2/23/23 Auburn Articles

[aubiefifty 18,259]

auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

Cornerback target Jameer Grimsley set to visit Auburn

JD McCarthy

~2 minutes

---

Auburn football now has a staff that prioritizes recruiting and the benefits of that are already beginning to show. The Tigers are expected to have numerous visitors during spring practice and one will be cornerback Jameer Grimsley.

The Tampa, Florida, product has scheduled visits to Auburn and Alabama on March 11 and 12, according to Keith Niebuhr of Auburn Live.

Buy Tigers Tickets

Grimsley does not have a rating yet but that is just a matter of time as he already has over 15 offers including Auburn, Alabama, and South Carolina. Auburn secondary coach Zac Etheridge offered the 6-foot-3, 185-pounder on Feb. 16.

The Tigers may have an advantage in his recruitment, former Auburn wide receiver Jeris McIntyre is his head coach at Tampa Catholic.

Etheridge and Auburn have already landed two four-star cornerback commits in the 2024 recruiting class, Jayden Lewis and A’Mon Lane but the Tigers are looking to add several more to the class.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15.

[aubiefifty 18,259]

Auburn's Jarquez Hunter ranked one of college football's top 10 running backs in 2023

Lance Dawe

8–10 minutes

---

The Auburn Tigers just watched one of the top 10 running backs in college football walk out the door.

Tank Bigsby, Auburn's star tailback for the past three seasons and seventh all-time on the school's total rushing yards list, has declared for the NFL Draft and will be moving on from the Tigers.

It's a blow to a backfield that could have used one more year of Bigsby, especially with a new offensive line and a competent playcalling duo of Hugh Freeze and Philip Montgomery.

However, according to On3, even without Bigsby, the Tigers have one of the top five running backs in America.

Jarquez Hunter, the backup to Bigsby for the past two seasons, ranked No. 5 in On3's article detailing the Top 10 Running Backs in College Football in 2023.

Here's what On3 had to say about Hunter:

"Hunter doesn’t have the production of some of the other players on this list, but you have to keep in mind that Auburn was a team essentially going through a coaching change during the season. Hunter is plenty versatile and ran for 668 yards and seven touchdowns, as well as catching 17 passes for 224 yards and two scores. He’ll be a terrific weapon in the hands of Hugh Freeze."

He ranks ahead of Miyan Williams (Ohio State), TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State), Donovan Edwards (Michigan), Trey Benson (Florida State), and Braelon Allen (Wisconsin)

Jarquez Hunter was a three-star prospect in the Tigers' 2021 recruiting class. He was an extremely late pickup and a relatively irrelevant one at that - sitting just outside the top 700 players nationally in the 247Sports composite, Hunter was an additional depth piece (at least, according to national outlets) but wasn't expected to do much on the Plains for a couple of seasons.

Behind the aforementioned Bigsby, Hunter rushed for 593 yards and three touchdowns, averaging an impressive 6.7 yards per carry. He followed this performance up with an even better one in 2022 (as noted by On3).

He'll lead the way in a deep running back room featuring a wide variety of skill.

Here's a look at Auburn's entire rotation heading into 2023:

Jarquez Hunter, Jr.

Hunter took a dip in YPC as his freshman season progressed, but he broke out this past season with three hundred-yard performances over the final three games of the year - including two huge games against Texas A&M and Alabama.

His blend of power and explosiveness has provided Auburn with a fun compliment to star tailback Tank Bigsby - but now that Bigsby is gone, is Hunter ready to carry the load in the backfield?

All signs point towards yes, and there's reason to believe that OC Philip Montgomery and HC Hugh Freeze will be excited about using him. Hunter has also proven to be the best pass-catcher out of the backfield over the past couple of seasons.

Although, there may be someone on the depth chart that could potentially take those passing snaps away from Hunter.

Fans should be excited about Hunter's return and should expect him to continue to improve upon the standard that he has set as an explosive, shifty back that's hard to bring down.

Career carries - 193

Career rushing yards - 1,261

Career total touchdowns - 13

Career YPC - 6.5

Best game of career: Vs Alabama State (9/27/21) - 8 carries, 147 yards, 1 touchdown OR at Alabama (11/26/22) - 11 carries, 134 yards

Brian Battie, Jr.

Over his three year career at USF, Battie rushed for 1842 yards and ten TDs. Battie was also named an 2021 NCAA Consensus All-American at Kick Returner, just the 2nd All-American in USF program history, and followed that with a 2022 season that saw him rack up 1186 yards (at 6.7 yards per carry), eight touchdowns, and be named to Phil Steele's All-American team in an all-purpose role.

