1/14/23 Auburn Articles

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Auburn football, basketball, baseball & other Tiger Tidbits

Mark Murphy

12–15 minutes

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Starting with football:

* Currently, 37.6 percent of the scholarship roster spots (85 maximum) for the 2023 team will be newcomers. With Coach Hugh Freeze and his staff far from finished with talent acquisition for their first Auburn team, it won’t be a surprise if by the time preseason practices start in August that considerably more than 40 percent of the scholarship players they are working with are newcomers.

* While trying to bolster the 2023 roster the new coaching staff is playing catch-up on prospects in this region for the 2024 class. KingJoseph Edwards, a 6-5, 242 class of 2024 four-star tight end from Buford, Ga., High, is expected to be on campus for an Auburn junior day on the 28th. 

The concept of being organized enough to put together successful junior days seemed to elude the previous coaching staff, something the Gus Malzahn, Gene Chizik and Tommy Tuberville staffs were good at doing.

* The Tigers still have a major need to rebuild the offensive line for beyond the 2023 season. An offensive tackle expected to visit this month to meet with the new coaching staff is 6-6, 290 Malachi Toliver from Cartersville, Ga., High. Getting young offensive tackles in the pipeline for future seasons is a roster management priority. Toliver has offers from Tennessee, LSU, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Arkansas and a variety of teams outside the SEC.

In basketball:

*After finishing the previous four games with double-doubles, Johni Broome will try to become the first Auburn player to finish with five consecutive double-double performances since center Jeff Moore did it to finish the 1987-88 season on a team coached by Sonny Smith.

Moore finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds vs. Ole Miss and 20 points and 11 rebounds vs. LSU. In the SEC Tournament at Baton Rouge he scored 22 points and pulled in 11 rebounds vs. Georgia. In the NCAA Tournament at Atlanta he finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds vs. Bradley and finished his Auburn playing days with 22 points and 11 rebounds vs. Oklahoma.

Moore, who regularly came back to his alma mater to support the program, passed away late in 2022. He is 10th in Auburn history for points scored with 1,549, one spot ahead of current coaching staff member Marquis Daniels. Moore is second in career rebounds with 950, second only to Mike Mitchell’s 996 from 1974-78.

Johni Broome is off to a strong start with the Tigers. (Photo: Jason Caldwell, 247Sports)

*Broome and a player he went head-to-head against the past two seasons, K.J. Williams, are ranked among the SEC leaders in field goal percentage. Broome who is 6-10, 235 pounds, is making 50.3 percent of his shots, which ranks fourth in the league. Williams, the former Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year at Murray State, is making 53.5 of his shots in his first season at LSU after making the move to Baton Rouge with his head coach, Matt McMahon. He is 6-10, 245 pounds and is 37 points shy of 2,000 career points. Williams is on target to reach that goal next Wednesday when Broome and Auburn play at LSU. Williams already has passed 1,000 career rebounds.

Neither of the players were highly recruited out of high school. Broome was rated three stars when he signed with Morehead State out of Tampa Catholic High in Florida. Williams didn’t even have a 247Sports ranking as a basketball prospect at Cleveland Central High School in Mississippi. He also played football and basketball. He was a rather tall quarterback, leading his team to a 12-1 record while passing for more than 2,400 yards and 21 touchdowns with 300 yards rushing as a senior.

Williams is second in the SEC in scoring at 18.8 points per game. Broome is 15th at 13.3.

Broome is second in rebounding at 8.9 per game. Williams is tied for sixth in the league at 7.6. In Auburn’s four SEC games Broome is averaging 11.0 rebounds and 16.3 points.

Broome, last season’s Defensive Player of the Year in the Ohio Valley Conference, is averaging 2.67 blocks per game, which is third in the SEC. Williams is tied for 15th at 0.88 blocks per game. As a team the Tigers are second nationally with 6.25 blocks per contest. Auburn has a streak of 69 consecutive games with at least one blocked shot.

*The Tigers are ranked No. 17 nationally in the Pomeroy (Ken.pom) analytical listing of the 358 Division I teams, which is a bit ahead of their AP (21st) and USA Today Coaches Top 25 (22nd) rankings.

