4/4/23 Football Articles

[Randman5000 4,271]

Quote

- Freeze says Jarquez Hunter is the best running back he’s coached.

“I think Jarquez is special. I do. I think he’s probably the best running back I’ve ever coached, truthfully. I haven’t had a lot of great ones, but I think he’s a really, really good running back. We had solid ones. Jordan Wilkins and that crew at Ole Miss were pretty good. Dae Dae Hunter was the best one we had at Liberty. I had a pretty good one at Arkansas State in Frankie, but I think Jarquez is the best that I’ve coached this far. (I’m) excited about his demeanor and the way he goes about his work. He keeps his mouth shut and just goes to work. If you want him to play kickoff team or punt team, he’s all, ‘Let’s go. Let’s do it.’ Not that we want him to do that.”

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by Randman5000

[aubiefifty 18,259]

1 hour ago, augolf1716 said:

Link?????

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[ellitor 33,788]

3 hours ago, bigbird said:

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😉

Bird with another heel turn. #CantTrustHim

[bigbird 60,940]

27 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Bird with another heel turn. #CantTrustHim

Equal opportunity 

[toddc 13,197]

4 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

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Pictures or it didn’t happen! 😆 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

11 minutes ago, toddc said:

Pictures or it didn’t happen! 😆 

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[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

Why Auburn football's Hugh Freeze called Jarquez Hunter the best RB he has ever coached

Richard Silva, Montgomery Advertiser

Tue, April 4, 2023 at 4:41 PM CDT

 

 

AUBURN — Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze hasn't even seen Jarquez Hunter in a game yet, but he's already calling the 5-foot-10, 210-pound playmaker the best running back he's ever coached.

Freeze, who had Jordan Wilkins at Ole Miss for a couple of seasons and also saw Dae Dae Hunter rush for 854 yards at Liberty in 2022, said Hunter has them beat: “I think Jarquez is special. I do. ... (I’m) excited about his demeanor and the way he goes about his work," Freeze said Monday. "He keeps his mouth shut and just goes to work."

Asked to give his assessment of Hunter, running backs coach Cadillac Williams echoed similar sentiments.

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"I’m fired up about Jarquez," Williams said Tuesday. "Since Day 1 when he stepped on campus, one of the things that truly stands out about Jarquez is just his humble approach to everything. ... I love his tenacity. I just love his grit. Love how he’s willing to learn each and every day. He’s always trying to find ways that he can get better. The sky is the limit for Jarquez. I think he has a chance to be a very, very special back."

Hunter rushed for 668 yards in 2022 as the No. 2 option behind Tank Bigsby. He averaged 6.4 yards per carry and added nine total touchdowns. He's poised to lead a position group this season that features sophomore Damari Alston, freshman Jeremiah Cobb and South Florida transfer Brian Battie.

"Right now, that’s still to be determined," Williams said when asked if Hunter is the best running back he's ever had. "He’s just as talented as anyone I have coached. The guy has the skill set, has the talent, has the grit. What separates him from a lot of guys that I have coached is just his mental toughness.

"He’s one of the toughest young men I have been around, just by his approach and how he handles adversity and how he had the opportunity to play behind Tank Bigsby and sit and learn and still be humble. That is tough to do. Lord knows, I’m kind of speaking from experience. To watch his growth has been inspiring for me."

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: Cadillac Williams, Hugh Freeze praise Jarquez Hunter

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

What to know about Frank Thomas ahead of his Auburn baseball statue unveiling

Richard Silva, Montgomery Advertiser

Tue, April 4, 2023 at 12:59 PM CDT

AUBURN — Frank Thomas will soon be immortalized.

The Auburn baseball legend turned MLB star is getting a statue in front of Plainsman Park on Saturday, with the unveiling ceremony set for 10 a.m. near the corner of South Donahue Drive and Heisman Drive.

Thomas, who enjoyed a 19-year professional career before retiring in 2008, was drafted with the No. 7 overall pick in the 1989 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox, an organization he was with from 1990-2005. He finished his career with a couple of brief stints with the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays.

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Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014, Thomas retired with a .301 batting average and is one of only 28 players in MLB history to hit 500 or more home runs, as he finished with 521. He won back-to-back MVP awards in 1993 and 1994 and picked up four Silver Slugger awards throughout his career.

Here's what to know about Thomas ahead of the unveiling of his statue.

Pat Dye praised him as a football player

Thomas came to Auburn on a football scholarship in 1986, recruited by legendary coach Pat Dye to play tight end. He ended up focusing on baseball after he suffered an ankle injury, but not before he made an impression on Dye during his lone season playing under him.

"If he had stuck with football, he'd be going in the hall of fame as a football player," Dye said, according to a 2014 story posted on the official Auburn athletics website.

Thomas caught three passes for 45 yards in 1986. The Tigers went 10-2 that season, with notable wins coming over Alabama in the Iron Bowl and against USC in the Citrus Bowl. They finished as the No. 6 team in the final AP Poll.

He had a career batting average of .382 at Auburn

With batting averages of .385 and .403 in 1988 and 1989, respectively, Thomas led the SEC.

He finished with a .382 mark over 178 total games played to go along with 49 home runs and 228 hits, per The Baseball Cube. He also walked 153 times, including 73 walks over 64 games in 1989.

Thomas added 205 RBIs and scored 163 runs for the Tigers. He left the Plains with a .514 on-base percentage and a .725 slugging percentage.

Thomas was nearly teammates with Bo Jackson

It's rare to have an athlete elite enough to play well in two different sports. It's even rarer to have two of those athletes on the same team.

That's what almost happened with Thomas and running back Bo Jackson on the Auburn football team. Jackson, who played both football and baseball with the Tigers, played four seasons in the NFL before a hip injury cut his career short. He also played in the MLB, getting an all-star nod with the Kansas City Royals in 1989.

Jackson's last season on the Plains was in 1985, just one year before Thomas' freshman season.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Frank Thomas: What to know about Auburn baseball legend before statue