8.22.23 Football Articles

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247sports.com

A special day as Jakaleb Faulk announces commitment to Auburn

Steve Wiltfong

3–4 minutes

Russell Faulk would’ve been extremely proud today, his birthday, watching his youngest son in Highland Home (Ala.) High Top247 linebacker Jakaleb Faulk announce his commitment to Auburn, joining his eldest son Keldric Faulk who is already making waves for the Tigers as a true freshman defensive lineman.

“With them it’s a very special day,” the Faulk boys mother Lakendral Barnes said. “It’s their dad’s birthday. Their dad was an Auburn fan.

“Today is a special day.”

The elder Faulk is no longer with us, passing back in 2008, but his boys are certainly representing.

“I’m so proud it’s just no words,” Barnes said. “I never thought it would reach this level for them.

“It was a thing where I encouraged them to never quit on anything. Whenever they started a sport or started something, it was never quit.”

Both Faulk boys are also pretty good basketball players, but football is where the future is. One we can keep up with on The Plains.

Keldric flipped from Florida State to Auburn at the end of the last recruiting cycle. Jakaleb chooses Auburn over his other finalists Alabama, Clemson, Florida and Georgia.

“With my boys, they’re big on relationships and the relationships are very strong and they’re very like home,” Barnes said. “The guys there, the football players and football coaches are very genuine people. It’s like you did not meet a stranger.”

If Auburn doesn’t hire Hugh Freeze, perhaps the Faulks aren’t celebrating today in this fashion.

“To me he seems like he’s a man of his word,” Barnes said. “He’s a small-town guy. From so far the things he’s told me, the way he’s building the program and correcting and getting the guys together and bringing in new recruits to the school, I think it’s amazing. It’s like they can see the light again. They have a chance.”

Zac Etheridge led the charge in recruiting the Faulk brothers.

“He’s a small-town guy, he’s from Troy, Alabama and he has a big heart,” Barnes said. “I’ve been knowing him four years. He’s an in-touch guy. Calls and lets you know what you need to know as a parent.”

Linebackers coach Josh Aldridge was also involved in recruiting Faulk who becomes commit No. 2 for Auburn in the 2025 class, joining fellow in-state prospect and defensive lineman Malik Autry.

247Sports ranks Faulk as the nation’s No. 13 edge rusher and No. 111 prospect overall.

Today was obviously a special day for Barnes too who looks forward to fun Saturdays inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“It’s a huge relief to me because I know they’re together again,” Barnes said. “The bond they have is amazing and I know they will do great things.

“They’re a dynamic duo when they’re together. They’re just a great duo.”

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si.com

What does the future look like for Auburn at quarterback?

Daniel Locke

~3 minutes

Is Auburn set at quarterback for a while?

There is often a significant amount of debate among people who watch the game of football, but one thing the overwhelming majority of people would agree with is how vital a quarterback is to a team.

There have been teams at all levels of the sport that have had a plethora of talent on their roster but fell short of their end goal because of inconsistent quarterback play.

The Auburn Tigers find themselves in an interesting spot. They currently have two quarterbacks with starting experience on the roster in Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford, an intriguing sophomore in Holden Geriner and an exciting prospect in Walker White.

Thorne, a junior, joined Auburn via the transfer portal this offseason. He spent two seasons as the starter for Michigan State and has two seasons of eligibility remaining. In 2022, Thorne went 242-387 for 19 touchdowns to 11 interceptions.

Freeze announced last week that Thorne would be the starter for Auburn to being the season.

Ashford, a sophomore with three seasons of eligibility remaining, also joined Auburn via the transfer portal after seeing no game action in two years with Oregon.

Ashford took over as the starter for Auburn last season and went 123-250 for 1,613 yards and seven touchdowns as well as seven interceptions. He also picked up 709 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

Geriner is a redshirt freshman who only played against Missouri last season. He was a 4-star recruit ranked No. 242 nationally, No. 14 among quarterbacks and No. 26 in the state of Georgia according to 247Sports.

