5/3/23 Football Articles

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247sports.com

Auburn depth chart impact: OLB Jalen McLeod

Nathan King

4–5 minutes

Auburn’s first post-spring transfer pickup comes at a position of tremendous need.

App State’s Jalen McLeod has committed to Auburn following a visit over the weekend, presenting an influx of experience at a heavily depleted spot on the roster.

A former 3-star recruit, McLeod was an All-Sun Belt contributor for the Mountaineers last season, finishing second on the team in both tackles for loss (7.5) and sacks (six). The Washington, D.C., native also recorded two strip-sacks and a fumble recovery.

The Tigers have been thin at their pass-rusher spot for the better part of the past two seasons, and are again searching for depth this offseason. Starters Derick Hall and Eku Leota departed for the NFL, and former top-100 recruit Dylan Brooks entered the transfer portal last week.

That left only Vanderbilt transfer Elijah McAllister, along with true freshmen Keldric Faulk — the top-rated signee in Auburn’s 2023 class — and Brenton Williams. McLeod’s recent production is a welcome addition for new coordinator Ron Roberts’ “jack” linebacker spot, considering McAllister was the only player in the room with any college experience — and his last sack came in 2019.

Let’s take a look at Auburn’s current personnel at jack linebacker, where the coaching staff may not be done seeking transfer additions.

Seniors: Elijah McAllister, Jalen McLeod

Juniors: N/A

Sophomores: N/A

Freshmen: Keldric Faulk, Brenton Williams

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Early depth chart projection

1: Jalen McLeod

2: Elijah McAllister OR Keldric Faulk

McLeod brings 30 games of experience at the Group of Five level, including the past two seasons as a primary contributor for App State’s defense.

Some of his best performances last season came on the biggest stages, too. In App State’s historic upset at No. 5 Texas A&M in September, McLeod not only sacked Aggies QB Haynes King twice, but he forced two fumbles on the same play — first stripping King, then swiping the ball from the offensive lineman who picked it up, as App State ultimately scooped it up for a turnover. McLeod also had 1.5 sacks in the Mountaineers’ narrow loss at Coastal Carolina in November.

At 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds, McLeod fits the bill of an outside linebacker who thrives as a pass-rusher but can also slide back if need be. He played 31.3 percent of his snaps last season off the line of scrimmage as a box linebacker.

By games played, McAllister is still the most experienced player in the room, though McLeod was far more productive at his previous program. Neither present the kind of raw talent that Faulk has — a former top-75 overall recruit who had a standout spring as an early enrollee with the team. But Auburn’s coaches reiterated in the spring that they weren’t going to put too much pressure on Faulk to produce too quickly. The addition of McLeod is a nice solution right way, though down the line, he still has two years of eligibility remaining.

Hugh Freeze and his staff hit the portal hard in the first window, picking up 12 players before the start of spring practice. The second transfer period has been much quieter, with McLeod serving as the first addition, though Auburn is expected to continue to ramp things up over the next couple weeks.

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

Auburn offers elite cornerback transfer Trey Amos

JD McCarthy

1–2 minutes

The Auburn Tigers are looking to add an experienced transfer to their defensive back room and on Monday they extended an offer to one of the best available cornerbacks.

Trey Amos, who spent the past three seasons at Louisiana-Lafayette, announced the Tigers had offered him on Twitter. Since entering the portal Monday afternoon he has already received offers from Miami, Oregon, LSU, Alabama, and Florida.

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The 6-foot-1, 189-pounder appeared in 34 games for the Ragin Cajuns, recording 59 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one interception, 14 defended passes, and one forced fumble.

RELATED: Live updates of Auburn Tigers in the portal

The New Iberia, Louisiana product has two seasons of eligibility remaining, and one school to watch is Florida, the Gator’s head coach Billy Nappier signed Amos at ULL before heading to Gainesville.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion

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si.com

Auburn pushing for commitment for JUCO Offensive Tackle

Jack Singley

2–3 minutes

Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers have offered JUCO OT Markel Bell.

Auburn has two glaring positions of need along the trenches going into the 2023 season, the offensive line and JACK linebacker. They have signed five offensive linemen from the high school and JUCO ranks in the 2023 class and brought in three during the winter portal period. 

