4/3/23 Football Articles

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Battie brings 'speed and quickness' to Auburn offense

Jason Caldwell

3–4 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama—Late in the 2022 season, coach Philip Montgomery’s Tulsa Golden Hurricane had a matchup with a South Florida team that had already seen its coach fired during the year and was running on fumes.

While the Bulls were really struggling, that didn’t mean they didn’t have some things for Tulsa to worry about heading into the game. The main thing on the minds of the defensive coaches was trying to stop Brian Battie.

“He was the guy we needed to stop, for sure,” Montgomery said. “Because he’s electric with the ball in his hands.”

Tulsa won the game 48-42, but they didn’t come close to stopping Battie.

Carrying the ball 18 times for 169 yards and a touchdown, Battie also added a two-point conversion for South Florida in the loss.

Making the move to Auburn to work as the offensive coordinator for the Tigers, Montgomery knew right away that Battie was a guy he wanted to work with as soon as the speedy running back entered the portal. Now that he’s on campus, the diminutive back has shown exactly why he was so tough to tame.

“The thing about Brian, and he’s got really good speed, but the thing that you notice when you’re around him or even as as person that played against him, he is very, very difficult to tackle,” Montgomery said. “And he does a great job of setting up blocks, being patient.

“He can really stop and start and create some spacing for himself. And then, I’m just telling you, he hides behind things and then all of a sudden you see him just pop out and good things are happening. Really impressed with what he’s been able to do so far.”

A 1,000-yard rusher for a bad South Florida team, Battie was often the focus for the opposing defense but he still managed to make plays. It’s something that teammate Damari Alston has seen already this spring out of Battie and he knows the reason why.

“He definitely adds some speed and quickness,” Alston said. “He's a really quick guy. He can obviously take kicks back as well. I just feel like he adds that speed and that quickness that we need in the room.”

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Now with Battie in his offense and getting a chance to coach him instead of against him, Montgomery said he’s excited to see what he can bring to this offense as the Tigers get ready for the 2023 season.

“When you get him out in space and all of a sudden he’s this and he’s got that shake to him, he can get you off balance,” Montgomery said. “And if you notice, if you go back and truly watch his tapes, he doesn’t take many just straight-on hard hits. He’s a guy that just understands how to maneuver himself and find ways to stay positive and finish forward.”

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

New faces have strengthened offensive line throughout spring practice

Daniel Locke

~2 minutes

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A-Day is one week away and there is a renewed sense of energy and purpose surrounding the Auburn Tigers Football Program. New head football coach Hugh Freeze has wasted no time improving areas of need for the team.

The offensive line has consistently been a weakness for Auburn since 2017. Freeze wasted no time improving the position since his arrival in Auburn.

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An article from AL.com written by Tom Green highlighted the improvement made to the position.

Phillip Montgomery, the former head coach of Tulsa who Freeze hired to fill the offensive coordinator role, has high expectations for the group.

“Offensive line, I think, has been a real positive surprise throughout the spring,” offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery said. “I think the guys that we’ve been able to add to that room have made an impact.”

The Tigers landed three offensive linemen in the transfer portal. Avery Jones from ECU, Dillon Wade from Tulsa, and Gunner Britton from Western Kentucky.

Auburn also brought in Connor Lew, a four-star recruit from Acworth, Georgia. Lew is the No. 20 ranked interior offensive lineman in the 2023 recruiting class according to 247Sports.

The Tiger’s biggest offensive line grab in the 2023 recruiting class was Clay Wedin, the No. 37 ranked interior offensive lineman in the 2023 recruiting class according to 247Sports.

With an improved offensive line, Auburn’s offense will be able to make a lot more happen this season.

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al.com

 

Auburn's top-rated 2022 signee 'looks like a whole new guy' this spring

Published: Apr. 01, 2023, 9:40 a.m.

5–6 minutes

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AUBURN, AL - March 01, 2023 - Auburn Linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. (#17) during spring practice at the Woltosz Football Performance Center in Auburn, AL. Photo by Declan GreeneAuburn University Athletics

The highest-rated signee in Auburn’s 2022 class is on track to be a regular contributor for the Tigers’ defense this fall after redshirting as a true freshman last season.

