1/4/23 Auburn Articles

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New Year's questions for Auburn's coaching staff

ByNathan King 16 hours ago

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Roster management is nowhere near complete for Auburn's coaching staff, as the transfer recruiting window will open back up Wednesday, but a couple recent NFL draft decisions have helped the Tigers to gain a bit more clarity as to what each assistant coach needs to be prioritizing moving forward.

Hugh Freeze's 10-man assistant staff has been officially in place for a couple weeks, and after a brief break during the holidays, they're back to work on goals in for their respective position groups, as the calendar has flipped to the spring semester, a few months out from the first practices of the Freeze era.

Here are 10 questions Auburn's assistants are looking to answer in the New Year, from transfer question marks to bigger roles for individual players in 2023.

OC/QB coach Philip Montgomery

Who will be the transfer addition? Freeze has been steadfast in his support and admiration for incumbent starter Robby Ashford and the "intriguing" tools the Oregon transfer presented in 2022. But it's become completely apparent Auburn is in the market for a transfer quarterback, and Freeze confirmed as much at his national signing day press conference. Whether it be Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders, who's received interest from Auburn of late, or another name either in the portal or yet to enter, the Tigers seem to be seeking a 1A and 1B situation in 2023 with Ashford and a transfer. It's also possible Auburn could wait out the post-spring wave for more portal entries from QBs who aren't pleased with their depth-progression in spring practices.

RB coach Cadillac Williams

Is Jarquez Hunter ready to carry the load? Tank Bigsby is moving on to the NFL after three successful years on the Plains, and Auburn has an obvious successor who's been biding his time. A former 3-star recruit from Mississippi, Hunter burst onto the scene last year as a true freshman, then improved in every statistical category as a sophomore, including 100-yard performances in each of Auburn's last three games. Hunter's running style is varied from Bigsby's, but he showed his ability to serve as an excellent complement for two years. Is he ready to shift into another gear and be a lead back in 2023? All signs have pointed to yes, even if the Tigers add another experienced ball-carrier from the portal after missing on Mississippi State's Dillon Johnson, who committed to Washington.

WR coach Marcus Davis

Who will be WR1? It's not as if Auburn has big losses in production at receiver, like it's dealt with the past two offseason. The only outgoing name is sixth-year senior Shedrick Jackson, who had 217 yards in 2022. There's plenty of returning talent, but who will rise to the top? Ja'Varrius Johnson has shown flashes of explosiveness, while a youngster like Camden Brown displayed rare physical traits as a true freshman. Tar'Varish Dawson is also coming back after entering the portal. Can former LSU transfer Koy Moore take another step? Or will a transfer addition be adding to the starting rotation? As Davis, a former Auburn receiver himself, assesses his new room, he has plenty of options to groom within Freeze's passing game.

TE coach Ben Aigamaua

Will Landen King transition back to tight end? Aigamaua has been with Freeze since his time as an off-the-field staffer at Ole Miss, and he's seen the head coach's impressive usage of versatile, big-bodied talents at tight end. With King, who started his Auburn career at tight end before moving full-time to the receivers room last season, opting to return to the team from the transfer portal, Aigamaua has a 6-foot-5, 220-pound weapon to play with. It would make sense for King to move back to tight end, where he'd also be joined by FIU transfer Rivaldo Fairweather, another freak athlete at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds.

OL coach Jake Thornton

Can transfers start at both tackle spots? Offensive tackle was a severely under-recruited spot for Auburn over the past several cycles, and now the Tigers' fifth offensive line coach in the past seven years is tasked with figuring out how to replace not only last season's starters at both left and right tackle, but also two other veterans with starting tackle experience who have exhausted their eligibility. The only returning player with any experience playing tackle is Colby Smith, who's taken a whopping one snap in his career. So it's not far-fetched to speculate that Tulsa transfer Dillon Wade and JUCO addition Izavion Miller could be penciled in at left and right tackle for the spring at the moment.

DC Ron Roberts

Who’s coaching what? This will also be Freeze's responsibility, obviously, but Auburn has a number of currently unspecified position groups in terms of assistant coaching designation. Jeremy Garrett is coaching defensive linemen, but will that also include outside, pass-rushing linebackers, called the "Jack" spot in Roberts' past defenses. Or will that responsibility be handed to linebackers coach Josh Aldridge? Additionally, how will Zac Etheridge and Wesley McGriff — both of whom have the title of defensive backs coach — split duties in the secondary?

