4/12/23 Football Articles

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#PMARSHONAU: What it takes to be a successful coach at the highest level

Phillip Marshall

6–8 minutes

Nick Saban was successful at Michigan State, but he did not build a Big Ten powerhouse or win a Big Ten championship. He was not LSU’s first choice when he was hired in 2000. He wasn’t Alabama first choice when he was hired in January of 2007. Today, he is widely considered not only the best college coach in the country, but many see him as the best coach in the history of the game.

Kliff Kingsbury is viewed as an offensive mastermind, a creative schemer and a developer of quarterbacks. In six season as head coach at Texas Tech and four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, he had winning records three times.

Kirby Smart had never been a head coach when Georgia dumped highly successful Mark Richt to hire him away from Alabama, where he was defensive coordinator. He has won the last two national championships and lost in overtime in another national championship game.

Scott Frost was the man everybody had to have after he led Central Florida to a perfect season in 2017. He was hired by Nebraska, where he had been a star player. He was a flop, never getting his program off the ground before being fired after last season.

Rich Rodriguez led West Virginia to the brink of a national championship and was the hottest name going. He had the Alabama job before Saban was hired and backed out at the last minute. He went to Michigan and had no success. He went to Arizona State and was fired there. Today, he is the head coach at Jacksonville State.

Lots of programs, including Auburn, could have had Josh Heupel, who replaced Frost at Central Florida, for the asking. They didn’t ask. He was not Tennessee’s first choice, but he has done what a parade of head coaches couldn’t do and made the Vols big winners again.

So what does it take to be a successful head coach at the highest level of college football? I have asked lots of coaches that question. Here are the qualities I hear about most often.

* The right fit. That term is thrown about too much, but it is reality. What makes a coach successful in one program might not work in another program. No athletics director has a more important job than figuring out who is best man for his or her program.

* The ability to sell yourself and your program to recruits, to your players and to those who support your program. Here is what one coach told me: “Players today don’t care if you are black or white or fat or skinny. They want to know if you can win and if you will help them get to the league (NFL). But that’s not all. They want to enjoy the experience. They want to know that you care about them as people. They want to trust you, to be able to believe what you say is the truth. People are convinced it’s all about NIL, and that matters a lot. But NIL alone is not enough to build a program.”

* Hiring a skilled staff and creating a work environment that is conducive to winning but also allows coaches time to devote to their families. Coaches that are so demanding that they consume almost every waking moment are not what most assistants want. It still works for some, but for most, it creates staff turnover that is difficult to deal with.

* The ability to motivate players. “Speeches before a game don’t mean much if anything,” a former SEC head coach told me. “Everybody is excited to play on Saturday. It’s the offseason program. It’s working hard at practice. It’s watching video. It’s being a good citizen and taking care of business in school. Are you motivated to do those things? Getting that from today’s players is a real challenge.”

* Being a good decision-maker. Most head coaches don’t call plays on either side of the ball, but they have to make big decisions at big times during games. They have to recognize who can help them win and who can’t. They have to be willing to make staff changes when needed. They might not do those things alone, but in the end, they carry the burden. They also have to make big decisions off the field that often impact the futures of college players.

* Remembering what got your there. Most people who become head coaches have displayed a strong work ethic. As a head coach, the duties are different, but a man who makes millions of dollars a year is rightly expected to put in the work needed to succeed against powerful competition. Being a head coach doesn’t mean knowing more than everybody else. It means recognizing what you don’t know and being willing to listen to those who might know more. Perhaps nowhere is work ethic more important than in recruiting. It’s no surprise that Saban and Smart are successful recruiters. They work at it relentlessly. Hugh Freeze seems to be cut from that same cloth. There was a time when many head coaches left most of the recruiting to assistants. That doesn’t work these days.

* Building support from the administration donors and everyday fans. Winning today takes everyone being on the same page and pulling in the same direction. A program divided – as Auburn’s has too often been – is not likely to have sustained success.

* Dealing with NIL. It might not seem like it, but we are going into just the third season of the NIL/penalty-free transfer era. Those things have changed the game in more ways than can even be seen. Head coaches have to sometimes be fundraisers. They have to convince people with big money to give some of it to collectives. They have to understand the role NIL plays in recruiting. They have to make sure their own players don’t get their heads turned by the possibility of more money somewhere else. They have to know the national landscape and be ready to pounce if the right player hits the portal. Every coach to whom I have talked hates it with a passion, but the successful ones will swallow hard and do what has to be done.

