4/6/23 Football Articles

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sports.yahoo.com

 

A-Day 2023: Taylor Jones’ ten players to watch this Saturday

Taylor Jones

5–6 minutes

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Auburn football is putting the finishing touches on its’ spring practice period and will showcase what they have been working on this Saturday at the annual A-Day game at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The game will not only be exciting from a new staff standpoint, but fans will have the opportunity to see players such as Jarquez Hunter in his new role, transfers settling into their new teams, and the progress that several “flipmas” presents can bring to the program.

There are so many storylines and players to follow during A-Day, which sparked Auburn Wire writers Taylor Jones, J.D. McCarthy, and Daniel Locke to make a list of the top 10 players that they will be keeping an eye on this Saturday.

Taylor Jones’ top 10 is first up. His top players consist of transfer linemen, running backs, and quarterbacks.

Here’s a look at the top 10 players that Jones is keeping an eye on this Saturday.

Mosiah Nasili-Kite

AP Photo/Julio Cortez

Taylor’s take

The first member of the top-10 list is a transfer from Maryland in [autotag]Mosiah Nasili-Kite[/autotag]. Kite has accumulated 81 tackles and nine sacks in three years in College Park, and has been dubbed as an underrated transfer by Mike Farrell. Reports from camp this spring are positive surrounding Nasili-Kite, and it will be fun to watch him compete in action.

Nick Mardner

Photo by Austin Perryman/Auburn Athletics

Taylor’s take

[autotag]Nick Mardner[/autotag] brings a tall presence to the receiving corps with a 6-6 frame, and has the ability to be a leading receiver. In his junior season at Hawaii, he caught 46 passes for 913 yards and five TD. Last season, he caught 55.9% of passes where he was targeted at Cincinnati. He, along with Camden Brown, will be the receivers to watch this season.

Dillon Wade

Photo by Austin Perryman/Auburn Athletics

Taylor’s Take

The first of three offensive linemen that make this list is transfer [autotag]Dillon Wade[/autotag]. Wade had the fourth-most snaps on Tulsa’s offensive line last season, and made them count. He allowed just five sacks in 818 snaps, and racked up a 96.3 pass-blocking efficiency score according to Pro Football Focus. One of Auburn’s biggest weaknesses is the offensive line, and Wade will play a key role in the rebuilding process.

T.J. Finley

Jake Crandall/ The Montgomery Advertiser

Taylor’s take

Damari Alston

Jake Crandall/The Montgomery Advertiser

Taylor’s take

Avery Jones

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Taylor’s take

Another boost to the offensive line is former ECU center, [autotag]Avery Jones[/autotag]. Jones allowed just one sack and three QB hits in 852 snaps last season at center, which will provide yet another comfort system for Auburn’s quarterbacks. I look forward to seeing how much time Auburn quarterbacks have to pass and make decisions with the likes of Jones and Wade blocking up front.

Keldric Faulk

The Montgomery Advertiser

Taylor’s take

Shifting things over to true freshmen that could have a great A-Day, let’s take a look at Keldric Faulk. Auburn will need to find players that can fill the EDGE role following the departure of Derick Hall. Lucky for them, they have many options in Elijah McAllister, Dylan Brooks, and [autotag]Keldric Faulk[/autotag]. Faulk has great size at 6-5, 270 pounds, and has quick foot work. Ever since Freeze and staff flipped Faulk’s commitment from Florida State, I have been jumping at the bit to watch him work.

Brian Battie

Austin Perryman/Auburn Athletics

Taylor’s take

Another running back with 1,000-yard potential? Yes, please! [autotag]Brian Battie[/autotag] rushed for 1,186 yards as a junior at USF last season, and joins Auburn to be a part of a remarkable unit with Jarquez Hunter, Damari Alston, and soon, Jeremiah Cobb.

Battie has impressed Cadillac Williams this spring due to his ability to make defenders miss.

“He has that natural running style where he makes guys miss, Williams said of Battie. “Very seldom does one guy tackle or the first guy ever tackles him so he’s a guy you get him out in space, he breaks tackles, but he also is a guy who can run between the tackles.”

