4/16/23 Football Articles

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Auburn 2024 recruiting class update after landing Martavious Collins

Andrew Stefaniak

2–3 minutes

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Auburn's 2024 class is in good shape after landing Martavious Collins.

Auburn landed three-star tight end/athlete Martavious Collins, giving them five players committed in the 2024 class. 

The addition of Collins took Auburn's 2024 class from 24th in the nation to the 21st spot. 

The Tigers jumped Arkansas and Ole Miss after landing Collins, putting them seventh in the SEC. 

Coach Freeze is putting a special class together in his first year on the Plains.

Let's take a look at the Auburn 2024 recruiting class. 

Walker White, QB

Ranking (247Sports): 4-Star/ Ranked 103rd in the class

Hight: 6'3 

Weight: 215

Hometown: Little Rock, Arkansas

Highlights

J'Marion "Phat" Burnette, RB

Ranking (247Sports): 4-Star/ Ranked 194th in the class

Hight: 6'1

Weight: 225

Hometown: Andalusia, Alabama

Highlights

A'Mon Lane, CB

Ranking (247Sports): 4-Star/ Ranked 315th in the class

Hight: 5'11

Weight: 180

Hometown: Moody, Alabama

Highlights

Jayden Lewis, CB

Ranking (247Sports): 4-Star/ Ranked 362nd in the class

Hight: 6'0

Weight: 175

Hometown: Anniston, Alabama

Highlights

Martavious Collins, TE/ATH

Ranking (247Sports): 3-Star/ Ranked 509th in class

Hight: 6'3

Weight: 241

Hometown: Rome, Georgia

Highlights

When this class is all said and done, it has a real shot to be top ten in the nation and top five in the SEC.

Coach Freeze is cooking up something special in Auburn, Alabama. 

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

Former Tulsa OL Jaden Muskrat receives Auburn offer

Taylor Jones

~2 minutes

The spring window of the transfer portal officially opened on Saturday, and Auburn is already busy reaching out to potential suitors.

The day began with wide receiver Tar'varish Dawson re-entering the transfer portal, becoming the second player to announce their intent to enter the portal, joining Jeffrey M'ba.

Buy Tigers Tickets

On the flip side, a former Tulsa offensive lineman announced Saturday that he had received an offer from Auburn.

Jaden Muskrat, a rising junior from Bentonville, Arkansas, has received an offer from Auburn, becoming the second former Tulsa offensive lineman to hear from the Tigers. The first, Dillon Wade, followed his former head coach, Philip Montgomery, to the Plains during the winter transfer portal window.

According to Pro Football Focus, Muskrat played 848 snaps last season primarily at right tackle, opposite Wade. He allowed just three sacks and four quarterback hits in 2022.

RELATED: Auburn transfer portal tracker

Auburn has added three talented, experienced linemen through the transfer portal in Wade, Avery Jones, and Gunner Britton. If the Tigers were able to add Muskrat, it would allow for more opportunities for the offensive backfield to do damage this season.

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si.com

Auburn makes an offer to a four-star recruit out of Georgia

Matthew Jacobs

2–3 minutes

Wide receiver Josiah Abdullah garners 2025 offer from Auburn.

Josiah Abdullah, a 2025 recruit from Atlanta, Georgia, has received his 27th Division I offer. The latest one comes from the Auburn Tigers. Abdullah does have a connection to a current Auburn Tiger running back, Damari Alston, who attended Woodward Academy. Perhaps that friendship can turn this offer into a commitment.

Abdullah, who measures out at five foot eleven inch and 175 pounds, is a wide receiver that has earned a four-star rating from multiple sites. The addition of an Auburn makes this the 9th SEC offer he has received.

Abdullah had an impressive Sophomore season for the Woodward War Eagles, he racked up 536 receiving yards and around 8 touchdowns. He has the speed to take the top off the defenses and wonderful hands. It will be interesting to see how much he can grow in every sense of the word to finish out his high school career. 

The main focus for the next two weeks will obviously be the portal. However, we didn’t want Auburn fans to miss a beat on the recruiting trail.

