8.21.23 Football Articles

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247sports.com

After Freeze's challenge, veteran Auburn DBs 'flipped the switch' at the right time

Nathan King

11–13 minutes

“If you can call your best players out and they respond well, that sure helps you as a coach with everybody else."

It’s been a couple weeks since Hugh Freeze issued a challenge to his main defensive back rotation, which serves as likely the best overall position group on the roster.

“I think we've got to improve our mental toughness and our attention to detail in the secondary,” Freeze said the morning Auburn opened preseason camp in early August. “I do think we have some talent there, but it's some older talent, and then it's some really good young talent. I don't think any have been stressed and strained enough to where we need to be.”

Auburn’s veterans in the secondary proceeded to agree with Freeze in the following weeks. They knew they needed to be questioned and doubted, just like any other group on the team, regardless of how much talent and production they return from last season.

There were days they didn’t rise to the challenge in practice. And there have been days they’ve flashed the potential of being one of the best crops of defensive backs in the SEC.

Recently, as the season rapidly approaches, Freeze has seen more of the latter.

In the team’s second and final preseason scrimmage Saturday morning, starting cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett’s interception of Payton Thorne served as a highlight for an experienced room that the coaching staff has seen elevate their performance — after they would be the first to admit they weren’t always on top of their game.

“I think D.J. (James) and Pritchett are practicing at a higher level,” Freeze said after the scrimmage. “And, you know, it’s really easy if you think you’re the guy — which they are. It’s really easy to coast, and I thought they coasted some the first week — and I thought they turned it on this week and practiced like they should be. I mean, both of those have the potential to be All-SEC type players, whether it’s first team, second team, whatever. So practice like it.”

That obviously extends to the rest of the secondary, where Auburn has placed lofty expectations after bringing back every starter from a group that finished last season tied for No. 4 in the SEC in yards per attempt allowed, and top 25 nationally in opposing quarterback rating.

It’s a new system and coaching staff, sure — save for retained safeties coach Zac Etheridge — but the Tigers knew from the early stages of the offseason they’d have to rely heavily on their veterans in the secondary to produce well in 2023, particularly with a handful of new faces along the front seven on defense.

And the group seemingly surged at the right time — into the conclusion of preseason camp, which ended with the final scrimmage. In addition to a pass breakup by safety Jaylin Simpson in the scrimmage that prevented a long gain to receiver Shane Hooks — a couple days after Simpson had a thrilling breakup against tight end Rivaldo Fairweather on fourth-and-goal to end Thursday’s practice — Freeze said the defensive backs were much more efficient tacklers Saturday as compared to the first scrimmage, when that was one of the main issues from both coaches and the players exiting the day.

“If you can call your best players out and they respond well, that sure helps you as a coach with everybody else,” Freeze said. “And so I thought they kind of flipped the switch a little bit and had a better week, which kind of translated to (Simpson). And Keionte (Scott), you always get a lot out of him. And (Zion) Puckett, you know, I think that’s a solid group there now.”

Freeze feels he can rest a bit easier with the secondary’s steady performances, but there are still plenty of question marks down the line in the defensive back rotations heading into a crucial next couple weeks of practice before the season opener. The first wave at corner, nickel and safety is loaded with experience, but the same can’t be said for the rest of the depth chart, which includes eight true freshmen and a JUCO addition.

“The growth really has to come on with that second team because it’s a bunch of young puppies,” Freeze said. “I think they’re going to be good, but they’re swimming a little bit with all the motions or shifts and different coverages and I really look forward to us getting a game plan in where we see, all right, they can handle this much. And we’re smart coaches if we don’t give them more than they can handle.”

Of course, the quarterback competition — which ended Thursday with Freeze tabbing Thorne the winner — is the other side of that coin in the passing game. For every impressive throw for Thorne, Robby Ashford or Holden Geriner continues to be analyzed by the coaching staff, even after the conclusion of the QB battle, there’s a defensive back on the losing end.

But right now, Freeze is pleased with the manner they’re trading punches.

“Defense played really well two days, and then offense got best of them some days, too,” Freeze said. “That’s probably the way it should be.”

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Why Hugh Freeze has been 'the practice jerk' at Auburn this preseason

"I think I’m needed to do that here. … I’m figuring out the coaches, too, and what I need to do to motivate our team."

VIDEO: How Payton Thorne won Auburn's QB job

Hugh Freeze prowled behind the defense and leaned into his headset, with a delivery comparable to “Here’s Johnny” from The Shining.

“Jyaire Shorter,” Freeze teased, dragging out the transfer wide receiver’s name. “Jyaire Shorter: Are you going to make a play today?”

A couple plays later in Thursday’s practice — which Freeze allowed media to view for nearly two hours — Freeze again tapped on his headset: “Keionte Scott: Are you going to make a tackle today? Have we decided to tackle today?”

Freeze is, by all accounts, a nice guy. And his new players have gravitated toward that warm and welcoming personality. But at a certain point this preseason, Freeze sat back and tried to zoom out. What could he be doing better on the practice field every day?