DL coach Jeremy Garret

Can the Tigers get enough SEC-ready talent? With NFL draft departures and transfer exits, Auburn is unusually low on experienced defensive linemen at the moment. Senior Marcus Harris will look to anchor the group in 2023, and nose tackle Jayson Jones is also a returning starter, but the Tigers are short on proven depth, with Jeffrey M'ba and Zykeivous Walker serving as the only players with much playing time to their names. Vanderbilt pass-rusher Elijah McAllister was a good start in terms of transfer pickups, and top-75 overall recruit Keldric Faulk could play immediately as a true freshman, but Garrett still needs at least a couple more experienced pieces added to his room in order to field a defensive line with depth capable of competing in the SEC week in and week out.

LB coach Josh Aldridge

Is Robert Woodyard ready to step up? Linebacker is yet another position of need for Auburn in the transfer portal, as the defense is replacing one of its biggest leaders in four-year starter Owen Pappoe. But beyond an assumed transfer pickup, Aldridge could use some internal growth to ensure a solid linebacking corps in his first season coaching on the Plains. Full of talent is rising redshirt freshman Woodyard, the highest-rated prospect in Auburn's 2022 class. He dealt with a minor injury last preseason and contributed sparingly on special teams. A full, healthy offseason could yield some improvement for the young defender, and Auburn could certainly benefit from more quality depth at the position, so it doesn't have to rely on Cam Riley, Wesley Steiner and a probable transfer to be superstars.

DB coach Zac Etheridge

Can Keionte Scott take on a bigger role? Roberts' most successful defenses at Baylor and Louisiana featured a standout player at the "star" position, otherwise known as the nickel in Auburn's more recent defensive jargon. And Etheridge coached defensive backs under Roberts for one season at Louisiana, so he'll be able to give a player like Scott, Auburn's starting nickel last season, an inside track into what some of his new responsibilities could entail. Under Roberts' orchestration, Baylor's Jalen Pitre was a massive key for the Bears' 2021 Big 12 championship run, and now he's starting in the NFL. Roberts will rely heavily on the star position, and it could start with Scott.

DB coach Wesley McGriff

Can McGriff help take the room to the next level? Auburn now boasts one of the better secondary coaching tandems in the SEC, if not the country. Etheridge has proven himself to be a solid developer and dynamite recruiter, while McGriff's list of NFL defensive backs spans two decades. It's an ideal backdrop for a secondary is arguably the strongest position group on Auburn's entire roster in 2023, with all 11 players who took a snap last season set to return, plus five signees joining the mix, including a trio of 4-star prospects. Led by D.J. James, Jaylin Simpson, Nehemiah Pritchett, Donovan Kaufman and Zion Puckett, blended with more than a few talented underclassmen, McGriff and Etheridge should have a fun few months ahead of them as they map out the secondary's goals for spring practice.

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Edited January 4, 2023 by aubiefifty

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Where Auburn goes at RB after Dillon Johnson's commitment to Washington

Christian Clemente

3–4 minutes

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The search for another running back continues.

On Tuesday afternoon former Mississippi State running back Dillon Johnson announced his decision to transfer to Washington. Auburn, Louisville, South Carolina and a return to Mississippi State were all options, but Johnson opted to head west for Seattle.

With Tank Bigsby heading to the NFL, that leaves Auburn with rising junior Jarquez Hunter, rising sophomore Damari Alston and former walk-on Sean Jackson as scholarship running backs for the spring. 4-star Jeremiah Cobb will make things official on Feb. 1 and enroll in the summer. Still, that's just three scholarship backs on the roster for the fall, assuming Jackson is reverted back to a walk-on.

Even if Johnson had transferred in, Hunter is set to be the leader of the room. Coming in as a low 3-star, Hunter quickly established himself a strong backup for Bigsby and set program records as a freshman. He finished the 2021 season with 593 yards, three touchdowns and averaged 6.7 yards per carry. Hunter also caught 12 passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. In the 2022 season Hunter continued to flash, carrying for 668 yards, seven touchdowns and averaging 6.4 yards per carry, improving as a receiver with 17 catches for 224 yards and two touchdowns. All while cutting his teeth on special teams as a returner and playing in kick coverage.

It's clearly Hunter's time to lead the backfield.

Behind him, Alston returns after playing in 10 games as a freshman. The former Woodward Academy (Ga.) had 14 carries for 85 yards and caught one pass for 13 yards. The majority of Alston's work came in jet sweeps as he was minimally used as a true running back. That will change this season, no matter what happens for Auburn at running back through the portal.

Cobb will arrive in the summer as one of the state's most productive backs over the past three seasons, ending his high school career at Montgomery Catholic (Ala.) with over 6,320 rushing yards and 88 touchdowns. All while being a productive receiver, too, with 15 career receiving touchdowns. His track speed will be counted on as soon as he arrives on campus with an opportunity to get some early carries for Auburn.

In the 247Sports transfer portal player rankings Johnson was the No. 2 running back, with former South Carolina back MarShawn Lloyd the No. 1 back. Thus far there hasn't been any news regarding Auburn going after Lloyd. That could change now with the Johnson news, but nothing yet.