(Special thanks to Jack Singley for the outstanding research work he does for Auburn Daily)

Dawson joins the following Auburn Tigers that have announced that they will be in the transfer portal.

Defensive lineman Jeffrey M'ba

Linebacker Kameron Brown

Linebacker Desmond Tisdol

The Auburn Tigers have pulled in an impressive haul thus far during Hugh Freeze's first season on the Plains, currently sitting at No. 3 nationally in 247Sports' transfer portal class rankings.

You can check out our transfer portal tracker here. Stay up to date on all of the Tigers' commitments, departures, and prospects for key positions at auburndaily.com.

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Former Auburn wide receiver making return in USFL

Published: Apr. 15, 2023, 5:00 p.m.

~4 minutes

New Orleans Breakers wide receiver Eli Stove poses for a photo at the team’s picture day on March 31, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn.(Photo by Fox Sports/USFL/Getty Images)

By

Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com

If not for an injury, Eli Stove might have been headed for the Los Angeles Chargers’ offseason program next week.

Instead, the former Auburn wide receiver is scheduled to make his USFL debut when the New Orleans Breakers play the Pittsburgh Maulers in Birmingham on Sunday.

RELATED: USFL RETURNS THIS WEEKEND IN BIRMINGHAM, MEMPHIS

After catching 136 passes for 1,186 yards and six touchdowns and running for 554 yards and four touchdowns on 55 carries during his Auburn career, Stove was picked up as an undrafted rookie by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021. That was widely reported.

But Stove quickly fell off the football radar. Nothing unusual in that. Most undrafted rookies don’t make it to the NFL’s regular season after signing contracts.

What wasn’t as widely reported: Stove never got a chance to make it. He never even reached the Chargers’ rookie minicamp. A torn anterior cruciate ligament kept Stove from passing his physical and signing with the NFL team.

On Sunday, Stove will be playing for the first time since he caught four passes for 29 yards and returned a kickoff 18 yards in Auburn’s 35-19 loss to Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 2021.

On Tuesday, Stove posted photos of himself in his Breakers uniform on his Instagram account and accompanied the pictures with the Bible verse Proverbs 16:9, which says: “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”

The Breakers will square off against the Maulers at 5:30 p.m. CDT Sunday at Protective Stadium. FS1 will televise the game.

RELATED: REUBEN FOSTER RETURNS TO ALABAMA FOR HIS FIRST GAME IN MORE THAN 4 YEARS

Last season, the USFL played all its regular-season games in Birmingham. This season, the USFL is playing in four cities, with the Breakers sharing Protective Stadium with the Birmingham Stallions. The Stallions kick off their season with a home game against the New Jersey Generals at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. FOX will televise the game.

The Maulers and Generals are based in Canton, Ohio. The Memphis Showboats and Houston Gamblers will play their home games in Memphis. The Michigan Panthers and Philadelphia Stars are playing in Detroit.

New Orleans will play six times in Birmingham during the 10-game regular season, including bragging-rights games against the Stallions on April 29 and May 27.

The Breakers also play at Protective Stadium against the Gamblers on April 22, Showboats on May 14 and Panthers on June 4.

New Orleans has four wide receivers on its game-day roster for Sunday, with Stove joining three who played for the Breakers last season. In 2022, Jonathan Adams had 31 receptions for 405 yards and three touchdowns, Johnnie Dixon had 37 receptions for 359 yards and four touchdowns and Lee Morris had one reception for 5 yards for New Orleans.

They’ll be catching passes from McLeod Bethel-Thompson. In 2022, the quarterback threw for 4,731 yards and 23 TDs in the regular season and helped the Toronto Argonauts win the 109th Grey Cup.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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Auburn draft prospect’s intangibles ‘would be welcome addition to any locker room’

Andrew Hughes

2–3 minutes

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Auburn football draft prospect Derick Hall's intangibles are a "welcome addition to any locker room" according to Cat Crave's Evan Birchmore Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

 

Auburn football draft prospect Derick Hall has intangibles that would be a “welcome addition to any locker room” according to Cat Crave’s Evan Birchmore.