* Be prepared. Any player can be hurt at any time or, today, decide to leave. Those things are going to happen. Do you have a plan for when that happens? Building depth is as important as deciding who starts.

Even doing all those things doesn’t guarantee winning championships. That takes commitment at every level.

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saturdaydownsouth.com

Why you should temper your expectations for the post-spring QB market

Connor O'Gara

7–9 minutes

If you’re a fan of a team with a spring vibe of “our starting QB isn’t even on our roster yet,” my thoughts are with during in this difficult time.

That sounds harsh, but reality is that expecting a post-spring quarterback addition to become a star is a step beyond ambitious.

“But what about Joe Burrow?”

Ah, yes. Let’s talk about the guy responsible for arguably the greatest individual season ever.

(Chill, Auburn fans. I said “arguably.”)

Burrow was indeed a post-spring transfer. He decided he wasn’t going to beat out the late Dwayne Haskins for the Ohio State starting job, and he ended up transferring to LSU. Burrow ended up being exactly what the Tigers needed in 2018. He didn’t turn the ball over, he was extremely durable beyond a makeshift offensive line and he had the swagger needed to not only win over the locker room, but also to fend off the doubt about Ed Orgeron’s future.

He also ran an extremely limited version of the offensive playbook, the offense ranked No. 67 in passing and No. 88 in touchdown passes. Burrow became an icon because of what he did in 2019, AKA the year after he was a post-spring enrollee.

Even that, I’d argue, makes Burrow the exception and not the rule. The rule is that non-quarterbacks can become great success stories as post-spring transfers, and quarterbacks, well, that’s a much more challenging path. It makes sense if you think about it. Missing out on spring ball — as opposed to being there throughout the spring semester like Caleb Williams was at USC last year — puts a quarterback at a disadvantage. Learning new terminology in a new offense with a new set of receivers with a new locker room to win over is, by any stretch, extremely difficult to do as a post-spring enrollee.

Another notable quarterback who was a post-spring enrollee was Will Levis. But Levis, if you recall, announced his Kentucky commitment in January 2021. That’s significant because while he missed valuable reps that spring because he was getting his undergraduate degree at Penn State, he at least still got to work with new offensive coordinator Liam Coen and he could learn the offense. And Levis, like Burrow, was by no means a finished product during the first half of his first season as a new starter.

That’s worth mentioning because if your team is set to start a post-spring enrollee at quarterback, you should be patient. The pre-spring market is entirely different than the post-spring market. It’d be stunning to see players as accomplished as Sam Hartman and Devin Leary hit the post-spring portal.

You might argue that Jayden Daniels had a lot of success even though he wasn’t necessarily on campus throughout all of LSU’s spring camp. He did, however, hit the portal in February, make a decision in the first week of March and report to camp in the middle of spring ball in late-March.

(His LSU bio actually says that he enrolled in January, which was before he even entered the portal. I guess in today’s world of online classes, we shouldn’t assume that being on campus and enrolling are synonymous.)

Daniels had that sense of urgency because those reps are valuable, especially in a quarterback battle. Chances are, nobody is dipping into the post-spring portal market and finding an unquestioned QB1. Go back and look at last year’s group of post-spring QB additions. Exclude a case like Levis, where he announced his transfer school pre-spring but couldn’t enroll until summer.

Is the best guy from that group … Emory Jones? Yeesh. And remember, Jones announced his portal intentions in mid-March. It’s different now with the portal window, which opens this weekend (April 15) and runs through the next 2 weeks (April 30). (The dates were May 1-15, but the NCAA recently moved them up 2 weeks.)

That’s why I think all of this is worth discussing. There’s going to be a sense of urgency from quarterback-needy programs like Auburn and maybe Mizzou. But the market might not spit out someone like a Brock Vandagriff, who is currently locked in a battle with Carson Beck for QB1 status at Georgia. Burrow’s self-awareness led to him essentially admitting defeat. For a quarterback, I believe that’s a more difficult post-spring reality to accept than we realize, especially when the job isn’t going to an incumbent starter.

Now there’s a chance that the portal adds an NIL-motivated quarterback who is set to return as a starter. Lane Kiffin made waves last year for saying he thought Bryce Young should enter the portal and get his maximum value on the open market even if there was a 0.0% chance of him leaving Alabama. Kiffin isn’t wrong, but for quarterbacks and not an All-American receiver like Jordan Addison, I don’t know that’s a path they even want to consider. Going somewhere else and having to learn a new system with a new play-caller and new receivers is all well and good in January, but it’s a bit different this deep into the offseason.