A former 3-star recruit from Sarasota, FL, the 5-foot-8 Battie joins a running back room full of talent but short on starting experience - with Tank Bigsby off to the NFL, the returning duo of Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston have only a combined 207 carries in college football, with 193 of those belonging to Hunter in his role as Bigsby's backup the last two seasons.

Career carries - 280

Career rushing yards - 1,842

Career total touchdowns - 28

Career YPC - 6.6

Best game of career: At Florida ((9/17/22) - 17 carries, 150 yards, 8.8 YPC, 1 touchdowns OR at Tulsa (11/18/22) - 19 carries, 169 yards, 1 touchdown

There were several to choose from.

Damari Alston, So.

Alston was the newbie in the rotation this season, and by default didn't see a lot of playing time - despite this, he finished inside the top 10 of PFF's individual offensive grades for the Tigers in 2022.

He has an almost identical frame to Hunter (5-foot-10, 205 pounds) but has a very different running style - his one-cut bruiser style approach to the game makes him a difficult matchup for opponents as a rotational back - there is no fun in trying to hold Jarques Hunter down and then immediately having to account for a back that does not shy away from contact. He had almost 2,000 all-purpose yards as a junior in high school and has the potential to be a solid option in years to come for Auburn.

Career carries - 14

Career yards - 85

Career touchdowns - 0

Career YPC - 6.1

Best game of career: Vs San Jose State (9/10/22) - 2 carries, 38 yards

Jeremiah Cobb, Fr.

This may be the most intriguing pickup of Auburn's 2023 recruiting class. Cobb was a monster at Montgomery Catholic High School, posting insane stats and displaying a well-rounded skill set. 247Sports noted in their analysis that "not one physical trait that stands out among the rest but (Cobb) possesses a well-rounded skill set and has a good feel for the position."

And a good feel he has. There have been several comps thrown out for Cobb, and one many recruiting experts come back to is Alvin Kamara, given his ability to catch passes out of the backfield and turn anything into a big gain. There's not a particular area of weakness in his game (outside of the fact that he's still raw, as any high school talent), which is great news for the Tigers, who would expect him to take over the starting role as early as 2024 if Jarquez Hunter were to declare for the NFL Draft.

Cobb has some serious potential to become a great weapon in Hugh Freeze's offense.

*Career carries - 639

*Career yards - 6,567

*Career rushing touchdowns - 75

*Career YPC - 10.3

Career receiving yards - 1,142

*Career receiving touchdowns - 15

*Career YPC (receiving) - 22.8 (!)

*All of these career numbers are his high school stats over the course of 50 games.

Sean Jackson, Rs So.

Jackson earned his scholarship as a redshirt freshman last season. He did not record a stat for the Tigers in 2022, but received 12 carries for 60 yards and one touchdown over the course of Auburn's first two games of 2021 (Akron, Alabama State).

He'll be on roster to provide depth in what should be a very talented and well-balanced running back room in 2023. Whether or not Freeze and Montgomery end up giving him any serious playing time is to be determined over the course of the offseason, but Jackson has been praised for his work ethic - hence his reception of a scholarship.

His bruising frame (5-foot-9, 230 pounds) could be utilized in short-yardage situations, if Freeze were to end up using him.

Career carries - 12

Career yards - 60

Career touchdowns - 1

Career YPC - 5.0

Best game of career: Vs Alabama State (9/27/21) - 10 carries, 38 yards, 1 touchdown

[aubiefifty 18,259]

Who is the next great Auburn linebacker?

Published: Feb. 22, 2023, 2:54 p.m.

3–4 minutes

---

Auburn linebacker Cam Riley (13) runs through a tackling drill during practice Tue. Aug. 16, 2022 in Auburn, Ala. (Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics)Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

By

• Nubyjas Wilborn | nwilborn@al.com

We’re taking a look at each position group as Auburn prepares to open spring practice on Feb. 27. The eighth of an 11-part series looks at the linebackers.

Transfers Austin Keys (Ole Miss) and DeMario Tolan (LSU) are set to lead a group of linebackers at Auburn. Tolan had 10 total tackles, and two quarterback hurries last season. Keys completed the 2022 season with 39 total tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble.

Cam Riley and Wesley Steiner have the most experience playing for Auburn as returning players. Riley had the second-most tackles on the team last season with 66 and 3.5 tackles for loss. Steiner posted 46 tackles last season at Auburn.

