4/20/23 Football Articles

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Auburn linebacker Powell Gordon has entered the transfer portal

Lance Dawe

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Auburn linebacker Powell Gordon has entered the transfer portal, sources have confirmed to Auburn Daily.

Gordon, a three-star linebacker in the 2022 class, committed to Auburn back in 2021. he was a captain at Auburn High School. In his junior season at Auburn High, Gordon played inside linebacker and defensive end, racking up 88 tackles, 14 sacks, and 32 tackles for loss - elite numbers for one of the biggest contributors on the Tigers' state finalist team in 2021.

The Tigers have now had five players depart from the program within the last couple of weeks, including three backup linebackers:

Wide Receiver Tar'Varish Dawson

Defensive lineman Jeffrey M'ba

Linebacker Kameron Brown

Linebacker Desmond Tisdol

Linebacker Powell Gordon

Auburn has 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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Edited April 20, 2023 by aubiefifty

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Breaking down Auburn Football's five biggest spring winners

Taylor Jones

~3 minutes

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Spring practice has concluded, and the transfer portal is starting to heat up.

There were many questions surrounding Auburn football heading into Hugh Freeze’s first spring practice. Some were good, and some…  not so much.

Buy Tigers Tickets

In a program that needs to find players to fill roles, there were several players that stepped up and may have earned the right to take meaningful snaps in 2023.

Richard Silva, the Auburn beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser, recently shared his picks for the five best players that ended the spring on a high note. The list was filled with true freshmen, transfers, and players who look to have a breakout season.

Here’s a look at Silva’s top five players who proved themselves this spring:

Austin Perryman/Auburn Athletics

The lone top freshman on Silva’s list is Keldric Faulk. Faulk is one of several players that Freeze says will see plenty of field time in 2023, even if he does not land a starting job. Vanderbilt transfer Elijah McAllister says that Faulk “will be successful (at Auburn).”

Jake Crandall/The Montgomery Advertiser

Mosiah Nasili-Kite may not have been the headliner in Auburn’s stacked transfer haul, but that does not mean that he will not make an impact for the Tigers this season. He has already been named the SEC’s most underrated transfer by Mike Farrell Sports due to his versatility. Expect to see Nasili-Kite make an abundance of stops from the Auburn defensive line this season.

Declan Greene/Auburn Athletics

It appears as if Wesley Steiner and Austin Keys will be Auburn’s starting linebackers for 2023, but depth will be key as the Tigers look to keep the momentum going in times when neither of those players will be on the field. Robert woodyard will be a solid rotation player this season, which will allow Auburn fans to breathe a sigh of relief after the departure of Owen Pappoe.

Austin Perryman/Auburn Athletics

Auburn’s use of a tight end has grown exponentially over the last several years due to the rise of John Samuel Shenker. Shenker caught 55 passes for 621 yards over the last two seasons, and Rivaldo Fairweather has the potential to keep the tight end production alive. He says that Freeze’s success of coaching Evan Engram and Dawson Knox at Ole Miss played a large role in him choosing to come to Auburn, so expect Fairweather and tyler fromm to keep it going at tight end.

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i thought there was one more flip the script with coach freeze motivational talk but now i believe they were numbered wrong.

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Bo Nix shockingly leans into former Auburn football Twitter meme

Andrew Hughes

2–3 minutes

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Bo Nix shockingly leaned into a once-famous Auburn football Twitter meme in describing why he's still playing college football at Oregon Mandatory Credit: The Register Guard

 

Bo Nix came out and said what hoards of Auburn football fans were proudly professing two years ago ahead of the 2021 season: he’s having fun. Nix shockingly leaned into the infamous “dark horse” Twitter meme while speaking to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg in a piece published on April 19.

“Bo Nix didn’t want to leave Oregon with any regrets — he also is having too much fun playing college football,” Rittenberg wrote in his lede. Then Nix seemingly shaded the Plains in saying, “Winning is a lot of fun, and that’s what keeps you around.” He then described what he’s looking for from the 2023 college football season and beyond.