Defensively, the Tigers are ranked 15th by Ken.pom. Tennessee, which is ranked No. 2 overall behind Houston in the Ken.pom team strength listing, is No. 1 defensively. The Tigers will play Tennessee twice this season on Feb. 4th in Knoxville and March 4th in the regular season finale at Neville Arena.

* Auburn made 49.2 percent of its field goals in the win at Ole Miss on Tuesday, which is the best shooting game for the Tigers during their 3-1 start in SEC play. The Tigers will be challenged to match that type of shooting on Saturday night when Mississippi State visits. The Bulldogs are allowing opponents to make just 38.2 percent on their field goals. Mississippi State, is ranked No. 7 defensively, according to Ken.pom.

In baseball:

* A right-handed pitcher who could help the Tigers this season as a redshirt freshman is 6-3, 205 Trevor Horne out of Phenix City. He threw the ball well in fall drills and with classes back in session he has looked good throwing the ball in individual workouts. He could be one of the team’s most improved players for the 2023 season. He was an All-State player at Glenwood School and will get a look as a potential starter.

* Another Tiger who was a high school pitcher in Phenix City is 6-1, 187 right-hander Will Cannon. He  is a sophomore after transferring in from junior college. Last season at Northwest Florida State he was 3-2 with a 3.10 earned average with five saves. He  struck out 30 batters in 29 innings. The former Central High School star is expected to be in the mix as a closer or a set-up man out of the bullpen.

In gymnastics:

* The Tigers posted the fifth highest score in the country for the opening week of the season with a 197.350 last Saturday night in Las Vegas at the Super 16 competition. Auburn posted the best score on vault of any team in the country with a 49.500, which tied the program record.. The Tigers are ranked sixth on bars, seventh on floor and ninth on beam, which could turn out to be a strong event like it was last season when Auburn finished fourth nationally in that category.

For week two Coach Jeff Graba’s Tigers will compete at Florida vs. the Gators, who posted the second highest score at 197.750 in the country last week. The meet is being televised on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m. CST. In last year’s regular season meet at Neville Arena the teams tied at 198.575 apiece, which was a record score for each program.

In tennis:

* The men’s team is ranked in the preseason Top 25 for the first time since the 2013 season. The Tigers, who are ranked 24th, will open the season at noon on Sunday with a home match vs. Michigan State and will make it a doubleheader with a 5 p.m. match vs. Alabama State.

Coach Bobby Reynolds said the goal for the Tigers is to be an NCAA regional host after advancing to the second round of the tournament last season after going to the SEC Tournament semi-finals. Five of last season’s top six players are back, including two-time All-SEC selection Tyler Stice, a senior from Atlanta. To earn an NCAA Regional the Tigers will need to be ranked in the Top 16. Five of the team's top six players return.

* The women’s team is ranked 15th nationally to start the dual meet season, 10 spots higher than the Tigers opened last season. Auburn was a host for a 2022 NCAA Regional and won those two matches to advance to the super regional round where the Tigers lost at Texas to end one of the best seasons in program history. Texas, a future SEC member, defeated another future SEC member, to win the NCAA team title.

The Tigers are in Indian Wells, Calif., Friday through Sunday to compete at the Dual in the Desert event vs. Kansas, Texas Tech and Georgia. They will open their home schedule on Friday, Jan. 20th vs. Iowa State. The Tigers will have a new player competing this weekend, Ali DeSpain, a graduate transfer from Clemson where she was the team's 2021-22 captain. She was a two-time state high school champion in South Carolina with her highest collegiate ranking at No. 17 in doubles.

In swimming:

* Auburn and No. 1 ranked Arizona State have made the biggest climbs in the men’s Top 25 this season. The Tigers, who are currently 9th, will likely climb again after starting the season at No. 19. Included in their recent victories is a 167.5-132.5 dual meet win vs. No. 8 Texas A&M. Auburn followed that with a 213-87 road victory over Georgia Tech.

