8.11.23 Football Articles

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si.com

 

These Auburn offensive players could show out during Saturday's fall camp scrimmage

Andrew Stefaniak

3–4 minutes

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Auburn has a scrimmage on Saturday, so I am curious about who will perform well on the offensive side of the ball.

We have seen the same offensive line throughout all of the media viewing periods, so you have to feel pretty good about the coaching staff's views on this position group. 

We will want to pay attention to the wide receivers as there are so many transfers trying to prove why they should be the guy. 

It will be a blast to see which quarterbacks perform well in the scrimmage. 

Will Payton Thorne separate himself, or will Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner get back in this race? 

Let's take a look at who the Auburn Daily Staff believes will show out for the offense at this scrimmage. 

Zac Blackerby

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Payton Thorne

Rivaldo Fairweather

Gunner Britton/Dillon Wade

Andrew Stefaniak

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Jyaire Shorter

Shane Hooks

Jeremiah Wright

Darrell Dapprich

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Brian Battie 

Payton Thorne 

Camden Brown

Lance Dawe

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Shane Hooks

Rivaldo Fairweather 

Dillon Wade

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Here is the entire schedule for fall camp:

Thurs, Aug 3 8:30 a.m. – Coach Hugh Freeze press conference (Woltosz multipurpose room)

9:30 a.m. – Practice starts – media viewing window time TBA (individual drill periods)

Fri, Aug 4 9:30 a.m. – Practice starts – media viewing window time TBA (individual drill periods)

11:30 a.m. – Player interviews (Woltosz multipurpose room)

Sat, Aug 5 – No practice

Sun, Aug 6 9:30 a.m. – Practice – no media

Mon, Aug 7 11:30 a.m. – Coordinator interviews after practice (Woltosz multipurpose room)

Tues, Aug 8 9:30 a.m. – Practice starts – media viewing window time TBA (individual drill periods)

11:30 a.m. – Player interviews (Woltosz multipurpose room)

Weds, Aug 9 – No practice

Thurs, Aug 10 9:30 a.m. – Practice starts – media viewing window time TBA (individual drill periods)

11:30 a.m. – Defensive assistant coach interviews/not Coach Roberts (Woltosz multipurpose room)

Fri, Aug 11 11:30 a.m. – Player interviews (Woltosz multipurpose room)

Sat, Aug 12 9:20 a.m. – Scrimmage at stadium – media can view individual drill periods (time TBA)

11:30 a.m. – Coach Hugh Freeze interview (Jordan-Hare Stadium media room)

Sun, Aug 13 – No practice

Mon, Aug 14 11:30 a.m. – Player interviews (Woltosz multipurpose room)

Tues, Aug 15 9:30 a.m. – Practice starts – media viewing window time TBA (individual drill periods)

11:30 a.m. – Offensive assistant coach interviews/not Coach Montgomery (Woltosz multipurpose room)

Weds, Aug 16 – No practice – first day of class

Thurs, Aug 17 4:00 p.m. – Coach Hugh Freeze press conference (Woltosz multipurpose room)

5:00 p.m. – Practice starts – media viewing window time TBA (individual drill periods)

Fri, Aug 18 4:10 p.m. – Practice – no media

Sat, Aug 19 9:50 a.m. – Scrimmage at stadium – no media viewing

11:30 a.m. – Coordinator interviews (location TBA)

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247sports.com

Versatility the key for Riley in new defensive system

Jason Caldwell

5–6 minutes

VIDEO: Analyzing 5-star Center Flory Bidunga

Auburn has a rare commodity on its defensive line entering the 2023 campaign: Its top two nose tackles were both SEC starters last season.

First-year position coach Jeremy Garrett not only inherited former Oregon transfer Jayson Jones, who started every game last year at nose, but also added Kentucky transfer Justin Rogers this offseason, after Rogers also started every game in 2022 and was highly sought after in the portal due to his talents.

Now Auburn has both, and is working to find the best game plan to utilize the combined 684 pounds for the success of its 2023 defensive front. This preseason, Jones has received the bulk of first-team work at nose tackle, but that doesn’t mean Rogers won’t have a substantial role to play in 2023.

“We can play two guys and they can rotate — and it’s really like we’ve got two starting noses,” Garrett said. “I don’t want the guys to care about who goes out there first because I need them all. I need the rotation. That’s the outlook.”