The latest move regarding the trenches is that Auburn has set its sights on JUCO OT Markel Bell. The Cleveland, Mississippi native went to Holmes CC out of high school and showed out during his freshman season, earning an honorable mention on the All-MACCC list in 2022. 

Bell has been receiving several offers over the past few months, most notably from Auburn, Mississippi State, and Southern Miss. He also has received offers from Jackson State, Old Dominion, and Texas State.

Bell is listed at 6-foot-9, 350 pounds according to the Holmes CC official roster. That frame combined with an aggressive play style is what has attracted former Auburn OL Coach Will Friend who is currently at Mississippi State, and current Auburn OL Coach Jake Thornton. The sky could be the limit for the Mississippi native. 

Auburn offered on April, 28th and has put the pressure on Bell, according to On3's Auburn Live, and wants Bell to make a decision and if that were to be Auburn to have him on campus by the end of the month. Bell would be not only on the roster for fall camp if he were to enroll in May, but would also be ready to go for summer workouts which could help Bell who hasn't touched a D1 weight room or conditioning program. 

The potential addition of Bell would make it nine offensive linemen that Hugh Freeze and staff have signed since November. The Tigers have only lost two linemen since then as well, Keiondre Jones and Colby Smith, meaning the attrition at the position is negligible to the total OL depth chart as they have added so many. Besides Bell, Jaden Muskrat could be another name the Tigers could add along the offensive line. 

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Auburn QB TJ Finley enters transfer portal: Robby Ashford the frontrunner to win job as ex-starter departs

Barrett Sallee

9–12 minutes

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Spring football has come and gone, and fans have to wait four months before seeing their teams on the field again. At the very least, there are two-and-a-half months until SEC Media Days for hot takes to fly across sports radio, TV and the internet. 

Some teams are set up to not only run the table and win the national title, but also The Masters, the World Series and the Stanley Cup. However, others are looking at not only a winless season, but relegation to JV football in the local single-A region. That's how things go in the offseason, right?

But seriously, what are those "realistic" hot takes? Let's break them down. A reminder, these are not real predictions. They are extreme takes that probably won't happen ... unless they do. 

Alabama

The lack of a star QB will lead to fewer than 10 wins: Coach Nick Saban went out and lured former Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner out of the transfer portal shortly after spring practice. That spring practice session was headlined by the battle between Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson. Buchner completed just 55.4% of his passes, threw more interceptions (five) than touchdowns (three) when Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees was still employed by the Fighting Irish. Buchner is destined for a roller-coaster season but will be better than the other two contenders. Essentially, he'll be the best of some bad options.

Arkansas

The Razorbacks will lead the nation in total offense: The Hogs finished 15th in the nation last year with 471.4 yards per game, so maybe this isn't that much of a stretch. However, the architect of that offense, Kendal Briles, moved on to TCU. Dan Enos is back and has a full cupboard of stars. Quarterback KJ Jefferson is the "Cam Newton" of this group. He can get the tough rushing yards between the tackles and has the arm to stretch the field. Raheim Sanders is one of the most dynamic running backs in the country and has the big-play ability of a potential Heisman candidate. Isaiah Sategna had a monster spring game with three catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns. In reality, this offense really should be one of the best in the SEC, and anything less could be considered a disappointment.

Auburn

Hugh Freeze will develop a QB who contends for the Heisman Trophy: Freeze turned Bo Wallace and Chad Kelly into stars, so why not Robby Ashford or whoever takes the snaps? Ashford rushed for 709 yards and seven touchdowns last season, and production on the ground is a hallmark of the Freeze offense. All Freeze needs to do is find a few things that Ashford can do through the air, and the sky is the limit. If Freeze goes out and gets another signal-caller, it's somebody who he knows can be even better and contend for college football's biggest prize. In reality, it shouldn't take a massive step forward for the quarterback for Auburn to be dangerous in the SEC West. 