Robert Woodyard Jr., who flipped from Alabama to Auburn during the early signing period in December 2021, contributed mostly on special teams while appearing in just four games last season. This spring, however, the former four-star in-state prospect has carved out a spot for himself in the Tigers’ core linebacker rotation.

“He looks like a whole new guy from a couple months ago during the season at practice,” junior linebacker Cam Riley said. “…If you see Robert now, he looks like a whole new person.”

Read more Auburn football: Trio of transfers has “absolutely improved” Auburn’s offensive line this spring

“He’s a monster”: Auburn trying to temper expectations for freshman edge rusher Keldric Faulk

Auburn’s wide receivers look to “change the narrative” this season

Woodyard has been working mostly alongside Riley with Auburn’s second pairing at inside linebacker, while Ole Miss transfer Austin Keys and senior Wesley Steiner have been the first grouping in the rotation this spring.

It’s a promising step forward for Woodyard after playing sparingly during his first season on the Plains, when he was relegated mostly to special teams work and earned the designation as defensive scout team player of the year.

“He’s got a tremendous attitude,” linebackers coach Josh Aldridge said in February. “He’s always in the building, which is what everybody told me when I got here, that he was the guy that spent a lot of time in that facility. And so that so far has been really good. Pretty mature for a young kid.”

Woodyard is the youngest player in a surprisingly experienced linebacker room for Auburn this spring. Despite losing leading tackle, team captain and four-year starter Owen Pappoe to the draft, Auburn returns Riley and Steiner from its primary rotation last season, as well a veteran Eugene Asante, while also bringing in a pair of transfers with SEC experience in Keys and LSU transfer DeMario Tolan.

The 6-foot, 241-pound Woodyard signed with Auburn as the nation’s No. 141 overall prospect and a top-10 player in the state. A highly touted linebacker out of Mobile, Woodyard was committed to Alabama for a year and a half — since the summer before his junior year — but the Tigers’ former staff managed to flip him during the early signing period that cycle. He became the first player to flip from Alabama to Auburn since Opelika safety Stephen Roberts did so during the 2014 cycle.

Though he was the highest-rated player in Auburn’s class, he spent part of the offseason before his freshman year recovering from a meniscus injury that cost him the final three games of his senior season at Williamson. Now fully healthy and with a year of learning experience under his belt, as well as a new coaching staff in the picture, Woodyard is positioned for a key role in the Tigers’ defense this season.

Roberts said last week that he would like to be able to go three-deep at the two inside linebacker spots this fall, and he believes he currently has five linebackers who are game-ready. Woodyard is one of them.

“He can strike,” Roberts said. “He can make tackles. He’s athletic. For him, it’s just being young, and you want to be able to see him be more vocal on the field with communication and getting everybody in the right spots, being able to help people out on the field. That’s some of the things we kind of expect from that position, so we kind of need him to take those growth steps forward.”

While Woodyard still needs to develop from that standpoint, he at least has the ideal size to play the Mike position in Auburn’s defense and the kind of hard-hitting mentality required to be an effective linebacker in the SEC.

“He’s a physical guy; he’s always around the ball,” Riley said. “He has a knack for the ball, like he wants to make every play He takes the time to actually learn the defense. He’s a new guy, man. I can’t believe it.”

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

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si.com

 

Auburn football's biggest question in spring practice is obvious - but can it be solved?

Lance Dawe

3–4 minutes

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Can Hugh Freeze and Philip Montgomery solve the Tigers' quarterback woes?

With a new head coach at the helm, the Auburn Tigers are looking to reset their roster and make a statement in the SEC under first year head coach Hugh Freeze in 2023.

One of the biggest question marks for the team is the quarterback position, with Robby Ashford, Holden Geriner and T.J. Finley vying for the starting spot. 

Barrett Sallee of CBS Sports recently wrote about one question every SEC team needs to answer during spring practice, and to nobody's surprise, Auburn's biggest question is quarterback.

"Dual-threat weapon Robby Ashford got the majority of the snaps for the Tigers last season after veteran pro-style signal-caller T.J. Finley suffered an injury in Week 3," Sallee wrote about the Tigers' signal-callers. It's no secret that first-year coach Hugh Freeze went shopping in the transfer portal during the winter window, but it's up to the two former starters to impress him between now and the Tigers' spring game on April 7. Is Auburn's quarterback on campus? Ashford has some work to do as a passer, and it has been difficult for Finley to stay healthy throughout his career."