“My goal this year is to win a championship in some form or fashion,” Nix said to Rittenberg. “That will lead to other things. A team’s success is oftentimes more important for an individual’s success than they even realize.”

Bo Nix shades Auburn football in saying he ‘figured out’ college football is fun

Another shot was fired at Auburn football by Nix, whether knowingly or not, by his implication that he “figured out” college football was fun during his explanation of why he didn’t declare for the NFL draft following the 2022 season.

“The statement, ‘Be where your feet are,’ guys sometimes want more than they have and they don’t appreciate what they do have at the time,” Nix said. “At some point, I was kind of eager to go to the NFL, and then I figured out, you know, college football is fun. When you’re on a good team, when you’re around good coaches, when you’re around great teammates, a great university, you don’t really want to give that up because you don’t know if you’re going to have it this good anymore, like ever.”

Nix is having more fun in Oregon, which is a damn shame since Tiger fans were the ones putting it in his head. Come to think of it, maybe talking about having fun while Bryan Harsin was his head coach was just a reminder of what Nix was missing.

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Thursday Auburn football, basketball, baseball and softball tidbits

Jason Caldwell

5–6 minutes

Stepping up

Transferring from Oregon and earning the starting job at nose for the Auburn defense, big Jayson Jones made an impact in the middle for the Tigers, but the next step is to begin to make more plays. That was the challenge for coach Jeremy Garrett and the new staff this spring when they finally got Jones on the field. Last season he made just 28 total tackles with just a half of a tackle for a loss.

This spring that started to show up with Jones becoming more physical at the point of attack and showing the ability to disengage to get off blocks. If he can continue that progression, Jones would form a pretty strong duo at the position along with Kentucky transfer Justin Rogers.

Impressive visitor

One of the things that Hugh Freeze and his staff are serious about is upgrading the roster every opportunity they have. That means a serious focus on the 2024 class and especially continuing to get better on the lines of scrimmage. A player that has already visited Auburn and is planning to return in June for an official visit is 5-star defensive lineman Kamarion Franklin.

From Lake Cormorant, Mississippi, Franklin is a dominating player on the line of scrimmage and has a chance to grow into a monster defensive lineman by the time he’s done in college. With so many connections in Mississippi, especially with Freeze and Garrett where Franklin is concerned, this is another top prospect that Auburn is going to have a strong chance to land in the 2024 class.

On campus now

The Gulf South Conference Player of the Year last season at UAH when he averaged 15.9 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 51.8 percent from the floor and 29.6 percent from three while knocking down 76.6 percent at the free throw line, the former Thompson High standout is an intriguing player coming from the D2 ranks.

Checking in at 6-2 early in his high school days before growing to 6-5 as a senior, Johnson is now listed at 6-7, 215 at UAH. Because he was more of a guard when he got to college, he’s got some skills that would make him a threat as more of a stretch four in Auburn’s system. He’s also athletic enough that he could play the three in a pinch as well.

Virginia Tech and UAB are considered the teams to beat for Auburn as Johnson is currently taking his official visit to check out Bruce Pearl’s program.

Sophomore finding his groove

Since allowing two earned runs in his first three appearances this year in two total innings, sophomore RHP Parker Carlson has been one of the bright spots for the Auburn pitching staff in 2023. Going back to March 5, the Mobile native has pitched in 10 games for a total of 10 innings. He has allowed just two earned runs on nine hits with 11 strikeouts. Last season he made just five total appearances as a true freshman, but has continued to develop his game and is quickly becoming a key out of the bullpen for an Auburn team that has been looking for someone to step up.

Magnificent maddie

Maddie Penta was selected as one of 25 finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, the organization announced Wednesday. 

