5.10.23 Football Articles

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gadsdentimes.com

 

'I know it can win': Why Hugh Freeze leads recruiting strategy with Auburn football

Richard Silva

4–5 minutes

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AUBURN — Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze couldn't even fully answer the question before getting interrupted.

Asked how recruiting has changed and if he has ever experienced anything like it in his career before, his phone buzzed in his back pocket.

"It's never felt quite like it feels now," Freeze said at an AMBUSH event in Huntsville last month. "You obviously have to recruit your players while you're trying to recruit others and trying to manage − my phone, both phones are ringing right now and I guarantee you it has something to do with recruiting."

RECRUITING:How Auburn football's Hugh Freeze has done in building relationships with in-state coaches

FINISHING TOUCHES:Final 3 positions of need for Auburn football as summer approaches

He was right.

"Yup, this is a good one," Freeze said.

The call could've been about any number of things. Perhaps it was about one of the incoming transfers Auburn added this month.

Or maybe it was about a recruit in the Class of 2024, a cycle in which the Tigers have already landed five commitments, including four-star QB Walker White, who chose Auburn in February over Baylor and Clemson.

The Tigers have added 37 new players since Freeze arrived to the Plains in November: 19 high school recruits, 16 transfers and two from junior college. Of that bunch, nine are offensive linemen.

Auburn added nine offensive linemen in the previous three recruiting cycles combined.

"It's just different," Freeze said after putting his phone back in his pocket. "But it's the same for everybody. I'm kind of getting to the point where you just kind of take it in stride and know, 'You know what, it is what it is and we're going to do what is best for Auburn and hopefully get a group of young men that believe in that vision and that culture.'

"It's going to have to be a mixture of high school kids and portal kids. It's just the world we're in now."

Freeze has been open about his approach to recruiting at Auburn. He hired assistants he's confident in to run the majority of the football side of things. That way he gets to focus on being a recruiter.

That was seen at various spring practices, as he was often off to the side talking to a recruit and his family while coordinators Philip Montgomery and Ron Roberts, along with the other assistants, ran the show.

"As much as I love calling plays, and I'm certain I still will do that at some (points), but I can't sit in that room all day and manage that entire roster, plus recruiting," Freeze said. "It's definitely different."

Freeze also pointed to his personnel staff, who sift through information and filter what is brought to his attention.

"I've kind of just gotten to where I don't look too much and I wait for the text from them that says, 'This one here, you need to look at, coach.' That helps me a lot," Freeze said. "But truthfully, I don't get stressed too much anymore in life. ... I think you get to a point that (you say), 'You know what, I know what we do is good.'

"I know it can win. Now, let me just drive that train and get a group of guys and coaches together. That's the challenge: Getting the locker room to buy into that. At the end of the day, if it's not good enough, it's not good enough. Me stressing over it is not going to add any value whatsoever to Auburn, to my family (or) to my life. So, I really don't stress too much over that."

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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Greg McElroy gives insight on what Auburn's offense will look like with QB Payton Thorne

Spenser Davis | 19 hours ago

Greg McElroy is a big fan of the potential fit between Auburn and new quarterback Payton Thorne.

Thorne didn’t have a great season in 2022 with Michigan State, but McElroy believes Auburn’s offensive system under new OC Phillip Montgomery could play to his strengths.

“By all accounts, [Hugh Freeze] is delegating responsibility to Phillip Montgomery, the new offensive coordinator for the Auburn Tigers. And if you look at Phillip Montgomery’s tenure as the head coach at Tulsa, they’re a team that wants to pound the football.

“Granted, not necessarily always great when it comes to wins and losses in his time as a head coach, but you knew what their identity was. They wanted to pound the football, they wanted to run the football. They wanted to compliment the run game with the play-action pass. And that’s what Payton Thorne has excelled with in the past. I expect him to have a really nice year.”

During his 3 seasons at Michigan State — 2 as a starter — Thorne completed 61% of his passes for 6,493 yards, 49 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. He averaged 7.5 yards per attempt with the Spartans.

 

i posted the video of his remarks yesterday in the football thread.

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al.com

Revisting Auburn’s offensive line after A-Day

Published: May. 10, 2023, 5:35 a.m.

~4 minutes

By

Nubyjas Wilborn | nwilborn@al.com

Since arriving in November as Auburn head coach, Hugh Freeze has been a man of his word. He inherited a team that was in need of starters at four of the five offensive line positions. Jeremiah Wright, Jalil Irwin, Kam Stutts, and Tate Johnson carried the most experience of the unit.