The women’s team has moved up to No. 19 after beginning the season ranked 21st. The Tigers also had a victory over a higher ranked Texas A&M team and will likely move up after out-scoring the 15th-ranked Aggies 172-128.

The Tigers will return to action a week from today with a 4 p.m. CST home dual meet vs. Alabama.

In volleyball:

* Prior to his team having a breakout 2022 performance with a 22-9 record and a run into the round of 32 at the NCAA Tournament, Coach Brent Crouch wasn’t having any luck interesting high level players in the transfer portal to seriously consider Auburn. He told me that he and the rest of his staff were having problem seven getting them to even respond to inquiries about making the move to AU.

That has changed with the Tigers adding three transfers for the 2023 roster. The group includes six-foot-three middle blocker Bella Bell from the University of Kentucky and Blythewood, S.C., High School, 6-4 middle blocker Kyla Swanson from the University of Illinois and Wahoo, Neb., High School plus 5-11 setter Peyton Dunn from the University of Oklahoma and Legend High School in Parker, Colo.

Coming off the best season in program history with a roster dominated by freshmen, the 2023 season has a strong possibility of being more successful. Here is what Crouch said about each of the transfers:

“Bella is extremely physical, putting up on the largest blocks in the country from the middle position. Routinely shutting down explosive pin hitters by reading and reacting, she is going to upgrade our defense significantly. She arrives with national championship experience from Kentucky’s win in 2020-21.

“Kyla is a dynamic player who is a force at the net both blocking and attacking. In particular, her lateral speed will be an asset in defending increasingly fast-tempo offenses. She arrives with tremendous experience competing in the BIG Ten, including a key role and performance in Illinois’ second-round victory over Kentucky in 2021 to make the Sweet Sixteen.”

“Peyton just ran one of the fastest offenses in the country at Oklahoma last season. Since we expect to increase our tempo this coming season, she will be in her comfort zone. She also has the ability to set long balls against the flow, especially behind to the opposite attacker. I have been impressed by her commitment to playing and competing at the highest level.”

In equestrian:

21COMMENTS

* The Tigers will be the host for the national championships like they were last season for the event at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla. The top eight teams in the country will compete in quarter-finals on April 13th with the semi-finals on day two and the finals the following day.

The Tigers are currently ranked No. 3 nationally behind SMU and TCU. Auburn’s next meet is Feb. 3rd at TCU and the Tigers will be a host for a dual meet vs. SMU on Feb. 25th. Auburn closed its fall schedule with a 15-4 victory over No. 6 ranked Oklahoma State.

">247Sports

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Auburn is getting a "matchup nightmare" in Nick Mardner

Andrew Stefaniak

~4 minutes

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The Auburn Tigers recently landed Nick Mardner, a six-foot-six, 215-pound wide receiver, via the transfer portal from Cincinnati. 

There is so much to be excited about with this addition for a wide receiver room that doesn't have a guy Mardner's size with his skill set. 

His attributes as a wideout are so interesting. Usually, guys Mardner's size win 50/50 balls for a living. He can win 50/50 balls but can also burn defenses deep with surprising speed. 

Mardner had a down year in 2021, only catching 19 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns. We have seen what he can do during his time at Hawaii, so hopefully, he can be a lethal weapon for the Tigers in 2023. 

Host of Locked on Bearcats Alex Frank joined Zac Blackerby of the Locked on Auburn Podcast to discuss Mardner. 

Blackerby asked Frank what Tiger fans should expect from Mardner in 2023. 

Here was his response: 

"He's going to have to step up his game. I mean, it's the SEC. What's the SEC known for? Their corners. I mean, we've seen some very good corners come out of that conference. We've also seen some great wide receivers. I've seen receivers who are small but thick do well. There are receivers who are taller who have done well. But at the same time, it's hard to tell. Mardner is going to be a mismatch for corners in the SEC. I think he could have a better season. Yes, I say he's going to have to step up his game, but at the same time, in the SEC, you've got more opportunities because you're going to be playing against the best athletes in all of college football. I want him to do well. I wanted him to do well at Cincinnati. I'm glad he's found a place down in Auburn."

Blackerby then went on to ask Frank about how he anticipates Auburn to use Mardner.

