3/4/23 Articles

[aubiefifty 18,259]

247sports.com

 

Owen Pappoe: Wesley Steiner 'going to surprise a lot of people' in 2023

Nathan King

3–4 minutes

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Auburn has a two-time team captain- and four-year-starter-sized void to address at linebacker this spring and beyond.

Gone is Owen Pappoe, who battled through injuries and contributed 256 tackles in four seasons at middle linebacker, leaving new position coach Josh Aldridge with a need for those left in the linebacking corps to step up and take advantage of the opportunities provided by Pappoe’s departure to the NFL draft.

That’s particularly the case at Pappoe’s old spot in the middle of the defense. But the former 5-star recruit believes the Tigers are in good hands with a returning contributor.

“I would say Wesley Steiner,” Pappoe said this week at the NFL Combine, when asked who could be a breakout player on Auburn’s defense in 2023. “He’s going to surprise a lot of people. Athletically, he’s a freak who has all the measurables. A really smart guy, he’s going to be out there commanding the defense. I’m excited to see what he does this year.”

Growing into the biggest role of his career last season as a true junior, Steiner was in the primary rotation in the linebacking corps for most of the season as Pappoe’s backup, and sometimes alongside him. Steiner played in 10 of 12 games, finishing No. 5 on the team with 46 tackles.

Much like Pappoe, Steiner was a freakishly strong, highly rated prospect out of Georgia in the 2020 class. And was Pappoe’s understudy for three years, developing from a special teams player into a starting-adjacent defender.

“Really, last year, just seeing the things he did at practice — he showed flashes of it every day,” Pappoe said. “And even the things he did in the games.”

The 6-foot, 239-pound Steiner could have had an opportunity to finish in the top 3 in tackles for Auburn last year, but his usage faded in the final month of the season. He played only six snaps against both Mississippi State and Western Kentucky, then didn't play at all against Texas A&M and Alabama.

Steiner’s tackling also left a bit to be desired; he finished with a 23.3 percent missed tackle rate on the season, according to Pro Football Focus, and he didn’t log a single tackle for loss on the year.

To help offset the loss of Pappoe, Aldridge brought in a pair of transfers to his room this spring — both from the SEC West. Austin Keys started six games for Ole Miss last season and is likely Steiner’s primary competition at middle linebacker, while the lengthy and athletic DeMario Tolan was a player Auburn recruited heavily in the 2022 class before he signed with LSU, where he appeared in nine games as a freshman.

11COMMENTS

“They’re both very different types of players,” Aldridge said last month. “I didn’t want to sign two true in-the-box mikes, and I didn’t want to sign two true on-the-edge athletes. I don’t think we could have done a better job with the two linebackers we signed from a transfer standpoint.”

GoVols247 reporter Patrick Brown, who's in Indianapolis for the combine this week, contributed to this story.

">247Sports

[aubiefifty 18,259]

247sports.com

 

Expanded role for Kendall Simmons with Auburn's offense

Mark Murphy

~2 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama–With Joe Bernardi taking a position as the offensive line coach for the Troy Trojans, former Auburn offensive line standout Kendall Simmons moves into the role as an assistant offensive line coach to work with AU’s new coach at that position, Jake Thornton. Bernardi was a holdover from the previous, who started the 2022 season as an analyst and finished it coaching the tight ends.

Simmons coached his alma mater’s offensive line last November after Carnell "Cadillac" Williams was named interim head coach following the firing of Bryan Harsin during the 2022 season.

The winner of the 2001 SEC Jacobs Trophy as the top blocker in the Southeastern Conference, Simmons earned All-SEC honors twice for the Tigers before moving on to play eight seasons in the National Football League after being drafted in the first round by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

A native of Mississippi, Simmons was named Pittsburgh’s Rookie of the Year in 2002 and was a member of the Super Bowls XL and XLIII teams with the Steelers during the 2005 and 2008 seasons. Simmons retired after playing the 2009 season for Buffalo and New England.

Simmons returned to Auburn in an analyst’s role in 2019. He and his wife Celesta have four children–Kensley, Laila, Olivia Pearl and Tyce.

15COMMENTS

The Tigers, under the direction of new head coach Hugh Freeze, are in their first week of spring practice. Simmons will work with Freeze and Thornton, who made the move to Auburn from Ole Miss.

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[aubiefifty 18,259]

Three things to watch for in Auburn QB Walker White's game

Jack Singley

3–4 minutes

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Auburn Daily has noticed that Walker White excels at these things.

Walker White, the four star QB commit from Arkansas, has drawn the attention of power five schools, camp circuits, and high profile skill competitions like the Elite 11. The pursuit of White is not just a thing of dumb luck, its a product of White's dedication to himself and the game he loves.

The most noticeable thing about Walker, not only on the field but off the field as well, is his leadership. A highlight of this off the filed was during his announcement video for his commitment to Auburn. White tried to mention every coach, leader, and important figure in his life, leaders acknowledge the efforts of those around them, especially when an entire community has supported him during his high school career. This coupled with his leadership on the field and on the recruiting trail by constantly promoting and lifting up his fellow players and prospects makes him a natural leader. 

Relating to the on field play of White, his athleticism is one of the most intriguing and dynamic parts of his game. White has surprising speed for a player of his stature, 6'3 215 pounds, he uses this speed effectively when he is evading rushers. The one down side to this in his high school game is though he runs well and has good speed, he has struggled some on film with reading which hole in the defense to run through. He does show toughness in his running game as well as he fights for the extra yard often. 