“While Hall is by no means a perfect player, his intangibles would be a welcome addition to any locker room and his production is undeniable,” Birchmore wrote. “While he may not become a superstar in the NFL, the edge rusher could turn into a solid piece for several years.”

Birchmore believes Hall could be a good fit for the Carolina Panthers, the NFL franchise Cat Crave covers — making him the second Derick/Derrick from the Plains following former Auburn football star Derrick Brown’s first-round selection in 2020.

“The Carolina Panthers already have one former Auburn defensive lineman named Derrick (Brown) on the roster,” Birchmore wrote. “Adding another could be in the cards in this year’s draft, even if this year’s Derick (Hall) spells his name slightly differently than the Derrick who has been on the team since 2020.”

Auburn football draft prospect Derick Hall’s game broken down by analyst

There’s a lot to like about Hall according to Birchmore, who sees the 22-year-old’s speed and strength being an asset for the Mississippi native’s pursuit of sacks and more general defensive stops at the next level.

“Hall uses his quickness to get off the ball and then utilizes his strength to get after the quarterback,” Birchmore wrote. “When opposing signal-callers are flushed from the pocket, the prospect has the speed to chase them down and can run sideline to sideline in pursuit.”

Hall didn’t escape criticism altogether, though. Birchmore feels Hall could improve physically and mentally at the next level.

“He will need to improve in both his technique and impact against the run once Hall reaches the NFL,” Birchmore wrote. “Simply overpowering blockers will be mitigated at the next level, and his defensive reads will become even more important for him to continue to be effective in getting into the backfield.”

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Goodman: Gun culture among athletes must be addressed

Updated: Apr. 15, 2023, 7:32 a.m.|Published: Apr. 15, 2023, 6:30 a.m.

6–7 minutes

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College coaches are always talking about things like “the standard” and “the process” and “team culture.”

What about the disease of gun culture?

Hopefully coaches are talking about that, too, because it appears to be spreading and needs to be addressed. Gun culture on the streets of America isn’t going away, but the growing trend of young athletes surrounding themselves with guns, and possessing them, simply can’t be tolerated or allowed.

As spring football comes to an end, and conferences begin to prepare the agendas for their annual spring meetings, some time needs to be carved into the schedules for serious discussions about gun culture among college basketball and football players. No guns. It’s that simple.

Better yet, how about NIL deals for athletes to promote gun-free lifestyles?

RELATED: Tony Mitchell suspended by Alabama after arrest

GOODMAN: For Nick Saban, decisions have consequences

GOODMAN: Can’t ignore nightmares amid Alabama’s dream season

GOODMAN: For Alabama basketball, was the price worth the cost

Friday marked three months since the shooting death of Jamea Harris involving Alabama basketball players. On Thursday, Memphis-bound basketball player Mikey Williams was arrested in his San Diego suburb for felony assault with a firearm. Williams, who is 18, was not only the crown jewel of Memphis coach Penny Hardaway’s 2023 recruiting class, the five-star recruit is also one of the most prominent high school athletes in the country. He had 3.8 million followers on social media until his account on Instagram was deactivated on Friday.

It’s disheartening. Williams had everything, and as college-age players go, they don’t get much more influential. He’s a culture symbol whose fame is tied to becoming the first high school basketball star of the NIL era to sign with a top sports agency. In November of 2021, he landed an endorsement deal with Puma. There was a bright future ahead of him, but now he’s facing three years in jail.

Williams puts the spotlight back on guns among athletes. This one is a flashing red light that can’t be ignored.

Why are young athletes taking risks with guns? The Memphis Grizzlies, of course, begin the NBA playoffs on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers and star Memphis player Ja Morant was suspended earlier this season for flashing a gun on social media.

Williams has a chance at generational wealth. A gun potentially took that away. Gun culture should be treated like an American disease. It can’t be allowed to infect collegiate athletics, and so it falls to coaches and administrators to keep their teams, athletic departments and conferences gun free.

