5.30.23 Football Articles

[aubiefifty 18,259]

si.com

 

Auburn football top ten in blue-chip ratio for 2024 recruiting class

Lance Dawe

~2 minutes

---

The Tigers are recruiting strongly again.

The Tigers are recruiting strongly again.

Auburn football's 2024 recruiting class has garnered attention with their impressive fifth-best blue chip ratio in the country. The blue chip ratio is a metric used to measure a team's recruiting success by comparing the number of highly regarded recruits to the total number of recruits in a given class. In this case, Auburn has secured a significant portion of top-tier talent.

Per On3, the 80% of the Tigers commits are blue-chip, which isn't difficult to calculate given the fact that the class is only five players large right now.

The class features several notable recruits, including four-star players such as Walker White, J'Marion Brunette, A'Mon Lane, Jayden Lewis, and three-star tight end Martavious Collins. Auburn's class is ranked No. 32 nationally right now.

The high blue chip ratio for Auburn indicates that the program is heading back in the right direction under new head coach Hugh Freeze. The Tigers struggled to pull themselves out of the basement of the SEC for a few seasons when it came to recruiting, and if they can kick things off with a strong 2024 class, the future will be looking extremely bright.

---

[aubiefifty 18,259]

5 defensive transfers that could make the biggest impacts for Auburn football in 2023

Jerry Humphrey III, Montgomery Advertiser

Tue, May 30, 2023, 4:05 AM·3 min read

 

 

Auburn football has brought 20 transfers from the portal this offseason, with about half of them being defensive players. The Tigers have the No. 2 transfer class this year, according to 247Sports, as coach Hugh Freeze has added more experience with the recent additions.

Among SEC teams, Auburn's defense ranked 12th in points allowed and ninth in yards allowed per game in 2022. With the departures of players like Derick Hall, Colby Wooden and Owen Pappoe to the NFL, 10 newcomers will be battling for a spot on the defense this fall.

 

Here are five transfers who can make an immediate impact defensively for Auburn in 2023.

ICYMI Auburn Football: 5 offensive transfers that could make the biggest impacts for Auburn football in 2023

Transfer Portal: Auburn football lands commitment from Michigan State transfer QB Payton Thorne

LB Austin Keys (Ole Miss)

Behind transfer DeMario Tolan from LSU, Keys was the second linebacker from the portal to commit to the Tigers. After redshirting his freshman season in 2020 and suffering a knee injury the following year, Keys popped in 2022 with 39 total tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble for Ole Miss. Keys should be a prominent figure on the Auburn defense, as he was already taking first-team reps at spring practice.

Edge Elijah McAllister (Vanderbilt)

The 6-foot-6, 265-pound McAllister was the second transfer portal addition for the Tigers after he committed in December. Spending five seasons with the Commodores, McAllister compiled 65 tackles, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble, an interception and a defensive touchdown. He was also a captain in 2022. McAllister will be rejoining Auburn defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett, who coached him at Vanderbilt as a defensive quality control assistant in 2019.

DL Justin Rodgers (Kentucky)

Rodgers appeared in 13 games with the Wildcats in 2022, finishing with 35 tackles and half a sack. The former four-star prospect was once rated by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 1 player in the state of Michigan in the Class of 2020. Auburn was one of the 45 offers he received in high school before signing with Kentucky. Already having served as a defensive starter in spring practice, Rodgers could play a huge role on the Auburn defensive line.

Edge Jalen McLeod (Appalachian State)

With a defensive rating of 86.6, according to Sports Illustrated, McLeod is an exciting addition to Auburn's pass rush. In his only game against SEC competition last season, he finished with three tackles, two sacks and forced two fumbles to help Appalachian State upset Texas A&M. The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder finished 2022 with 41 tackles, six sacks, a pass deflection and forced two fumbles, while also recovering one.