Freeze mentioned how Geriner has developed and "is the most natural passer" on the roster. Geriner has four seasons of eligibility remaining.

White has been coined by many as Auburn's "quarterback of the future." He is a 4-star recruit ranked No. 100 nationally, No. 9 among quarterbacks, and No. 3 in the state of Arkansas according to 247Sports. He will join the Tigers next spring.

Needless to say, Auburn will have numerous options at the quarterback position for years to come. 

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auburntigers.com

 

On The Plains with Shane Hooks: ‘I wasn’t supposed to be here’

Auburn University Athletics

6–7 minutes

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AUBURN, Ala. – Shane Hooks wants to make sure when he makes plays in Jordan-Hare Stadium this season, the fans know him simply as “Hollywood.” The 6-foot-4 wide receiver certainly lived up to the nickname during Saturday’s scrimmage catching two touchdowns, including a spectacular one-handed grab in the back of the end zone that caught everybody's attention.

“If it were a game, it would be on Sportscenter tonight,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said.

Hooks is a graduate transfer from Jackson State, where he totaled 82 receptions for 974 yards and 12 touchdowns the past two seasons. He began his college career at Ohio University. The nickname, however, started back at Olympia High School in Florida. Hooks came out to practice one day with sunglasses on under his helmet, and his coach said, “You know what? You’re Hollywood.” It stuck.

Don’t be fooled by the nickname, though. Hooks might have a knack for making spectacular plays, but he also prides himself on hard work. He plays with a different edge because, as a premature baby who was born three months early, he knows he’s blessed to be playing at all.

“I love doing what I do for the people that can’t do it,” Hooks said. “I wasn’t supposed to be here. So, that’s my edge. That’s my push. I do it for others that can’t do it.

“I know there are always going to be obstacles in life. What are you going to do? Are you going to fold when they come or are you going to surpass them, jump over them? That’s how I approach it because I know I overcame life in actually being here and pursuing my dreams, so when it comes to football, I know that anything that comes my way, I can handle.”

Hooks finds another source of motivation from his family and specifically his mother, Karen Mingo, who works as a pediatric nurse in Orlando where he grew up. He was the only boy on his mom’s side and was raised by all females.

“I lost my grandma and my great grandma, so I have to do it for my mom,” Hooks said. “I think that’s why I have such a big heart. I get it from her.”

While his love for people and for kids comes from his mother, Hooks credits his drive and his blue-collar mentality to his uncle, Hall of Fame running back Edgerrin James.

James played 11 seasons in the NFL and currently ranks 13th on the all-time rushing list with 12,246 career yards. He was a four-time Pro Bowler, the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1999 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the class of 2020. He knows what it takes to be great, and he’s tried to impart that wisdom onto Hooks and help him achieve his own dream of playing in the NFL.

“I’ve got cousins that play basketball, cousins that play football, and he told us if this is what we want to do, we have to love it every day,” Hooks said. “We have to do it when we don’t want to do it. Just going out, the hot summers, every day – we used to wake up at 6 a.m. and be back in the house at 6 p.m. We were out there all day just working on our craft. It was just the foundation of hard work.”

For Hooks, those 12-hour days began as early as 2007 when he was still in elementary school. Now, 16 years later, he’s at Auburn where he’s one step closer to his dream.

When Hooks entered the transfer portal after last season, James initially wanted him to transfer to Cincinnati, where his son is committed to play basketball. But then the opportunity to play in the SEC arose, and James knew Hooks had to take it.

“Once I got SEC offers, he was like, ‘If you want to be the best, you’ve got to go play against the best, and it’s going to show,’” Hooks said. “I want to go first round, so I know coming to the SEC will get me there.”

Hooks had multiple SEC offers after a breakout season at Jackson State last year. Why Auburn?

“Why not Auburn?” he asked.

“It was mainly Coach (Hugh) Freeze,” Hooks added. “Him being so genuine. He’s a player’s coach. I just wanted to play for him. And he told me that if I come here and do what I’m supposed to do, the story is already written.”