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One name that Auburn could look at is someone that Hugh Freeze is already plenty familiar with — Dae Dae Hunter, the former Liberty running back. Formerly at Hawaii, Hunter transferred to Liberty for the 2022 season and had 129 carries for 850 yards and eight touchdowns with 18 receptions for 149 yards and a touchdown. Hunter suffered a knee injury in the Arkansas game and was forced to miss the rest of the season. Hunter entered the portal on Dec. 28.

Another high school back could be an option, though it's pretty late and the cycle and there aren't any known targets out there.

">247Sports

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Auburn football fans now realize why Deion Sanders wasn’t hired as HC

Andrew Hughes

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Auburn football fans were enlightened with incriminating video proving why Deion Sanders wasn't hired as Tigers head coach Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

A video of Deion Sanders talking about his lack of interest in meeting with program boosters is enlightening Auburn football fans as to why he was a long-shot candidate to be hired as the Tigers’ head coach.

In an interview with Undisputed with Skip and Shannon co-host Shannon Sharpe (h/t The War Rapport), Sanders said that his time is more valuable than meeting with the power brokers who fund operations for Power Five programs.

Needless to say, that was the lightbulb fans needed to go off to understand why Auburn football was such a poor fit for ‘Prime Time’:

Exibit A why Prime at Auburn will never happen and would never have worked.

— HaliT (@hali_t2010) January 2, 2023

I, for 1 am glad “it didn’t go well”…Auburn won by not getting this guy IMO.

— WAR (EAGLE) MACHINE (@InfiniteAubFan) January 2, 2023

Wow! Isn’t that part of the job when your hired by a university for public relations and figure head of a sports program? I still wanted @CoachCaddy24 but so far have liked what @CoachHughFreeze has done and waiting to see next chapter he’ll create @AuburnTigers

— Trevor (@trevornewton68) January 2, 2023

Prime is all about selling the Prime brand, not the Auburn or Colorado fb brand.

— JeepinTodd 0|||||||0 (@ToddSeagers556) January 2, 2023

The amount of time coaches can spend with football is limited by ncaa rules. He just doesn’t want to do the foundational work to build the program. He’s unwilling to lower himself to these sort of coach activities. He is all about himself. https://t.co/DunOWVUzAL

— Auburn Tweep (@AUTweep) January 2, 2023

Auburn football hired someone with minimal leverage and will benefit from it

The Auburn way is what the AU brain trust wants, and it’s clear Bryan Harsin wasn’t about that when he arrived on the Plains in 2021. Evidently, Deion Sanders wouldn’t have bended the knee either, but his success at Jackson State would have allowed him to come out unscathed had things gone wrong had the Auburn football program hired him.

The Tigers ended up with Hugh Freeze, which may have disappointed some hoping for a bigger name, but there is a silver lining. Because Freeze’s last SEC stint ended so disastrously, AU now holds the cards in the partnership. Freeze has minimal leverage, so whatever the boosters want, the boosters will get.

And if it results in wins on the football field, few Tiger fans will bat an eye.

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Who is at fault for Auburn Football's recent demise? Mike Farrell weighs in

Taylor Jones

2–3 minutes

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Auburn University hired Hugh Freeze as its next football coach on Nov. 28, and he immediately got to work.

In just three weeks’ time, Freeze flipped several 2023 recruits from other schools to Auburn, which bumped its ranking from the 60s to No. 20. While doing that, he also put together a reputable staff in an effort to return Auburn to competitive form.

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Everyone from players to fans is in good spirits at the moment when it comes to Auburn football, but it has not always been this way.

Fans were disgruntled at the end of the Gus Malzahn era and became more restless during Bryan Harsin’s tenure. Harsin was relieved of his duties on Oct. 31, two days following Auburn’s 41-27 loss to Arkansas, after recording a 9-12 record through a season and a half.

Fan support, recruiting, and on-field production took a turn for the worst in the first two years of the new decade, and Auburn has no one to blame but itself for its recent demise says Mike Farrell.

“The Godfather of College Football recruiting” has started a new series titled “Fault or Fluke”, in which he rates college football’s recent disappointments. When mentioning Auburn, he says that the hire of Harsin was an issue from the very beginning.

This was simply a bad hire. Bryan Harsin was a fish out of water and arguably the 7th or 8th choice for Auburn in what seemed like a panic move to try to look smart after striking out on top candidates like Mario Cristobal. Harsin was never able to correct some recruiting issues left in place by Gus Malzahn (reduced traction in Georgia, OL recruiting, etc) and was never welcomed by the boosters. Hugh Freeze is in place now and has much more support but this is clearly FAULT on behalf of the powers that be at Auburn.