More likely is that the quarterback market will be dominated by guys who had a roadblock to getting major reps. There could still be significant signal-callers added. We should still remember that Burrow, AKA one of the best quarterbacks we’ve ever seen at the college level, had his share of ups and downs making that post-spring transition. It’s unrealistic to think anyone is about to step in and become an all-conference quarterback.

It’s not the end of the world to rely on a post-spring quarterback addition. Several teams will do that.

That path just shouldn’t come with earth-shattering expectations.

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247sports.com

 

Back to the Future: Hugh Freeze's SEC return taps into Auburn's past

Brandon Marcello

10–13 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama — The panoramic view of Auburn’s practice fields from the large windows in Hugh Freeze's new office, tucked in the corner of a beautiful, sprawling $91.9 million facility, is stunning.

But turn around from this perch and it’s immediately noticeable the walls inside Freeze's office are bare. Auburn’s new head coach lives and works here, but he hasn’t settled in.

Most of the facility, which opened a few months ago, has yet to be decorated. On this rainy day in mid-March, televisions are wheeled through the front entrance and installed across the facility as dozens of recruits weave through the hallways to tour the grounds. A handyman's set of drills and toolboxes lay inside two trophy cases adjacent to the displays of the Tigers’ last SEC championship (2013) and national championship (2010) trophies, a not-so-subtle reminder of a successful past that seemed distant in 2022, the program’s first losing season in a decade.

These are reminders of what Auburn can and may once again accomplish. Aside from a few wall graphics and framed photos of Auburn legends Cam Newton, Bo Jackson and Pat Sullivan peppered across the facility, the expansive gray walls look like a blank canvas awaiting an artist's first brush stroke.

“There's something to this place,” Freeze says. “Our job is to restore that. How long that takes, I don't know. Will they give me enough time to do that? I don't know. But that stuff, I can't worry about. What I have to worry about is recruiting and building a culture here that believes they can win.”

This new facility and its new tenants also represent a fresh start for the Tigers and their head coach, who returns to the SEC after seven years of exile following his resignation at Ole Miss, where an NCAA investigation in 2017 led to revelations of rules violations and a “pattern of personal misconduct” by Freeze. The coach rebounded at Liberty, where he coached Auburn cast-off Malik Willis and turned the quarterback into a Heisman Trophy contender, and won 34 games in four seasons.

The coach was always in demand, even when he seemed radioactive. Remember, this is the man who lifted Ole Miss to back-to-back victories against Alabama’s Nick Saban in 2014 and 2015. Ole Miss jumped as high as No. 3 in the polls. Everyone wanted to know Freeze’s secrets, his recipe for success and how he could garner such high marks in recruiting circles. Saban twice tried to hire Freeze as an assistant – and Auburn’s Gus Malzahn also gave it a try – during Freeze’s coaching sabbatical. He also had opportunities at Florida State and Tennessee, he said, before Liberty offered him a second chance as head coach in 2018.

Heck, he vacationed with Saban at Lake Burton in northeast Georgia. The two conversed often. “In my two years off, he was supportive and encouraging and tried to help me every way possible,” says Freeze. He leaned on friends, including Malzahn, who he has contacted often in recent months for guidance as he maneuvers the complex inner circles of the Auburn Family.

Like it or not, Freeze is now the Crimson Tide’s enemy No. 1, though Freeze maintains he and Saban remain good friends.

“It'll take just one Iron Bowl,” cautions Malzahn, who now coaches UCF after leading Auburn for eight years. “That'll change everything, let's put it that way.”

Change is good for Auburn. Freeze inherits a program capable of competing for championships. The Tigers are one of only five programs to play in two national championship games and win since 2010. They have also somehow been successful during the rise of Saban’s Tide and Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs, with an SEC title and BCS appearance in 2013 and an SEC Championship appearance in 2017. Still, that success was fleeting. The Tide and Bulldogs have combined for seven College Football Playoff appearances and four national titles in the last six seasons. Auburn has yet to reach the playoff. Meanwhile, Alabama maintained its top-3 status in recruiting and Georgia started overtaking the Tide on the national scene, winning the last two national championships. Auburn, sandwiched geographically by their two prime rivals, struggled on the trail in the last several years, particularly in the two-year hiccup that was the Bryan Harsin era. Freeze and his staff somehow lifted a recruiting class that ranked in the 60s nationally to a top-20 finish just weeks after their arrival on the Plains. Auburn also ranks No. 4 nationally with 13 commitments out of the Transfer Portal, according to 247Sports.