Hooks arrived on campus in June. He’s been working hard to learn the offense and put himself in a position to make an immediate impact when Auburn opens the season Sept. 2 against UMass for Kickoff on the Plains. He’s been blown away by the people in Auburn and the “family vibe” and can’t wait to run out of the tunnel the first time at Jordan-Hare.

“It’s going to be a surreal feeling,” he said.

As a graduate transfer with a bachelor’s degree in communication and sports media, Hooks has just one year to play at Auburn. And then, if all goes according to plan, it’s on to the NFL. Once football is over, he wants to stay in sports and be in front of a camera in some type of capacity.

“I'm an entertainer,” Hooks said.

Fitting for the man they call “Hollywood.” If Saturday’s performance was any indicator, Hooks will be entertaining Auburn fans quite a bit this season. 

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247sports.com

10 Auburn players who raised their stock in preseason camp

Nathan King

16–20 minutes

There were plenty of names that popped this preseason camp for the Tigers

With preseason camp in the books, Auburn is now inside two weeks until the Hugh Freeze era commences.

As the coaching staff puts the finishing touches on game prep for the UMass season opener this week, players will go through their first full practice week of the fall semester — setting expectations for what the next three months will look like.

While there were plenty of other names that popped at times this preseason — and the Tigers still have a few practices to go until game week commences in earnest — here are 10 players who saw their stock rise during camp, improving relative to perhaps their offseason expectations, or simply making strides in their position group that couldn’t be ignored by Auburn’s coaching staff.

QB ROBBY ASHFORD

While the other names on this list may see the field much more than Auburn’s now-backup quarterback, Ashford has, by all accounts, taken some steps forward this preseason. Even though he didn’t win Auburn’s quarterback competition, with Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne being named the starter by Freeze last week, Ashford seems to have improved as a passer after a highly efficient 2022 campaign in that department. Then there’s always his dynamism as a runner, presenting a different element and threat for Auburn’s defense to account for — a tool the other QBs simply don’t possess.

After Thorne was named the starter, Freeze challenged his No. 2 QB to respond the right way. What followed were what Freeze called Ashford’s best practices of the entire preseason. The redshirt junior turned in another strong scrimmage performance with his arm, throwing two touchdowns and completing 8-of-15 passes. Thorne winning the job didn’t come as much of a surprise — he was brought in to do so, and possesses a significant experience advantage over the others — but Ashford is giving his coaches something to think about because of his improvements as a passer.

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RB DAMARI ALSTON

(Austin Perryman / Auburn Athletics)

Separate from the drama of the Jarquez Hunter saga, the expected production from experienced transfer Brian Battie, and the excitement of 4-star freshman Jeremiah Cobb, sophomore Damari Alston continued to put in the work this preseason. And continuing where he left off after a strong spring, the former 4-star recruit seems to have made himself an invaluable piece of Auburn’s running game this fall.

Alston has garnered plenty of first-team reps, and scored a touchdown in each of the team’s preseason scrimmages. At 5-foot-10 and 209 pounds, Alston has been able to display his shiftiness and power as a sturdy ball-carrier with a low center of gravity, but he’s also been one of the Tigers’ most capable home-run hitters this preseason. Offensive line coach Jake Thornton, whose unit blocked for 1,600-yard rusher Quinshon Judkins last year at Ole Miss, said Alston might be the most explosive running back he’s ever seen. Auburn’s running back room is regarded as one of the team’s strengths, and Alston’s strides have become a reason why.

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WR JAY FAIR

Perhaps an under-the-radar breakout candidate in a deep receiving corps, Fair came on strong this preseason at the slot position. After catching just two passes last year, the sophomore and former 3-star recruit occupied plenty of first-team reps at slot in practice even before incumbent starter Ja'Varrius Johnson sustained a minor mouth injury and missed a few days of practice.