It's been a process for Freeze, OC Philip Montgomery and the Tigers this spring, with Freeze publicly expressing his feelings on the QB room's lack of consistency - despite Geriner's recent successes individually.

As mentioned earlier, some retooling has had to be done with the offense. A load of transfers were brought in, and when all is said and done, the Tigers still may bring in a portal quarterback.

Auburn has a strong core on defense, with eight starters returning - however, they are tied for the third-fewest returning starters in the SEC with only 11, and only three on offense.

Is that a bad thing? Maybe not. But it would certainly help to get the weapons around the quarterbacks (and the offensive line) right as the spring winds down.

The question still remains - and it probably won't be answered until fall camp. Even then, will Freeze and his staff feel confident with the man behind center?

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247sports.com

 

Jason Caldwell's Monday morning quarterback column

Jason Caldwell

4–5 minutes

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Important week for Auburn football

There is a saying that ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression.’ That’s true, but for Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers, the first impression may not be nearly as important as the last impression of the spring this week.

That starts at the quarterback position where T.J. Finley, Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner have all shown signs of getting the job done, but the inconsistency has continued to be an issue for the group as a whole. With four practices this week, including Saturday’s A-Day game, someone has a chance to go into the summer on a high note and perhaps give themselves a lead in a race that will last until week into August.

It’s also an opportunity for some of the younger players to continue to push towards being in the playing rotation on both sides of the ball. Offensively, there are plenty of veterans across the board with transfers at every position, but true freshman Connor Lew has been really good since arriving on campus and is someone the coaches feel like will be ready to compete this fall. 

The same can be said for Keldric Faulk and Kayin Lee on defense for the Tigers. Faulk is undoubtedly going to have to play for this team because of a lack of depth at the jack linebacker position, but also because of his immense size and physical skills. With cornerback short on depth, Lee has taken advantage of his opportunities to this point and will have several more chances this week to continue that.

Can anyone else take a big final push before spring is done? It’s time to find out.

Roster makeover coming for Auburn hoops

With the loss of Wendell Green Jr. on Sunday to go along with the departures of Yohan Traore and Chance Westry, Auburn already has four open spots that could be filled out of the transfer portal. The Tigers were already one under the limit of 13 after taking scholarship reductions. Throw in Zep Jasper being done with eligibility and that’s five spots. One of those will be used by incoming freshman guard Aden Holloway, giving Bruce Pearl and his staff four more roster spots available.

There could be even more with K.D. Johnson, Allen Flanigan and Jaylin Williams all expected to make a decision on their future soon. While Stretch Akingbola has a year of eligibility remaining, he’s not expected to return for the 2023-24 season, which would open up another spot.

Any way you slice it, Pearl’s next Auburn team is going to have a very different look with lots of new faces on campus. As it stands today, the Tigers will likely add at least two new faces at the guard position and potentially two more forward/center types to bolster the roster. Those numbers could grow even higher if another player or two from the current roster decides to move on.

Welcome to the world of college athletics in 2023.

Gorilla Ball Pt. 2

This season there have been 63 SEC games played through three weekends of league play. Of those, 25 games have featured at least one team scoring double figure runs. That’s an incredible number, but it shows you just how hard it is to pitch in this league right now where offenses get older and pitching staffs continue to get younger and younger. Covid has given offenses a chance to continue to build with transfers and experienced players that 10 years ago would have been playing minor league baseball. It doesn’t work that way on the mound because draftable guys are still going to be selected to begin pro careers and trying to get the fast track to the major leagues.

Only Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee haven’t allowed 10 or more runs in an SEC game this season. Auburn has allowed three as have Arkansas, Georgia and Texas A&M. Mississippi State leads the way with six double-digit games allowed in nine total games.

Here is the rundown of the teams that have allowed 10 or more runs in an SEC game this year through three weeks.

Arkansas (3)

Auburn (3)

Florida (1)

Georgia (3)

LSU (1)

Ole Miss (2)

Mississippi State (6)

Missouri (2)

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South Carolina (1)

Texas A&M (3)

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