LB Larry Nixon III (North Texas)

After a career year last season that earned him first team All-Conference USA honors from PFN and an appearance on Phil Steele's fourth team, Nixon finished his career at North Texas with 245 total tackles (121 solo) across 41 games from 2019-2022. He committed to the Tigers on the same day as his former North Texas teammate − wide receiver Jyaire Shorter.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: 5 defensive transfers that can make an impact for Auburn football in 2023

 

 

 

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

From Portal to Playoff: LSU, TCU, USC and... Auburn?

Matthew Redding

5–6 minutes

---

Let's wind the clocks back to 2021. For many Auburn fans, this was a strange new territory as the short-lived Harsin era was about to kick off after the days of Gus Malzahn came to a close. For Georgia and Alabama fans, this was just another season of contending for playoff berths and churning out NFL draft picks. For LSU, USC and TCU fans, this would be their final with their lame-duck head coach before bringing in the likes of Lincoln Riley, Brian Kelly and Sonny Dykes. 

Little did anyone know what would happen next. In years past, their respective rebuilds would've taken a few years to put together a decent squadron. Instead, LSU dethroned mighty Alabama for the SEC West, Heisman winner Caleb Williams took the Trojans to the Pac-12 Championship, TCU proved they could hang with anyone (not named Georgia) and all three were in Playoff contention come December. 

The secret sauce? The transfer portal. 

Scott Clause/The Daily Advertiser via AP

The great equalizers in college football, the transfer portal and NIL deals, are beginning to level the playing field between the SEC and the rest of the country (Georgia and Alabama will just be Georgia and Alabama for now) and the results have made college football more of a frenzy in the offseason. Nobody would have put money on the Horned Frogs to crash the CFP, but the defensive talents of Emani Bailey and Josh Newton weren't on campus yet. Jayden Daniels was wildly underrated as a transfer prospect, but apparently he was the last piece of another LSU championship run. We already know how Lincoln Riley cheat-coded USC's quick return to the top with Williams and Jordan Addison, but long story short, welcome to the new normal. 

Program fires previous head coach, brings in new head coach, new head coach quickly puts together a roster filled with hidden gems and plug-and-play athletes at positions at need so that the "rebuild" sets a foundation and a championship standard. 

Sound familiar? 

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

It's not as impossible as it once was. Just ask the teams mentioned above. 

One of the biggest challenges facing Auburn's new staff was the talented yet depleted roster being expected to compete in the SEC. A problem that was known nationwide, as coach Freeze only needed to verbally agree to taking the job while living in Virginia before he got started 20 minutes later calling players to come play for Auburn. 

His efforts have so far led to a bigger, beefier offensive line, several new weapons in the offense and a QB who led his team to a New Years 6 Bowl. The additions of linebacker Larry Nixon III and wideout Jyaire Shorter are the cherry on top of a strong transfer class, ranking in the top 3 according to On3. The 5-7 record last year however is keeping the college football world skeptical, which is fair, but did a 5-7 record matter to TCU when 2022 began?

Vegas betting odds over at Fanduel put Auburn's win total at 6.5 games for 2023, and that number remains even after the addition of quarterback Peyton Thorne. I'm not a betting man myself, but if you want to make some easy money I'd be willing to bet Auburn exceeds a few expectations from our friends in Sin City. 

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE NUMBERS as I mentioned in my previous article looking at Peyton Thorne's commitment further backs up the idea that Auburn could be a sleeper in the West. The Hugh Freeze offense averages 250 passing yards per game, which is what Thorne's average was when he had a strong backfield to support him, and would automatically move Auburn into the upper half of SEC passing play last season. 

Keep in mind, not even Georgia and Alabama have a proven QB on their roster. Even Robby Ashford had more upside than anyone else in their room just because of experience, and the only schools that boast NFL-caliber signal callers are LSU, Tennessee and South Carolina (I would throw MSU's Will Rogers in there, but he's learning a new offense, so we'll have to see).

Call me a homer, call me biased, but the numbers and histories point towards a much better season than expected. 8-9 wins could be considered the floor thanks to all the recent additions Freeze and Co. have made. 