This latest incident puts pressure on Hardaway and the University of Memphis. Are they going to cut ties with Williams based on these charges? Memphis said on Friday that it was gathering more information. According to the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, the charges stem from a shooting in March at a residence in San Diego County. A verbal altercation occurred at the house, according to police, and visitors were told to leave. Police say Williams fired at the car as it left the scene.

Luckily no one was shot. Police added that the car contained three minors. Williams is still in high school, after all, and according to the San Diego Union-Tribune he purchased a $1.2 million home in unincorporated San Diego County last summer. Hardaway, a former NBA star, has proven to be a good college coach for Memphis. He’s facing a big decision here. Based on the police report, Williams shouldn’t be suiting up for the Tigers later this year. Playing basketball in college is no one’s right. It’s a privilege. Let Williams learn this lesson the hard way and then begin his career as a pro basketball player.

The same thing should have happened to Alabama basketball player Brandon Miller, who police say transported the gun used in Harris’ death on Jan.14 in Tuscaloosa. Miller remained on the team and never missed a game. Based on how Nate Oats and Alabama handled its star player, I wouldn’t be surprised if Memphis admits Williams for the fall semester.

There’s money invested, and there are tickets to sell.

Too cynical? Let’s not be naive here.

When Alabama basketball player Darius Miles was charged with capital murder, Alabama emphasized that Miles was kicked off the team. Alabama withheld the fact that Miller and teammate Jaden Bradley were also at the scene of the shooting. The omission allowed Miller and Bradley to play basketball without question until their names came up in court during a police testimony a month later.

The arrest of Williams for alleged assault with a firearm isn’t an outlier. There is a pattern here. Alabama’s Miles and his friend Michael Davis are in jail awaiting their trial for the alleged murder of Harris. Gun culture is to blame for her death no matter who was or wasn’t charged by the Tuscaloosa County district attorney. Last month, Alabama freshman football player Tony Mitchell of Shelby County had a gun in his car when arrested for drug charges.

And let’s not ignore the elephant in the room. Arrests involving guns among young college basketball and football players have been a feature recently in this new era of pay-for-play. The big fear among some coaches and former players on the eve of the NIL era was how young people would react to suddenly having access to new money. That concern remains.

I’m not saying extra cash from NIL deals is the cause of this problem. Gun culture among college athletes is the problem. No one is entitled to a college scholarship, though, and at some point the most valuable education of all might just be losing it.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama”, a book about togetherness, hope and rum. You can find him on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.

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In-state OL Bo Cagle receiving interest from Auburn, other SEC schools

Cole Pinkston•about 20 hours

Article written by:Cole Pinkston

ColePinkston

Bo Cagle (Photo- Cole Pinkston/Auburn Live)

One name to keep an eye on moving forward is Bo Cagle, an offensive lineman from Mobile (Ala.) Mobile Christian.

 

VIP Article. not much but a kid of interest.

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Auburn football transfer portal tracker: Running list of transfers in and out, real-time thoughts

Justin Hokanson•about 20 hours

Article written by:Justin Hokanson

_JHokanson

Jeffrey M'ba (Justin Ford/Getty Images)

AUBURN — The spring transfer portal window is open from April 15-30. Auburn Live expects a number of current football players to enter into the portal following the completion of spring camp. The Tigers also plan to add another quality haul of transfers coming into the program in the next two weeks.

Bookmark this page as we’ll link relevant stories, provide thoughts and track Auburn’s transfer situation during this spring window.

Spring transfers out

Tar’Varish Dawson

Jeffrey M’Ba

Kameron Brown

Desmond Tisdol

Running thoughts on Auburn’s spring transfers out

— Dawson, like M’Ba, had thought about entering the portal in the past. Following a spring where he wasn’t able to make a push into the starting rotation, Dawson entering the portal wasn’t a shocker. Auburn has Ja’Varrius Johnson and Jay Fair in the slot, both players who Hugh Freeze singled out for consistent spring efforts.

