1/11/23 Auburn Articles

[aubiefifty 18,253]

 

[aubiefifty 18,253]

 

[aubiefifty 18,253]

Bret Bielema, Illinois HC, tweets interesting reaction to newest Auburn transfer commit, Illini target

Corey Long

1–2 minutes

---

Illinois coach Bret Bielema has had an interesting day on social media. It all stems around the recruitment of transfer offensive lineman Avery Jones.
Jones, who began his career in North Carolina, started for the Pirates over the past three seasons, spending time at guard and center. He committed to Illinois out of the transfer portal on December 13.

But Tuesday afternoon Auburn swooped in to grab the graduate transfer for his final year of eligiliblity. This seem to have caught Bielema by surprise.

The coach also seems to know the reason why Jones make the flip.

The addition of the transfer portal and NIL deals remains one that the coaches are still trying to get a hold of. Although Jones was committed to Illinois, he was not bound to the school
until he signed a scholarship. Apparently he had not signed a scholarship yet and now he will suit up for Hugh Freeze and the Tigers.

[aubiefifty 18,253]

Auburn signs East Carolina center transfer Avery Jones

Christian Clemente

3–4 minutes

---

 

Avery Jones was set to spend his final season at Illinois after transferring from East Carolina, instead he'll spend it at Auburn after announcing his commitment on Tuesday.

Jones is the No. 3 interior offensive lineman in the 247Sports transfer portal player rankings and the No. 29 overall player.

The center who started every game for the Pirates in 2022 has one year of eligibility remaining.

Originally a 4-star recruit in the Class of 2018, Jones started his career at North Carolina. Jones was rated as the No. 144 player and No. 4 guard by 247Sports. In the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, Jones was the No. 285 player and the No. 13 guard.

Jones transferred to East Carolina and became a workhorse along the inside of the offensive line for the Pirates from 2020 onward.

Starting his ECU career as a guard in 2020, Jones started in eight of nine games. Jones moved to center ahead of the 2021 season and started in 11 of their 12 games, playing 874 snaps and earning a PFF grade of 59.6. In the 2022 season, Jones played every game at center, grading out with a mark of 63.2, but excelling as a pass blocker with a grade of 76.9. Jones led the team with 852 snaps this past offseason.

As a graduate transfer, Jones is listed by East Carolina at 6-foot-4, 290 pounds. Jones is the third transfer addition to Auburn's offensive line, joining former Western Kentucky tackle Gunner Britton and former Tulsa tackle Dillon Wade. It's an impressive haul for Jake Thornton and Hugh Freeze, restocking an offensive line room that was in desperate need of immediate help.

Overall, Jones marks transfer addition No. 10 for Auburn this portal cycle, with still plenty more needs to fill. That includes offensive line, as Auburn is still in pursuit of adding another guard and potentially another offensive tackle, too.

Entering the transfer portal on Dec. 8, Jones committed to Illinois a few days later on Dec. 12. Just over a month later, Jones now finds himself an Auburn commit. 

From the 2022 roster, Tate Johnson returns after starting the season at center before a season-ending injury. Johnson, along with incoming freshmen Connor Lew and Bradyn Joiner make up the current center room, with Jones now on the way.

42COMMENTS

Jones is originally from Havelock, North Carolina and graduated in December with a degree in communication. 

Since 2017, Auburn has signed a combined 16 offensive linemen. In the 2023 cycle alone, Auburn has now added eight offensive linemen.

">247Sports

[aubiefifty 18,253]

What Hugh Freeze's WR No. 2 has done for his offenses

Lance Dawe

2–3 minutes

---

Auburn's passing attack took a steep decline in 2021.

Eric Kiesau and Bryan Harsin failed to produce over 200 yards passing per contest for Auburn for the first time since 2016 - a year where the Tigers still went 8-5 because of their dominant ground game and stout defense.

That is expected to change under new head coach Hugh Freeze - almost dramatically.

The average No. 2 receiver in a Hugh Freeze offense outperformed Auburn's best receiver in 2022.

Stat of the Day:

No. 2 receiver	Stats
2011 (Arkansas State) - Taylor Stockemer	48 rec. 756 yards (15.8 YPC), 7 TD
2012 (Ole Miss) - Vince Sanders	39 rec. 504 yards (12.9 YPC), 4 TD
2013 (Ole Miss) - Laquon Treadwell	72 rec. 608 yards (8.4 YPC), 5 TD
2014 (Ole Miss) - Evan Engram	48 rec. 662 yards (17.4 YPC), 2 TD
2015 (Ole Miss) - Cody Core	37 rec. 644 yards (17.4 YPC), 4 TD
2016 (Ole Miss) - Damore'ea Stringfellow	46 rec. 716 yards (15.6 YPC), 6 TD
2019 (Liberty) - DJ Stubbs	32 rec. 401 yards (12.5 YPC), 3 TD
2020 (Liberty) - Kevin Shaa	25 rec. 450 yards (18.0 YPC), 4 TD
2021 (Liberty) - CJ Daniels	37 rec. 629 yards (17.0 YPC) 7 TD
2022 (Liberty) -Noah Firth	25 rec. 446 yards (17.8 YPC), 1 TD

The average No. 2 receiver in a Hugh Freeze offense produces 41 receptions for 518 yards (12.6 YPC) and 4.3 TD.

What it Means:

Regardless of what happens, Auburn's passing game is sure to take a step in the right direction.

The Tigers aerial attack only averaged about 172 yards per game in 2022, and with either an improved Robby Ashford or transfer portal QB at the helm in 2023, things should immediately get better under Freeze.

Auburn's lead receiver Ja'Varrius Johnson was underneath Freeze's No. 2 WR average - just 493 yards and 3 TD.

[aubiefifty 18,253]

Auburn now ranks No. 3 in 247Sports’ transfer portal rankings, behind Florida State and Colorado.

 

 

this is so bad ass!!! i skipped the article because i have already posted similar articles today but the above makes me go    SICK EM TIGERS!

[aubiefifty 18,253]

Former Auburn quarterback Zach Calzada finds transfer destination

River Wells

~2 minutes

---

Former Tigers quarterback Zach Calzada has found his new home.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Tuesday that Calzada plans on transferring to Incarnate Word. The Cardinals will be Calzada’s third team in his college career, following Texas A&M and Auburn.

Buy Tigers Tickets

To say Calzada’s Auburn tenure was uneventful may be selling it short — he never played a game for the Tigers in the one season he was on the roster for Bryan Harsin. Calzada came to the Plains after a season at Texas A&M in 2021, but his tenure was marred by a shoulder injury that required surgery and thus he never saw the field where quarterbacks T.J. Finley and Robby Ashford got playing time over the course of the season. It would seem that coach Hugh Freeze didn’t have Calzada in his plans, as he entered the transfer portal and now has subsequently found a landing spot with Incarnate Word.

Incarnate Word is an FCS team, but it’s quite a successful one. The Cardinals made the FCS Championship semifinals and lost a close game to the North Dakota State Bison. Calzada, with SEC experience at Texas A&M, should be a valuable addition to the Cardinals’ roster.