Florida

Billy Napier shows that he isn't the answer: Florida lost Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL Draft, despite Richardson's remarkably average season in 2022. What's more, five other Gators heard their names called in the draft. How can this possibly happen? Napier, who made Louisiana a perennial contender in the Sun Belt, was hired to bring the Gators back to glory after the failed Dan Mullen era. In reality, it is concerning that Napier didn't develop Richardson and is banking on either Graham Mertz or Jack Miller III to jump-start the offense. After all, offense seemed to be a major issue in the spring game.

Carson Beck was effective in Georgia's spring game. Getty Images

Georgia

The Bulldogs' dynasty will be put on pause: With Stetson Bennett IV, a two-year starter under center, and former offensive coordinator Todd Monken both headed to the NFL, Georgia's offense will have a new look this season.  Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff or Gunner Stockton -- whoever wins the starting job -- won't be able to produce the same kind of results under new play-caller Mike Bobo. As a result, the Bulldogs will miss the SEC Championship Game and won't make the College Football Playoff as the budding dynasty will come to a screeching halt -- for now.

Kentucky

Devin Leary will prove that he's a top 10 pick: Former quarterback Will Levis was touted as a potential top 10 pick but fell to the second round of last week's NFL Draft. Maybe scouts were thinking of this year's Kentucky QB rather than the one who took the snaps for the Wildcats last season. Leary transferred from NC State and has the luxury of working with coordinator Liam Coen -- who was the architect of the offense Levis thrived in during the 2021 season. Leary threw for 6,807 yards and 62 touchdowns in four seasons with the Wolfpack, and will make scouts fall in love with him when he throws for 4,000 yards in 2023.

LSU

The Tigers will win the national title: LSU shocked the college football world in coach Brian Kelly's first season as Tigers coach when they made a run to the SEC West championship. Was that an aberration? Of course not. The combination of Kelly's coaching prowess, a Heisman Trophy-caliber quarterback in Jayden Daniels and a defense that is loaded with talent will transform the Tigers from a cute little story into a budding dynasty that will begin in 2023 when they win the College Football Playoff National Championship in nearby Houston. 

Mississippi State

Defense will be the identity of the Bulldogs: The late Mike Leach was a trailblazer in college football's offensive renaissance. Zach Arnett -- former defensive coordinator under Leach -- was elevated to the head coaching role and will transform the Bulldogs' identity into a defensive-minded team. The front seven terrorized the offensive line in the spring game, and holes for the running backs were virtually non-existent. Yes, quarterback Will Rogers and the offense will still have its success. However, the defense will be the driving force of the new era of Bulldogs football.

Missouri

WR Luther Burden III will win the Biletnikoff Award: The former five-star prospect and No. 14 overall player in the country was overshadowed by Dominic Lovett last year, but Lovett moved on to Georgia in the offseason. That, coupled with Burden playing in the slot more often than last year will be the catalyst for Burden to live up to the recruiting hype. He had 375 yards and six touchdowns -- four of which came in November. That success down the stretch will carry over in a big way and Burden will win the award for the nation's top wide receiver. 

Ole Miss

Uncertainty at quarterback will tear the Rebels apart: Coach Lane Kiffin brought in quarterback Spencer Sanders from Oklahoma State and Walker Howard from LSU to compete with starter Jaxson Dart for the top spot on the 2023 depth chart. None of the three entered the transfer portal after the spring game, which means that the trio will battle it out in fall camp. Other players on the roster will undoubtedly take sides prior to the start of the season, Kiffin will struggle to determine who should play and a promising season will collapse by the end of September. 

South Carolina

Spencer Rattler will win the Heisman Trophy: The former hotshot recruit and starting quarterback at Oklahoma showed he can be a star with the Gamecocks late last season when he threw for 438 yards and six touchdowns in an upset win over Tennessee to eliminate the Volunteers from College Football Playoff contention. He followed that up with a 360-yard performance in an upset win over Clemson and set the tone for what will be a stellar season. The combination of Rattler and a new offense under Dowell Loggains will allow Rattler to top the 4,500-yard mark and hoist college football's most prestigious award in December. 