— M’Ba thought about entering the portal after last season, but stayed. He seemed to be happy about how things were going and his position change to defensive end when he spoke to the media during spring camp. Then again, M’Ba is a generally happy person. M’Ba was poised to play significant snaps this fall and provided important depth to the defensive line.

— Tisdol and Brown both announced their departures in the middle of spring camp. Neither contributed much and don’t really impact Auburn’s roster in a meaningful way.

How many transfers might Auburn target this spring?

Auburn is looking at 6-8 spring transfer portal additions, plus or minus some on either side. Of course, this number is fluid based on two things: Auburn actually finding the right fits at the right positions (meaning not taking a player just to take a player), and current players leaving the program matching up with what Hugh Freeze and Co. expect.

Quarterback, safety, cornerback, jack/defensive end/rush end, and a “few” offensive linemen are all positions Freeze has specifically mentioned as positions of need during the spring window.

Spring transfers in

Players and links will be provided as Auburn adds players in the spring transfer window.

Running thoughts on Auburn’s spring transfers in

Thoughts will be provided as Auburn adds players in the spring transfer window.

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

 

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.

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Auburn makes an offer to a four-star recruit out of Georgia

Matthew Jacobs

~3 minutes

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Josiah Abdullah, a 2025 recruit from Atlanta, Georgia, has received his 27th Division I offer. The latest one comes from the Auburn Tigers. Abdullah does have a connection to a current Auburn Tiger running back, Damari Alston, who attended Woodward Academy. Perhaps that friendship can turn this offer into a commitment.

Abdullah, who measures out at five foot eleven inch and 175 pounds, is a wide receiver that has earned a four-star rating from multiple sites. The addition of an Auburn makes this the 9th SEC offer he has received.

Abdullah had an impressive Sophomore season for the Woodward War Eagles, he racked up 536 receiving yards and around 8 touchdowns. He has the speed to take the top off the defenses and wonderful hands. It will be interesting to see how much he can grow in every sense of the word to finish out his high school career. 

The main focus for the next two weeks will obviously be the portal. However, we didn’t want Auburn fans to miss a beat on the recruiting trail.

(Special thanks to Jack Singley for the outstanding research work he does for Auburn Daily)

You can check out our transfer portal tracker here. Stay up to date on all of the Tigers' commitments, departures, and prospects for key positions at auburndaily.com.

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flywareagle.com

 

Auburn football QB credits Hugh Freeze for major improvements

Mary Kate Hughes

2–3 minutes

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Auburn football quarterback Holden Geriner (12) warms up during the A-Day spring football game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, April 8, 2023.

 

Quarterback Holden Geriner’s freshman season with Auburn football probably did not go the way he expected it too. There was the quarterback battle that never really ended between TJ Finley and Robby Ashford until Finley’s injury, and the times when Geriner was randomly thrown in the game.

Then, the coach that recruited him and had high hopes for him was fired at the end of the tumultuous season. However, Geriner stayed with the Tigers after the new coaching staff was hired, and even found himself throwing the ball alongside Auburn football legend Cam Newton at the Tigers’ Pro Day.

Geriner got great reports throughout spring practice, and showed flashes of great talent during the soggy A-Day game last weekend, proving that he’s right there with Finley and Ashford in this year’s QB Battle. According to the young QB, head coach Hugh Freeze and the coaching staff have been a big part of his growth during the offseason, per AL.com:

“I definitely think I’ve gotten a lot better this spring with Coach Freeze and coach (Philip) Montgomery and coach (Kent) Austin, all their mentorship and help,” Geriner said. “I think it’s gone really well. It’s been super fun just being out there, just competing every day. I think I’ve definitely improved myself along with all these other quarterbacks and players.”

There’s no doubt that there’s a new sense of confidence coming from Geriner, and he has continued to improve in terms of accuracy and long passes. His youth is likely a big reason for his shortcomings, and those will continue to be ironed out as he gets more coaching and experience.

Everyone knew that letting go of Bryan Harsin was the right move, but it seems that bringing in Hugh Freeze and his staff was another right move in terms of improving the potential talent on the roster, including that of Holden Geriner.

 

This might be a repeat.................

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