2/7/23 Auburn Areicles

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Return of James, Pritchett creates 'foundation' for packed Auburn secondary

Nathan King

6–7 minutes

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Auburn’s 2023 secondary looks to be the best position group on the roster, and it’s not only a loaded room on the field.

Zac Etheridge was retained by Hugh Freeze to now enter his third season on Auburn’s staff, and a familiar, veteran face was also added to the fray: Wesley McGriff, who’s now in his third stint with the Tigers, most recently from 2019-20.

And the meshing of the two highly successful secondary coaches is made a lot simpler by the decisions of Auburn’s top two cornerbacks to return to school.

D.J. James and Nehemiah Pritchett both opted to spurn the NFL draft and play another season at Auburn, giving the Tigers not only their starting cornerbacks back, but two of the top overall players on the defense. Their decisions underscore the returning experience of Auburn’s secondary, which, at the moment, has lost zero of the 11 players who appeared in a game in 2022.

“I mean, it's been obviously huge to us because the leadership back should be a great experience,” Etheridge said last week. “But having those two guys back help us on the outside. But not only that, with a lot of young guys coming in, they can be the foundation to be able to teach them, to educate them, to show you notes on what it takes to play in the SEC at a high level.”

Both corners were projected to be selected in the NFL draft, and both received Senior Bowl invites. But once that entry to the draft process was turned down, Etheridge knew he’d have a chance to bring them back in 2023.

“It was an ongoing thing,” Etheridge said. “At the end of the year, we had a conversation with those guys. Obviously they created a lot of value for themselves (in the NFL draft) with their play and what they did on the field.”

An Oregon transfer last offseason, James emerged as the Tigers' No. 1 cornerback a few games into the year, and began emerging as a lockdown cover corner. James had the No. 2 pure coverage grade during SEC cornerbacks during the regular season, per Pro Football Focus, and his 40.7 percent reception rate (only 24 catches allowed on 59 targets) was tops in the conference.

Pritchett, an in-state product from the Mobile area, started all 12 games alongside James, and led the team in pass breakups, solidifying a spot at cornerback after playing some nickel in 2021.

Safeties Zion Puckett, Donovan Kaufman, Cayden Bridges, Caleb Wooden, Marquise Gilbert and Craig McDonald, hybrid Jaylin Simpson, nickel Keionte Scott and backup corner J.D. Rhym are all returning, as well, from a secondary that was arguably the most consistent aspect of Auburn’s 2022 defense, finishing the year in the top half of the conference in yards per attempt allowed, opposing completion percentage and opposing quarterback rating.

Etheridge knows that kind of mass retention is rare in the transfer portal era, and he hopes it speaks to the kind of coaching he’s offered — on and offf the field — over the past two seasons.

“Obviously the way that they've been treated, they feel good about the way I've been able to pour into their life and not jump ship,” Etheridge said. ‘So it's a blessing to have 'em all back. And then I'm excited to see the competition because everybody gets a clean slate. We got a new defense going in, so I’m just excited to watch all those guys compete for certain jobs.”

There are plenty of talented youngsters entering the mix in 2023, too, along with players who didn’t see the field last season. That includes redshirt freshman cornerback Austin Ausberry, plus 2023 enrollees Kayin Lee, Sylvester Smith, Terrance Love, Tyler Scott, Colton Hood, CJ Johnson and JC Hart.

Overall, the secondary has 19 scholarship players on the roster, including all returning contributors from last season, and four former 4-star recruits who have yet to see the field.

It’s a massive room for one coach to handle, though Etheridge did so on his own last season. In 2023, he’s joined by McGriff, who will focus on the cornerbacks, while Etheridge’s responsibilities are technically with the safeties and nickels. Both coaches said duties will cross over often, though, and that Freeze is entrusting them to work as one.

“If guys are going to play together on the back end as one, then the communication starts in the meeting room,” McGriff said.

Previously hired by Freeze as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Ole Miss in 2017, McGriff is one of the most experienced defensive backs coaches in college football, touting jobs at six different Power Five schools since 2001, plus three years in the NFL.

And have key pieces like James and Pritchett to lean on, he said, is massive for the growth and potential of a secondary.

“That’s one thing you look for is returning veterans,” McGriff said. “That’s when you can say, ‘Hey, man, you don’t know that much.’ It’s good to have those veterans coming back. The thing you have to do, which I’ve found in my experience, is even though you have returning veterans, you have to coach them like they’re not. Because when you’re away from the game, the small details that matter, they can get away.

“Embrace them like they’re veterans but don’t coach them like they’re veterans, or you might miss the small details.”

Both James and Pritchett will be highly capable of becoming Auburn’s next cornerbacks to find NFL draft success; most recently with Roger McCreary going top 35 overall last year, the Tigers have had five cornerbacks drafted since 2017, including players like Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean and Noah Igbinoghene, all of whom McGriff coached at Auburn.