The Chesapeake City, Maryland, native opened the season with an incredible stretch of 61.1 consecutive innings before allowing her first earned run to score. That effort included 39.1 consecutive scoreless innings, the second longest scoreless inning streak in program history. 

She currently leads the SEC and ranks sixth in the country with 19 victories, including recording the 50th win of her collegiate career to become just the eighth Tiger in school history to reach the milestone. 

Ranking third in the country with 227 strikeouts, Penta became the first pitcher since Anna Thompson (2009, 2010) to record at least 200 strikeouts in back-to-back seasons. She has recorded eighth double-digit strikeout efforts this season, including tying the program record for strikeouts in an SEC contest with 17 versus Missouri on March 25. 

In her 25 starts this season, Penta has tossed 10 complete games, including five shutouts. Three of Penta’s five shutouts have come against SEC opponents. She has also combined for nine additional shutouts with her fellow Tiger pitchers. 

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Penta currently ranks in the top 10 in 11 different single-season pitching categories, including first in earned run average, fewest hits allowed, fewest runs allowed, and fewest earned runs allowed. She also ranks in the top 10 in 17 total career pitching categories, including third in career ERA, fourth in strikeouts, seventh in wins and ninth in shutouts.

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247sports.com

 

#PMARSHONAU: Forgotten plays helped make iconic Auburn moments possible

Phillip Marshall

3–4 minutes

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Don’t ask me why, but I spent a good bit of the afternoon watching highlights from Auburn’s games of the past. One thing I learned was that some really big individual efforts are often all but forgotten. Some examples:

* Auburn beat LSU 30-26 in 1994 when Ken Alvis, Fred Smith and Brian Robinson returned interceptions for touchdowns. Often lost in the telling of that story is that cornerback Chris Shelling recovered a fumble for a touchdown, blocked a field goal and intercepted the final pass in the end zone to seal the victory. He did that despite battling cramps that came from playing more than 100 snaps. In the locker room after that game, head coach Terry Bowden and defensive coordinator Wayne Hall stood arm in arm in the locker room after the game as Bowden gave the defense credit for winning the game. Their relationship soured not long after that.

* Auburn’s 23-22 win over Alabama in 1982 will always be remembered for freshman Bo Jackson going over the top for the winning touchdown. That would not have happened had safety Mark Dorminey not knocked the ball into the air with a withering hit and cornerback Tim Drinkard not snatched it out of the air and returned it inside the Alabama 15 to set up a Lionel James touchdown run.

* When Auburn beat LSU 10-9 at Jordan-Hare Stadium enroute to a perfect season in 2004, Jason Campbell hit Courtney Taylor with the winning touchdown pass. But on the drive to that touchdown, it was running back Cadillac Williams who saved the day. All-America LSU cornerback Corey Webster had an interception in his hands, but Williams reached in and stole the ball away to keep the drive alive.

* The hit Junior Rosegreen put on Georgia receiver Reggie Brown, the Tommy Wade hit that knocked Terry Beasley out cold, the Carlo Cheatham hit that wiped out Tennessee running back Reggie Cobb, the hit that cracked Georgia running back Tim Worthy’s helmet and some others I saw would have had flags flying everywhere in today’s game and the hitters would have been called for targeting and booted from the game.

* Two blocked punts will always be remembered as the Auburn plays that beat Alabama 17-16 in 1972, but two other plays made them possible – Roger Mitchell’s block of an extra point and Mike Neel’s third-down tackle of Alabama quarterback Terry Davis for a loss.

* Bo Nix’s scramble and touchdown pass to Tyler Fromm in Auburn’s win at LSU in 2021 remains one of the great plays I have seen any quarterback make.

* It’s interesting to watch games from the 1990s and see the large shoulder pads players wore and the exaggerated signals by officials.

* Watching the locker room celebration after Auburn beat Florida in 1993, it was fascinating to see 37-year-old Terry Bowden and 28-year-old Jimbo Fisher.