And for the record, the last three quarterbacks to win Auburn the West were won with transfer quarterbacks.

[aubiefifty 18,259]

auburnwire.usatoday.com

Three-Star defensive lineman Sean Sevillano lists Auburn among finalists

Daniel Locke

~2 minutes

Sean Sevillano, a three-star defensive line target with Auburn included in his final four choices, has set his commitment date for Friday, June 2 at 11:00 a.m. CT.

Aside from Auburn, Sevillano’s final contenders are Notre Dame, Ohio State and Miami.

Buy Tigers Tickets

In a 247Sports article written by Tom Loy, Sevillano discussed each of his options.

“Fantastic people,” Sevillano said about Auburn. “With the new staff, I would be a part of building Auburn back to what it used to be.”

According to 247Sports, the three-star defensive lineman has a composite rating of 0.8644. The Clearwater, Florida native is the No. 913 ranked player in the class of 2024, the No. 87 ranked defensive lineman and the No. 125 ranked player in the state of Florida.

If Sevillano chooses Auburn, he would be the sixth player to join the Tigers’ 2024 recruiting class as well as the first defensive lineman, the second three-star recruit, and the first player from the state of Florida to do so.

The 6-foot-2, 300-pounder has received three crystal ball predictions from 247Sports, each of which is projecting him to pick Notre Dame.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Daniel on Twitter @Danie

[aubiefifty 18,259]

al.com

 

SEC commish lends insight into football scheduling debate

Updated: May. 29, 2023, 8:36 p.m.|Published: May. 29, 2023, 7:42 p.m.

5–6 minutes

---

Ever careful with his words, Greg Sankey on the eve of a consequential SEC spring meeting toed the line Monday night on the hot topic of the week.

Meeting with a small group of reporters in the Destin hotel hosting the event, the league commissioner listed pros and cons of what could be a heated debate over playing eight or nine league football games beginning in 2024. That comes in the shadow of reporting from Sports Illustrated that involved a stop-gap measure that could push the long-delayed decision further down the road.

“We’re poised to make a decision,” Sankey said, “but time is still an asset.”

Sankey didn’t necessarily rule out a one-year eight-game schedule in 2024 as reported by SI on Monday but said they’d prefer to gavel this discussion closed after years of indecision.

“A league at the forefront of college athletics doesn’t stand still,” Sankey said. “And this is a league at the forefront of college athletics. Whether changes happen immediately is part of the careful consideration and the deep consideration. You can make arguments around both.”

Regardless, the scheduling process will be evolving with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma after this coming season, it’s just a matter of how different things will look. The current eight-game model allows every league team to face the full roster of schools in a two-year window but cut out a few core rivalry games to achieve that.

The nine-game model includes three fixed annual games with a rotation of six others -- keeping annual rivalries like Alabama-Tennessee and Auburn-Georgia intact. The eight-game model would have those games every other year with each team hosting once every four years.

But after sounding certain of this process reaching a conclusion when addressing reporters in March the SEC basketball tournament, Sankey was less certain this would be resolved by the end of the week. He noted the onboarding process during expansions in 1992 and 2012 wasn’t always smooth in terms of scheduling format.

“I don’t have a lot of angst that we have to decide,” Sankey said. “I would prefer to not continue to circle the airport with the airplane. I’d prefer to land it.”

As discussed in the SI piece, among the issues causing hesitancy with adding a ninth game are concerns with the new TV deal set to begin with ESPN in 2024. Would there be more money in the pot given the higher inventory of SEC game? That remains to be seen and could be a sticking point for those resistant to change.

While Sankey said that money wouldn’t be the primary driver of that decision-making process, he also noted there’d be more revenue from sources other than TV. Ticket income, for example, spikes from intra-conference games instead of contract games with non-Power 5 competition.

Considerations of balance and equity -- harder to define parameters -- have been part of the discussion.

