1/9/23 Auburn Articles

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#PMARSHONAU: Freeze thrives in college football's changing landscape

Phillip Marshall

4–5 minutes

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Hugh Freeze knew the day he arrived on the Auburn campus that there was much to be done and little time to do it.  He and other first-year head coaches see a landscape now unlike anything seen before in college football.

There is NIL money, a boon for some and a burden for others. There are penalty-free transfers. There is the elimination of the 25-signee limit. Now, it’s sign as many as you want as long as you don’t go over the overall scholarship limit of 85.

Unlimited transfers have made it possible to quickly restock rosters, but the competition for the top players in the portal is intense. And recruiting is no longer limited to incoming players. Coaches also have to recruit players on their own rosters who might have wandering eyes or the belief they are worth more money on the open market.

Freeze inherited a roster that had been depleted, especially on the lines of scrimmage, by Bryan Harsin’s strange two years of disinterest in recruiting and a flood of players leaving. Freeze and his staff did better than almost anyone expected in the December signing period, flipping some players that should have been Auburn’s to begin with. And then he want after transfers, particularly those who could enroll immediately. To have any chance of success in his first Auburn season, he had to have them. He got them, and he is still getting them.

At least 16 players, most of them on the offensive and defensive lines, are set to enroll for classes, which begin Wednesday. More are likely to come. New enrollees can begin classes as late as Jan. 18.

 When the signing as done, Freeze and friends will face another unique challenge. One of the more interesting Auburn spring practices in recent years will be ahead.

New schemes will be installed on offense, defense and special teams. What will be Auburn’s hit rate on transfers? Can quarterback Robby Ashford continue the significant progress he made late last season? What about redshirt freshman Holden Geriner? Can the combination of veterans and newcomers play winning SEC football on the offensive and defensive lines, which is where it all begins?

Other than those who left for the NFL draft, Auburn has suffered little attrition since last season. The rejuvenation of a depressed football program began when Cadillac Williams took over as interim head coach for the last four games and changed the vibe and the outlook for Auburn football. Convincing him to stay as associate head coach was one of Freeze’s big recruiting wins.

In almost every coaching change, players who had been all but discarded by previous staffs blossom under new staffs. There is no better example than linebacker Deshaun Davis, written off by former coordinator Will Muschamp. Kevin Steele took over, and Davis became an All-SEC performer. Darvin Adams had been written off by Tommy Tuberville’s staff and became the leading receiver on the 2010 national championship team.

How about position changes?

5COMMENTS

Ben Grubbs arrived at Auburn as a defensive end, moved to offensive guard and was a first-round NFL draft choice. Tyrone Green arrived as a 2-star defensive lineman and left as an All-America offensive guard. Safeties can become linebackers. Receivers can become defensive backs. Who knows what will happen? New sets of coaching eyes see things differently.

Spring practice is not going to be boring.

">247Sports

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Auburn lands former 4-star linebacker, LSU transfer DeMario Tolan

Updated: Jan. 08, 2023, 9:20 a.m.|Published: Jan. 08, 2023, 9:19 a.m.

~3 minutes

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Alabama offensive lineman Tyler Steen (54), quarterback Bryce Young (9), and LSU linebacker DeMario Tolan (32) during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022. LSU won 32-31 in overtime. (AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman)AP

Auburn continued its roster revamp with another big transfer addition Sunday morning.

LSU linebacker transfer DeMario Tolan committed to and signed with Auburn, just four after entering his name into the transfer portal and three days after taking a visit to the Plains to meet with Hugh Freeze and staff, providing a needed boost to the team’s linebacker room.

Read more Auburn football: Auburn football 2023 projected scholarship chart

Auburn football lands 3-star commit during All-American Bowl on NBC

Auburn swiftly making strides with long-overdue overhaul along offensive line

Tolan, a former four-star prospect out of Orlando, Fla., played in 12 games for LSU this season and finished the year with 10 total tackles and a pair of quarterback hurries. The 6-foot-2, 222-pounder was a four-star recruit in the 2022 class and rated as the No. 202 overall prospect in the nation coming out of Dr. Phillips High.

Auburn previously recruited Tolan out of high school, but the prior coaching staff was unable to land the blue-chip linebacker. After he entered the transfer portal earlier this week, Freeze and the new coaching staff wasted little time in trying to bring Tolan to the Plains.

Tolan is the sixth transfer portal addition for Auburn this offseason and the third on the defensive side of the ball. The Tigers previously signed Vanderbilt edge transfer Elijah McAllister during the early signing period last month, while Maryland defensive line transfer Mosiah Nasili-Kite committed to Auburn on Saturday.

The addition of Tolan also addresses a key need for Auburn at linebacker, where the program had yet to sign a player this cycle and just lost outgoing senior/team captain Owen Pappoe to the NFL Draft. The Tigers return five seniors at linebacker for 2023, including key contributors Cam Riley and Wesley Steiner, but only three underclassmen—former walk-on Jake Levant and redshirt freshmen Robert Woodyard and Powell Gordon. Tolan now provides Auburn with more depth moving forward, as well as a talented prospect with SEC experience already under his belt.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

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Hank Brown shares why Hugh Freeze is able to recruit at a high level

Zac Blackerby

~2 minutes

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Auburn's quarterback of the 2023 class committed to Hugh Freeze two different times. 

Hank Brown, the former Liberty commit, was one of many late additions to Auburn's 2023 class. Brown believes in what Freeze is doing early at Auburn and sees him as a genuine coach. 

Brown hopped on the Locked On Auburn podcast to discuss Freeze, his path to Auburn, and more. 

"We have a great relationship," Brown said when asked about Freeze. "It's gone back a while. I just love him. Obviously, he's a great coach but what I love most is his authenticity, how he is as a person, and the culture builder that he is. It's one of the biggest things I've noticed. At Liberty when I first committed, the culture that they had there was something I didn't see anywhere else and I know he's going to do the same thing at Auburn." 

Brown was one of many players to commit to Auburn after Freeze arrived on campus as Auburn's head coach. Brown chimed in on what Freeze is selling and what he's getting to do to get solid players to commit to Auburn in such a short amount of time. 

Brown said, "The biggest thing that he is about is authenticity and how he is just honest with his players and tells them what they're going to get at Auburn and what they're looking for and what they need the player to do, what their future looks like."

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