Freeze has reiterated that his two coordinator hires — Philip Montgomery on offense and Ron Roberts on defense — were made not only because he thinks they can orchestrate both units successfully, but also because he trusts them to run their respective sides of the ball with efficiency during practice. That leaves Freeze more time to fill in the gaps — spaces that have mostly been occupied by phone calls to recruits, a luxury Freeze himself generated because of that confidence in his coaching staff.

But as the intensity of preseason camp ramped up — position battles reaching boiling points, lineups being trimmed down, players scrapping to earn playing time and the team overall trying to ensure it will field a quality product in just a couple weeks’ time — Freeze realized his practice role might require some alterations.

So he became an instigator. Poker of bears. A consistent voice that urges players to rise up and meet their coaches’ expectations — or the production level of their peers.

“There’s 5 (wide receiver Jay Fair) making a play,” Freeze boomed during Thursday’s practice. “Always making a play. Anyone else? Anyone else want to help out?”

It is, as Freeze admitted, out of his comfort zone to be what he calls the “practice jerk.” But it’s yielded the results he wanted — and in the process established more relationships with a crop of players who have still yet to play a game under their new head coach.

“I think every DNA of every team I’ve coached is a little different, and every staff is a little different,” Freeze said. “Truthfully, the last four years, I haven’t had to be, how should I say it, the practice jerk. But I’ve kind of found out I need to be that here, and calling people out. I like to refer to it as calling people up. But I think I’m needed to do that here. … I’m figuring out the coaches, too, and what I need to do to motivate our team. That’s probably the biggest thing. I thought we had better practices this week because I chose to take the lead on, ‘This is how we’re going to do it.’ I thought we got better.”

Media wasn’t present for Saturday’s second and final preseason scrimmage inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, but Freeze might have deployed his full repertoire of motivational tactics. After what he called an excellent week of practice, the Tigers’ overall intensity took a dip once they stepped foot in the stadium.

It’s a trend that’s starting to irritate Freeze, after last week also presented a strong run of practices before the team “melted in the heat” in the scrimmage.

“The two trips we've made into the stadium in my eyes, and maybe it's just the size of the stadium, but we seem flat,” Freeze said. “And practices this week were really, really good. Y'all got to see one, and I thought the energy was good. I didn't sense that same energy. And boy, that's got to — and maybe it changes when the stadium is full, I don't know. But when we get a chance to go in that stadium and play, there's got to be some juice. And again, maybe it's been a while since I've been in a stadium that size. But that's what kind of was on my mind.”

Maybe it’s the anticipation to play some real football soon. Maybe it’s the Guardian helmet pads that dampen the impact of clashing at the line of scrimmage; Freeze did share he asked offensive line coach Jake Thornton, ‘Dude, are we even coming off the ball?’ because the impacts are so muted.

Whatever the case, Freeze knows it needs fixed soon; in less than two weeks, the Tigers open their 2023 campaign at home against UMass (2:30 p.m. CST, ESPN).

Maybe the practice jerk will have to make some more appearances.

“I told them in the team meeting this morning, it’s now time to — whether you just got here, whether you’ve been here four years, whatever, it’s we,” Freeze said. “It ain’t no old or new. It is we. Play so well that I don’t have a choice but to acknowledge it. I think we’re still kind of — a football game to me is a bunch of individual plays that go for 65 of those or 80 of those, whatever you play on either side of the ball. It’s the combination of how well you’re able to put the last one behind you and play the next one, irregardless of how good the last one was or how bad the last one was. Do we have the ability to put that in the trash and play the next one? Teams that win most of those individual plays have probably a better chance of winning the game if turnovers and things are the same.

“I think we’re still learning to do that. There’s still some of the holdover from, ‘Well, man, we just lost 5 yards.’ Play the next play. There’s nothing we can do about that. And I don’t need to hear it. And you don’t need to talk about it. Let’s play the next one. If we talk about it, it needs to be on the sideline. That’s where all the adjustments and corrections need to be made. We don’t need to talk about it out there. I think there’s still some of that that I’ve got to get.”

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al.com

 

A-List No. 4: Foley WR aims to change landscape at Foley, Auburn

Updated: Aug. 20, 2023, 11:12 a.m.|Published: Aug. 20, 2023, 11:02 a.m.

4–5 minutes

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The A-List is AL.com’s ranking of the top 15 senior prospects in the state of Alabama. We will count down one each day until No. 1 is revealed Aug. 23.

Perry Thompson was already familiar with the attention that comes with being a consensus 5-star prospect, but he wasn’t prepared for the direct message that appeared in his social media inbox last month.

In language much too colorful to be repeated, former NFL superstar Antonio Brown wondered how Thompson could be considering a flip to Auburn after being committed to Alabama for more than a year.

The story was met with skepticism from people who wondered why a former player at Central Michigan would have any interest or knowledge about a high school receiver in Foley. But it was legitimate.

“He hit me up in my inbox after he talked to (former Alabama Heisman Trophy winner) Devonta Smith,” Thompson said. “I told him I was going to go where my heart says. He respected that.”

Thompson is the best prospect to come out of Foley High School since Julio Jones, who went to high school with Thompson’s mother, a star sprinter herself.

Much like Jones made it acceptable for an elite prospect to choose a developing program like Nick Saban’s at Alabama, Thompson could be a similar catalyst for Hugh Freeze and Auburn.