The final but arguably one of the more important ones to Auburn considering their lack of production in the past years in this category is the deep ball. White does show hesitancy to let it fly and go over top of the defense but when he does he connects and connects big. The polishing of these passes will come but White has a cannon of an arm that Auburn fans should be excited to look for assuming he stays true to his commitment to the Tigers.

The highest rated recruit of a small 2024 class definitely has room to grow but he is an above average quarterback target for Auburn as besides Bo Nix, Auburn has not had a blue chip prospect stay more than 2 years since Jeremy Johnson. 

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[aubiefifty 18,259]

al.com

 

Anders Carlson explains how an arm injury cut short his Auburn kicking career

Published: Mar. 02, 2023, 9:56 a.m.

5–6 minutes

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Anders Carlson experienced a double-whammy of sorts on a single play during Auburn’s loss at Mississippi State last season.

Midway through the second quarter of the Tigers’ 39-33 overtime loss in Starkville, Miss., last November, Bulldogs return specialist Tulu Griffin housed a kickoff return for a 92-yard touchdown that gave Mississippi State a 21-point lead. Not only was Carlson frustrated by giving up a kick return touchdown, but the Tigers’ veteran kicker sustained what proved to be a season-ending injury in the process.

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As Griffin raced down the home sideline at Davis Wade Stadium, Carlson made a diving attempt to trip him up at the Mississippi State 40-yard line. It was a fruitless endeavor for Carlson, who awkwardly landed with his left arm above his head as he hit the grass. Three days later, X-ray results showed that Carlson had a fracture at the top of his humerus.

His season — and Auburn career — was over.

“Kind of the worst of both worlds,” Carlson said Thursday morning at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

An arm injury may not seem that detrimental to a kicker — a player whose biggest asset is his legs — but Carlson explained Thursday why it prevented him from finishing out the final three games of his final collegiate season. The biggest issue, it seems, was that the injury was to Carlson’s left arm. As a right-footed kicker, his left arm is critical to his kicking motion, as he extends it out to counterbalance his weight as he plants and follows through on a kick.

“I couldn’t lift (my arm),” Carlson said. “I didn’t know it was broken until a few days after. I tried to practice Tuesday, actually, with my arm tucked. I was kicking looking like a chicken, basically.”

After the diagnosis, Carlson was provided a timeline for recovery: four to six weeks. His arm was feeling better by Christmastime, but by then, Auburn’s season was in the books thanks to a 5-7 campaign that kept the Tigers out of a bowl game.

It marked the second straight season that Carlson dealt with a season-ending injury. Both, coincidentally, occurred against Mississippi State. During Auburn’s loss to Mississippi State in 2021, when the Tigers squandered a 28-3 lead, Carlson tore his ACL on a kickoff late in the game. His season was over, but he opted to return for a sixth season while taking advantage of the NCAA’s free year of eligibility stemming from the pandemic.

“I think the word that goes with that is resiliency, right?” Carlson said. “(That’s) something I talked to the coaches here about. My career, I’ve had ups and downs. I’ve had a lot of success and some downfalls, and some injuries as well. I talked about that just being kind of a booster for the future. Some guys don’t experience that, and it really tests you as a man and prepares you for the future.”

For Carlson, he’s hopeful that future is in the NFL, with this week’s combine the next step toward that goal. He left Auburn as No. 2 on the program’s career made field goals list (79), second in all-time scoring on the Plains (410 points) and third in career PATs made (173). He was 79-of-110 (71.82 percent) on career field goals at Auburn, with a long of 53 yards as a redshirt freshman in 2018.

Carlson has been training mostly in Auburn the last couple months, though he has made a handful of cross-country trips to work out with esteemed kicking coach Jamie Kohl. While in Auburn, he has also spent time working with his older brother, Daniel Carlson, the Raiders’ All-Pro kicker and former Auburn great. The older Carlson has been a useful resource for his little bother during the pre-draft process, since it’s something he went through just a few years ago.

The two have talked on the phone regularly this week, and they’ll spend more time together training in Auburn after Anders returns from Indianapolis at the end of the week. But first, he has business to take care of at the NFL Combine now that he’s healthy and focused on the next chapter.

“Just being here is a blessing,” Carlson said. “I’m excited for the field work Friday, just showing leg strength and just being healthy again, it’s a blessing to be here with a strong shoulder, strong knee and just being able to tee it up with some good guys around me and just show potential.”

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

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[Mikey 16,781]

8 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

I would say Wesley Steiner,” Pappoe said this week at the NFL Combine, when asked who could be a breakout player on Auburn’s defense in 2023. “He’s going to surprise a lot of people. Athletically, he’s a freak who has all the measurables. A really smart guy, he’s going to be out there commanding the defense. I’m excited to see what he does this year.”

To date, Steiner has been a workout warrior who didn't bring much to the field. Cam Riley has been the best of a group of four signees who have in general been disappointing. According to sources, Steiner has always had the ability but it's never transferred to playing winning football. This is his last chance, so lets hope he gets it done!

[toddc 13,197]

1 hour ago, Mikey said:

To date, Steiner has been a workout warrior who didn't bring much to the field. Cam Riley has been the best of a group of four signees who have in general been disappointing. According to sources, Steiner has always had the ability but it's never transferred to playing winning football. This is his last chance, so lets hope he gets it done!

Steiner was my “man crush “ last year and man was I crushed!