7.17.23 Football Articles

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

Where does Brian Battie rank among 'exciting' transfer players?

Taylor Jones

~2 minutes

Running back Brian Battie had an exciting career at USF, and he hopes to continue that trend at his new home on the Plains.

Battie rushed for 1,841 yards and 10 touchdowns during his three-year stay at South Florida. Most of those yards came last season when he recorded 175 carries for 1,185 yards and eight scores.

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The fun does not stop there, as Battie is just as dangerous in the return game. Over the last three seasons, Battie has accounted for 1,427 return yards.

It is easy to see why Battie is a notable addition to the Tigers’ roster, and one college football analyst is excited to watch him play this fall.

Joe Vitale of Athlon Sports compiled a list of ten SEC transfer players that he is excited to watch this fall. Battie checks in at No. 6 on the list due to his versatility.

Battie ran for 1,186 yards at USF last year and can be a stud kick returner if Auburn chooses to use him as such. The 5-foot-7, 170-pound Battie took three kickoff returns to the house during his sophomore year alone in 2021.

Several incoming transfers that made the cut include Dominic Lovett (Missouri to Georgia), Trey Knox (Arkansas to South Carolina), and Devin Leary (NC State to Kentucky).

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al.com

 

Year 1 on The Plains: Meet Auburn transfer linebacker Austin Keys

Published: Jul. 16, 2023, 8:00 a.m.

3–4 minutes

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AUBURN, AL - March 01, 2023 - Auburn Linebacker Austin Keys (#12) during spring practice at the Woltosz Football Performance Center in Auburn, AL. Photo by Declan GreeneAuburn 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…

Mississippi linebacker Austin Keys (11) waits for a play during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Kentucky in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Thomas Graning)AP

No. 12 Austin Keys, linebacker, junior

Hometown: Taylorsville, Mississippi (Seminary High School)

Previous Institution: Ole Miss

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 233

A look back at the past: Of all the transfers on Auburn’s roster, very few can even come close to matching the SEC experience Keys already has. Keys started five games for Ole Miss last season and had a total of 402 snaps. He had 39 total tackles, 3.5 for loss and two sacks. He also had a forced fumble and had a fumble recovery. Though, last season was by far the best and featuring the most game action of his college career. Keys redshirted in the 2020 season -- effectively at least, since that year didn’t count toward player eligibility. In 2021, he played in four games and had five total tackles.

“He’s got the SEC experience,” Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts said during spring practices. “He’s big. He’s physical. He runs exceptionally well. He’s intelligent. He’s very smart. He’s picked things up really fast.”

2023 roster outlook: Across the many season preview magazines, Keys is widely expected to start this fall. And that makes a lot of sense. Former Auburn linebacker Owen Pappoe is now in the NFL. He was Auburn’s most productive and most experienced linebacker last season. Auburn recruited linebackers heavily in the transfer portal this offseason as a result, and Keys may be the biggest name of the bunch now on campus. He certainly seems in line to make an immediate impact in the middle of Auburn’s defense. Returning linebackers Cam Riley and Wesley Steiner don’t have a significant head start on Keys either, despite their longer time on the The Plains, as they too have to learn a new scheme in Roberts defense. Finding someone who can be a vocal leader and production leader in the middle of the field is key in Roberts’ defense which focuses first on shutting down the run. It seems Auburn expects Keys to be that guy.

“Austin Keys has been everything I thought he’d be,” Auburn linebackers coach Josh Aldridge said in spring practices. “He’s got to clean some detail stuff up. But I think we definitely did not miss on him by any means.”

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

SEC recruiting rankings following Jayln Crawford's commitment to Auburn

Taylor Jones

5–6 minutes

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Auburn has, without a doubt, become relevant again in the recruiting scene.

Over the last two weeks, Hugh Freeze has reeled in three more commitments for the 2024 cycle. Most recently, four-star cornerback Jayln Crawford joined the group as he selected Auburn over Florida and LSU.

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How has his commitment affected Auburn’s place in the rankings? Since July 4, Auburn has jumped 11 spaces in the overall rankings, and has moved up one spot in the SEC rankings.

Auburn’s SEC placement is a little lower than most fans would like to see, and it is all about “quantity over quality.” Crawford became Auburn’s sixth four-star commit of the cycle, which is impressive. However, Auburn only has 11 commits for the 2024 cycle, which is tied with Missouri for the fewest within the SEC.

The addition of several quality commits will boost the Tigers even more, and are in a great condition to make that happen.

Here’s a look at where Auburn stands in 247Sports’ recruiting rankings following the commitment of Jayln Crawford.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 57	11	0	2	8	148.0	James Madison II (4-star WR)

Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 44	14	0	3	10	183.25	Cutter Boley (4-star QB)

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 37	11	0	9	2	191.6	Walker White (4-star QB)

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 34	21	0	2	19	199.14	Dontae Carter (3-star S)

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 28	16	0	5	11	206.5	JJ Harrell (4-star WR)

Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 26	13	0	8	5	209.07	Zion Kearney (4-star WR)

For more Oklahoma football news, visit Sooners Wire.

Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 25	17	0	3	14	210.25	Kamron Beavers (4-star DL)

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 21	13	0	8	5	215.45	Josiah Thompson (4-star OT)

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 20	14	0	8	6	218.76	Jerrick Gibson (4-star RB)

For more Texas football news, visit Longhorns Wire.

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 17	16	0	9	7	229.25	Selmon  Bridges (4-star CB)

For more Arkansas football news, visit Razorbacks Wire.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 15	16	0	11	5	236.43	Jake Merklinger (4-star QB)

For more Tennessee football news, visit Vols Wire.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 13	18	0	13	5	238.73	Trey’Dez Green (4-star TE)

For more LSU football news, visit LSU Tigers Wire.

Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 8	18	1	15	2	252.94	Cam Coleman (5-star WR)

For more Texas A&M football news, visit Aggies Wire.

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 5	14	3	8	3	256.53	Julian Sayan (5-star QB)

For more Alabama football news, visit Roll Tide Wire.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 3	20	2	11	7	275.19	DJ Lagway (4-star QB)

For more Florida football news, visit Gators Wire.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

National Ranking	No. of commits	5-stars	4-stars	3-stars	247Sports points	Top recruit
No. 1	26	3	17	6	311.68	Dylan Raiola (5-star QB)

For more Georgia football news, visit UGA Wire.

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