While visiting for Auburn’s Big Cat Weekend, Thompson decided to change his commitment from the Tide to the Tigers.

“I knew when I went for the visit there was about a 70 percent chance I was going to commit to Auburn. I just had to make sure I still felt the same home feeling again when I got there,” Thompson said. “It felt nice being on campus with the players, so I decided to flip.”

Thompson may be the first recruit in history to literally flip from one rival to another. His announcement was punctuated by a flip into the pool in front of coaches and other recruits. The reaction was predictable.

“Everybody went crazy,” Thompson said. “Even when I went out that night everybody on campus knew me. So, it was a great feeling.”

Before leaving for Auburn, Thompson has big goals for his senior year at Foley. The Lions’ record has improved from 2-7 to 5-5 to 7-4 and a Class 7A, Region 1 championship last season.

“Right now, what I’m concentrating on is getting everybody on the team with the same mindset and make sure we keep improving,” said Thompson, who caught 87 passes for 1,059 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior while also doubling as a defensive back. “We think this can be our best team yet.”

A-LIST NO. 4: PERRY THOMPSON, FOLEY

Position: Wide receiver

Height/weight: 6-4, 210

College status: Committed to Auburn.

Randy Kennedy’s scouting report: Perry Thompson is the best recruit to come out of Foley since Julio Jones. The comparisons are inevitable because they are both big wide receivers who play the game with passion. On the high school level, Thompson is as good as a safety as wide receiver.

THE 2024 A-LIST

No. 15: Josh Flowers, QB, Baker

No. 14: Bobby Pruitt, LB, Theodore

No. 13: JaCorey Whitted, TE, McAdory

No. 12: Kevin Riley, RB, Tuscaloosa County

No. 11: J’Marion Burnette, RB, Andalusia

No. 10: William Sanders, OL, Brookwood

No. 9: Jordan Ross, EDGE, Vestavia Hills

No. 8: Joseph Phillips, LB, Booker T. Washington

No. 7: Sterling Dixon, LB, Spanish Fort

No. 6: Isaia Faga, DL, Central-Phenix City

No. 5: Jeremiah Beaman, DL, Parker

No. 4: Perry Thompson, WR, Foley

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

Auburn offers 4-star RB committed to Penn State

JD McCarthy

~1 minute

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Four-star running back Kiandrea Barker may be committed to Penn State but Cadillac Williams and Auburn is still pursuing the 2025 prospect, extending him an offer to him Saturday.

From Beebe, Arkansas, he has been committed to the Nittany Lions since April 16 but Auburn is one of several schools that have kept up their pursuit of the 5-foot-11, 183-pounder.

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He is the No. 239 overall player and No. 23 running back in the 247Sports Composite ranking. He is also the No. 38 player from Texas.

Auburn already has one commitment in the 2025 class in four-star defensive lineman Malik Autry.

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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you good folks stay cool out there. the devil just bought an air conditioner...............

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

Auburn Tigers Snapshot Profile: No. 66 Avery Jones

JD McCarthy

3–4 minutes

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Going into the 2023 football season, Auburn Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Tigers’ roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for Hugh Freeze in his first season on the Plains.

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Up next is transfer center Avery Jones. The veteran has cemented himself as Auburn’s starting center and will look to lead an offensive line that has several newcomers.

Preseason Player Profile

Hometown: Havelock, North Carolina

Height: 6-4

Weight: 307

Previous School: East Carolina (2020-22), North Carolina (2018-19)

Class in 2023: Senior

247Sports Composite Ranking

Four-Star / No. 12 in North Carolina / No. 14 OG

Career Stats

Year	G
2019 (UNC)	1
2020 (ECU)	9
2021 (ECU)	12
2022 (ECU)	12

PFF Grades

Year	Offense	Pass Blocking	Run Blocking
2019	60.0	–	60.0
2020	66.6	59.7	67.6
2021	59.6	61.2	61.3
2022	65.8	78.7	61.6

Depth Chart Overview

Jones was one of the best offensive linemen available in the transfer portal this season and was a major get for Freeze and the Tigers. He quickly locked down the starting job and is looking to be a key reason for the unit’s improvement.

With several transfers expected to start, it will be important for the room to gel and become a cohesive unit. Having a proven veteran like Jones in the middle will be critical and should help the entire offense.

 Avery Jones’ Photo Gallery

AUBURN, AL - 2023.08.03 - Football Practice

AUBURN, AL - August 03, 2023 - Auburn Offensive Lineman Avery Jones (#66) during a Fall…

AUBURN, AL - August 03, 2023 - Auburn Offensive Lineman Avery Jones (#66) during a Fall camp practice at the Woltosz Football Performance Center in Auburn, AL. Photo by Austin Perryman

AUBURN, AL - 2023.08.19 - 2023 Auburn Football Scrimmage

AUBURN, AL - August 19, 2023 - Auburn Offensive Lineman Avery Jones (66) during the Auburn…

AUBURN, AL - August 19, 2023 - Auburn Offensive Lineman Avery Jones (66) during the Auburn Football scrimmage at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, AL. Photo by Jamie Holt/Auburn Tigers

AUBURN, AL - 2023.03.29 - Spring Practice

AUBURN, AL - March 29, 2023 - Auburn Offensive Lineman Avery Jones (#66) and Offensive Lineman…