“The more you play,” Sankey said, “the more equitable the conference schedule is. So if you played that out to all 12 games, your champion versus your ninth-place team or 16th-place team would have had a very narrow band of competitive disparity.”

Asked to clarify if he meant that a nine-game schedule would equate to more fairness, the commissioner’s reply was brief.

“Yes,” Sankey said.

Was that necessarily his preference? No.

“I think it would be disrespectful of me to give that information to you right now when I’m obligated to members who have to make a decision,” he said. “They’d rightfully be angry with me.”

That said, he wouldn’t be shy when it came time for the 16 university presidents to vote.

“I’ve allowed intentionally the conversation to play out without taking a position,” Sankey said. “I have made clear what I think should eventually happen inside the room.”

He cited the decision-rich summer of 2020 as an example of when he stepped in and made his position known when the league was discussing logistical elements of a football season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

It would take a simple majority of votes from SEC presidents for any model to pass when it comes time to vote and there have been close ballots before. New rules on intra-conference transfers, for example, ended with an 8-6 vote a few years back.

Now there are 16 perspectives and agendas in play. Resolution appeared to be on the horizon last year in Destin, now a year later, nothing is certain when the conference rooms at the gulf-side resort open for what could be an eventful debate.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[toddc 13,197]

On3 Roundtable: Auburn QB1 will be Payton Thorne, intrigue surrounds role of Robby Ashford

Griffin McVeigh

On3.com

Hugh Freeze knew pretty quickly Auburnneeded an upgrade at the quarterback position. After attempting in the winter, Freeze took full advantage post-spring to add someone via the NCAA transfer portal. Michigan State‘s Payton Thorne has since entered the program and is already viewed as the Tigers’ starting QB.

Robby Ashford performed well for Auburn at the end of last season but the choice is clear to Auburn Live’s Justin Hokanson. He joined the On3 Roundtable signing the praises of Thorne, liking what he brings to the table next season compared to Ashford.

“I think it’s Payton Thorne’s job,” Hokanson said. “I don’t want to be like ‘done deal, guarantee it.’ You’ve got to go compete, got to go do the thing but barring something very unseen, very surprising — it’s going to be Payton Thorne’s job. He was brought in for a reason. 

“He’s the most polished quarterback, most experienced quarterback, and he’s the best quarterback they’re going to have on that roster in terms on throwing the football, reading defenses, managing a team. Everything you need to do as a quarterback. So, he’s going to be the guy.”

Thorne played in 12 games last season in East Lansing, having a completion percentage of 62.5% while throwing for 2,679 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Those might not be eye-popping numbers for a significant transfer portal quarterback. But based on what was on Auburn’s roster, Freeze has undoubtedly secured an upgrade.

Robby Ashford responding well, potentially carving out a role

Shortly after Thorne’s commitment to Auburn became publicized, Ashford took to Twitter to give out his reaction. 

Hokanson and J.D. PicKell liked the response from Ashford, showing maturity on a public platform. If there are any hard feelings on the move, they were impressed Ashford was able to keep them private and have the mindset of competing moving forward.

“Even if Robby is pissed, he said the right thing publicly,” Hokanson said. “Which is what you’re supposed to do and then go compete.”

There could still be a role for Ashford under Freeze. He proved to be useful to Carnell Williams when running the ball, especially in the Iron Bowl against Alabama. If Freeze wanted to design a few packages for Ashford, the opportunity will be there.

“Will Robby have a third down role? Will he have a short-yardage role? Will he have a red zone role? Or will it be Payton Thorne’s show full-on? And Robby won’t have a role? That’s my question,” Hokanson said. “What will the role be for Robby?”

Ashford rushed for 710 yards and seven touchdowns on 153 attempts last season. He really stood out in Tuscaloosa despite the losing effort, dropping 121 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the Crimson Tide.

[AUwent 3,837]

10 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

 

I'm for 9 games, but I'm glad to see others in our fandom who think our schedule has put us at a disadvantage over the last decade.