7.15.23 Football Articles

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

Keldric Faulk named an impact freshman by On3

JD McCarthy

1–2 minutes

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Keldric Faulk was the prize jewel of Auburn’s 2023 recruiting class and is poised to make an immediate impact according to On3’s Matt Zenitz.

Zenitz released his list of 20 SEC freshmen positioned to be factors in 2023, and Faulk made the cut. He was the only Tiger to make the list although Zenitz did mention offensive lineman Connor Lew and cornerback Kayin Lee as spring standouts.

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Faulk was Auburn’s highest-rated signee, checking in as the No. 64 overall player in the country and the No. 10 defensive lineman in theOn3 Industry Ranking. The Highland Home product was also the No. 9 player in Alabama.

He is already in the mix for a starting job at jack linebacker and has the ability and the work ethic to be an immediate contributor to Auburn’s defense as he continues to develop and work to reach his sky-high potential.

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 JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15

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al.com

 

Year 1 on The Plains: Meet Auburn transfer wide receiver Nick Mardner

Published: Jul. 15, 2023, 6:30 a.m.

~3 minutes

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AUBURN, AL - March 29, 2023 - Auburn Wide Receiver Nick Mardner (#8) during spring practice at the Woltosz Football Performance Center in Auburn, AL. Photo by Austin PerrymanAuburn University Athletics

A new coach at Auburn meant significant roster turnover would surely follow. Before Hugh Freeze’s team lines up for fall practices in a few weeks, his roster has more than three dozen new faces, including more than 20 transfers. In his first offseason back in the SEC, Freeze took advantage of the new landscape the transfer portal has made for college football to reshape the Tigers. Auburn brought in the fifth-ranked transfer class, according to 247Sports, and led the nation with 11 four-star rated transfers.

Here’s a look at one of them…

No. 8 Nick Mardner, wide receiver

Hometown: Oakville, Ontario

Previous University: Cincinnati

Height: 6-foot-6

Weight: 206

A look back at the past: Auburn will be Mardner’s third collegiate stop. He started at Hawaii in 2019, but didn’t produce any significant numbers until the 2021 season, by far the best year of his college career. That year, he caught 46 passes for 913 yards and five touchdowns. And his wide receivers coach at Hawaii in 2021? Marcus Davis, the former Auburn wide receiver who now coaches that same position group on The Plains. Davis was only at Hawaii for one season before going to Georgia Southern. After Davis left, Mardner did too, transferring to Cincinnati. His numbers declined with the Bearcats, with only 19 receptions and 218 yards across 12 games in 2022.

2023 roster outlook: The fit here is clear: wide receiver reunites with coach who helped produce his most successful season. Mardner is Auburn’s tallest wide receiver by at least two inches over anyone else in the position group. The Tigers’ wide receiver struggles last season are well known: Auburn only returns three players who had more than 200 receiving yards last season and one of them was running back Jarquez Hunter. Because of his size, Mardner could make an impact around the endzone and on third downs. Marder is unlikely to be a starter, but will probably see the field in situational roles. Regardless, in one of Auburn’s position groups with the most turnover from last season, someone has to step up.

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auburntigers.com

 

Meet the Coaches: Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts

Auburn University Athletics

4–6 minutes

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AUBURN, Ala. – A college head coach for 11 seasons, Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts knows firsthand the value of loyal lieutenants.

“There are things you want to keep off the head coach’s desk,” Roberts said. “He’s got a lot of his own things to be concerned with. If anything, you’re trying to make his job easier.”

Roberts’ teams at Delta State and Southeastern Louisiana won six conference championships in 11 seasons from 2007-17.

“The value of having head coaching experience means you understand that when things happen, you [assistant coaches] may not know all the reasons why,” said Roberts, the Gulf South Coach of the Year at Delta State in 2007 and 2008. “He does, so just listen and do your job.”

Roberts came to the Plains in December, joining Hugh Freeze’s first Auburn staff after three seasons coordinating the defense at Baylor. 

In his fourth decade of coaching football, the former Tennessee-Martin linebacker started as a high school coach in Tennessee and California in the early 1990s and earned his head coaching opportunity after serving as a defensive coordinator at four college programs.

“I knew by the time I was 10 or 12 I wanted to be a football coach,” Roberts said. “I love the game and I wanted to be part of it.

“My high school and college coaches made an impact on my life. I started out as a high school coach because I wanted to impact young men and be a positive influence on their lives.

“I love it. The interaction with the players on a day-to-day basis. It’s always something different, it’s always something new. That keeps you young. It’s never the same thing year to year. The game changes year to year. It’s an ever-evolving process.”

In the era of tempo offenses and run-pass options, Roberts seeks to stay one step ahead of each innovation, while relying on the things that have won football games since the days of leather helmets.

“You’re still going to win on fundamentals and techniques,” Roberts said. “It’s still big. No matter what you do it out of, it’s going to come down to fundamentals, techniques and effort you play the game with.

“No matter what you do and how complicated the schemes get, and things you have to evolve to, you can’t get away from those basic foundations that are going to allow you to win.”

When Auburn fans fill Jordan-Hare Stadium this season, beginning with Kickoff on The Plains Sept. 2 at 2:30 p.m. CT vs. Massachusetts, Roberts wants them to witness the Tigers’ effort and enthusiasm.

“No. 1, I want them to see when they turn the film on or people come watch us play, that they can see the passion we have for the game in the way we play it,” he said. “That needs to be evident, and it needs to stick out.”

While focusing on the 2023 season, Roberts and his fellow assistant coaches are constantly recruiting prospective student-athletes who will arrive in 2024 and beyond, preparing players for success in every area of their lives.

“It goes back to Coach Freeze. We’re going to do it in a family atmosphere,” Roberts said. “You’ve got to do your job in a way that they know you care about them and you’re looking out for their best interest.”

The parents of three adult children, Ron and Didi Roberts are now centrally located between their oldest son, Reed, the assistant strength coach at Georgia State, daughter Reilly, a nurse in Louisiana, and youngest son, Ryan, a quarterback at McNeese State in Louisiana.

“Great community, great place for recruiting. It’s a great town and my wife and I love it,” he said. “The people have been outstanding and that’s always what’s going to make a place. It’s not really the environment, it’s the people and the culture.”

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer

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not much this morning guys.............as per normal i will check back later.thanx for stopping by.

Edited July 15, 2023 by aubiefifty

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Jordan Hare at Night

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[AUGoo 2,703]

9 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

 

Makes it look easy.

Effortless