Many assumed Rogers, rated as one of Auburn’s top transfer additions and a former elite recruit in the 2020, would overtake the incumbent Jones for the starting role this season. And while Rogers is still with the primary defensive group this preseason, Jones made the most of his second offseason at Auburn, and has been one of the defense’s most talked-up players, even going back to the spring.

Teammates have said Jones is bigger — if that’s even possible — stronger, faster, and playing with more confidence, after he logged 28 tackles and a fumble recovery last season.

“We left the spring, and we had a plan that he and I talked about — cut it up, the good and the bad,” Garrett said of Jones’ offseason improvements. “Here’s what you did well. Here’s what you need to work on. In the summer, he just locked in and got it done. I think he’s mobile. I think he’s stronger at the point of attack. I think he’s doing a really good job. He had a great summer.”

And as Garrett alluded to back in the spring, Auburn has packages to utilize both players at the same time. Rogers, who's back from a minor shoulder injury this offseason, is quick enough to play a standard defensive tackle spot, and he has some experience doing so at Kentucky. Against heavier offensive personnel, the Tigers can try to completely clog the interior of the offensive line with both Jones and Rogers at the same time.

Those formations also allow third-year starter Marcus Harris to kick back out to defensive end, giving Auburn tons of size at the three interior positions. An aside: This preseason, Harris has moved back “where he’s best at,” according to Garrett, which is defensive tackle — a luxury he can now afford with the Tigers having sufficient options at defensive end in the form of true freshman and former top-75 overall recruit Keldric Faulk, and Maryland transfer Mosiah Nasili-Kite.

“That's a big addition because we play a lot of run-heavy teams,” Harris said of Auburn’s ability to play both Jones and Rogers together. “We’re gonna need those two guys in at the same time sometimes, so that’s a big addition. Justin, from Kentucky, and having him and Jayson on the field at the same time, I can't wait to see how that turns out in a game

If Auburn can find reliable production from its nose tackles, that also changes the calculus on passing downs. Jones or Rogers pushing the pocket back from the interior creates space for the team’s top pass-rusher, App State transfer Jalen McLeod, to accelerate off the edge. McLeod is explosive but smaller, at 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, so Garrett knows he’ll need assistance on the inside to be successful on third-and-longs.

“Now the quarterback doesn’t have room to step up,” Garrett said. “You have guys like Jalen on the edge. If that guy can’t step up, he can hit home. So it’s important to keep a guy who can press and penetrate the middle and then have guys on the edge who can get there.”

Colby Wooden was a dynamic player on Auburn’s defensive line for multiple seasons, and the nose tackle spot is just one area that will need to step up in order to offset his lost impact in 2023. But as Garrett has touched on multiple times, his primary goal is to reverse Auburn’s puzzling usage numbers on the D-line from the past couple seasons — when the coaching staff barely rotated at some of the most physically demanding spots on the team.

“We want to be by committee because you need that in the SEC,” Garrett said. “You can’t have one group out there getting beat up every game because those snaps add up.”

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al.com

How Auburn WR Camden Brown sees the QB battle so far

Published: Aug. 11, 2023, 2:50 p.m.

4–5 minutes

Auburn wide receiver Camden Brown (4) runs with the ball during first day of practices, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 in Auburn, Ala. (AL.com Photo/Stew Milne)Stew Milne

Now in the second week of preseason practices, Auburn’s quarterback competition has revealed the anticipated final three of Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne, sophomore Robby Ashford and redshirt freshman Holden Geriner.

They’ve been throwing to a constantly rotating wide receiver room and Camden Brown, who as only a sophomore is suddenly one of the most experienced receivers on Auburn’s roster, has seen what differentiates each of them.

“The quarterbacks that I’ve been seeing lately, they’ve been good, they’ve never been too high and never been too low,” Brown said. “They’ve been in the middle lately and all of them are composed and I love seeing them grow.”

Brown already has game experience with Ashford as he became the starter at the end of 2022, and has a familiarity with Geriner coming in with the same freshman class. Thorne, as he is for everyone on the roster, is a new arm for Brown to build chemistry with.

Though it’s actually Thorne’s legs that have surprised Brown the most. Brown said Thorne was faster than he expected. And because of Throne’s background as a starter in the Big Ten, Brown has seen a quarterback that is an effective communicator.

“He’s smart, he’s a smart quarterback and I don’t see why Michigan State people be sleeping on him,” Brown said. “I love him as a person as well too, he’s a good dude.”