Recruiting is the lifeblood for every college football program, but somehow Auburn removed its finger from the pulse during the Harsin era. Freeze has since made recruiting his No. 1 priority in high schools and the Transfer Portal. He delegates coaching decisions more often now than he has previously so that he can be more hands-on in the war room. He seeks guidance everywhere he can turn. Malzahn also informed his friend of Auburn’s deepest recruiting beds with the best connections.

“I love Auburn. I want them to do well and the fact one of my friends is the head coach, any help he needs, I want to give,” says Malzahn, who still owns a home at nearby Lake Martin. “It's just an unbelievable place. It's kind of hard to explain, but if you go on the campus, you just feel it. The good thing about Hugh is he's coached against Auburn numerous times, so he has a good feel from the outside.”

Freeze doesn’t expect Auburn to suddenly overtake the likes of Georgia and Alabama on the recruiting trail, but he’s chipping away. “You're not gonna win all those battles, you just gotta win your share and hopefully have a better culture,” he says. “But it's not easy. It's not for the faint of heart.”

Auburn ranks No. 24 early in the 2024 recruiting rankings. 

“Recruits see a different version of Auburn right now,” says offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery, who joined Auburn after eight years as Tulsa’s head coach. “They're excited about it. They understand, as they get on campus and see us interacting with players, there's a different vibe going on. That's welcoming to those guys and they feel that earnest feeling. Something extraordinary has a possibility of happening here. They feel that kind of juice about it.”

Freeze likens it to his first year at Ole Miss, where he built the foundation for a 10-win team with the nation’s No. 8 recruiting class in 2013. “I remember sitting in my office at Ole Miss, with couches similar in color to what I’ve got here,” he says, pointing to the brown leather sofas in the middle of his office.

From left to right were 5-star prospects Laremy Tunsil, Robert Nkemdiche, Laquon Treadwell and Tony Conner from the class of 2013, along with 2012 signee Mike Hilton.

“Hey, let's do something new and fresh, man,” Freeze recalls 10 years later. “And I'm having those same conversations. This is at a place that has the potential, proven by its history of the last 12 years, that the ceiling can be higher certainly than what we've experienced here in the last few years. Why not do that and have the capacity to create more value for yourself probably quicker?

“Congrats to those who have done it and are playing at a high level, and compliment them, but there are certain people that are made to be trendsetters and trailblazers, that have the capacity to restore something.”

As for the immediate future, Freeze doesn’t set goals but he certainly believes Auburn should reach a bowl game in the fall. “Truthfully, after what they’ve been through the last few years,” says Freeze, “that would be a big success.”

Two areas have held Auburn back over the last six years: quarterback and the offensive line.

The Tigers ranked 122nd nationally last season in pressures allowed, with quarterbacks being hit, chased or sacked on 39.6% of passing plays, according to Pro Football Focus. The program cracked the top 40 only once in the last six seasons.

Quarterback efficiency has been dreadful, too. The Tigers’ passing efficiency ranked in the top 50 only once since 2017, and they haven’t finished above 89th in five years, which include three years with Bo Nix as the starter. Nix left Auburn after an up-and-down career and immediately blossomed at Oregon in 2022. He shattered the school record for completion percentage (71.9%), the second-best mark in the country, and was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

It seems Nix, a former 5-star prospect, always had the talent to be successful, but perhaps just didn’t have the pieces around him to be a star at Auburn.

“The quarterbacks ran for their life last year when they tried to drop back and throw,” says Freeze. “Did we improve ourselves enough that that's not the case? I hope so. And the receivers have to win some battles.”

It appears Robby Ashford, who completed less than 50% of his passes but was the most dynamic on his feet last season, is Auburn’s leader at quarterback following spring practices. However, that could change if the right quarterback appears in the Transfer Portal. Freeze previously identified Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall in January, but academic requirements kept him at the Sun Belt Conference school in the spring, sources tell 247Sports.

Meanwhile, Auburn rebuilt its offensive line, which has been the bane of its problems for much of the last six seasons, with four 4-star additions from the Transfer Portal and junior college ranks. “We have made some really big strides in that area,” Montgomery says. “They’re significant factors for us already up front.”

Again, recruiting can change a program overnight, particularly in this era with the portal and name, image and likeness deals landing big players with big money.