Most observers expected Wright to be a starter at one of the guard positions, but losing Nick Brahms, Austin Troxell, Brandon Council, and Alec Jackson to graduation left Freeze and new offensive line coach Jake Thornton in for a rebuild. Johnson was starting center after Brahms got hurt during fall camp and will likely be the starting right guard with Wright at left.

Freeze knew he had to work quickly to get close to having the 16 offensive linemen he prefers to carry on his roster in the spring.

“We need the most help on O-line; we’re continuing to develop that. We still need a few more o-line, Freeze said after December’s National Signing Day. “We tried to focus on big men. I think this is a big man league. If you don’t have guys on both sides up front, then it’s very difficult for these athletic receivers, running backs, and quarterbacks.”

Picking up former Tulsa lineman Jaden Muskrat this past Monday marked the fourth player to join the Tigers from the transfer portal. Muskrat played right tackle for Tulsa, where Auburn offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery was the head coach last season. Muskrat also played at Tulsa with left tackle Dillion Wade. Getting two linemen with intimate knowledge of Montgomery’s system hopes to breed continuity.

Gunnar Britton (Western Kentucky) and Avery Jones (Western Kentucky) also showed themselves as promising starters in the spring. Britton started at left tackle and was second team All-Conference USA player for the Hilltoppers.

Jones veteran experience at center excites Montgomery.

“He’s not being surprised by a lot of the different looks that we’re getting from our defense right now, which has been great,” Montgomery told reporters during spring football. “A guy that can handle those duties, can make a lot of calls. As a quarterback getting good snaps and knowing where those things are going to be, especially in the game that we want to play in the RPO system. You know, you start spraying snaps all over the place, and then that’s going to affect the way you run your offense.”

Izavion Miller was one of the most coveted junior college transfers and should be in the Tigers rotation at either tackle spot. Connor Lew, Clay Wedin, and Bradyn Joiner enrolled early as freshmen and gained a head start on reps in the spring.

Freeze and offensive line coach Jake Thornton’s quick work took Auburn from wondering if they’d have enough linemen for spring practice to entering fall camp a bit more at ease.

Freeze won’t be satisfied with the rebuild until he sees how the group plays together in games. However, he did acknowledge she unit’s growth since he became the head coach.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re going to have a decent offensive line. In this league, you can have a decent one and still look bad at times because the defensive lines are so talented. But there’s no question in my mind we’ve made improvements from last year to this year.

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.

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si.com

 

Auburn football has two of the best running backs in the nation

Lance Dawe

2–3 minutes

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Auburn football may have one of the deepest running back rooms in the SEC heading in to the 2023 season.

Auburn football may have one of the deepest running back rooms in the SEC heading in to the 2023 season.

According to Big Game Boomer, a social media influencer and big time name in the college football media sphere, the Tigers have two of the top 35 running backs in the nation.

Boomer recently released his list of the top 50 running backs in all of college football, with a Auburn Jarquez Hunter, coming in at No. 7 overall. Fellow Tiger Brian Battie came in at No. 32 respectively.

The six running backs that made the list over hunter include Quidshon Judkins (Ole Miss), Raheim Sanders (Arkansas), Blake Corum (Michigan), Will Shipley (Clemson), Braelon Allen (Wisconsin), and Donovan Edwards (Michigan).

The Tigers picked up Battie from the transfer portal (South Florida) alongside several offensive linemen to give Auburn a boost upfront. The rushing attack should be the strength of the team in 2023.

The Auburn Tigers had ten players depart from the program during the spring transfer portal window, including three backup linebackers:

Quarterback TJ Finley

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.

Stay up to date on all of the Tigers' commitments, departures, and prospects for key positions at auburndaily.com.

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Michigan State QB transfer Payton Thorne commits to Auburn

TJ Finley has entered the transfer portal as a graduate student

Auburn football's projected 2023 depth chart

Auburn football lands App State OLB Jalen McLeod

Will Casey Thompson or Payton Thorne lead the Auburn Tigers?

Auburn basketball releases 2023-24 roster

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What Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze said about MSU transfer QB Payton Thorne

Richard Silva, Montgomery Advertiser

3–4 minutes

BIRMINGHAM — Auburn football landed its quarterback from the transfer portal Friday, as former Michigan State QB Payton Thorne committed to the Tigers after spending four seasons with the Spartans.

Thorne comes to the Plains and instantly becomes one of the more experienced quarterbacks in the SEC, as he has appeared in 29 games and completed 61% of his passes for 6,493 yards and 49 touchdowns. He coupled that production in the air with 270 rushing yards and six scores.

"His leadership, his experience, his toughness (and) his football IQ," Freeze said at the Regions Tradition Golf Tournament in Birmingham on Wednesday when asked what drew him to Thorne. "I just think he has won football games in a very good conference and I think it elevates that room.