AUBURN, AL - March 29, 2023 - Auburn Offensive Lineman Avery Jones (#66) and Offensive Lineman Dillon Wade (#52) during spring practice at the Woltosz Football Performance Center in Auburn, AL. Photo by Austin Perryman

Cincinnati E Carolina Football

Cincinnati's Jowon Briggs (18) battles with East Carolina's Avery Jones (54) in front of quarterback Holton…

Cincinnati's Jowon Briggs (18) battles with East Carolina's Avery Jones (54) in front of quarterback Holton Ahlers (12) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Greenville, N.C., Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

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247sports.com

 

Jason Caldwells Monday morning quarterback column

Jason Caldwell

4–5 minutes

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The best thing that ever happened to Auburn football?

There’s no question that Bryan Harsin’s tenure at Auburn will go down as one of the worst in program history, but I contend that it also may become one of the best things to ever happen to the program because of the changes it brought on both inside and outside the new Woltosz Center.

I believe it took a mistake the magnitude of Harsin to bring the Auburn people together, both inside the athletic department and for the entire fanbase. For years, Auburn had always been the place that had a bad year or two, but would quickly rebound and make a run at a championship because of the talent level on the roster. That wasn’t going to happen this time.

This wasn’t a program under Harsin that had a one-off season and was going to come back strong. It was a program heading for the bottom of the Southeastern Conference and doing it quickly.

The first step was putting Cadillac Williams in place last season. That brought unity and pride back immediately, setting the table for Hugh Freeze and this staff to begin the rebuild. And make no mistake, this was a rebuild

I have said it many times before, this was a team headed towards a three-win season before the change was made. Since that time, Auburn has lost some players and added more than 40 to the roster. Many of those are going to play key roles this season in Freeze’s first year on the job.

And there’s still a long way to go despite adding as many as seven new starters on offense that weren’t on the team last season and another four or five on defense. 

I’m not expecting a complete 180 like we saw in 1993 and in 2013, but I expect to see a much more competitive team throughout the year than we saw a season ago. I also think we’ll see a team more capable of scoring points and being more explosive on offense. If the defense can find a few playmakers up front then it’s a team that could have a chance to surprise.

No matter how things turn out, it’s a program that is on the right track in every aspect. It has been a long time since you could say that about Auburn football. Will that be enough to get Auburn back among the elite this season? Maybe not, but I don’t think it’s too far down the road.

A Fairweather fan

That’s a term that could have a new meaning this season with FIU tight end transfer Rivaldo Fairweather a guy that everyone around the program expects big things from this season. And I’m in agreement with them after seeing more of him during our extended practice viewing last week. He’s a player that moves like a tight end, but has the receiving skills of a wide receiver. That gets thrown around a lot, but in this case I can definitely see it.

What could make him and this Auburn offense very interesting is if they can continue to run the football at a high level during the season. Because of that, you could see multiple tight ends on the field and that will force defenses to change their personnel. That means deciding if you’re going to cover Fairweather with a linebacker or use a defensive back. Either way it’s going to put the defense at a disadvantage if the Tigers can still run the ball. It should open up some big play opportunities for the former basketball player and create a new wrinkle for the Auburn offense.

Mr. Simpson

I have liked Jaylin Simpson as a safety since he made the move back there full-time. With a year to get bigger and stronger and settle in, the senior looks poised to have a strong season for the Tigers as part of a very experienced secondary. With coverage skills, he’s a guy that can help against teams that spread the field, but he’s also a smart player that is enjoying being able to see everything play out in front of him. Because of his ability to cover ground and react in the passing game, I could see Simpson being a guy that creates quite a few turnovers this fall and that would be welcome news for this team.

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247sports.com

 

Phillips Monday morning musings

Phillip Marshall

5–6 minutes

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The difficult climb to the top in the SEC

Having talented players is not that much of a challenge for SEC teams. They play in the strongest conference in the country. The Southeast is teeming with college prospects. But the problem with playing in the SEC is that, for those who are seeking championships, being good is not enough. Getting from the middle to the top can be more difficult than getting from the bottom to the middle.

I don’t believe there is a bad team in the SEC. Even Vanderbilt has taken significant strides. But going from good to being a champion is a long and hard grind. In the last 50 years, six teams have done it – Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.

Four SEC teams – Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Vanderbilt – have yet to play in the SEC Championship Game. Two others – Mississippi State and South Carolina – have played in it just once. But that doesn’t mean those teams aren’t good or haven’t been good.

Most would say Georgia and Alabama are on a different level. Some would say LSU, too. I’m not one of those. It hasn’t always been that way and won’t always be that way. But as the only SEC team that plays Georgia Alabama and LSU every season, it has made that climb difficult for Auburn.

Yet, the Tigers won the national championship 13 years ago. Ten years ago, they won the SEC championship and lost a heartbreaker in the BCS Championship Game. They have beaten Nick Saban more than any other SEC team. They were one win away from the SEC championship and a College Football berth in 2017.

So, that Auburn can get to the top is beyond debate.

Hugh Freeze’s first Auburn team will be good. That could result in a memorable season or something akin to a break-even season. That’s life in the SEC.