"They tried to use him. But you have to remember the Bearcats were dealing with quarterback issues all season," he said. "He's going to be used on go balls. His first touchdown of the season was a go-ball against Arkansas in that game Labor Day weekend. He caught a fade route for a touchdown against Miami. They'll use his height in the red zone. I think at the same time, you can use him on a go route; you can use him in the red zone, you can use him on crossers. I mean, my one other concern with Nick Mardner is he drops a lot of passes. If you look at his game logs, as far as targets are concerned. He had 49 catches in 2021 with Hawaii almost 1,000 yards, but I want to see how many targets he's had in each season. I don't know off the top of my head if he only caught 50% of his targets or 75% of his targets. That's a big difference. But the ways he's going to be used are ones you would think of when you think of a guy like six-foot-six. If I had to give an NFL comparison off the top of my head, I would say Mike Williams of the L.A. Chargers. He's not as big and thick as a Mike Williams, but they're tall, and they can go up and get any ball. Mardner is going to make life easier for whoever the quarterbacks going to be at Auburn."

This type of player will be a lot of fun to watch in an Auburn uniform. Coach Freeze will find the perfect way to utilize Mardner in 2023. 

This Tiger's passing attack will be scary once the Hugh Freeze offense is implemented. 

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Five losing teams that can surprise like TCU with 2023 national championship appearance

These five teams have the ingredients for a one-year turnaround sure to satisfy their fanbases

By Tom Fornelli

Jan 11, 2023 at 4:03 pm ET • 6 min read

USATSI

TCU's run to the College Football Playoff National Championship wasn't supposed to happen. Whether unintentional or by design, when it comes to determining a national champion, college football has always been a sport great at separating the wheat from the chaff. It's a sport where Cinderella isn't even supposed to make it to 9 p.m., let alone midnight.

Despite exceeding expectations by reaching the game, TCU's 65-7 loss to Georgia was an excellent reminder of the divide that remains in the sport between the elite and the upstarts. While TCU's run is unlikely to ever happen again before playoff expansion, if we look past what the Horned Frogs have been historically, and instead focus on how they pulled off the impossible, we see there's a path.

While it's impossible to boil everything that TCU did down to one paragraph, let's try! First of all, the Frogs brought in a new coach, Sonny Dykes, who helped establish a new culture within the program. Next, the Frogs had a quarterback in Max Duggan -- who wasn't the Week 1 starter, mind you -- perform to the utmost of his ability in an offense designed to take advantage of what he, and his teammates, had to offer. Finally, there was some luck involved. There always is, even for elite teams. Going 6-1 in one-score games with an overall point margin of +29 (4.14 per game) means a few coin-flip situations went TCU's way far more often than not.. To be clear, that is nothing to be ashamed about. When you combine being good with being lucky, great things happen.

So can it happen again? While it's not the recommended path to success, we've seen that it's possible. With that in mind, I went through all the Power Five teams to miss out on a bowl game in 2022 to see if I could find any that might be capable of going from home for the holidays to playing on New Year's Eve. While there aren't many TCU types (use it as bulletin board material, Vanderbilt), there are five Power Five programs that can pull it off. These are the prime candidates (though none are coached by Prime).

Auburn

OK, let's check off some boxes here. It's a team coming off a 5-7 season with a first-year head coach. Sure, it's Auburn, and it has won a national title this century, so it's not a true "TCU" program, but it meets enough criteria to make the list. Auburn has proven time and again that if everybody involved with the program pulls in the same direction, it's capable of doing great things.

The problem is they rarely pull in the same direction on The Plains. More often than not, Auburn figures out a way to pull one rope in four different directions. It's an incredible feat of engineering, but it doesn't correlate strongly with winning football games. Anyway, it's a talented team with a coach (Hugh Freeze) who has had success in the league before. Toss in some luck, and it's not too crazy.

Miami

I already regret writing this story. Oh well, we're too deep now, and I have nobody to blame but myself. I was one of the many who bought in a little too heavily on Miami ahead of the 2022 season. I did not consider how much of a roster rebuild coach Mario Cristobal had in mind. That said, while thinking Miami could have won the ACC was a bridge too far, that should've been a more likely outcome than 5-7.