“The level of talent I can get here is obviously better than anything I've been around,” says defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, a veteran in the industry. “The quality of players, the athletic ability of the players. There are players all around you.”

16COMMENTS

There are reminders all around Auburn, too, of what’s possible. The walls might be bare in Auburn’s new facility, but it only amplifies the echoes of the past. Three of the last four head coaches — Malzahn, Gene Chizik and Tommy Tuberville — still own homes inside or just outside Auburn’s city limits. All three were eventually fired after winning SEC titles and competing for (or winning) national championships.

“We've bought our lot on Lake Martin,” Freeze says. “This is what we're thinking, too, even though chances are they're probably gonna run me off at some point. We get hired to be fired, and yet here we all are saying, ‘Man, we love it here. We love the feeling and we love the fit here.’”

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247sports.com

Auburn 'open to any position' in the second portal window

Christian Clemente

3–4 minutes

Come Saturday, Auburn is open for business.

From April 15-30, the transfer portal will open back up for players to make their final move before the season starts this fall. While some schools are still in the middle of spring practice and won't even have their spring games until April 22 or later — spring practice is in the rearview mirror for Hugh Freeze and the Tigers.

The Auburn staff will now spend this week evaluating its current roster and options, holding meetings with players and preparing the big board ahead of Saturday.

"I think the transfer portal opens soon and we are open to any position that'll help us improve our team, as long as they fit within the culture," Freeze said after A-Day.

The attention-getting position has been at quarterback since Freeze took over back in December, with fans on edge about what the future of the position looks like. Freeze noted over spring practice that the quarterbacks currently on roster did get "better," but there's still work to be done.

In the first portal window, Auburn heavily pursued Coastal Carolina transfer Grayson McCall, but academic issues ended up keeping him at Coastal Carolina and he didn't even end up visiting anywhere. Auburn also hosted former NC State transfer Devin Leary, but he was already silently committed to Kentucky and Auburn was unable to change his mind during his visit.

Now, it's wait-and-see about who's in the portal and whether or not Auburn's staff feels the need to pursue.

"That includes the quarterback room," Freeze said. "I don't — I know people make a big deal out of that, but the bottom line is you're constantly — I think competition is helpful. And those that handle it right. And for those that don't, they're probably not going to the winners for you anyway.

"And so, we're open. Do I think we can win some games with what we have? Yes. I do. But, you know, I don't want to ever be put in a box where I say something and I do the opposite. I don't know the answer. I don't know if we are. I know that I would be open to it."

Currently on the roster, T.J. Finley, Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner competed this spring, but no clear-cut favorite exiting A-Day.

Geriner is entering his redshirt freshman season while Ashford also has multiple years of eligibility left. For Finley, though, rumors have long floated about his future of the program after leaving the team last season and now returning and competing during spring practice.

27COMMENTS

“I won’t know until they bring one (a portal quarterback) in," Finley said about his future. "I’ll have to have a conversation with Coach Freeze, but he’s said it multiple times. It’s not—it’s up in the air whether he wants to or not; that’s his personal choice or decision. Like I said, I’m going to compete, and if I’m not the best guy, I can—you know, if I’m not the best guy, I’m going to compete. I’m going to compete.”

Auburn is expected to also pursue a transfer wide receiver or two, the offensive line position, multiple pass-rushers, a linebacker or two to replace Kam Brown and Desmond Tisdol who entered the portal earlier in the spring and potentially another defensive back.2

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What we learned about each position on Auburn’s offense this spring

Updated: Apr. 11, 2023, 2:32 p.m.|Published: Apr. 11, 2023, 11:02 a.m.

8–10 minutes

Spring is a time for learning. That was especially so for Auburn this year after an offseason of change — from a new coaching staff installing a new system to personnel changes throughout the roster.

Auburn spent the last six weeks getting accustomed to this new era on the Plains, as Hugh Freeze and his staff guided the Tigers through their first spring together. Auburn is very much still a work in progress heading into Freeze’s first season, but the team’s 15 practices since the end of February provided a solid foundation to build on in the coming months. Players are getting a base understanding of the offensive and defensive schemes, as well as what to expect from their new coaches, while Freeze and Co. got their first opportunity to closely evaluate the roster position by position.

Read more Auburn football: Projecting Auburn’s post-spring 2023 depth chart

Revisiting five key spring position battles for Auburn

Road to the Pros Part 1: Derick Hall’s journey from premature birth to the pride of Gulfport, Mississippi

The Tigers’ players and coaches weren’t the only ones learning this spring. Thanks to open viewing windows during each Monday practice, interviews with Freeze and every assistant on staff, as well as interviews with a plethora of players, we learned a lot about this new-look Auburn team over the last six weeks, as well as an idea of what to expect come fall.