The dip in production from Alabama‘s Will Anderson, as well as Miami’s 5-7 season under first-year head coach Mario Cristobal were also examined by Farrell. He called both instances “flukes.”

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A historic All-American Bowl on deck for Auburn

Christian Clemente

3–4 minutes

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This year's All-American Bowl in San Antonio is a big one for Auburn. In fact, it seems to be the biggest in program history. Starting in 2000 originally as the Army All-American Game, with historic rosters going back to 2009, Auburn has never had more than three signees or commits in the game.

Four Auburn signees are reporting to the Alamo City on Monday: Keldric Faulk, Darron Reed, Connor Lew and Kayin Lee. All signs right now point to a fifth, too, with Tyler Scott announcing his decision during the game and Auburn being the 247Sports Crystal Ball favorite.

The last time Auburn was represented in the game was in 2020 when Kobe Hudson and Desmond Tisdol were selected. You have to go back to 2013 when Jeremy Johnson, Daniel Carlson and Tony Stevens were selected to find the last time Auburn had more than two players in the game. Auburn had Kris Frost, Greg Robinson and Jonathan Rose in the 2011 game and Trovon Reed, Shon Coleman and Jeff Whitaker in the 2010 game. Rosters before the 2010 game are unavailable.

For Auburn's class which is currently No. 20 in the 247Sports Composite team recruiting rankings, it's a big accolade for Auburn's three-highest-rated signees in Faulk, Reed and Lee, along with Lew, who 247Sports has as a 4-star and one of the top centers in the country.

Lew was awarded with his All-American jersey back on Sept. 14 when he was a Miami commit. 

“Being an All American has been a goal watching the game with my friends on TV every January on NBC,” Lew said. “Now to say I’m going to be that kid playing in the game and having other people watching me, it’s special to see it come full circle.”

The big center flipped from the 'Canes to Auburn just over a week before Signing Day.

One of Auburn's two big Signing Day flips, Faulk is Auburn's highest-rated commit after flipping from Florida State — checking in as the No. 73 overall player. He was awarded his jersey on Nov. 16.

“You know, living a dream I never knew I had," Faulk said. "It’s a blessing. Just to be in a position to where guys like them are role models of mine, to be in that position they were is a blessing."

Auburn's other big Signing Day flip was Lee, the former Ohio State cornerback commit. Lee was awarded his jersey on Sept. 21.

“It was real big,” Lee said. “I get to show that I can compete with the best in the nation most definitely and be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor.”

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Carver-Columbus' Reed will also play in the game. He flipped from LSU to Auburn while Cadillac Williams was the interim head coach. 

The All-American Bowl will kick off from San Antonio on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 12 p.m. CT on NBC.

">247Sports

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flywareagle.com

 

The backup plan for Auburn football at QB if they miss on Spencer Sanders and Brennan Armstrong

Andrew Hughes

2–3 minutes

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The Montgomery Advertiser's Richard Silva revealed a potential transfer portal backup plan for Auburn football at quarterback Mandatory Credit: Journal-Courier

 

The Auburn football quarterback room is one that feels close to a resolution one way or another soon — either Hugh Freeze and Philip Montgomery roll with Robby Ashford, Holden Geriner, and incoming freshman Hank Brown out of Lipscomb Academy in Nashville or they add another signal-caller through the transfer portal.

With bowl season coming to an end, just about every portal entry has made their intentions to transfer known. Whoever AU is going to add is already out there and likely being spoken to by Freeze and co.

The Montgomery Advertiser’s Richard Silva offered a backup plan in his transfer portal options piece should the Tigers strike out on both former Oklahoma State signal-caller Spencer Sanders and Virginia QB Brennan Armstrong. That’d be Purdue defector Brady Allen, whose former team will be giving Texas Longhorn Hudson Card the reigns to the Boilermakers’ offense:

“(Brady) Allen, who was a four-star recruit and the No. 10 quarterback in the class of 2022, according to the 247Sports Composite, logged just three pass attempts with the Boilermakers last season. The staff who recruited him to Purdue, led by coach Jeff Brohm, was replaced this offseason.”

“If Freeze wants to bring in a young quarterback with multiple years of eligibility remaining, Allen should be a prime candidate.”

What Auburn football adding Brady Allen would mean for the Tigers QB1 role

Brady Allen would give Hugh Freeze and Philip Montgomery another pro-style gunslinger in the vein of Hank Brown and Holden Geriner. It’d also make Robby Ashford the most experienced quarterback in the room, likely pushing the incumbent starter back into the QB1 role.

Spencer Sanders and Brennan Armstrong may require assurances they’d start wherever they land, but Freeze should keep the QB competition open during fall camp — though, unlike his predecessor, he shouldn’t let the competition spill over into the regular season.

Allen is an addition that’d feature plenty of potential, but it’d be one that’d maintain the status quo under center.

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