There's no excuse for the Hurricanes going 5-7 with losses to teams like Middle Tennessee, Duke and Pitt (all by at least two scores, mind you). Still, there's reason to believe that if enough things go right, and with another offseason of work and more players who fit what Miami wants to be, it's possible the Hurricanes can take a tremendous leap forward in Year 2 under Cristobal. While I have high hopes for Florida State, and I don't think Clemson's ready to fall off the face of the Earth, there's still plenty of wiggle room in an ACC that lacks a clearly elite team entering 2023.

Michigan State

In a sense, Michigan State was the original TCU. The Spartans went 2-5 in Mel Tucker's first season in East Lansing, which was a step back from 7-6 in 2019, but one that wasn't all that unexpected. Tucker was a late offseason hire after the unexpected retirement of Mark Dantonio, and just after Tucker moved into his new office, a once-in-a-century global pandemic hit. All of that was slightly less anticipated than Michigan State exploding for an 11-2 mark and Peach Bowl appearance in 2021.

In that season, Tucker and the Spartans hit a bunch of home runs in the transfer portal, with none bigger than Heisman finalist Kenneth Walker. This year, the Spartans didn't get as lucky, suffered some regression and dropped to 5-7. However, the talent level on this roster is better than that record. Yes, it's a lot more difficult for the Spartans to break through in a Big Ten East with Michigan coming off two conference titles, Ohio State being Ohio State and Penn State getting its act back together, but we've seen Sparty do it before.

Nebraska

Like Auburn, Nebraska has a first-year coach taking over with Matt Rhule returning to the college game. Unlike Auburn and TCU, Nebraska didn't go 5-7 this season; it went 4-8, so there's even more ground to make up in the standings. Like Miami, the path for Nebraska may not be as tricky as it is for others. While the Big 12 was one of the best conferences in college football this season, there's no question that neither Texas nor Oklahoma living up to their potential helped TCU.

While the Big Ten has Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State, they all play in the East. Look at the rest of the Big Ten West and tell me who the clearcut favorite is. Wisconsin has a new coach and a new offense. Iowa is Iowa -- which is good for Iowa, but not anything terrifying. Purdue won the division, its coach left for Louisville, and now it has a first-year coach of its own. Illinois was a surprise in 2021, finishing 8-5, but lost four of its last five games. Northwestern is not in the best condition at the moment. Again, I'm not saying any of these teams making the leap is likely, but Nebraska can at least get an audition for the role.

Texas A&M

What have I done? First Miami, then Nebraska, and now Texas A&M. If only Texas had gone 5-7, I could include it and complete the Hypebeast Superfecta. Listen, it's hard to trust the Aggies. I don't, but you cannot deny that this is a talented roster that underperformed in 2022. I was never in the "Texas A&M is a playoff contender" crowd, but 5-7? That should've been impossible with the talent on hand.

Most of that talent remains, and coach Jimbo Fisher may have finally conceded he needs a little help by bringing in Bobby Petrino as his offensive coordinator. Yes, there's a risk of this blowing up spectacularly, but there's also the chance that everything clicks and the Aggies finally break through.

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Justin Rogers, former Kentucky DL, announces SEC transfer commitment

Andrew Olson

~1 minute

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Justin Rogers is staying in the SEC. The former Kentucky defensive lineman is headed to The Plains to play for Auburn.

Rogers shared the big news on Twitter.

Rogers heads to Auburn after 3 seasons with the Wildcats. He played in 33 games for Mark Stoops’ troops, recording 60 tackles and 3 sacks at UK.

The 6-3, 332-pound Rogers is coming off his most productive season in terms of tackles. In 13 games (12 starts), Rogers logged career-highs of 35 total tackles, including 9 solo stops during UK’s 2022 campaign. The 2021 season was Rogers’ best in terms of tackles for loss (2.5) and sacks (1.5).

Hugh Freeze’s staff has momentum on the recruiting trail, particularly in the transfer portal. Rogers is addition No. 12 for the Tigers from the portal.