A terrific season wouldn’t mean the job is done. And a break-even season wouldn’t mean the job won’t be done.

Kudos to Tank Bigsby

Tank Bigsby is showing out in his first training camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars. I am not surprised. If he had played on better Auburn teams, he would have been remembered with the great running backs in Auburn history.

Sanders calls for more players to join fights

Colorado coach Deion Sanders wasn’t unhappy that he saw a fight at practice recently. He was unhappy more weren’t involved.

“He just fought. I saw two of y’all walking off over there and you got a teammate fighting,” Sanders said in a practice video. “Where they do that at?! Where they do that at?. If one fight, we all fight! You understand that? I don’t want to see y’all walking off when somebody’s fighting. Never again!”

The problem with that approach is it would seem normal to carry that mindset to the game field. That’s a good way to get players kicked out of games.

Clueless commentators

If you listen to or watch much football talk, you’ve heard it. Commentators know a lot of details about a handful of teams. They know very little about others.

In my car Friday, I heard a five-minute conversation about Auburn. The only name mentioned was quarterback Payton Thorne. One of the show’s host said Auburn would have a hard time because it had transfers who “weren’t good enough to play” where they left.

He was wrong, of course. But he didn’t know it because he didn’t know anything of substance about Auburn football. I have no doubt the same is true of others.

Stanford makes shocking offer

So desperate is Stanford that it has offered to join the ACC and take no share of media rights money. Stanford, with a $38 billion endowment, can afford to do anything it wants. Maybe that makes sense. If it happens, it will be devastating for Cal, Oregon State and Washington State and will be the final nail in the Pac-12’s coffin. But it’s every man for himself in college football these days.

Realignment a problem for spring sports

One of the more interesting facets of conference realignment is how spring sports schedules are going to work. I am certain an effort will be made to mitigate travel of thousands of miles as much as possible, but I’m not sure much is possible. It’s an unfortunate situation.

The SEC footprint is much larger than it once was, but all the SEC states are adjacent to at least one other SEC state.

NCAA powerless to control conference realignment

Those who say the NCAA should have done something to stop the craziness are just wrong. The NCAA has no authority to tell any school what conference it can join or leave. The notion of the NCAA as a dictatorial organization that can control conference movement or limit coaches’ salaries is off-base. It has no such power.

Season’s openers will bring overreaction

As I have for most of my life, I look forward to the start of college football season next Saturday. But I know what to expect. There will be immediate overreaction to whatever happens. You can count on it.

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al.com

 

Auburn's Payton Thorne called 'rare', gets high praise from NFL quarterback trainer

Published: Aug. 21, 2023, 6:00 a.m.

8–10 minutes

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It was early July when Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne last made the eastward trek to work with Will Hewlett, his personal quarterback trainer, just outside of Jacksonville, Fla.

“Hey, you’re going to jump in with this workout,” Hewlett told Thorne.

The workout in question also featured guys like San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterbacks Kyle Trask and John Wolford.

In all, there were about six or seven NFL quarterbacks working out that day, Hewlett says.

Thorne, obviously, wasn’t one of them.

“I think for him, it was the first time he was ever in that environment,” Hewlett said of Thorne.

But Auburn’s newly named starting quarterback didn’t back away from the challenge.

Instead, like a chameleon, Thorne blended right in with the likes of the professional quarterbacks he trained with.

“I think you would’ve walked away from there, if you were a casual bystander, you wouldn’t have known that he wasn’t one of the pros,” Hewlett says.

Passers like Anthony Richardson, who was the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft; Malik Willis, who was Hugh Freeze’s most successful quarterback at Liberty and is now with the Tennessee Titans; NFL veteran Matthew Stafford and the aforementioned are all guys Hewlett has had a hand in training.

“I’ve been blessed to be around a lot of great quarterbacks and a lot of great coaches through the collective,” Hewlett said. “And then I’ve been able to mix in a lot of college quarterbacks and a lot of pro quarterbacks.”

The “collective” Hewlett refers to is the QB Collective, which advertises itself as the only pro-style development pipeline for high school quarterbacks.

Mike Shanahan, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur and Mike McDaniel all serve as coaches with the collective, while Hewlett and other gurus serve as private quarterback coaches. Together, the collective has worked with players like USC’s Caleb Williams, who won the Heisman Trophy last year; Carson Beck, who was recently named Georgia’s starter for 2023; and current Chicago Bears’ quarterback Justin Fields.

The list goes on and on.

And what Auburn fans want to hear is this: Thorne isn’t an outlier. He, too, fits on that list.

“I will tell you this: Payton Thorne is one of the best — if not the best — leader that I’ve ever been around at that position,” Hewlett said.

“Just in terms of his presence, his approach, his diligence in terms of wanting to be great at the small things. Ownership on things he wasn’t so good at. He’s rare. I really mean that.”

Thorne’s leadership was one of the first things Hewlett noticed about him when the two started working together when Thorne was a redshirt freshman at Michigan State.

And if Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze were around to hear that, he’d probably say “ditto”.

Despite transferring from Michigan State in May, Freeze had to wait until the start of fall camp in August to see Thorne throw with his own two eyes.

But Freeze didn’t have to wait around to see Thorne’s leadership as it was immediately put on display when the fresh transfer asked for photos of everyone who worked in Auburn’s football facility, along with their names.