And while Brown has been impressed by Thorne — known as a consistent passer — and his ability to run, he said he’s seen improvement from Ashford — who’s actually known for his running — in his throws.

Brown called Ashford a playmaker, and that Ashford has seemed more relaxed and comfortable than in his first year with Auburn. The playmaking ability showed itself in flashes last season. What Auburn needs to see more of for Ashford to win the job is consistent accuracy coming off a year where he completed only 49% of his passes.

In practice periods open to the media, Ashford has shown flashes of improvement in throwing, and Brown said he’s seen the same.

“His deep balls are getting very, very better,” Brown said. “He threw a corner route to (tight end Rivaldo Fairweather) and I was like, ‘Woah. That was really, really good for sure.’”

Brown and Geriner have a close relationship being in the same class. They get on each other, Brown said, when they need to play better at practice.

But what stands out to Brown is Geriner’s accuracy.

“Holden is getting better,” Brown said. “I’m talking about any ball you need, it’s there.”

In fact, Brown said all of the quarterbacks have shown an accountability level and leadership level Auburn hasn’t previously had. That came in summer workouts when there were no coaches to look to.

Working with the quarterbacks before preseason practices also meant the adjustment to Thorne’s addition was quicker, having already seen what his spirals look like, but also building chemistry with whichever quarterback ends up as the starter.

“All of them just like run to me, ‘OK, Cam you’ve got to get better at this,’ Brown said. “It’s just a step-by-step thing. Over the summer, we’ve been getting after it like every day and I feel like that’s what this offense, it helped us.”

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al.com

Remember the name: Auburn linebacker Eugene Asante turning heads at fall camp

Updated: Aug. 11, 2023, 12:45 p.m.|Published: Aug. 11, 2023, 10:16 a.m.

3–4 minutes

Auburn DC Ron Roberts discusses highly touted freshman Keldric Faulk, Tigers' veteran secondary

Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts said it himself — the Tigers’ defense is linebacker-driven. And in a perfect world, he and linebackers coach Josh Aldridge want options at that spot.

“At the same time, I’m not gonna put anyone out there that I don’t think is gonna help us,” Aldridge said. “If we’ve only got four, we’ll play with four. But I think it’ll help us win. I’d like to think we’ll have at least five, hopefully.”

Looking for depth at the position means Aldridge needed to see someone in the linebacker room step up and add competition. He found that in junior Eugene Asante, who returns to The Plains after transferring from North Carolina prior to last season.

As a sophomore last fall, Asante appeared in Auburn’s first four games of the season, but never could fully work his way into the rotation.

“I don’t want to air out anything about Eugene’s personal life, but Eugene had a tough year last year. He had a tough year,” Aldridge said. “I think he’s just cleared his head. They obviously signed him here for a reason, because they thought he was gonna be a great player. He’s just really caught on.”

In Thursday’s media viewing window, Asante was taking reps with what’s believed to be the starting defense. Together, he and Ole Miss transfer Austin Keys make up the Tigers’ pair of inside linebackers.

Coming into fall camp, Asante’s name wasn’t one you heard a lot.

Then again, the linebacker room was a “ball of clay” in the words of Aldridge. It didn’t return much production and, like the rest of the roster, there was no shortage of new faces at the linebacker spot.

And even though Asante is technically a returner, considering there wasn’t much film on him and Aldridge is in his first season at Auburn, little was known about the former 4-star prospect out of Virginia.

It was hard to not take notice of Asante’s energy, Aldridge says, along with the changes he’s made to his body. At 6-foot-1, Asante weighs in at just over 220 pounds — a bump up from his previous weight.

“He’s really what we like at a will linebacker that can cover and do multiple things. He’s not the longest guy, but he’s big enough,” Aldridge said. “He just doesn’t have a bad day in terms of his attitude, ever. He plays the next play when he screws up. I think he’s made those guys around him better. Because Eugene brings it every single day, those guys have no choice but to bring it every single day too. It has been a really good domino effect with Eugene.”

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[AUGoo 2,703]

Receivers.

Cam Brown?

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Great stuff again Fiddy. Did not get a chance yesterday. According to local radio, this mornings scrimmage will not be at JHS due to rains throughout the week. Reasoning is twofold. Damage to field and injury prevention. The scrimmage will be moved to the indoor facility.
 

Press will not have a “viewing window” due to crowd restraint being inside. Some 100 plus letterman have been invited to see the scrimmage.