What’s led to Fair’s improvements? After Freeze said Fair was among a few players on offense who had “the most consistent spring camp,” Fair spent a good chunk of the offseason putting in work with Thorne and Auburn’s other newcomers on offense. As a result, he's playing with a lot more confidence,” and “playing a lot faster, being decisive in his decisions,” offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery said. Slot receiver looked to be an easy position to project in the offseason, but Fair has now pushed Johnson, a fifth-year senior, hard for playing time.

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WR SHANE HOOKS

Speaking of a deep group of receivers: The Tigers needed some names to emerge into primary weapons over the course of camp. It should be one of the more evenly utilized groups on the team, but particularly in the early portion of the season, Thorne and Auburn’s new-look passing game would benefit from some go-to options. It appears Hooks, the leading receiver last season at Jackson State, has more than solidified himself among that group with his consistency, size and playmaking ability. It’s clear from watching practice that Thorne is comfortable looking to Hooks, and the 6-foot-4, 190-pound receiver has made good on his quarterback’s trust.

Hooks not only has the length and speed to hurt defenses in multiple ways down the field — we’ve seen him take short passes for big gains and haul in deep shots down the field — but he also might be the most freakishly talented receiver on the roster. That much was apparent when he skied for a one-handed touchdown grab in Saturday’s scrimmage — his second of the day. Hooks was already assumed to be one of Auburn’s top receivers this season all the way back when the Tigers snagged him out of the portal, but his performances this preseason have been encouraging to Auburn’s coaching staff all the same. An honorable mention in terms of consistent pass-catchers on this list would be tight end Rivaldo Fairweather, as it wouldn’t be surprising if he and Hooks were the two most-targeted players on offense this season.

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OT IZAVION MILLER

In the quest to reverse Auburn’s mostly negative offensive line trends from the past couple seasons, Thornton kept his eyes open throughout camp for any possible advantages or improvements he could make not only to his starting five, but the two-deep in general. It appears Auburn is positioned to have a couple waves of quality offensive linemen for the first time in years, and players like Miller — who was assumed a backup since it seemed Auburn had both its tackle spots locked in — are a big reason why.

The nation’s No. 4 JUCO offensive tackle recruit, Miller flipped from Ole Miss to Auburn when Thornton was hired. Thornton has been high on his potential as an SEC tackle for years now. And that potential could be taken advantage of as early as this season, after Miller surged into receiving starting right tackle reps late in camp. That moved Gunner Britton over to left guard, as Thornton and Freeze are comfortable working into the season to find the best combination for their starting five. As Freeze put it, because of how well Miller has practiced dating back even to the spring, “We can’t keep him off the field. He’s going to have to play.”

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OG KAMERON STUTTS

(Austin Perryman / Auburn Athletics)

The fifth-year senior started 11 games at guard last season, yes, but he was far from a projected starter up front back in the spring. Stutts began spring ball getting third-team reps, though he slowly worked his way back up, culminating in a starting nod at right guard in the spring game. After his SEC Media Days selection, Stutts began preseason camp in a starting role, and despite a number of quality contenders around him — Tate Johnson, Jeremiah Wright, Connor Lew and Jalil Irvin, just to name a few — Stutts has yet to relinquish his starting spot.

With plenty of shuffling even between starting-caliber players on the offensive line, Auburn has yet to pull Stutts from right guard for more than just a few reps at a time. And according to Thornton, it’s all effort from Stutts: “Every day when he gets in there, he’s the first one in, last one to leave, taking care of his body. The trials that he’s been through, the injuries, the coaching changes and trying to find his way, for him to stick it out and still be here, that alone means the world to me as a coach and to the rest of those guys. And it’s setting a great example to the younger players. Like hey, if you don’t get what you want Year 1? You don’t get what you want Year 2? Stick it out and keep working.”