Jarquez Hunter

AP Photo/Butch Dill

Taylor’s take

It’s your time to shine, young man. After spending two season’s as RB2 behind Tank Bigsby, it is now time for [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] to step up and become the leader of the RB unit. He is passing with flying colors so far in that role. So much so, that Freeze has already given Hunter the title of “the best running back I’ve ever coached.” I’m excited to watch Hunter play as the “top dog.”

Holden Geriner

Declan Greene/Auburn Athletics

Taylor’s take

I couldn’t not round out this list with a quarterback. The quarterback position has got to be the biggest question surrouding Auburn’s squad this season. If neither [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag], T.J. Finley, or Robby Ashford prove that they can lead the offense, then expect Freeze to dip into the portal on May 1.

Freeze recently said that Geriner is grasping new concepts and has started to impress him. Is the the QB to beat? I truly don’t know. Watching all three take snaps on Saturday is what most of my focus will be on.

Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire

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247sports.com

 

In final college season, Elijah McAllister hopes to lead Tigers' locker room

Nathan King

5–6 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama — Elijah McAllister was mentored by Jeremy Garrett for just nine months, but it was enough for the veteran pass-rusher to have confidence in re-joining the assistant coach nearly three years later.

A prior connection from their time together at Vanderbilt was key in Auburn landing McAllister out of the portal as Hugh Freeze’s second transfer pickup of the cycle in late December, as the sixth-year senior brings depth to what was previously a thin scholarship situation at the “jack” linebacker position — what Auburn previously called its edge rushers.

Ahead of McAllister’s first season contributing for Vanderbilt in 2019, after he redshirted as a true freshman, the program hired Garrett as an analyst, after one season as the head coach at Ensworth High School, just down the road in Nashville. McAllister played in all 12 games as a redshirt freshman and had what still stands as a career-high 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

“I had a great relationship with him throughout my years of college, and he's a guy that remembered plays I made at Vanderbilt,” McAllister said Wednesday. “And it was great for him to reach out to me and recruit me here at Auburn — and I'm glad to be here.”

Before Vanderbilt’s spring practices the next year — and a month before COVID-19 began its impact on the country and college sports — Garrett was on the move again, plucked by the Cleveland Browns as an assistant defensive line coach.

From afar, McAllister followed Garrett’s progression as a coach, as he was hired in 2022 as Freeze’s defensive line coach at Liberty. Garrett returned to the SEC as a full-time assistant — one of the first coaches brought in by Freeze on his new Auburn staff — in late November.

“I always knew he had a talent to be a top-level coach, and I think he'll continue to ascend the ranks as years to come,” McAllister said. “He's a young guy who loves ball, who's played at the highest level and also knows how to teach at a high level. … Being hands on and being able to teach guys — being able to connect with guys is unique for him to be able to be a successful coach.”

McAllister followed him to the Plains less than a month later.

“They reached out to me, they wanted me — it feels good in this world to be wanted,” McAllister said. “I think the tradition of this place is like no other. They had success in the past here and success will come in the future.”

Hindered by a couple different knee injuries at Vanderbilt, McAllister brings 36 games of experience to a young outside linebackers room, though he hasn’t registered a sack since that 2019 season under Garrett.

Still, as one of six defensive transfers for Auburn this spring, the 6-foot-6, 265-pounder has settled in as a fixture in the first-team defensive rotation in practice.

As Auburn ushers in a new era under Freeze — and a staff that turned over eight of 10 assistants — perhaps McAllister’s veteran presence on the field will be just as important as his leadership in the building. The New Jersey native was a two-time team captain at Vanderbilt from 2021-22 — the program’s first two years under Clark Lea after making a coaching change from Derek Mason.

After helping the Commodores’ locker room during a transition period, he hopes to do the same with the Tigers — and he holds firm that Auburn’s success early in the Freeze era will be dictated first and foremost by leaders like him.

“A successful program happens as fast as the players turn it around,” McAllister said. “You can have new facilities, new uniforms, new coaches — everything can change around you. But it's about what's inside that locker room that produces the best product on the field. That comes with language, interaction with people, how you carry yourself every single day, practice habits which will eventually turn into gameday habits, which will allow you to hopefully have success. I think it all comes down to the players — not negating the impact the coaches have on people, but they can only do so much.