“That’s what a place like Auburn is all about — you attract guys who have the skill set and the mindset to play at the highest level,” McGriff said.

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Edited February 7, 2023 by aubiefifty

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si.com

 

Auburn football newcomers receive numbers for 2023 season

Lance Dawe

~2 minutes

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Auburn's 2023 class is starting to receive their numbers for the upcoming season.

Nine of the Tigers' 21 freshmen recruits have already received their number while all 12 transfer portal additions have theirs.

Here's a look at the entire class, with the players who have their numbers already selected in bold.

Recruits

Keldric Faluk (DL) - No. 15

Kayin Lee (CB) - No. 3

Jeremiah Cobb (RB) - N/A

Darron Reed (DL) - N/A

Sylvester Smith (S) - N/A

Terrance Love (S) - N/A

Tyler Scott (CB) - N/A

Colton Hood (CB) - N/A

Wilky Denaud (DL) - No. 52

Connor Lew  (OL) - No. 75

Clay Wedin (OL) - No. 76

Izavion Miller (OT) - No. 72

Daquayvious Sorey (WR) - N/A

Bradyn Joiner (OL) - No. 55

Tyler Johnson (OT) - N/A

CJ Johnson (S) - N/A

JC Hart (CB) - N/A

Brenton Williams (EDGE) - No. 22

Stephen Johnson (DL) - No. 56

Hank Brown (QB) - N/A

Transfers

Austin Keys (LB) - No. 12

Justin Rogers (DL) - No. 97

Avery Jones  (OL) - No. 66

Brian Battie (RB) - No. 21

Nick Mardner (WR) - No. 8

DeMario Tolan (LB) - No. 0

Lawrence Johnson (DL) - No. 92

Mosiah Nasili-Kite (DL) - No. 33

Gunner Britton (OT) - No. 53

Dillon Wade (OT) - No. 52

Elijah McAllister (EDGE) - No. 11

Rivaldo Fairweather (TE) - No. 13

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247sports.com

 

Jason Caldwell's Monday morning quarterback column

Jason Caldwell

4–5 minutes

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Huge week of recruiting

Signing day came and went without much fanfare regarding class of 2023 football prospects on Wednesday with the exception of Jeremiah Cobb becoming official, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t recruiting news for the Auburn Tigers last week and it came in both football and basketball. 

On National Signing Day, Auburn added key pieces to both the 2024 and 2025 classes when Anniston DB Jayden Lewis and Opelika DL Malik Autry both committed to the Tigers. Those were direct results of the recent junior day experiences with both prospects saying that day really pushed them over the top and made them ready to make their commitments.

It wasn’t a junior day that made the difference for 4-star 2024 quarterback Walker White, but visits played a huge part in his decision. He wasn’t even on Auburn’s radar until Hugh Freeze and his staff took over, but that very, very quickly changed once they got to the Plains.

The first thing that had to happen was showing White how important he was in their plans. That happened on the first day of the evaluation period when Freeze was the first coach to darken the door at Little Rock Christian Academy. 

The next step and the thing that truly made the difference with White was his unofficial visit when he came to Auburn on January 16. With the entire staff involved in his visit, White definitely felt the love and it paid off when the Tigers got their quarterback early in the 2024 class. 

Game on.

Speaking of game on, that’s what Bruce Pearl and his staff said last week as well. That started by getting 5-star point guard Tahaad Pettiford before adding the top player in Alabama, combo guard Labaron Philon, on Friday.

Already with 4-star guard Aden Holloway in the 2023 class, Pearl and the Tigers are looking at elite back-to-back guards in two classes. That’s a huge key at any level, but especially in college basketball. Speaking of elite, he’s still going to get bigger, stronger and more skilled with still another year of high school ball left, but Philon has the potential to be a prolific scorer early in his career.

Find a way

That’s the goal for Pearl and the current Tigers at the moment following a 46-43 loss at Tennessee that featured one of the worst shooting performances in Auburn basketball history. Even with that, this team almost pulled out the win because of elite defensive effort against a very good team on its home court. 

That was the first opportunity in a loaded second half of the SEC schedule for a team that is going to have to find ways to win. Opportunities don’t get much bigger than this week when the Tigers face Texas A&M on the road before Alabama comes to Neville Arena on Saturday with ESPN’s College Gameday in attendance.

Currently No. 30 in the NET rankings, Auburn faces the No. 41 Aggies in a true road game on Tuesday night with a chance to get what would be its best win of the season to this point. Saturday brings in the No. 3 NET team in Alabama. 

With home games against Missouri and Ole Miss coming up after Alabama sandwiched around a trip to Vanderbilt, Auburn has a chance to build momentum, but that means winning at least one of two this week. Win both and all of the sudden this season takes on a much different feel.

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That three-game stretch of Missouri, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss is going to be important for another reason because after that the Tigers have back-to-back road games against Kentucky and Alabama before finishing the season at home against the Vols. 