So, with spring in the books, let’s take a look at what we learned about each position on Auburn’s offense. Tomorrow, we’ll examine defense and special teams.

Quarterback

What we learned: Auburn’s quarterback competition is going to carry into fall camp after Robby Ashford, T.J. Finley and Holden Geriner view for the starting job throughout the spring. There was good and bad from the trio this spring, and the position was clearly the biggest work in progress in Freeze’s estimation, as the quarterbacks required an adjusted approach from coaches mid-spring to help them better comprehend the RPO aspect of the offense. Freeze hasn’t ruled out adding another quarterback to the mix during the post-spring transfer portal window (April 15-30), but for now, Ashford should be considered the leader in the clubhouse to earn the starting job in fall camp considering he was the first quarterback on the field to open and close spring practices.

Running back

What we learned: Auburn may have lost Tank Bigsby to the NFL, but the Tigers are in a good spot with their running backs. Jarquez Hunter, after averaging 6.5 yards per carry in his first two seasons, is primed to take over the lead role and had Freeze call him the best running back he has ever coached — before ever actually coaching him in a game. Damari Alston, meanwhile, surprised Freeze with his ability this spring, and South Florida transfer Brian Battie brings another dimension to the rushing attack. Cadillac Williams is understandably excited about this group, which should be the strength of the offense entering the fall.

Tight end

What we learned: Auburn’s depth at tight end is solid, made even more so by the addition of FIU transfer Rivaldo Fairweathr, a big-bodied receiving threat with an impressive catch radius and who quickly found himself working with the first-team offense. Fairweather was Auburn’s most consistent receiving option throughout the spring, while the tight end room overall — with seniors Luke Deal and Tyler Fromm — was praised throughout the spring for its leadership and being at the forefront of setting the culture for the program in Freeze’s first spring.

Wide receivers

What we learned: Let’s group the entire receiver room together here instead of going position by position within the receiving corps, which has changed its labeling system from the X, Y, H and Z format of the previous staff to a number-based system, with 1 and 4 representing the outside receivers, and 2 and 3 used for inside receiver designations. Auburn’s wide receivers — like its quarterbacks — took some time to come along this spring, and the position was slowed by some injuries (Camden Brown dealt with an ankle and Malcolm Johnson Jr. was sidelined with a collarbone injury, for example).

The Tigers’ passing game remains a work in progress, and it didn’t help much that A-Day provided suboptimal conditions to work on the passing attack. Marcus Davis is confident his group will get there with consistent reps, but it’s going to take some time. Brown, once fully healthy, has the look of a go-to receiver in the room, and Cincinnati transfer Nick Mardner — at 6-foot-6 — brings some needed length to the position, while Ja’Varrius Johnson and Jay Fair were the Tigers’ two most consistent receivers this spring.

Left tackle

What we learned: Auburn needed an upgrade at both tackle spots, and it certainly got one at left tackle, where Tulsa transfer Dillon Wade swiftly made himself at home with the first-team offense. Wade, who previously started at tackle in Philip Montgomery’s offense at Tulsa, is a bit smaller in stature for an SEC offensive tackle — he’s listed at 6-foot-4 and 296 pounds — but he has good athleticism and impressive footwork and technique with his hands that make him a great fit as the Tigers’ new starter at left tackle.

Left guard

What we learned: Jeremiah Wright worked at both guard spots this spring, and it feels like he’s a lock to start at one of them. On A-Day he got the nod at right guard, but when he spoke to the media earlier in the spring, he spoke about the connection he built while playing at left guard next to Wade at left tackle. The 6-foot-5, 345-pound Wright has bounced back and forth from offense to defense a handful of times during his career but is at home now on the offensive line, where Auburn believes he can be one of the more dominant linemen in the SEC this season. If he isn’t the choice at left guard (and instead switches to the right side), watch out for freshman Connor Lew, who impressed throughout spring and got first-team reps there on A-Day.

Center

What we learned: Auburn found itself another plug-and-play transfer to anchor the middle of its offensive line, as ECU transfer Avery Jones worked with the first-team offense throughout the spring and on A-Day. Jones has just one year of eligibility and looks to make the most of it in the middle of Auburn’s retooled offensive line. He brings a good deal of experience and a calming, consistent presence at an important position. His addition to the room has also allowed Tate Johnson, who started last season at center before an injury cut his campaign short, to kick out and compete at guard.