“We're the guys that turn it around, do things on the field and really change the culture internally inside that locker room.”

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A new quarterback was on the field for Auburn football's Monday practice

Sophomore walk-on Jackson Barkley took the field Monday afternoon.

• Matthew Jacobs
• Apr 4, 2023 11:41 AM EDT

In this story:

Auburn Tigers

 A new quarterback joined the three already on the field for Monday’s practice leading into A-day weekend. Sophomore walk-on Jackson Barkley worked out with the rest of the players vying for the starting role.

Jackson Barkley, coming in at 6 feet 2 inches and 200 pounds, is from Pope High School in Marietta, Georgia. Sporting #18 in Auburn’s Monday practice, Barkley played free safety, and wide receiver, and finished at quarterback his senior year of high school. A team of which he was team captain. Barkley is a certified gym rat who has been garnering the attention of his Auburn teammates in the weight room. A workaholic that is determined to play ball at this level. A young man with a potent arm and good speed, Barkley had a knack for throwing the ball with pinpoint precision while under heavy pressure during his 2021 senior year. Bringing his hard-nosed defensive back edge to the quarterback position, he had several bulldozing runs as well. To put it politely, when he couldn’t outrun them, he ran them over.

Barkley has experience in two positions in an offensive scheme very similar to Hugh Freeze’s. He has track and field standout speed. He can make all the throws and he has a big arm. Barkley was not heavily recruited out of high school but chose Auburn as his home and has worked himself into a chance to be on the field in the last week of Spring practice. Here are a few looks at him tossing the rock around:

 

 

Edited April 6, 2023 by aubiefifty

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Mosiah Nasili-Kite one of Auburn's top spring risers as 'disruptive' presence

Updated: Apr. 06, 2023, 7:58 a.m.|Published: Apr. 06, 2023, 7:05 a.m.

5–6 minutes

Hugh Freeze has had more than five weeks of practices to evaluate his Auburn team, and he has seen a good deal of progress on both sides of the ball as he looks to put his fingerprint on the program.

As his first spring as head coach on the Plains wraps up this week, Freeze made note of several standouts on the field, but there’s one player in particular who has “definitely” caught his eye from a sheer development standpoint — and it’s one of the program’s newest additions. Maryland defensive line transfer Mosiah Nasili-Kite has impressed Freeze with how far he has come along since the start of spring practice, providing welcome depth to the Tigers’ new-look defensive front.

Read more Auburn football: LSU linebacker transfer DeMario Tolan “like bamboo” as he adjusts to Auburn’s defense

Cadillac Williams continues to deliver for Auburn on recruiting trail

Hugh Freeze calls Jarquez Hunter “probably the best running back” he has ever coached

“I thought he improved, probably, the most from practice 1 to last week on the D-line as any,” Freeze said Monday. “He was disruptive and plays the game extremely passionately and hard.”

One of the smaller players along Auburn’s defensive line, Nasili-Kite has made a big impression during his first spring on the Plains. The 6-foot-2, 288-pounder has been working at both defensive tackle and defensive end during his first spring on the Plains, as assistant Jeremy Garrett has cross-trained many of the players across the Tigers’ defensive line.

What Nasili-Kite lacks in size, relatively speaking, he makes up for in sheer power and athleticism, which he has used to his advantage this spring while carving out a role for himself in Ron Roberts’ defense.

“One thing is that he’s very twitchy,” Garrett said. “He’s not the biggest, but that kid has some power and strength — and he moves well. So, it’s just putting him in position to use his ability and to do what he does well. He has quickness and he’s strong. So, we want to have him on the move, want to have him doing different things to highlight his strengths.”

Nasili-Kite has had no problem doing just that on the field this spring after transferring from Maryland, where he spent the last three seasons of what has been a winding journey to the SEC. He originally signed with Washington in 2018 and spent his freshman year with the Huskies but didn’t see the field. He then transferred down to the JUCO level, playing the 2019 season at Independence Community College in Kansas, where he posted 32 tackles and a sack.