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DE KELDRIC FAULK

Is it cheating to include Auburn’s highest-rated defensive line recruit since 2016? Maybe. But the fact that Faulk has seemed to make continual improvements in his second semester of practices on campus signals that the true freshman is more than ready to contribute against SEC competition right away. Auburn’s defensive coaches made the decision after the spring to move Faulk, who’s filled out into a 6-foot-6, 288-pound frame, from the “jack” pass-rusher position to a true defensive end spot. The move made sense on multiple fronts, as it allowed three-year starter Marcus Harris to move back inside to defensive tackle, where position coach Jeremy Garrett said “he’s at his best.”

Not only did Faulk make a position change, but when fully healthy, he’s been Auburn’s starter there. A minor hand issue has put him in a non-contact jersey over the past few practices, and Maryland transfer Mosiah Nasili-Kite has filled in. Faulk likely won’t have a massive advantage in terms of playing time at defensive end as only a true freshman, but Auburn’s coaches were elated to see that one of the most talented players on their entire roster continued to take some steps forward this preseason.

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OLB JALEN MCLEOD

Auburn needed multiple players to step up in order to orchestrate a successful, full-scale overhaul of its pass-rusher spot. All its production from last season either left for the NFL, graduated or exited via the transfer portal. That forced Auburn to heavily mine the transfer ranks for help — and the Tigers’ most productive addition at jack linebacker has been regarded as one of the top overall players on the entire defense. McLeod, whom Garrett said has displayed an “unbelievable” skill set in practice, comes over from App State after he said he had transfer opportunities across most major programs along the east coast.

But McLeod chose Auburn because of how familiar coordinator Ron Roberts’ scheme felt to what he ran at App State, and the fact that the Tigers were more than happy to keep him at outside linebacker and not ask him to play in the box. Auburn’s offensive linemen have marveled at his explosiveness off the edge, and the D-linemen say he raises the unit’s pass-rush capabilities exponentially. McLeod is another example of a transfer Auburn knew would be asked to make a significant impact, but has nonetheless outperformed expectations thus far.

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OLB STEPHEN SINGS

The other side of that coin is Sings, the lone transfer to follow Freeze and a few of his assistants over from Liberty. Whereas McLeod is a nimble pass-rusher, Sings, at 6-foot-3 and 248 pounds, has the size and physicality to play some earlier downs at the position. Sings quickly rose into a first-team role this preseason, where he swapped with McLeod at jack linebacker depending on the formation and alignment — and they also have experience playing together on the defensive front, when the Tigers really want to pin their ears back and attack the quarterback.

Sings was a productive player at Liberty over the course of three years given his role, but was, at the end of the day, a rotational piece who wasn’t a splashy pickup for Auburn in the transfer portal. But given his preseason production — Freeze said Sings  had one, maybe two sacks in the second scrimmage with McLeod sidelined due to a minor ankle injury — and how well he’s fit into Auburn’s plans to rotate the defensive front, Sings could end up having his best college season in the SEC this year.

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LB EUGENE ASANTE

(Austin Perryman / Auburn Athletics)

Asante’s name may not have been one earmarked by many Auburn fans to keep an eye on heading into the 2023 season, after he played only on special teams last season, and the fact that the Tigers bolstered their linebacking corps in the portal with a couple experienced pickups this offseason. But inside two weeks until the season kicks off, Asante has as good a chance to earn a starting job as most players in Auburn’s defensive front seven.

After transferring last offseason from North Carolina — where he tallied 58 tackles across three seasons — Asante missed a couple weeks of last year’s spring practices following the passing of his father. By the time fall camp rolled around, Asante was behind on the defense, and his opportunities to play ahead of names like Wesley Steiner and Cam Riley were slim. But now that the playing field has been leveled, per se, with a new coaching staff, Asante’s motor, effort and enthusiasm have painted him as an important player for the Tigers throughout the preseason. For the better part of fall camp, Asante has been the first-team linebacker on the weak side, and as position coach Josh Aldridge looks to iron out a rotation of four or five starting-caliber players, Asante is undoubtedly near the top of that group.