Read More Auburn Football: Rivaldo Fairweather leads a developing tight-end group at Auburn

Will Hugh Freeze’s offensive line rebuild work in 2023 at Auburn?

Is Jarquez Hunter ready to be a feature running back at Auburn?

Riley and Steiner hope to step up without team-captain Owen Pappoe, who is entering the 2023 National Football League Draft.

Josh Aldridge is the new linebackers coach. He came with Freeze from Liberty, where Aldridge was the defensive coordinator.

Aldridge’s Liberty defense was first nationally in team tackles for loss, fourth in team sacks, 15th in passes intercepted, 19th nationally in third-down defense, and 25th in first-down defense.

“I’ve been fortunate to work for Coach Freeze the last four years and I’m appreciative to be joining him again at Auburn,” Aldridge said. “I look forward to helping Auburn build a defense that is physical, aggressive and competes for championships. The area surrounding the Plains is very familiar to my family and I can’t wait to hit the road in our footprint in search of Auburn Men.”

Projected Depth Chart:

Starters: Austin Keys and DeMario Tolan

Second String: Cam Riley/Wesley Steiner. Eugene Asante/Robert Woodyard

Third String: Desmond Tisdol/ Kameron Brown, Jake Levant/Powell Gordon

Departed: Owen Pappoe (NFL Draft)

Outlook: This is one of the more challenging units to evaluate at Auburn heading into spring camp. There are a lot of players with experience, but the production hasn’t been consistent. It’s also imperative to remember that the defense will change under new defensive coordinator Ron Roberts.

“You have to be multiple nowadays in college football and the SEC. You’ve got to have multiple (fronts). We can’t just sit in a front unless you have better players than everybody else,” Roberts told reporters during a press conference in February. “You can’t do that. Offensive coordinators will pick you apart. The skill level is too good. They’ll find a weakness. We’ll be multiple in what we do, but we will play with aggression. We will blitz. We will pressure. We will be an aggressive defense.”

Auburn’s linebacker room needs work. Don’t be surprised to see the Tigers active in the second portal opening after spring football.

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group

If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.

[aubiefifty 18,259]

Auburn commit A'Mon Lane committed to play in Under Armour All-American game

Christian Clemente

2–3 minutes

---

 

A'Mon Lane's junior year isn't over yet and Auburn's Top247 cornerback commit is continuing to rack in accolades.

Before competing in the Under Armour All-American camp in Atlanta this weekend, it was also announced that Lane is committed to playing in the 2024 Under Armour All-American game at the conclusion of his senior season.

While a date has not been announced yet, the game is typically in the first week of January and set in Orlando. 

The Under Armour All-American game is one of two major all-star games for the top high school recruits to play in across the country, with the All-American Bowl in San Antonio being the other big game. Auburn was not represented in the Under Armour game during the 2023 cycle, but had five signees playing in the All-American Bowl.

No. 216 overall in the 247Sports rankings, Lane has been committed to Auburn and Zac Etheridge since last July and Big Cat Weekend. Lane is the No. 15 cornerback and No. 16 player in the state of Alabama for the class.

Lane was Auburn's first commitment of the Class of 2024 and someone that Hugh Freeze and the new Auburn staff inherited — and actively worked to keep committed.

His last visit was shortly before the dead period for Auburn's Junior Day on Jan. 28, where he reassured his commitment.

"I really like Coach Crime and Coach Roberts," Lane said. "He’s just — they’re just fun people, fun coaches to be around. You just get that feeling that you’re going to be taken care of. I don’t know, it’s something about Coach Freeze, man. His vibe and just everything how he reacts with my family and me, it’s special."

5COMMENTS

Lane recently took home the state championship in the 4x2 and 60-meter in track.

In the Class of 2024, Auburn currently holds three commitments from Lane, Top247 cornerback Jayden Lewis and Top247 quarterback Walker White.

">247Sports

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

 

[Dom1ni0n 51]

*That's a pretty tall corner prospect at 6'3.  Now I'm curious about his other measurables.  

* I'm banking on seeing improvement in the trenches with an upgrade in talent and position coaching. This helps Jarquez gets his 1,000+ yd rushing this season and possibly close to another 300 receiving  if he's used as a receiving option.  I'm glad he's getting shine in spite of the 'meh' overall records the past two seasons.

On3 obviously thinks highly of 'quez as he's the only player returning on their list whose team finished below .500.  They too believe he benefits from the coaching change, improved scheme, etc.