That led to another Power 5 opportunity at Maryland, where Nasili-Kite flourished during his three seasons with the Terrapins. During his time in the Big Ten, Nasili-Kite made 80 tackles, with 14.5 for a loss and nine sacks. He had four sacks in each of his first two seasons with Maryland and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors during the pandemic-impacted 20220 campaign. He followed that up with a career-best 37 tackles in 2021 before posting 26 tackles and a sack last season.

After hitting the portal in the offseason, Nasili-Kite became one of six defensive transfers for Auburn with prior Power 5 experience, including one of four up front (former Kentucky tackle Justin Rogers, former Purdue lineman Lawrence Johnson and former Vanderbilt edge rusher Elijah McAllister). While Rogers has been making himself at home as a potential first-teamer on the interior of the line this spring, Nasili-Kite has received his share of second-team reps at both tackle and end as Garrett looks to shore up an eight- or nine-player rotation for three spots along the line (not including the Jack linebacker position).

Nasili-Kite has emerged as a versatile lineman who relies on his quickness to be an effective pass-rusher — something Auburn is in dire need of heading into the season — and excel against the run. According to linebacker Wesley Steiner, Nasili-Kite is always in attack mode on the field, and it has resulted in him being a disruptor in the backfield.

“He’s an older guy who has played a lot of football, and you can see it in the tape,” McAllister said. “He plays really hard…. You see his passion showing — not only in everyday life, but when he plays. So, any time he’s rushing the quarterback and making tackles, I can feel him through the tape.”

Considering Roberts’ biggest goal for Auburn’s defense this fall is to create havoc, the Tigers hope Nasili-Kite’s presence isn’t just felt on the tape; they hope it’s felt by opposing offenses come September.

“Keep his name in your head,” defensive end Jeffrey M’ba said. “He’s special.”

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

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

A-Day 2023: Taylor Jones' ten players to watch this Saturday

Taylor Jones

5–6 minutes

---

Auburn football is putting the finishing touches on its’ spring practice period and will showcase what they have been working on this Saturday at the annual A-Day game at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The game will not only be exciting from a new staff standpoint, but fans will have the opportunity to see players such as Jarquez Hunter in his new role, transfers settling into their new teams, and the progress that several “flipmas” presents can bring to the program.

Buy Tigers Tickets

There are so many storylines and players to follow during A-Day, which sparked Auburn Wire writers Taylor Jones, J.D. McCarthy, and Daniel Locke to make a list of the top 10 players that they will be keeping an eye on this Saturday.

Taylor Jones’ top 10 is first up. His top players consist of transfer linemen, running backs, and quarterbacks.

Here’s a look at the top 10 players that Jones is keeping an eye on this Saturday.

AP Photo/Julio Cortez

Taylor’s take

The first member of the top-10 list is a transfer from Maryland in Mosiah Nasili-Kite. Kite has accumulated 81 tackles and nine sacks in three years in College Park, and has been dubbed as an underrated transfer by Mike Farrell. Reports from camp this spring are positive surrounding Nasili-Kite, and it will be fun to watch him compete in action.

Photo by Austin Perryman/Auburn Athletics

Taylor’s take

Nick Mardner brings a tall presence to the receiving corps with a 6-6 frame, and has the ability to be a leading receiver. In his junior season at Hawaii, he caught 46 passes for 913 yards and five TD. Last season, he caught 55.9% of passes where he was targeted at Cincinnati. He, along with Camden Brown, will be the receivers to watch this season.

Photo by Austin Perryman/Auburn Athletics

Taylor’s Take

The first of three offensive linemen that make this list is transfer Dillon Wade. Wade had the fourth-most snaps on Tulsa’s offensive line last season, and made them count. He allowed just five sacks in 818 snaps, and racked up a 96.3 pass-blocking efficiency score according to Pro Football Focus. One of Auburn’s biggest weaknesses is the offensive line, and Wade will play a key role in the rebuilding process.

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Taylor’s take

Another boost to the offensive line is former ECU center, Avery Jones. Jones allowed just one sack and three QB hits in 852 snaps last season at center, which will provide yet another comfort system for Auburn’s quarterbacks. I look forward to seeing how much time Auburn quarterbacks have to pass and make decisions with the likes of Jones and Wade blocking up front.