TRANSFER PORTAL: Final 3 positions of need for Auburn football as summer approaches

TIGERS: 'I know it can win': Why Hugh Freeze leads recruiting strategy with Auburn football

"I've said it's all about competition, and again, I want to say: I'm excited about Robby (Ashford). I'm excited about Holden Geriner. I look forward to that competition that's going to make us all better if handled the right way. I think it definitely improved us."

Adding Thorne isn't Freeze's first time bringing in a quarterback from the transfer portal. He enjoyed success during his tenure Ole Miss with portal QBs Chad Kelly and Bo Wallace, along with former Auburn quarterback Malik Willis at Liberty.

"I give a lot of that credit to the people who have helped me coach them like Dan Werner and (special assistant to the head coach) Kent Austin," Freeze said. "(Offensive coordinator) Philip Montgomery joins that crew. I think that I've got some of the best quarterback coaches in the country that are with me. I think I have a pretty good feel of how to get a kid ready and what he can do, and then kind of playing to those strengths.

"We've had success with that. And now you're getting one that's probably more proven than any I've had before. Again, I thought Robby and Holden really improved this spring. So, looking forward to that."

After Thorne announced his commitment to the Tigers, Ashford, who is the incumbent starter from last season, put out a tweet that said, "Let's work. Iron sharpens iron!! War Eagle."

"It's an unrealistic expectation if you think you're not going to have four quarterbacks," Freeze said. "Obviously, with TJ (Finley) leaving, we had to get another one. I'm not going to go into the season (with less than four QBs), nor will I next year or the year after. We're going to sign four quarterbacks and every single year it's going to be a competition. ... I don't think we're the only team that's taking quarterbacks or receivers or O-line. You've got to grow up. ...

"I thought Robby handled it well. But I think sometimes the narrative that is created is, 'Oh God, they took somebody else.' Yeah, we're going to do that every year. So is everybody else."

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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Bo Jackson says he’s been suffering from hiccups for nearly a year

Updated: May. 10, 2023, 9:22 a.m.|Published: May. 10, 2023, 9:19 a.m.

3–4 minutes

Bo Jackson, shown here at a Chicago White Sox game in 2020, said Wednesday he's been dealing with chronic hiccups for nearly a year. (Photo by Brian Kersey/Getty Images)Getty Images

By

Creg Stephenson | cstephenson@al.com

Auburn legend Bo Jackson said Wednesday his absence from the dedication of the Frank Thomas statue outside Plainsman Park during A-Day festivities last month was because he’s been dealing with an unusual medical condition.

Appearing on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” on Birmingham’s WJOX-FM, Jackson said he’s been suffering from chronic hiccups for nearly a year. The former two-sport star and superstar Nike pitchman — who now makes his home in the Chicago area — was in town to play in the Regions Tradition Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament at Greystone.

“I wasn’t there (at the Thomas ceremony) because of dealing with hiccups,” Jackson said. “I’ve had the hiccups since last July. I’m getting a medical procedure done the end of this week, I think, to try to remedy it. I’ve been busy sitting at the doctor’s poking me, shining lights down my throat, probing me every way they can to find out why I’ve got these hiccups. That’s the only reason I wasn’t there.”

Thomas played baseball at Auburn from 1987-89 and also spent a year on the football team, narrowly missing being teammates with Jackson in both sports (they were later teammates professionally with the Chicago White Sox in the early 1990s, however). Known as “The Big Hurt,” Thomas played 19 major-league seasons and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.

Asked if doctors have figured out a cause of or a solution to his hiccups problem, the 60-year-old Jackson responded “hell, no.”

“I have done everything — scare me, hang upside down, drink water, smell the ass of a porcupine,” Jackson said, “it doesn’t work.”

Jackson made his annual visit to the Regions Tradition Pro-Am, where he played as part of a group with American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, former R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills and Champions Tour pro Scott McCarron. He was joined in his WJOX interview by new Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze, who played in a group with PGA legend Ernie Els, among others.

Though he’s regarded as one of the greatest all-around athletes in history, golf remains one game Jackson hasn’t mastered. But he’s OK with that, he said, given that he hasn’t practiced it as much as at least one other pastime for which he was notorious as a young boy.

“The golf game sucks as usual,” Jackson said. “It ain’t nothing to brag about.

“… Put it to you this way, if golf was throwing rocks, I’d be the baddest man on the planet. I’d be the baddest man on the planet. But I quit throwing rocks because I got in too much trouble. If I play too much golf, I’m gonna get in trouble. So just every now and then, someone will call me ‘hey, you want to play?’ So I pick up the sticks and go play.”

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“I have done everything — scare me, hang upside down, drink water, smell the ass of a porcupine,” Jackson said, “it doesn’t work.”  this is hilarious............