Tennessee

Nico Iamaleava will win the battle for starting QB and become a star: The hotshot quarterback who enrolled early looked like a star in the spring game. He went 8 of 16 for 112 yards and dropped several dimes that looked more like NFL throws than those of a freshman. That completion percentage should have been much higher due to several drops. Fellow contender Joe Milton III won't be consistent during fall camp and coach Josh Heupel will insert his prize prospect into the top spot on the depth chart in the opener vs. Virginia, and Iamaleava won't look back.

Texas A&M

Bobby Petrino will be let go during the season: Fisher hired Petrino to fix the Aggies' offense, and it will be a total disaster. As a result, Fisher will jettison Petrino by the end of the season. The personality clash between the two will send the offense into a tailspin, and Fisher will feel legitimate pressure to keep his job for the first time since he got the gig after the 2017 season. The two allowed quarterbacks Conner Weigman and Max Johnson to air it out during the spring game, and both of the contenders had their moments. We often hear that success in spring will lead to success in the fall, but that never seems to materialize. A rift between Fisher and Petrino will be the same result.

Vanderbilt

The Commodores defense will finish in the top half of the SEC: The Commodores were atrocious defensively last season, but will make a massive jump in 2023. We saw glimpses of that in the spring game last month, when they topped the offense in the modified scoring scrimmage. Coach Clark Lea is a defensive coach by trade, and some experience up front is a foundation that he can build off of. That defense won't make Vanderbilt a contender in the SEC East, but it will make the Commodores a tough out against teams in the bottom half of the SEC.

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247sports.com

How much production has Auburn lost in the transfer portal?

Nathan King

4–5 minutes

The spring transfer window has officially closed, and Auburn has managed to avoid any significant blows to its roster.

The portal closed its doors Sunday for any non-graduate players to transfer and retain their eligibility for the 2023 season. In the 22 days since the conclusion of Auburn’s first spring practices under Hugh Freeze, the Tigers saw eight players enter the portal, in addition to the two who opted to transfer during spring practice.

The 10 outgoing transfers didn’t include any heavy-hitters for Auburn. Players like Landen King and Tar'Varish Dawson in the receiving corps were hoped to become fixtures of the passing game moving forward, but neither had made substantial impacts on the Plains yet. Former No. 1 JUCO defensive lineman Jeffrey M'ba is likely the biggest loss on the defensive side of the ball, though there was no guarantee he was set to develop into a starter in 2023.

In all, the Tigers seem to be in a healthy position in the transfer ranks as the coaching staff now turns up the heat and attempts to land a handful of commitments to round out the roster. Five transfer visitors were on campus over the past couple days: quarterback Casey Thompson (Nebraska), receivers Caleb Burton (Ohio State) and Montana Lemonious-Craig (Colorado), and outside linebackers Jalen McLeod (App State) and Isaac Ukwu (James Madison).

Let’s take a look at the total career production that’s heading out the door from Auburn’s 10 transfer departures in the spring portal window.

• WR Landen King: 6 rec, 83 yards, TD

• WR Tar'Varish Dawson: 2 rec, 30 yards

• OL Colby Smith: N/A

• DL Jeffrey M'ba: 6 tkls, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble

• DL Tobechi Okoli: N/A

• EDGE Dylan Brooks: 7 tkls, 1 sack

• LB Desmond Tisdol: 17 tkls

• LB Kameron Brown: N/A

• LB Powell Gordon: N/A

• S Craig McDonald: N/A

LOST PRODUCTION (SPRING WINDOW)

Offense: 8 receptions, 113 yards, TD

Defense: 30 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble

Looking back at Auburn’s transfer pickups prior to the start of spring practice, the Tigers are currently at a net loss of seven scholarship players in the portal — having added 12 and lost 19 in total. Here’s a quick refresher of the career production Auburn lost in the first transfer window (note: only production in an Auburn uniform is listed).