The Montgomery Advertiser

Taylor’s take

Shifting things over to true freshmen that could have a great A-Day, let’s take a look at Keldric Faulk. Auburn will need to find players that can fill the EDGE role following the departure of Derick Hall. Lucky for them, they have many options in Elijah McAllister, Dylan Brooks, and Keldric Faulk. Faulk has great size at 6-5, 270 pounds, and has quick foot work. Ever since Freeze and staff flipped Faulk’s commitment from Florida State, I have been jumping at the bit to watch him work.

Austin Perryman/Auburn Athletics

Taylor’s take

Another running back with 1,000-yard potential? Yes, please! Brian Battie rushed for 1,186 yards as a junior at USF last season, and joins Auburn to be a part of a remarkable unit with Jarquez Hunter, Damari Alston, and soon, Jeremiah Cobb.

Battie has impressed Cadillac Williams this spring due to his ability to make defenders miss.

“He has that natural running style where he makes guys miss, Williams said of Battie. “Very seldom does one guy tackle or the first guy ever tackles him so he’s a guy you get him out in space, he breaks tackles, but he also is a guy who can run between the tackles.”

AP Photo/Butch Dill

Taylor’s take

It’s your time to shine, young man. After spending two season’s as RB2 behind Tank Bigsby, it is now time for Jarquez Hunter to step up and become the leader of the RB unit. He is passing with flying colors so far in that role. So much so, that Freeze has already given Hunter the title of “the best running back I’ve ever coached.” I’m excited to watch Hunter play as the “top dog.”

Declan Greene/Auburn Athletics

Taylor’s take

I couldn’t not round out this list with a quarterback. The quarterback position has got to be the biggest question surrouding Auburn’s squad this season. If neither Holden Geriner, T.J. Finley, or Robby Ashford prove that they can lead the offense, then expect Freeze to dip into the portal on May 1.

Freeze recently said that Geriner is grasping new concepts and has started to impress him. Is the the QB to beat? I truly don’t know. Watching all three take snaps on Saturday is what most of my focus will be on.

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From QBs to DBs: 5 position battles to monitor at Auburn football's A-Day game

Richard Silva, Montgomery Advertiser

Thu, April 6, 2023 at 5:03 AM CDT

 

 

AUBURN — It's difficult to have many takeaways from a spring game.

By many accounts, it's a glorified practice with a few bells and whistles to draw some excitement. Even Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze tried to quell some of the enthusiasm Monday: "Unrealistic expectations lead to frustration," he said. "I just don't want anybody to be frustrated."

But that doesn't mean nothing can be gleaned from the intra-squad scrimmage set to take place at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday (1 p.m. CT, SEC Network+). Here are five position battles to keep track of on A-Day.

CADILLAC WILLIAMS: How Auburn football RB coach remains strong recruiter despite coaching changes

 

SPRING GAME: Hugh Freeze aims to temper expectations ahead of first A-Day with Auburn football

QB: Robby Ashford vs. Holden Geriner vs. TJ Finley

Each of the three scholarship quarterbacks on Auburn's roster − Robby Ashford, Holden Geriner and TJ Finley − has taken reps with the first group during the offense's pace drills at spring practice. Ashford, the incumbent starter from last season, was with the first unit at Monday's practice. Finley was with the twos and Geriner was with the threes.

That comes one week after Geriner trotted onto the field first. Two weeks before that, it was Finley leading the way. The spring game won't decide the starter for next season, but whoever impresses most will leave a positive impression on Freeze and the staff as the team takes a break for the next few months.

RB: Damari Alston vs. Brian Battie

Jarquez Hunter is the No. 1 option in the backfield for the Tigers in 2023. After what he did behind Tank Bigsby for the past two seasons − Hunter averaged 6.5 yards per carry on 193 attempts − the spot is clearly his.

But that No. 2 position on the depth chart is wide open for the taking. Sophomore Damari Alston and South Florida transfer Brian Battie should both be vying for that spot, along with four-star RB Jeremiah Cobb when he gets on campus later this year.

CB: Kayin Lee vs. Nehemiah Pritchett

Freeze recently pointed out two early enrollees who will play as freshmen, and cornerback Kayin Lee was one of them.