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* Chris Davis touchdown return of a missed field goal as time expired is an iconic play in Auburn history and should be. But that might never have happened had it not been for freshman defensive end Carl Lawson stoning Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon on fourth-and-one.

I could go on. History is an integral part of the game so many love. I enjoyed my afternoon look-back.

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AL.com sends strong message about Auburn’s transfer portal success

Andrew Hughes

2–3 minutes

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AL.com's Tom Green sent a strong message on the Auburn football program's success in the portal during the initial transfer window Mandatory Credit; The Montgomery Advertiser

 

AL.com’s Tom Green sent a strong message on the success Auburn football enjoyed during Hugh Freeze’s first transfer window — one that opened on December 5 and concluded on January 18 –, calling the Tigers “winners” of the initial window.

“As Auburn showed in the first transfer window, the program is willing to be aggressive in filling some holes on the roster with portal additions as it heads into Year 1 under Freeze,” Green prefaced before saying, “The Tigers were one of the biggest winners of the initial transfer window, adding a dozen players to the fold before the start of spring.”

Already, Freeze has landed RB Brian Battie (USF), TE Rivaldo Fairweather (FIU), WR Nick Mardner (Cincinnati), EDGE Elijah McAllister (Vanderbilt), DL Lawrence Johnson (Purdue), DL Mosiah Nasili-Kite (Maryland), DL Justin Rogers (Kentucky), LB DeMario Tolan (LSU), LB Austin Keys (Ole Miss) via the portal, and rebuilt the Auburn football offensive line with the additions of center Avery Jones (East Carolina), Dillon Wade (Tulsa), and Gunner Britton (Western Kentucky).

Auburn football transfer set to be top option in the return game

Freeze brought transfer talent to every facet of his first Tigers roster, including the return game. The addition of South Florida’s former game-breaking rusher Battie will also give Auburn a top option in the return game — with Green expecting him to make a big difference for the offense and in special teams.

“While Battie should be Auburn’s top option in the return game, he has the makings of a dynamic playmaker in space when he has the ball in his hands,” Green wrote. “It’ll be interesting to see what kind of role he can carve out in the offense while competing with Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston for touches at running back.”

If Battie is as advertised, there’d be no denying Freeze as a portal winner.

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montgomeryadvertiser.com

 

Father of Auburn football RB Brian Battie describes son's progress despite injury

 

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AUBURN — Brian Battie saw both sides of the SEC at A-Day on April 8.

The 5-foot-7, 165-pound transfer running back from South Florida rushed for 32 yards on seven carries, including one attempt that saw him get to the second level and make a couple defenders miss. That elusiveness is what allured RB coach Cadillac Williams, and it flashed in Battie's first game in front of the Auburn football fanbase.

But a few plays later, Battie was on the wrong side of a couple big hits. Junior safety Marquise Gilbert creeped up from the secondary and was unblocked, upending Battie in the backfield. The next snap was a screen, but Battie could barely turn around after making the catch before redshirt freshman linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. flattened him.

STOCK UP:5 biggest winners from Hugh Freeze's first spring practice with Auburn football

SEC COMMISSIONER:What Greg Sankey said about Auburn football's hire of Hugh Freeze

QUARTERBACKS:Where things stand with Auburn football QB TJ Finley following spring practice

Battie popped up without hesitation after each hit, something his father, Tommie Battie, has been seeing for years.

"For me as a dad, there's always been times over his short career where I would be like, ‘Oh, man, this is a big team. I wonder how he's going to handle it,'" Tommie told the Montgomery Advertiser on Tuesday. "I’ve seen him get banged up a couple times, but I mean, he jumps right back up and acts like nothing ever happened.

"Dude is tough, man. He just bounces right back up. He's never told me one time that he felt like he's been rocked."

Similar sentiments are shared by Williams, who told reporters April 4 that Battie is living up to his expectations after watching his tape from USF, where the Sarasota, Florida native rushed for over 1,100 yards in 2022 and was an All-American kick returner in 2021.