When Freeze named Thorne Auburn’s starting quarterback Thursday, he mentioned that the junior transfer had a slight edge in terms of on-field play. But that was far from the deciding factor.

“The reason Payton is getting the nod, is just the leadership ability and the understanding of the offense,” Freeze told reporters Thursday.

In a radio interview with Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic Friday, Freeze went on to say that the other guys in the huddle have a different look in their eyes when Thorne is under center. Freeze said it’s a look he can’t explain.

It likely means Thorne can pilot an offense – which is the biggest box a quarterback can check. But of course, there are others that Thorne will have to check if he wants to be successful as Auburn’s starting quarterback.

Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne (1) throws the ball during practice Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023 in Auburn, Ala. (AL.com Photo/Stew Milne)Stew Milne

When Thorne first joined forces with Hewlett, the focus was on tightening up some of his mechanics.

“It’s one of those things in high school, when you’re going to be a college quarterback, you can rely on talent,” Hewlett said. “But when you get to the next level, things have to be tightened up fundamentally and we need to get better in areas. That’s kinda where everything started.”

Prior to Thorne traveling to Texas — where Hewlett was living at the time — to train for four or five days, Hewlett had been analyzing Thorne’s film and suggesting corrective drills.

It all boiled down to making Thorne a more efficient thrower — a process that started from the bottom and worked its way up.

“He was somewhat unstable in terms of how he approached the throw,” Hewlett said. “And so we really put him in a position where he was more consistent with his feet and his lower body. And then his upper body was synced up really, really well. That kinda led up to his first year starting at Michigan State.”

Thorne was Michigan State’s starting quarterback in 2021 and 2022. He tallied 26 starts during his time in East Lansing, passing for 6,494 yards and 49 touchdowns with a 60.9% completion rating.

His campaign as a redshirt sophomore in 2021 was his best for the Spartans, throwing for 3,233 yards, 27 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Thorne also helped Michigan State navigate its way to a 11-2 record and a New Year’s Six bowl game win.

In 2022, however, Thorne saw a bit of a drop off.

“I know his last year was a tough year there. He was dealing with a lot of bumps and bruises and little injuries he had to work through,” Hewlett said. “Offensively, they lost some key weapons and they just weren’t the same team.”

So Thorne made the decision to enter the transfer portal – something Hewlett says felt mutual between Thorne and the Spartans’ program.

“I think it was mutual, they felt like change was coming,” Hewlett said. “And I don’t know necessarily that he wasn’t going to be the starter at Michigan State. But I think he just needed a fresh start and kind of a different environment.”

Thorne entered the transfer portal on April 30.

Five days later, he announced his intentions to join the Tigers on The Plains – a move Hewlett says Thorne made “100% on his own”.

Selfishly, having Thorne closer to Jacksonville, paired with the fact that he’s got plenty of friends who are Auburn fans, Hewlett is happy Auburn was the transfer destination.

But Hewlett knows being with the Tigers will benefit Thorne leaps and bounds, too.

“I was excited for him to come south,” Hewlett said. “Just a fresh start and the SEC is a fantastic proving ground for quarterbacks to try to take that next step to the NFL. I think he was just kinda ready to move on and to take on a new challenge.”

Thorne’s transition from the Big 10 to the SEC has been a popular topic of conversation, as it often is.

When anyone at any position makes that move, people love to speculate whether or not they’ll be ready to play in the SEC on Saturdays.

And generally speaking, that’s a fair concern to have, Hewlett admits.

Hewlett worked with Ian Book when he was at Notre Dame. And Hewlett can recall Book saying there was a noticeable difference in the play of the defensive backs when the Fighting Irish played Georgia on Sept. 21, 2019 in a game that saw Book toss two interceptions.

“It was like a considerable step up from any other program he had played that year,” Hewlett says.

“But the good thing for Payton is he’s on an SEC team. So what you might lose in terms of the lack of explosiveness that you’re seeing in the Big 12 and the other conferences, you’re gonna make up for it with the receiving corps and the skill positions on the offensive side are equally as explosive.”

But as is the case with any transfer, there’s going to be an adjustment period, Hewlett says.

And it’s unfair to hold Thorne to irrational expectations.

“But Auburn, I think, an upgrade in their passing game is something probably that would be helpful,” Hewlett said. “And not a knock on anyone that’s currently there, but I just know Payton will provide a different style of play that they haven’t had there in the last couple of years.”

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[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[bigbird 60,940]

6 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

247sports.com

After Freeze's challenge, veteran Auburn DBs 'flipped the switch' at the right time

Nathan King

11–13 minutes

“If you can call your best players out and they respond well, that sure helps you as a coach with everybody else."

It’s been a couple weeks since Hugh Freeze issued a challenge to his main defensive back rotation, which serves as likely the best overall position group on the roster.

“I think we've got to improve our mental toughness and our attention to detail in the secondary,” Freeze said the morning Auburn opened preseason camp in early August. “I do think we have some talent there, but it's some older talent, and then it's some really good young talent. I don't think any have been stressed and strained enough to where we need to be.”