Lee, a former four-star recruit who flipped from Ohio State to Auburn during the early signing period, has impressed through spring practice. With JD Rhym dealing with an injury, the Tigers have only had three outside cornerbacks on scholarship going through the spring.

DJ James is penciled in as the No. 1 CB. The battle is on between Lee and returning starter Nehemiah Pritchett for the spot opposite of James.

Jack: Keldric Faulk vs. Elijah McAllister

In new defensive coordinator Ron Roberts' system, the pass rushers lining up on the edge of the defensive line are labeled "jack" linebackers. There are five players on Auburn's roster listed as a jack: Elijah McAllister, Hayden Brice, Dylan Brooks, Keldric Faulk and Brenton Williams.

Although he wasn't the most productive player, McAllister, a transfer from Vanderbilt, brings a veteran presence to the Tigers after he spent five years with the Commodores. Meanwhile, Faulk, the other freshman Freeze highlighted as someone who will play in Year 1, has drawn praise this offseason.

LB: Eugene Asante vs. DeMario Tolan

Roberts tabbed Ole Miss transfer Austin Keys and Wesley Steiner as the two linebackers taking the "the starting part right now" when he spoke to reporters March 28. He then highlighted Cam Riley and Robert Woodyard Jr. as "the next two."

Linebackers coach Josh Aldridge said Tuesday he wants to have a rotation of five to six LBs. That leaves room for at least one more player to step up and see meaningful snaps, and that battle will likely be between Eugene Asante and LSU transfer DeMario Tolan.

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: 5 position battles to monitor at A-Day

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Hugh Freeze, Auburn reveals unique A-Day format

Taylor Jones

~3 minutes

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Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze has not been shy when it comes to sharing his thoughts about spring games because it gives fans a false sense of what to expect from the team.

“Unrealistic expectations lead to frustration,” Freeze said this week. “I don’t want anybody to be frustrated. Don’t want to show too much of what we think we might be really good at. There’s nothing on tape of what this new staff is exactly like.”

He has even gone as far as saying that he hopes to one day schedule a spring scrimmage against an in-state team rather than pitting teammates against themselves.

He can not do that just yet, so he will do the next best thing… alter the current model.

This season’s spring game, which will take place on Saturday, April 8 at Jordan-Hare Stadium, will feature a format with a running 60-minute clock with no quarters. The concept seems fun itself, but the kicker is even better.

The defense will begin the game with a 24-0 lead.

Freeze calls it “the best format I know,” and says it provides motivation for each side of the ball to win the game.

“If the defense can hold the offenses to under that number of points the defense wins the spring game and they’ll get to eat steak and the losers will eat a hot dog,” Freeze said.

In addition to the unique format of the game rules, Freeze says that fans will see more contact in this season’s A-Day game as opposed to years past.

“They’re going to see us hit, they’re going to see us tackle, they’re going to see people run the ball and throw the ball,” Freeze said. “Will it be exactly the same that they see this fall? I sure hope not. I hope it’s better and probably a little different. I want to prepare the Auburn family that we’re going to do the best we can to hopefully give them a game I hope they can enjoy.”

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al.com

Hugh Freeze wants to address 5 positions during spring transfer portal window

Updated: Apr. 06, 2023, 1:05 p.m.|Published: Apr. 06, 2023, 12:20 p.m.

6–7 minutes

As Auburn’s first spring under Hugh Freeze winds down this week, officially wrapping up with Saturday’s A-Day game at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Tigers’ new head coach is already thinking about the next steps.

A week after Auburn’s spring game, the spring transfer portal window will open, running from April 15-30 after the NCAA moved it up two weeks from its original May 1 start date. Auburn was among the most active teams in the first transfer window at the end of last season, adding a dozen players at key positions during a busy and prosperous push by Freeze and his staff.

Read more Auburn football: Ole Miss transfer Austin Keys “everything” Auburn thought he’d be at linebacker

“Disruptive” Maryland transfer Mosiah Nasili-Kite one of Auburn’s top risers this spring

Cadillac Williams continues to deliver for Auburn on recruiting trail

While Auburn addressed several needs during that first window, the Tigers aren’t done yet. Freeze wants to add players — assuming he can find the right fit — at five positions during the spring transfer window.