"I’m super excited about Brian," Williams said. "He’s dynamic, explosive, a one-cut runner. Like I said before, I know he’s a smaller guy, but you don’t see clean licks on him. He understands leverage, angles. (He’s a) tough kid, will stick his face in the fan, pass block."

The quick recovery at the spring game is more impressive when considering Battie, who is battling Damari Alston for the No. 2 spot in the backfield behind Jarquez Hunter, was pushing through an injury. Tommie explained how his son injured the big toe on his right foot in high school, but never got surgery because doctors advised he may not have full flexion upon recovery.

Battie sucked up the pain until April 10, after a second opinion and doctors at Auburn assured him he'd be back to 100%. A sesamoid bone at the bottom of the knuckle was broken into three pieces, causing significant discomfort.

"The coaches didn't even know that his toe was messed up like that," Tommie said. "It was a couple of weeks into spring that they actually kind of found out that his toe was really banged up, they didn't even know. ... He was just trying to push through it. I told him, I was like, ‘Man, just let your coach know what you're dealing with.'"

Battie had a procedure to repair the injury. He cannot put pressure on the foot and will wear a boot for a month as part of what's estimated to be a four-month healing process.

As for how he's been handling the transition from the AAC to the SEC, Tommie explained how his son's perspective means things haven't changed all that much.

"We've talked about it and basically his response to me was, ‘Yeah, I’m in the SEC, it’s better players, but I'm also surrounded by better players,'" Tommie said. "... He said that some of the players for Auburn are a little bit bigger, a little faster, but he's surrounded with a better offensive line, better receivers. It just feels the same to him."

It was a switch that was needed, Tommie says. The fact that USF was close to home was a plus, but it was time to see what he could do on a bigger stage: "I think he realized after a few years that if he wants to really accomplish his goals, that he needs to step it up to another level," Tommie said.

"And I mean, there's no better level than the SEC, so he’ll find out.”

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.

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when you do not have vip ststus you copy their headlines which give some info. grins i just hope yall can read it.

 

4-star edge Justin Greene locks in official visit date to Auburn

Cole Pinkston•about 13 hours

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

Justin Hokanson•about 18 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.

RELATED

• The portal is open: 3 important needs for Auburn football

• Who should Auburn pursue? Here’s 5 entires to consider

Spring transfers out

Powell Gordon

Tar’Varish Dawson

Jeffrey M’Ba

Kameron Brown

Desmond Tisdol

Running thoughts on Auburn’s spring transfers out

— The decision for Gordon to leave the program isn’t a shocker. He was a Bryan Harsin recruit, a local kid, and his addition made sense at the time, both adding a player for depth and adding a local player to make inroads. Gordon told Auburn Live he’s leaving the door open for a return to the program, although that seems unlikely. Gordon hasn’t found his true position yet, bouncing between linebacker and jack, remaining undersized for either position exiting the spring.

— 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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4-star defensive line target Justin Greene sets official visit to Auburn

JD McCarthy

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Justin Greene, of Auburn’s top targets, has scheduled an official visit to the Plains. The four-star defensive lineman will be visiting on June 16-18 according to On3’s Cole Pinkston.

Greene has already taken three visits to Auburn, including checking out the annual A-Day game on April 8.

He is the No. 80 overall player and No. 11 defensive lineman in the 247Sports Composite ranking. The Lawrenceville native is also the No. 11 player from Georgia

His recruiting may be nearing an end as he tweeted out a graphic on Wednesday announcing his official visit to South Carolina on June 9-11. He captioned the tweet “Almost to the finish line with this whole thing.”

The 6-foot-4, 260-pounder has the ability to play anywhere along the defensive line and can even line up at the jack linebacker spot to rush the passer for defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett.

Greene is coming off a great junior season for Mountain View High School where he made 63 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, 11 quarterback hurries, and blocked two passes.

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ok i found the last one.