3/26/23 Football Articles

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sports.yahoo.com

 

Auburn football’s 2024 recruiting class tracker

JD McCarthy

~3 minutes

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Hugh Freeze and his staff showed their recruiting mettle last year, signing the No. 18 class in the country despite only being on campus for a matter of weeks before the early signing period.

With a full cycle to build relationships with recruits, expectations are much higher but so far that has been justified. The Tigers have landed four four-star recruits to start their class and pulled quite the shocker when they landed quarterback Walker White over the Clemson Tigers.

Landing the classes quarterback in February gives Auburn time to recruit around him and White has not shied away from trying to bring other elite players with him to the Plains.

Here is a look at every player who has committed to Auburn in the 2024 recruiting cycle so far.

Quarterback Walker White

Stars: 4

247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 118 overall, No. 9 quarterback, No. 1 player from Arkansas

Commitment Date: Feb. 3, 2023

Hometown: Little Rock, Arkansas

Career Stats 271-of-505 (53.7%), 3,985 yards, 48 touchdowns, 20 interceptions. Rushed for 1,324 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Auburn pulled off quite the upset when they landed White over Clemson and it has been a major addition. He has the ability to run but he is a passer first and foremost.

Running back J'Marion Burnette

Stars: 4

247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 158 overall, No. 10 running back, No. 8 player from Alabama

Commitment Date: March 24, 2023

Hometown: Andalusia, Alabama

Career Stats: 4,038 yards, 30 touchdowns

Burnette is a physical back at 6-feet-1 and 225-pounds who will have a chance to make an immediate impact once he makes it to Auburn. He was one of Auburn’s top targets at running back but will not be their only one as they look to take two this cycle.

Cornerback A'Mon Lane

Stars: 4

247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 326 overall, No. 25 cornerback, No. 18 player from Alabama

Commitment Date: July 30, 2022

Hometown: Alabaster, Alabama

Lane actually committed to Auburn’s previous staff but he is solid in his commitment after Zac Etheridge was retained. He has also been recruiting for Auburn as they look to build another impressive secondary class.

Cornerback Jayden Lewis

Stars: 4

247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 360 overall, No. 29 cornerback, No. 22 player from Alabama

Commitment Date: Feb. 1, 2023

Hometown: Anniston, Alabama

Lewis was the first member of the 2024 class to commit to Freeze’s staff and it was a big win. He has all the makings of a future cover corner in the SEC due to his 6-foot, 175-pound frame and his elite speed.

Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire

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al.com

 

Freshman cornerback Kayin Lee 'like a pit bull' in Auburn secondary

Published: Mar. 26, 2023, 7:05 a.m.

5–6 minutes

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Keionte Scott noticed something early on this spring about Auburn freshman cornerback Kayin Lee.

The former four-star prospect was spending an abundance of time in defensive backs coach Wesley McGriff’s office on the second floor of the new Woltosz Football Performance Center, even when other members of the Tigers’ secondary cleared out and were done for the day. Lee, one of Auburn’s early enrollees and the second-highest rated signee in the 2023 class, has been a mainstay in McGriff’s office — and for all the right reasons.

Read more Auburn football: Camden Brown again turning heads for Auburn, but can he deliver on potential in Year 2?

The next step for Kentucky transfer Justin Rogers in order to be a “factor” on Auburn’s defensive line

Rivaldo Fairweather a “late bloomer,” but Auburn has high hopes for the FIU tight end transfer

Lee hasn’t been in trouble or anything. It’s just that he wants to get the Tigers’ defensive coverages down pat as he works to adapt to the college game during his first spring on campus.

“He will not leave the building if he doesn’t understand the coverage,” McGriff said. “He’ll knock on the door and say, ‘Hey Coach, I don’t understand this coverage.’ The first thing I do, I’ll look to see if he has something to write on, and he has his notebook, and as soon as he sits down he pulls it out and is taking notes. He wants to be great. He has the attitude and demeanor where he wants to be great.”

Lee’s insistence on perfecting coverages from an understanding standpoint has translated to the field this spring, as he has been one of the standouts for the Tigers through the first three weeks of practices. It’s not just that he’s impressing as a freshman who is getting his feet wet for the first time; he’s making waves in a veteran-laden secondary that is expected to be the strength of this Auburn team in Year 1 under new coach Hugh Freeze.

“I would describe him as feisty,” Scott said. “If I could use one word, just feisty. Like a pit bull, kind of. He wants to be out there, and you can see it. So, every time he’s out there, he’s taking his reps and making them count, for sure.”

During portions of practices that have been open to the media this spring, Lee has been getting early work with the second-team defense behind returning starters D.J. James and Nehemiah Pritchett. That’s in part because Auburn’s numbers at cornerback are thin this spring, with just four scholarship players at the position. While more reinforcements will join in the fall, Lee is making the most of his opportunity as Auburn heads into its final two weeks of spring practices.