The good news is that this team has plenty of opportunities left to strengthen the NET heading into the postseason. There is no better time than now to start taking advantage of some of them.

">247Sports

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Auburn football recruiting: Walker White shouts out several Tigers targets

Andrew Hughes

4–6 minutes

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Class of 2024 Auburn football quarterback commit Walker White is taking an active role in recruiting potential future teammates Mandatory Credit: Montgomery

 

Every Auburn football recruiting class has one enthusiastic commit who is willing to spread the word about the glory of ole Auburn — the Class of 2021 had Holden Geriner, the Class of 2022 had Damari Alston, and the Class of 2023 had Bradyn Joiner.

2024’s class clearly has its guy now too. Little Rock Christian quarterback Walker White is vocalizing to other recruits his desire to see them join him in Hugh Freeze’s first full cycle as Auburn football head coach.

White tweeted about Chalkville 4-star offensive tackle Jac’qawn McRoy, Rome 4-star tight end and Alabama de-commit Martavious Collins, and 4-star Andalusia running back J’Marion Burnette in the first three days following his decision to join Freeze at AU.

Auburn football recruiting will reach another level under Hugh Freeze

It has been an immediate turnaround for Freeze on the recruiting trail in December 2022 and January/February 2023 since being hired in November. That he was able to land a top-20 class by Early National Signing Day was a testament to how things would change on the Plains in gridiron talent acquisition.

Now, with the Class of 2024 having an anchor at quarterback, Freeze’s first full recruiting class is taking shape — and has those who’ve been invited into it excited about who else could join them.

Of course, even under Bryan Harsin, guys were excited to be Auburn Tigers. The brand has the cache to make a believer out of just about anybody. The difference is that Freeze may have the juice to make it sustainable.

Given his prior exodus from the SEC, Freeze is grateful for every moment he spends as Auburn football head coach. This is the perfect chance for him to become the kind of coach synonymous with his affiliation to a single team ala Nick Saban at Alabama and Dabo Swinney at Clemson.

The Class of 2024 will be the first class to give us a definitive idea of whether that can happen. So far so good.

Opelika-Auburn News deputy editor/Auburn football beat reporter Justin Lee weighed in on the craziness of the Jaden Rashada saga at Florida Mandatory Credit: Gainesville Sun

Auburn football beat reporter chastises Florida for role in Jaden Rashada saga

Auburn football beat reporter Justin Lee, the deputy editor at the Opelika-Auburn News, blames Florida for their role in the Jaden Rashada NIL saga that has led to the 4-star recruit de-committing from the Gators program to join Kenny Dillingham’s Arizona State Sun Devils.

Rashada reportedly had $13 million in unfulfilled promised funds from Florida’s NIL collectives and spurned the Sunshine State to ride out with the former Auburn football offensive coordinator/quarterback whisperer Dillingham in the desert.

Lee didn’t hold back in his criticism of the Gators in their role in Rashada’s unfulfilled commitment:

This was the list of promises Florida failed to deliver to the Pittsburgh, California native per The Athletic (subscription required):

“-$500,000 up-front payment. Payments would increase from $250,000 a month as a freshman, to $291,666.66 a month as a sophomore, to $375,000 a month as a junior, rounded out with $195,833.33 monthly payments as a senior, so long as he fulfilled the following obligations:

-Residence in Gainesville, Fla.

-At least one branded Twitter post and one branded Instagram post per month.

-Up to 8 fan engagement events per year. These could include in-person appearances, social media engagements, video conferences or interviews. None would last longer than two hours.
Autograph up to 15 pieces of merchandise per year.”

Former Auburn football offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham will be great for Jaden Rashada

Rashada is likely better off in Tempe than he’d be in Gainesville. The former Auburn football/Oregon offensive coordinator Dillingham is likely to tailor his offense to a strong-armed quarterback. He brought out the best of Bo Nix’s arm talent, and Rashada has a more pass-first profile then Nix.

Rashada figures to eventually take over if not in year one for Dillingham with Jayden de Laura returning in 2023. As for Florida, their quarterback recruiting woes continue in a severely rough PR stretch for the Gators over the last few months.

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Philip Montgomery working to 'create something different' on offense for Auburn

Justin Hokanson

~1 minute

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Philip Montgomery (Photo by Justin Hokanson/Auburn Live)

Philip Montgomery brings a wealth of knowledge and on-the-field successes with him as Auburn's new offensive coordinator. But even Montgomery is a bit uncertain exactly what the Tigers' offense will look like this fall. Not because of personnel or any lack of confidence, but because Montgomery is just starting the process of marrying his offense with head coach Hugh Freeze's, as the duo work to mesh two systems that while similar, do have differences. "We both want to be up tempo. What we do formational and our thought process, breaking down defenses, those things really aligned perfectly for us," Montgomery said during assistant coach roundtable interviews last week.

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Thanks, fifty.

War Eagle