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Jason Caldwell's Monday morning quarterback column

Thoughts on Auburn foo.tball as the Tigers prepare for the 2023 season under Hugh Freeze

VIDEO: How Payton Thorne won Auburn's QB job

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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al.com

Auburn to face last team in FBS rankings when UMass comes to town in Week 1

Updated: Aug. 21, 2023, 12:10 p.m.|Published: Aug. 21, 2023, 11:51 a.m.

2–3 minutes

Hugh Freeze on Auburn's second fall scrimmage

If there were ever a way to ease into the college football season, Auburn is doing it.

When first-year head coach Hugh Freeze and the Tigers take Pat Dye Field at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Sept. 2, they’ll be looking at the worst team in the Football Bowl Subdivision across from them.

The Athletic’s Chris Vannini, as well as Athlon Sports and CBS Sports all ranked the UMass Minutemen No. 133 — or dead last — in their FBS rankings.

In 2022, UMass finished 1-11 with its lone win coming against FCS opponent Stony Brook in a 20-3 win. UMass hasn’t finished a year with more than one win since the 2018 season, when it went 4-8.

The Minutemen tallied losses against Tulane, Toledo, Temple, Eastern Michigan, Liberty, Buffalo, New Mexico State, UConn, Arkansas State, Texas A&M and Army last fall and were outscored 373-150 through the course of the season.

Despite the struggles, Athlon Sports’ Steven Lassan anticipates improvement from Don Brown’s UMass team, which allowed opponents to score 31.1 points per game in 2022 — a step up from 43.1 points per game in 2021.

“With another offseason to learn under Brown and a handful of additions from the portal, UMass’ defense should take another step forward this fall,” Lassan wrote. “However, for the Minutemen to climb the rankings and exceed last year’s one win, the offense must show marked improvement. This unit averaged only 12.5 points a contest and four yards a play in ‘22.”

While Auburn’s Week 1 opponent ranks dead last in the rankings, the Tigers come in at No. 47 in Vannini’s list, No. 34 in Lassan’s list and No. 38 in CBS Sports’ rankings.

Though Auburn’s Week 1 matchup won’t serve as a good measuring stick considering UMass doesn’t present itself as the strongest competition, it will be a good opportunity for the Tigers to knock some of the dust off — which could be more important considering some of the injuries Auburn is dealing with heading into Week 1.

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al.com

 

Will Auburn's depth chart be impacted by numerous injuries?

Published: Aug. 21, 2023, 11:46 a.m.

6–7 minutes

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To Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze, the second preseason scrimmage Saturday signaled the end of fall camp, and a turning of the page to game preparation — now less than two weeks from kickoff against UMass.

Though Freeze’s team isn’t going to start the season healthy. It was already facing a few injuries as fall camp began and returning to live practice with pads was always going to cause a few more additions to the injury report. And as things stand, Auburn’s injuries have hit the wide receivers the hardest. Key players are also banged up in the linebacking group and defensive line.

With many yellow jerseys flashing around the field at practice, some projected backups are going to have a chance for expanded playing time early in the season.

That starts squarely with Jay Fair.

The sophomore wide receiver has looked the part of a starter throughout preseason practices. He’s been generating some of the most buzz of many new faces seeming to rise up the projected depth chart.

In drills, Fair has consistently been in the first trio of wide receivers on the field with the rest of the starters, lining up most frequently as a slot receiver.

Fair has had a strong camp, but some of that opportunity comes with injuries to Ja’Varrius Johnson, Auburn’s leading receiver from last season. Freeze said Johnson had an incident in practice that caused him to need stitches in his mouth and made it challenging for him to wear a helmet during a stretch of practice.

Johnson is back now, but Fair has still be on the field before him. It would seem likely Johnson, when back to full strength, would be back in the role he had last season. But for now, the slot is Fair’s job.

Auburn seems content with Omari Kelly on the outside opposite Shane Hooks.

Camden Brown, Malcolm Johnson Jr., Koy Moore and Nick Mardner continue to deal with injuries. Brown, Moore and Mardner especially have a chance to work their way back into more playing time when healthy.