Auburn’s veterans in the secondary proceeded to agree with Freeze in the following weeks. They knew they needed to be questioned and doubted, just like any other group on the team, regardless of how much talent and production they return from last season.

There were days they didn’t rise to the challenge in practice. And there have been days they’ve flashed the potential of being one of the best crops of defensive backs in the SEC.

Recently, as the season rapidly approaches, Freeze has seen more of the latter.

In the team’s second and final preseason scrimmage Saturday morning, starting cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett’s interception of Payton Thorne served as a highlight for an experienced room that the coaching staff has seen elevate their performance — after they would be the first to admit they weren’t always on top of their game.

“I think D.J. (James) and Pritchett are practicing at a higher level,” Freeze said after the scrimmage. “And, you know, it’s really easy if you think you’re the guy — which they are. It’s really easy to coast, and I thought they coasted some the first week — and I thought they turned it on this week and practiced like they should be. I mean, both of those have the potential to be All-SEC type players, whether it’s first team, second team, whatever. So practice like it.”

That obviously extends to the rest of the secondary, where Auburn has placed lofty expectations after bringing back every starter from a group that finished last season tied for No. 4 in the SEC in yards per attempt allowed, and top 25 nationally in opposing quarterback rating.

It’s a new system and coaching staff, sure — save for retained safeties coach Zac Etheridge — but the Tigers knew from the early stages of the offseason they’d have to rely heavily on their veterans in the secondary to produce well in 2023, particularly with a handful of new faces along the front seven on defense.

And the group seemingly surged at the right time — into the conclusion of preseason camp, which ended with the final scrimmage. In addition to a pass breakup by safety Jaylin Simpson in the scrimmage that prevented a long gain to receiver Shane Hooks — a couple days after Simpson had a thrilling breakup against tight end Rivaldo Fairweather on fourth-and-goal to end Thursday’s practice — Freeze said the defensive backs were much more efficient tacklers Saturday as compared to the first scrimmage, when that was one of the main issues from both coaches and the players exiting the day.

“If you can call your best players out and they respond well, that sure helps you as a coach with everybody else,” Freeze said. “And so I thought they kind of flipped the switch a little bit and had a better week, which kind of translated to (Simpson). And Keionte (Scott), you always get a lot out of him. And (Zion) Puckett, you know, I think that’s a solid group there now.”

Freeze feels he can rest a bit easier with the secondary’s steady performances, but there are still plenty of question marks down the line in the defensive back rotations heading into a crucial next couple weeks of practice before the season opener. The first wave at corner, nickel and safety is loaded with experience, but the same can’t be said for the rest of the depth chart, which includes eight true freshmen and a JUCO addition.

“The growth really has to come on with that second team because it’s a bunch of young puppies,” Freeze said. “I think they’re going to be good, but they’re swimming a little bit with all the motions or shifts and different coverages and I really look forward to us getting a game plan in where we see, all right, they can handle this much. And we’re smart coaches if we don’t give them more than they can handle.”

Of course, the quarterback competition — which ended Thursday with Freeze tabbing Thorne the winner — is the other side of that coin in the passing game. For every impressive throw for Thorne, Robby Ashford or Holden Geriner continues to be analyzed by the coaching staff, even after the conclusion of the QB battle, there’s a defensive back on the losing end.

But right now, Freeze is pleased with the manner they’re trading punches.

“Defense played really well two days, and then offense got best of them some days, too,” Freeze said. “That’s probably the way it should be.”

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Why Hugh Freeze has been 'the practice jerk' at Auburn this preseason

"I think I’m needed to do that here. … I’m figuring out the coaches, too, and what I need to do to motivate our team."

VIDEO: How Payton Thorne won Auburn's QB job

Hugh Freeze prowled behind the defense and leaned into his headset, with a delivery comparable to “Here’s Johnny” from The Shining.

“Jyaire Shorter,” Freeze teased, dragging out the transfer wide receiver’s name. “Jyaire Shorter: Are you going to make a play today?”

A couple plays later in Thursday’s practice — which Freeze allowed media to view for nearly two hours — Freeze again tapped on his headset: “Keionte Scott: Are you going to make a tackle today? Have we decided to tackle today?”

Freeze is, by all accounts, a nice guy. And his new players have gravitated toward that warm and welcoming personality. But at a certain point this preseason, Freeze sat back and tried to zoom out. What could he be doing better on the practice field every day?

Freeze has reiterated that his two coordinator hires — Philip Montgomery on offense and Ron Roberts on defense — were made not only because he thinks they can orchestrate both units successfully, but also because he trusts them to run their respective sides of the ball with efficiency during practice. That leaves Freeze more time to fill in the gaps — spaces that have mostly been occupied by phone calls to recruits, a luxury Freeze himself generated because of that confidence in his coaching staff.

But as the intensity of preseason camp ramped up — position battles reaching boiling points, lineups being trimmed down, players scrapping to earn playing time and the team overall trying to ensure it will field a quality product in just a couple weeks’ time — Freeze realized his practice role might require some alterations.

So he became an instigator. Poker of bears. A consistent voice that urges players to rise up and meet their coaches’ expectations — or the production level of their peers.

“There’s 5 (wide receiver Jay Fair) making a play,” Freeze boomed during Thursday’s practice. “Always making a play. Anyone else? Anyone else want to help out?”