[TeamZero77 1,939]

3 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

Bo Jackson says he’s been suffering from hiccups for nearly a year

Updated: May. 10, 2023, 9:22 a.m.|Published: May. 10, 2023, 9:19 a.m.

3–4 minutes

Bo Jackson, shown here at a Chicago White Sox game in 2020, said Wednesday he's been dealing with chronic hiccups for nearly a year. (Photo by Brian Kersey/Getty Images)Getty Images

By

Creg Stephenson | cstephenson@al.com

Auburn legend Bo Jackson said Wednesday his absence from the dedication of the Frank Thomas statue outside Plainsman Park during A-Day festivities last month was because he’s been dealing with an unusual medical condition.

Appearing on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” on Birmingham’s WJOX-FM, Jackson said he’s been suffering from chronic hiccups for nearly a year. The former two-sport star and superstar Nike pitchman — who now makes his home in the Chicago area — was in town to play in the Regions Tradition Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament at Greystone.

“I wasn’t there (at the Thomas ceremony) because of dealing with hiccups,” Jackson said. “I’ve had the hiccups since last July. I’m getting a medical procedure done the end of this week, I think, to try to remedy it. I’ve been busy sitting at the doctor’s poking me, shining lights down my throat, probing me every way they can to find out why I’ve got these hiccups. That’s the only reason I wasn’t there.”

Thomas played baseball at Auburn from 1987-89 and also spent a year on the football team, narrowly missing being teammates with Jackson in both sports (they were later teammates professionally with the Chicago White Sox in the early 1990s, however). Known as “The Big Hurt,” Thomas played 19 major-league seasons and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.

Asked if doctors have figured out a cause of or a solution to his hiccups problem, the 60-year-old Jackson responded “hell, no.”

“I have done everything — scare me, hang upside down, drink water, smell the ass of a porcupine,” Jackson said, “it doesn’t work.”

Jackson made his annual visit to the Regions Tradition Pro-Am, where he played as part of a group with American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, former R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills and Champions Tour pro Scott McCarron. He was joined in his WJOX interview by new Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze, who played in a group with PGA legend Ernie Els, among others.

Though he’s regarded as one of the greatest all-around athletes in history, golf remains one game Jackson hasn’t mastered. But he’s OK with that, he said, given that he hasn’t practiced it as much as at least one other pastime for which he was notorious as a young boy.

“The golf game sucks as usual,” Jackson said. “It ain’t nothing to brag about.

“… Put it to you this way, if golf was throwing rocks, I’d be the baddest man on the planet. I’d be the baddest man on the planet. But I quit throwing rocks because I got in too much trouble. If I play too much golf, I’m gonna get in trouble. So just every now and then, someone will call me ‘hey, you want to play?’ So I pick up the sticks and go play.”

If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.

 

“I have done everything — scare me, hang upside down, drink water, smell the ass of a porcupine,” Jackson said, “it doesn’t work.”  this is hilarious............

Frank Thomas is the only SEC baseball player to ever be inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

I'm sure most of you knew that but I just wanted to put it out there for those that didn't know. 

I remember tuning into WGN out of Chicago when I was younger. They aired every Cubs game, as well as White Sox. Harry Caray called the Cubs games and Ken "Hawk" Harrelson was the White Sox announcer. Ryan Sandberg, Andre Dawson and Mark Grace for the Cubs and The Big Hurt, Carlton Fisk, Ozzie Guillen and Black Jack McDowell for the White Sox!! Those were my guys from the Chicago teams. Of course, they took a big backseat to my Atlanta Braves!!!! 

Damn I miss those days!!!!

Edited May 10, 2023 by TeamZero77

[TigerPAC 1,021]

8 minutes ago, TeamZero77 said:

Frank Thomas is the only SEC baseball player to ever be inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

I'm sure most of you knew that but I just wanted to put it out there for those that didn't know. 

I remember tuning into WGN out of Chicago when I was younger. They aired every Cubs game, as well as White Sox. Harry Caray called the Cubs games and Ken "Hawk" Harrelson was the White Sox announcer. Ryan Sandberg, Andre Dawson and Mark Grace for the Cubs and The Big Hurt, Carlton Fisk, Ozzie Guillen and Black Jack McDowell for the White Sox!! Those were my guys from the Chicago teams. Of course, they took a big backseat to my Atlanta Braves!!!! 

Damn I miss those days!!!!

you can put it on the board, yes!

[TeamZero77 1,939]

Just now, TigerPAC said:

you can put it on the board, yes!

I loved The Hawk!!! He now claims that the White Sox front office forced him to retire. It ended pretty dirty between him and the franchise.