Right guard

What we learned: Speaking of Johnson, he spent spring competing for one of the starting guard spots, and despite initially being ruled out in March due to a dislocated elbow, he returned to the fold and was able to remain in the mix. He did not participate on A-Day, which paved the way for Wright to start at right guard and Lew to slot in on the left side. Johnson was lauded throughout the spring by Freeze for his leadership, and he’ll have a chance to earn a starting job again when healthy — but look out for Lew, an impressive freshman who has what it takes to provide needed depth immediately, if not compete for a starting job as a true freshman.

Right tackle

What we learned: Like it did with Wade on the left side of the line, Auburn went out and got a plug-and-play transfer to fill its need at right tackle in the former of Western Kentucky transfer Gunner Britton. The 6-foot-6, 305-pounder received first-team reps from Day 1, and he closed the spring as the starter at right tackle on A-Day. While Britton will have a tight grip on the starting job come fall, be on the lookout for junior college transfer Izavion Miller, who primarily got second-team reps at right tackle but could be a valuable next-man-up on the offensive line with versatility to play multiple positions.

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

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How Auburn football's recruiting budget stacks up against other SEC schools

Richard Silva

~4 minutes

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AUBURN — It hasn't exactly been a great past six years for Auburn football.

The Tigers have posted a 44-32 record since 2017 and had back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in over two decades. They'll have their third head coach in seven years this fall.

During that run, Auburn has had its ups and downs in recruiting. Former coach Gus Malzahn brought in the No. 7 class in 2020, according to the 247Sports Composite, but that was followed by Bryan Harsin and his No. 19-ranked class in 2021 and No. 21 in 2022.

SEC COMPETITION:Georgia recruiting budget for football soared while Alabama's flattened. Both plans worked

JOSH HEUPEL:Tennessee football spares no expense in recruiting. Do Vols get their money's worth?

While the Tigers have toiled, their biggest rivals have soared. Alabama is still a well-oiled machine, and Georgia won back-to-back national championships while Auburn was enduring sub-.500 seasons.

LSU had its 15-0 season in 2019 and went to the SEC Championship last year. Josh Heupel led Tennessee to its first season of double-digital wins in 15 years in 2022.

Recruiting, obviously, plays a role in that. Here's how Auburn's recruiting budget has stacked up to other public schools in Power 5 conferences, according to a USA TODAY report published earlier this month.

How does Auburn compare to other SEC programs?

AU has spent an average of $859,270.67 on recruiting over the last six seasons, which is good for No. 19 in the country and eighth in the SEC behind Georgia ($2.75 million), Alabama ($1.91 million), Tennessee ($1.79 million), Texas A&M ($1.57 million), Arkansas ($1.10 million), Florida ($1.07 million) and LSU ($983,769).

Texas ($1.30 million) and Oklahoma ($1.26 million) each have outspent AU ahead of joining the conference.

Auburn had its highest ranking during the 2017 fiscal year when it spent $1.08 million, a total that was top 10 in the nation and No. 5 in the SEC behind Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas A&M.

Pandemic hit Auburn harder than most

The COVID pandemic did a number on Auburn's recruiting budget. AU spent $638,643 during the 2020 fiscal year and $95,717 in 2021, marks that were No. 32 and No. 47 in the country among public universities in Power 5 conferences, respectively.

That decrease in 2021 was an 89% dip from Auburn's average. For comparison, Georgia suffered a 74.6% decrease from its average and Alabama saw its budget go down by 72.4% that same year. The Bulldogs still spent the third most in recruiting in 2021 − Oregon State ($804,502) and Texas ($713,374) were the only programs higher. Alabama sat at No. 7.

The only SEC program to be impacted harder than Auburn was Mississippi State. The Bulldogs saw their recruiting budget fall by 96.2% in 2021 ($15,617).

A spike in 2022

Auburn spent $1.31 million during the 2022 fiscal year, which is the most it has spent since at least 2017. Other programs, however, have increased spending just as much. AU ranked No. 18 in the country for 2022, just about in line with its average ranking over the past six years.

AU's spending in 2022 got it the No. 18-ranked recruiting class in 2023, according to the 247Sports Composite. Over the past six cycles, Auburn has averaged about the 15th-best class in the country.