It is, as Freeze admitted, out of his comfort zone to be what he calls the “practice jerk.” But it’s yielded the results he wanted — and in the process established more relationships with a crop of players who have still yet to play a game under their new head coach.

“I think every DNA of every team I’ve coached is a little different, and every staff is a little different,” Freeze said. “Truthfully, the last four years, I haven’t had to be, how should I say it, the practice jerk. But I’ve kind of found out I need to be that here, and calling people out. I like to refer to it as calling people up. But I think I’m needed to do that here. … I’m figuring out the coaches, too, and what I need to do to motivate our team. That’s probably the biggest thing. I thought we had better practices this week because I chose to take the lead on, ‘This is how we’re going to do it.’ I thought we got better.”

Media wasn’t present for Saturday’s second and final preseason scrimmage inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, but Freeze might have deployed his full repertoire of motivational tactics. After what he called an excellent week of practice, the Tigers’ overall intensity took a dip once they stepped foot in the stadium.

It’s a trend that’s starting to irritate Freeze, after last week also presented a strong run of practices before the team “melted in the heat” in the scrimmage.

“The two trips we've made into the stadium in my eyes, and maybe it's just the size of the stadium, but we seem flat,” Freeze said. “And practices this week were really, really good. Y'all got to see one, and I thought the energy was good. I didn't sense that same energy. And boy, that's got to — and maybe it changes when the stadium is full, I don't know. But when we get a chance to go in that stadium and play, there's got to be some juice. And again, maybe it's been a while since I've been in a stadium that size. But that's what kind of was on my mind.”

Maybe it’s the anticipation to play some real football soon. Maybe it’s the Guardian helmet pads that dampen the impact of clashing at the line of scrimmage; Freeze did share he asked offensive line coach Jake Thornton, ‘Dude, are we even coming off the ball?’ because the impacts are so muted.

Whatever the case, Freeze knows it needs fixed soon; in less than two weeks, the Tigers open their 2023 campaign at home against UMass (2:30 p.m. CST, ESPN).

Maybe the practice jerk will have to make some more appearances.

“I told them in the team meeting this morning, it’s now time to — whether you just got here, whether you’ve been here four years, whatever, it’s we,” Freeze said. “It ain’t no old or new. It is we. Play so well that I don’t have a choice but to acknowledge it. I think we’re still kind of — a football game to me is a bunch of individual plays that go for 65 of those or 80 of those, whatever you play on either side of the ball. It’s the combination of how well you’re able to put the last one behind you and play the next one, irregardless of how good the last one was or how bad the last one was. Do we have the ability to put that in the trash and play the next one? Teams that win most of those individual plays have probably a better chance of winning the game if turnovers and things are the same.

“I think we’re still learning to do that. There’s still some of the holdover from, ‘Well, man, we just lost 5 yards.’ Play the next play. There’s nothing we can do about that. And I don’t need to hear it. And you don’t need to talk about it. Let’s play the next one. If we talk about it, it needs to be on the sideline. That’s where all the adjustments and corrections need to be made. We don’t need to talk about it out there. I think there’s still some of that that I’ve got to get.”

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I said it last year and got laughed at, but I'll say it again... IMO, top to bottom, across the board this has the potential to be AUs most talented/best secondary.

 

Pritchett, James, Simpson, and Scott all have All-SEC/American potential 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

1 minute ago, bigbird said:

I said it last year and got laughed at, but I'll say it again... IMO, top to bottom, across the board this has the potential to be AUs most talented/best secondary.

 

Pritchett, James, Simpson, and Scott all have All-SEC/American potential 

i hope it shows on the field. scott is whom i want to watch after reading so muchabout him.

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

yahoo.com

 

The Jacksonville Jaguars look like they have a star in rookie Tank Bigsby

Natalie MillerMon, August 21, 2023 at 12:07 PM CDT·2 min read0Link Copied

~2 minutes

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It has become clear throughout Jacksonville Jaguars training camp that rooking running back Tank Bigsby is going to make an impact early on into the season and in his two preseason games Bigsby has cemented that he is going to be a serious game changer for this Jaguars offense. Already proving to be one heck of a steal late in the third round at the 88th overall pick (If you are a believer in preseason film that is).

In preseason games against the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions, Bigsby has looked like he is casually shredding through defenders and has more juice than what was previously thought. Bigsby already has 122 rushing yards on just 22 carries for an impressive 5.5 yards per carry. Bigbsy’s vision, power, and ability to hit his second gear in an instant make him a nightmare to try and tackle, and his reputation as a broken tackle machine in college is rapidly translating into the same success at the next level.

The rookie is establishing himself as an every-down back, Bigbsy has launched himself into the second running back slot behind Travis Etienne, and ahead of equally impressive veteran D’Ernest Johnson.

Though Bigsby will ultimately not be the starting running back given the extreme versatility of former first-round pick and starter Travis Etienne, coaches would be hard pressed to not give Bigbsy a significant number of snaps, both in short yardage and obvious running downs.

The rotations between Etienne, Bigbsy, and Johnson could prove to be one of the best running back stables in the league, and the rookie is a large reason why, looking like one of the best first year players at the position early on.

Story originally appeared on Draft Wire

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