Both Scott and Puckett identified Lee as someone who has caught their attention in spring practices, while McGriff said the Ellenwood, Ga., native has been “the biggest” standout among Auburn’s younger wave in the secondary — a group that also includes sophomores J.D. Rhym, Caleb Wooden and Cayden Bridges, as well as redshirt freshman Austin Ausberry.

RELATED: Auburn lands top in-state 2024 running back in Andalusia standout J’Marion Burnette

“The level of style that he played in high school, I feel like he’s bringing that immediately right to the table, and I feel like that’s (not) something that a lot of high schoolers that don’t come in early do,” Puckett said.

Puckett would know. He was also an early enrollee in the spring of 2019, and while he only saw the field in four games that fall while taking a redshirt, he understands the value of these 15 practices for a young defensive back, especially one of Lee’s caliber.

“I feel like getting around the environment, learning the playbook early (and) learning how to maneuver through school, I feel like that’s something that’s a big thing,” Puckett said.

The 5-foot-11, 184-pound Lee was rated as the 16th-best cornerback in the 2023 class and 145th-best overall recruit in the country coming out of Cedar Grove High. Lee committed to Ohio State last July, but Auburn — led by defensive backs coach Zac Etheridge, with an assist from McGriff — worked to flip him on early signing day. The effort paid off, as he committed to Auburn during the early signing period, giving the Tigers one of their two headliners in Freeze’s first class (edge rusher Keldric Faulk, who flipped from Florida State, being the other).

Now Lee is carving out a role for himself in a talented Auburn secondary, and while his college experience is still in the preliminary stages, Puckett is confident the former high school All-American is going to be a “great contributor” for the Tigers this fall.

“I’m excited about his progression,” McGriff said. “He’s making plays. He’s got a lot of confidence. The biggest thing about him like that is don’t put too much on his plate and make sure you coach his confidence up. But he’s doing great. I’m excited about him. He will have an impact on this football team and this program.”

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

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

J'Marion Burnette is already recruiting for Auburn

JD McCarthy

~2 minutes

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Four-star running back J'Marion Burnette is the newest member of Auburn’s 2024 recruiting class but he is already working to bring some help.

Just 20 minutes after he announced his commitment to Auburn on Friday, he took to Twitter to recruit four-star offensive lineman Jonathan Daniels, letting him know he needs to “Come to the AU and block for me and Walker White.”

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Daniels, who posted a video of him running the 100-meter in track, was offered by Auburn on June 20, 2022, and was on campus on Jan. 26 for an unofficial visit.

Burnette wasn’t the only Auburn commit working on Danield, four-star quarterback White tweeted “Facts!!! Need them Big boys!!!” at Daniels.

The Pensacola, Florida native is currently projected to go to Florida State but with Burnette and White on the case, the Tigers have a better chance of landing the 6-foot-3, 280-pounder than they did before.

Daniels is the No. 117 overall player and No. 6 interior offensive lineman in the 247Sports Composite ranking. He is also the No. 17 player from Florida.

Auburn is still looking for its first commitment along the offensive line in the 2024 recruiting class but does have the No. 18 class in the country after the addition of Burnette.

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.

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al.com

 

Camden Brown again turning heads, but can he deliver on potential in Year 2?

Updated: Mar. 25, 2023, 12:25 p.m.|Published: Mar. 25, 2023, 12:13 p.m.

5–6 minutes

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Camden Brown was the talk of Auburn’s fall camp a year ago, but his freshman season didn’t bear out the kind of production to back up some of that early hype.

There were flashes of his potential at times last fall, but Brown ultimately caught just nine passes for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Tigers in his first year of college football. Now as he prepares for Year two, with a new coaching staff and new offensive system, Brown is again garnering some early attention as he aims to have a breakout sophomore season for Hugh Freeze’s program.

“Cam has great potential, and I am excited about having him, for sure,” Freeze said.

Read more Auburn football: The next step for Kentucky transfer Justin Rogers in order to be a “factor” on Auburn’s defensive line

Rivaldo Fairweather a “late bloomer,” but Auburn has high hopes for the FIU tight end transfer

Auburn lands top in-state 2024 running back in Andalusia standout J’Marion Burnette

The 6-foot-3, 199-pound Brown is one of the bigger — and more physically gifted — receivers on Auburn’s roster this spring. That kind of size and catch radius is something Freeze values at the position, and something he tried to emphasize with a couple of new additions to the offense this offseason (6-foot-4 tight end transfer Rivaldo Fairweather and 6-foot-6 receiver transfer Nick Mardner). While Brown isn’t quite as rangy as either of those newcomers, the sophomore out of St. Thomas Aquinas in South Florida is once again turning heads on the Plains.