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Analyst sends strong message on Auburn football finding transfer portal QB

Mary Kate Hughes

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Auburn football quarterbacks Robby Ashford (9), from left, T.J. Finley (1) and Holden Geriner (12) run drills during Auburn Tigers football practice at the Woltosz Football Performance Center at in Auburn, Ala., on Monday, April 3, 2023.

After Auburn football’s rainy A-Day game over the weekend, not many people drew positive conclusions from the Tigers’ performance. Of course, the run game looked strong and it was clear that blocking had improved on the offensive line, it was nearly impossible to evaluate the receivers in the rain and the quarterbacks did not dazzle.

The last two years on the Plains were a complete mess, and after enduring that Tiger fans’ expectations for the team this year are pretty low. Basically, everyone just wants to see improvement. With a real coaching staff and a real game plan, people are hoping that the Tigers look like a real team after a tough two years.

According to Paul Finebaum, Auburn football is not going to get out of the hole they’re in until there is a great quarterback to lead the offense, and that quarterback is not currently on the team. Per 247 Sports, Finebaum believes that Hugh Freeze knows that, too, and that the Tigers’ head coach will be active in the portal once the next window opens:

“It didn’t change much, and the conclusions is still the same: I think Auburn needs a quarterback. I talked to Hugh Freeze on Friday before the game and you could tell he was saying the right things, but deep down, he knows quarterbacks and he knows he doesn’t have a quarterback on his roster that’s capable of getting Auburn out of the morass that it’s currently in and to the next level. So I think he’ll be pretty active in the portal,” Finebaum said.

However, Finebaum went on to say that he thinks the chances of Freeze finding a quarterback in the portal this late in the year are pretty low, but anything could happen.

Will Auburn football fail if they don’t find a portal QB and stick with either Robby Ashford or Holden Geriner? Not likely, but it also won’t be likely that the Tigers will be winning the conference with who they’ve got on the roster at this point.

But, again, the bar is extremely low from the fans, and there are a lot of people that are rooting for Robby Ashford to succeed. It’s possible that he could vastly improve with stronger coaching and a better offensive line. He may not be the super star that everyone wants, but it’s hard to believe that this upcoming season could be worse than the last two.

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Woodyard healthy and excited about his role in new defense

Jason Caldwell

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AUBURN, Alabama—The highest-ranked player in the 2022 class and a longtime commitment to Alabama before flipping to Auburn, Mobile linebacker Robert Woodyard injured his knee during his senior season at Williamson High. With the knee still bothering him well into last fall, Woodyard played in just four games for the Tigers but was good enough in practice to earn the defensive scout team player of the year.

Putting in the work during the offseason, Woodyard came back this spring under Hugh Freeze and a new staff and was determined to show he was ready for his opportunity. Playing well as he continues to work on the fundamentals and techniques of playing the position, Woodyard finished up the spring and put himself in a position to get on the field much more this fall.

“I feel like I've come a long way,” Woodyard said. “Just mentally, coming off an injury, it was kind of a setback with me coming in. But me getting to know the defense more and having my teammates really pushing me, I really think I fit this defense pretty well. I think I'm smart enough to know the ins and outs of what other guys around me are doing, so I can help pick up where they lack.”

His new position coach, Josh Aldridge, said that Woodyard had a stretch of really strong play this spring, but there’s one area he wants to see more of from the young linebacker if he hopes to take the next step to become a go-to guy on defense.

“He's the type that's playing really well, but for him to be a Mike linebacker in this league, he's gotta pick it up from a vocal standpoint,” Aldridge said. “And that comes with time, when you're a young guy.”

Something that helps a player become more vocal in addition to experience is just being comfortable with what he’s doing on the field. Learning a new system under first-year coordinator Ron Roberts, Woodyard said he’s getting better and better everyday.

“As of right now, I feel like I've got it down,” he said. “But there's still more that I can learn and help other guys around me.

“I feel myself just being more consistent.”

5COMMENTS

With more confidence than he’s had since he’s been at Auburn, Woodyard feels like the best is ahead for him as he gets ready for his second year with the Tigers.

“I feel like I will play a great role coming in as a redshirt freshman,” he said. “I feel like I will be a tremendous player in this defense.”

">247Sports

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What nobody ever said about Harsin!

 Remembering what got your there. Most people who become head coaches have displayed a strong work ethic. As a head coach, the duties are different, but a man who makes millions of dollars a year is rightly expected to put in the work needed to succeed against powerful competition. Being a head coach doesn’t mean knowing more than everybody else. It means recognizing what you don’t know and being willing to listen to those who might know more.