• QB Zach Calzada: N/A

• WR Ze'Vian Capers: 14 rec, 147 yards, TD

• WR Dazalin Worsham: 4 rec, 25 yards

• WR J.J. Evans: N/A

• RB Jordon Ingram: 2 car, 8 yards

• OG Keiondre Jones: 19 starts

• DT Marquis Robinson: 3 tkls

• LB Joko Willis: 4 tkls, 1 TFL

• DB A.D. Diamond: N/A

LOST PRODUCTION (WINTER WINDOW)

Offense: 18 receptions, 172 yards, TD; 2 carries, 8 rushing yards; 19 offensive line starts

Defense: 7 tkls, 1 TFL

While Auburn’s overall roster numbers have seen a depletion in the transfer portal, the production has been far and away a net gain for Freeze and his coaching staff. A big reason is that eight of the Tigers’ 19 transfer losses didn’t record a stat with the program.

A player like Avery Jones, who came over from East Carolina and should be the Tigers’ starting center this season, heavily outweighs Auburn’s offensive line losses all by himself, with 32 career starts to his name. FIU transfer tight end Rivaldo Fairweather and Cincinnati receiver Nick Mardner have several years of combined receiving production as starters, and USF running back Brian Battie was a 1,000-yard rusher just last season.

All that is not to mention the trio of starting-caliber defensive linemen Auburn added: Mosiah Nasili-Kite (Maryland), Lawrence Johnson (Purdue) and Justin Rogers (Kentucky).

In all, Auburn is currently at a massive net positive in all areas of production in the transfer portal — and that’s with a handful of newcomers likely still on the way in the coming weeks.

NET TRANSFER PRODUCTION GAINED (2023 CYCLE)

Offense: 134 receptions, 2,227 yards, 14 TD; 278 carries, 1,834 yards, 10 TD; 43 offensive line starts

Defense: 318 tackles, 29 TFLs, 17 sacks, 3 forced fumbles

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si.com

Auburn has offered former BYU receiver Kody Epps

Andrew Stefaniak

2–3 minutes

Former BYU Cougars wideout Kody Epps has received an Auburn offer.

Auburn has offered former BYU receiver, Kody Epps. 

The five-foot-eleven 185-pound wide receiver from Los Angeles, California, had 459 receiving yards last season on 39 receptions. 

Epps also reeled in six touchdowns during his 2022 campaign for the Cougars. 

The talented receiver will have multiple years of eligibility left, as he didn't play in 2021 and will get the 2020 season back due to the pandemic. 

So this would not be a one-year rental if the Tigers landed Epps. He would be on the Plains for at least a few seasons.

With the Tigers already having lost two receivers at a position that we weren't sure about before them leaving, adding a sure-handed wideout like Epps would help this team in 2023. 

Epps has received a ton of interest since hitting the portal, so it won't be an easy task for the Tigers to land him. 

The next step will be to get Epps on campus for a visit in the hopes of making this speedy wideout an Auburn Tiger.  

The Tigers have had nine players depart from the program within the last few weeks, including three backup linebackers:

Wide receiver Tar'Varish Dawson

Wide receiver Landen King

Offensive lineman Colby Smith

Defensive lineman Jeffrey M'ba

Defensive lineman Tobechi Okoli

Defensive end Dylan Brooks

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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[AUpreacherman22 3,945]

55 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

Auburn

Hugh Freeze will develop a QB who contends for the Heisman Trophy: Freeze turned Bo Wallace and Chad Kelly into stars, so why not Robby Ashford or whoever takes the snaps? Ashford rushed for 709 yards and seven touchdowns last season, and production on the ground is a hallmark of the Freeze offense. All Freeze needs to do is find a few things that Ashford can do through the air, and the sky is the limit. If Freeze goes out and gets another signal-caller, it's somebody who he knows can be even better and contend for college football's biggest prize. In reality, it shouldn't take a massive step forward for the quarterback for Auburn to be dangerous in the SEC West. 

Umm, can we send this article to CT and  the MSU QB.   It may help them in their decision making process.  😁

”Come to AU and be a Heisman contender”😁

[AUpreacherman22 3,945]

59 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

NET TRANSFER PRODUCTION GAINED (2023 CYCLE)

Offense: 134 receptions, 2,227 yards, 14 TD; 278 carries, 1,834 yards, 10 TD; 43 offensive line starts

Defense: 318 tackles, 29 TFLs, 17 sacks, 3 forced fumbles

 

Wow!!!

And we’re going to add a few more!!!  

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