During the team’s first scrimmage-type situation last Friday, when Auburn held a standard practice that included some more situational work, Brown flashed some of that potential. He made what Freeze categorized as “three really nice catches” during the team situational periods that day, including a touchdown on a back-shoulder ball that particularly stood out.

“That’s a guy that has changed from Year one to Year two,” cornerback D.J. James said. “He’s developed. He’s gotten bigger, faster and stronger. I like him.”

Auburn still has a long way to go with its passing game, as Freeze was quick to point out Monday, with the quarterbacks and wide receivers not as far along as he’d like at this point in the spring. It has been an adjustment period for the receivers, particularly as it pertains to making the right reads on RPOs in the passing game.

Yet Brown has been one of the standouts of the group this spring, and during the portions of practices that have been open to the media, the sophomore has often been first in the rotation for position drills.

“The first thing that comes to my mind on him is that he’s one of the ones that’s hungry,” wide receiver coach Marcus Davis said. “He wants to get better. And he’s a younger guy. He’s a good person to have in your room. He does some good things. He’s getting better at his releases. He’s getting better at catching that thing with his hands. It’s just about continuing to build that confidence and continuing to go hard, because he’s somebody I see that can be a leader in that room, just by his approach.

“As a coach, that’s your job — to cultivate that. It’s been going well so far with him.”

Auburn still has five-plus months before it steps on the field for an actual game, which means plenty of time for the passing game to get up to the standard Freeze, Davis and offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery expect of it. In a relatively unproven wide receiver room — with just two returning players who had double-digit receptions last season — Davis seems confident that Brown can become a go-to option in this offense.

When Davis arrived as part of the staff shortly after Christmas, he studied up on and got to know the group he was inheriting at wide receiver. What Brown showed on film was impressive, but Davis has been more surprised by the everyday approach he has seen from the sophomore in the three months since — both in offseason workouts and spring practices.

If Brown can continue that through to the season, Davis likes his chances of delivering on the potential he has shown on the field.

“You don’t know that from talking to a guy; it’s more of an action behind it, and so, his everyday approach is what separates him and makes him get better and makes him want to get better,” Davis said. “…Those things continue to show up on the film. So, that’s why I believe that he’s getting better, because it’s just the little things that he’s doing time after time that’s starting to show up in good moments.

“It’s just about him continuing to put his best foot forward and continuing to put his head down and work.”

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

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[Gowebb11 9,875]

Great haul of articles today @aubiefiftyMakes for a solid start to a War Eagle 🦅 Day!

[aubiefifty 18,259]

What to expect from WKU transfer Gunner Britton on Auburn's offensive line

Nathan King

3–4 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama — Jeffrey M'ba dealt with an ankle injury late last season and ended up missing Auburn’s Week 12 win over Western Kentucky, so he watched his defensive line unit from the sideline.

But when he went back with his room the following day and reviewed the film, he remembers being blown away by Gunner Britton and the Hiltoppers’ offensive line, saying their performance stacked up with many he saw earlier in the season in the SEC.

“When I watched the game and watched the O-line, I was amazed,” M’ba said this week. “It was one of the best O-lines I think we played.”

A large reason for that — quite literally — was Britton, WKU’s monstrous offensive tackle who ended up transferring to Auburn this offseason. The 6-foot-6, 305-pound Britton quickly settled in this spring as the Tigers’ primary option at right tackle.

And one of his former teammates wasn’t surprised to hear Britton is making a strong impression on his new SEC squad.

“He was like my brother,” now-former Auburn defensive lineman Marcus Bragg, who transferred from Western Kentucky last offseason, said at pro day this week. “... We went head-to-head every day trying to make each other better. He was one of my close friends.”

Even though Bragg joked it’s a “no-brainer” that he won more one-on-one battles in the trenches during their time together at Western Kentucky, the pass-rusher said Britton is a tricky offensive tackle to solve — one whose skill set isn’t predicated just on size and strength.

“He learns from his mistakes,” Bragg said. “Once he sees why he lost, he goes back and corrects it. The next rep, he comes back and you can’t do it again.”

Rated as the No. 6 offensive tackle on the transfer market, Britton started all 14 games for WKU last season — the first six games at right tackle, and the remaining schedule at left.

With 45 career games played, pass protection has been Britton’s calling card. Per Pro Football Focus, he allowed a QB pressure on only 1.7 percent of his snaps last season, good for the fifth-best rate among all FBS tackles.

“I was like, wow,” Bragg said when he saw Britton landed at Auburn. “My brain exploded. That’s just crazy. I wish I could be here with him.”

Two other transfers seem to be in line for starting roles at Auburn, at least three weeks through spring practices, as Dillon Wade (Tulsa) and Avery Jones (East Carolina) have received the bulk of first-team work at left tackle and center, respectively.

