “The perspective has changed a lot over the years. It’s not worth stressing over and getting all uptight, so I just wanted to go out there and play free today and try and facilitate the offense in a way to win, and we just fell short a little bit.”

Stidham started on Sunday after the Raiders decided to bench nine-year starter Derek Carr for the final two games of the 2022 season to give Stidham an opportunity to close his fourth NFL campaign. Before Sunday’s game, Stidham had completed 32-of-61 passes for 342 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions in 11 NFL regular-season games.

“My thing has always just been to work hard,” Stidham said. “I don’t know anything else. I don’t know how to do anything other than the hard way, so I’ve just tried to continue to stay grounded in who I am as a person and a player and just be ready whenever my number was called, so whether that’s rookie year, second year, third year or now, fourth year.”

Carrying a 6-10 record that includes nine losses by seven or fewer points, the Raiders will close their season against the Kansas City Chiefs next weekend, when Stidham will make his second start. The NFL will set its Week 18 schedule on Monday.

“Jarrett’s a young player,” McDaniels said. “I think everybody that’s worked with Jarrett and I think Jarrett himself has to assume his best football is going to be in front of him. The way you improve is through experience, and you have opportunities to compete against really good players and good defenses and good coaches and you learn a lot from those experiences. I think he’ll learn a lot from today, and next week will be another opportunity as we go forward.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.