“None of us have dealt with this spring portal,” Freeze said Thursday during an appearance on The Hard Count with J.D. Pickell of On3. “This will be our first experience with it. It can affect you both ways: I think you can lose some that you may not want to lose, and obviously you hope that there’s some out there that you can track to help create more depth and experience on our team…. We’ll take a few more O-linemen. We’ll take another safety, another corner, a rush guy. We’ll take a quarterback, possibly, if it’s the right now.

“I mean, we’re open. So, I’m curious to see kind of who all goes in.”

As of Thursday, Auburn is at 86 projected scholarships for the 2023 season. That’s one more than the NCAA limit of 85. That number is sure to change, as Auburn — like most programs — will experience some post-spring attrition of its own while trying to address those positions Freeze aims to prioritize in the portal.

“We are open to the portal business for anyone that fits our culture at Auburn and can help us improve our team quickly,” Freeze said last week.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at how each of those five positions currently looks for Auburn just ahead of A-Day and before what’s sure to be another frantic portal period:

Quarterback

It’s no surprise that Freeze mentioned the most important position on the field. The Tigers have three quarterbacks who have been competing for the job this spring — returning starter Robby Ashford, last year’s opening-game starter T.J. Finley and redshirt freshman Holden Geriner — and the competition will run well into the fall, as Freeze and offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery take their time in evaluating the quarterback room.

Auburn, which will bring in freshman Hank Brown this offseason, already tried to add a quarterback during the initial transfer window, with NC State transfer Devin Leary visiting campus before committing to Kentucky. Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall was also reportedly set to visit before withdrawing from the portal and returning to the Chanticleers. It’ll be interesting to see who enters the portal this spring that could pique Freeze’s interest and add another layer to the Tigers’ quarterback competition.

Edge rusher

Another one that’s not a surprise, as Freeze has publicly stated on more than one occasion that Auburn is “deficient in true pass-rushers” and needs to add more talent to a thin group at the Jack linebacker position. Auburn already added Vanderbilt transfer Elijah McAllister during the first window, and true freshman Keldric Faulk has been the talk of spring practices. Auburn only has two other scholarship players in a room that lost Derick Hall, Eku Leota and Marcus Bragg from last year’s roster: former four-star recruit Dylan Brooks and true freshman Brenton Williams.

Cornerback

Auburn has some quality talent in its cornerback room, with starters Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James both back for their senior season after opting not to enter the NFL Draft. Behind them, however, things have been thin this spring, especially with sophomore J.D. Rhym sidelined with a lower-body injury. That has limited Auburn to three outside corners on scholarship, with true freshman Kayin Lee (another spring standout who will factor into the equation in the secondary this season) joining Pritchett and James.

Reinforcements are on the way this summer, with a trio of 2023 signees joining the fold: Tyler Scott, Colton Hood and JC Hart, though the latter could reportedly start his career at receiver after being a two-way standout at Loachapoka.

Safety

Auburn’s top-four options at safety have been fairly consistent during spring practice, with Jaylin Simpson and Zion Puckett both back, and Marquise Gilbert and Cayden Bridges returning behind them. Other guys have repped on the back end of the secondary while also rotating at the Star position (Donovan Kaufman, Caleb Wooden, Austin Ausberry among them).

Of course, in this age of college football, you can never have too many capable defensive backs.

Offensive line

Auburn overhauled its offensive line this offseason, with the addition of three key transfers who have slotted into starting roles this spring: left tackle Dillon Wade (Tulsa), center Avery Jones (Eastern Carolina) and right tackle Gunner Britton (Western Kentucky). That’s on top of adding top JUCO transfer Izavion Miller and highly regarded freshman Connor Lew, both of whom have made an impact this spring. Auburn also welcomed freshman early enrollees Clay Wedin and Bradyn Joiner, while fellow 2023 signee Tyler Johnson will arrive this summer.

In all, Auburn has 16 scholarship offensive linemen in place for the fall. That number could change, of course, with any outgoing transfers at the end of spring.

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

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[bigbird 60,940]

Thanks, @aubiefifty

[aubiefifty 18,259]

39 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Thanks, @aubiefifty

You got it Chief!