Auburn finished its second spring scrimmage Friday evening and will return to action Monday for its 10th practice day. Hugh Freeze’s first spring on the Plains will culminate with the A-Day game April 8 (1 p.m. CST, SEC Network+).

[aubiefifty 18,259]

7 minutes ago, Gowebb11 said:

Great haul of articles today @aubiefiftyMakes for a solid start to a War Eagle 🦅 Day!

man i have never seen so few articles during a spring ever. but i beat the bushes. thanx for the love! people like you make it worthwhile. i hope your day is special. i am drinking folgers black silk coffee which is the best coffee ever and listening to the rolling stones steel wheels album.

[aubiefifty 18,259]

al.com

 

Camden Brown again turning heads, but can he deliver on potential in Year 2?

Updated: Mar. 25, 2023, 12:25 p.m.|Published: Mar. 25, 2023, 12:13 p.m.

5–6 minutes

---

Camden Brown was the talk of Auburn’s fall camp a year ago, but his freshman season didn’t bear out the kind of production to back up some of that early hype.

There were flashes of his potential at times last fall, but Brown ultimately caught just nine passes for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Tigers in his first year of college football. Now as he prepares for Year two, with a new coaching staff and new offensive system, Brown is again garnering some early attention as he aims to have a breakout sophomore season for Hugh Freeze’s program.

“Cam has great potential, and I am excited about having him, for sure,” Freeze said.

Read more Auburn football: The next step for Kentucky transfer Justin Rogers in order to be a “factor” on Auburn’s defensive line

Rivaldo Fairweather a “late bloomer,” but Auburn has high hopes for the FIU tight end transfer

Auburn lands top in-state 2024 running back in Andalusia standout J’Marion Burnette

The 6-foot-3, 199-pound Brown is one of the bigger — and more physically gifted — receivers on Auburn’s roster this spring. That kind of size and catch radius is something Freeze values at the position, and something he tried to emphasize with a couple of new additions to the offense this offseason (6-foot-4 tight end transfer Rivaldo Fairweather and 6-foot-6 receiver transfer Nick Mardner). While Brown isn’t quite as rangy as either of those newcomers, the sophomore out of St. Thomas Aquinas in South Florida is once again turning heads on the Plains.

During the team’s first scrimmage-type situation last Friday, when Auburn held a standard practice that included some more situational work, Brown flashed some of that potential. He made what Freeze categorized as “three really nice catches” during the team situational periods that day, including a touchdown on a back-shoulder ball that particularly stood out.

“That’s a guy that has changed from Year one to Year two,” cornerback D.J. James said. “He’s developed. He’s gotten bigger, faster and stronger. I like him.”

Auburn still has a long way to go with its passing game, as Freeze was quick to point out Monday, with the quarterbacks and wide receivers not as far along as he’d like at this point in the spring. It has been an adjustment period for the receivers, particularly as it pertains to making the right reads on RPOs in the passing game.

Yet Brown has been one of the standouts of the group this spring, and during the portions of practices that have been open to the media, the sophomore has often been first in the rotation for position drills.

“The first thing that comes to my mind on him is that he’s one of the ones that’s hungry,” wide receiver coach Marcus Davis said. “He wants to get better. And he’s a younger guy. He’s a good person to have in your room. He does some good things. He’s getting better at his releases. He’s getting better at catching that thing with his hands. It’s just about continuing to build that confidence and continuing to go hard, because he’s somebody I see that can be a leader in that room, just by his approach.

“As a coach, that’s your job — to cultivate that. It’s been going well so far with him.”

Auburn still has five-plus months before it steps on the field for an actual game, which means plenty of time for the passing game to get up to the standard Freeze, Davis and offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery expect of it. In a relatively unproven wide receiver room — with just two returning players who had double-digit receptions last season — Davis seems confident that Brown can become a go-to option in this offense.

When Davis arrived as part of the staff shortly after Christmas, he studied up on and got to know the group he was inheriting at wide receiver. What Brown showed on film was impressive, but Davis has been more surprised by the everyday approach he has seen from the sophomore in the three months since — both in offseason workouts and spring practices.

If Brown can continue that through to the season, Davis likes his chances of delivering on the potential he has shown on the field.

“You don’t know that from talking to a guy; it’s more of an action behind it, and so, his everyday approach is what separates him and makes him get better and makes him want to get better,” Davis said. “…Those things continue to show up on the film. So, that’s why I believe that he’s getting better, because it’s just the little things that he’s doing time after time that’s starting to show up in good moments.

“It’s just about him continuing to put his best foot forward and continuing to put his head down and work.”

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

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

HEY GUYS? this starts in less than thirty minutes. i assume you just click it at one central and it just starts up. the whole show is supposed to be about last fridays scrimmage we we have been wanting more updates. and this is all i have seen not behind a pay wall. i just hope i did this right..............