Moore had a large role with Auburn last season and could again. He has been dealing with a lingering ankle injury from summer workouts. Brown is finally healthy, Freeze said, and returned to practice last week. But he’s still working his way back to full strength. The 6-foot-3 sophomore has strong potential when he is ready — that likely won’t be right away. A relatively new addition to the injury report, Nick Mardner has been a heavily used target during practices, and Auburn will want him as a red zone threat as the season goes on.

While Fair certainly seems to have the most to gain with regard to playing time, newcomers Caleb Burton III and Jyaire Shorter could have an expanded role, too. Neither appears likely to start, but will certainly be given extra chances to work into their new SEC team in games where the others are unable to play or much more limited.

On the other side of the ball, Larry Nixon III has looked the part of three-down linebacker while Austin Keys deals with a shoulder injury.

While Keys stays to the side in a yellow no-contact jersey, Nixon, Eugene Asante and Cam Riley have formed the rotation at linebacker in practice. Though largely Nixon’s spot has been static while Asante and Riley take turns next to him.

That battle appears likely to be won by Asante, but for as long as Keys is out, Nixon should be in line to start.

Welsey Steiner has also dealt with injuries during the preseason. He’s been comfortably back and now and while he hasn’t seen much, if any, playing time with the top group, he does have on-field experience with Auburn and could remain part of the conversation, though he does appear to be viewed behind Nixon, Asante and Riley.

Auburn’s other linebacker position, the jack linebacker, has been among the most talked about rotations in camp because Auburn believes it has three impactful pass rushers there. Then Jalen McLeod picked up an ankle injury at the end of last week.

Elijah McAllister may have the most to gain if McLeod isn’t ready for week one. From media sessions with players and coaches, it has seemed like McAllister may be viewed as the third option between McLeod and late-riser Stephen Sings V — though all three have seen time with the projected starters.

Auburn could start either Sings or McAllister if McLeod isn’t ready. It wasn’t a guarantee that McLeod was going to start anyway. McAllister is the more experienced player if Auburn chooses him first early, but he and Sings will see a greater share of snaps than if McLeod was in the mix too. Auburn has tried packages using both McAllister and Sings on the field at the same time, too.

Either could also show enough to keep a high snap count whenever McLeod is back to health.

Defensive end Keldric Faulk has been another recent injury report addition, opening the door to essentially ensure Maryland transfer Mosiah Nasili-Kite will be Auburn’s starter at defensive end. Nasili-Kite had shown to be at the top of Auburn’s rotation even before the talented freshman’s injury. Faulk is still in the process of learning a new position as he moves from jack linebacker.

Faulk’s injury could also mean a route to the field for Brenton Williams who has seen some time with the starters in practice as well.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

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247sports.com

 

Jason Caldwells Monday morning quarterback column

Jason Caldwell

5–6 minutes

---

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 to face last team in FBS rankings when UMass comes to town in Week 1

Updated: Aug. 21, 2023, 12:10 p.m.|Published: Aug. 21, 2023, 11:51 a.m.

2–3 minutes

Hugh Freeze on Auburn's second fall scrimmage

If there were ever a way to ease into the college football season, Auburn is doing it.

When first-year head coach Hugh Freeze and the Tigers take Pat Dye Field at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Sept. 2, they’ll be looking at the worst team in the Football Bowl Subdivision across from them.

The Athletic’s Chris Vannini, as well as Athlon Sports and CBS Sports all ranked the UMass Minutemen No. 133 — or dead last — in their FBS rankings.

In 2022, UMass finished 1-11 with its lone win coming against FCS opponent Stony Brook in a 20-3 win. UMass hasn’t finished a year with more than one win since the 2018 season, when it went 4-8.

The Minutemen tallied losses against Tulane, Toledo, Temple, Eastern Michigan, Liberty, Buffalo, New Mexico State, UConn, Arkansas State, Texas A&M and Army last fall and were outscored 373-150 through the course of the season.

Despite the struggles, Athlon Sports’ Steven Lassan anticipates improvement from Don Brown’s UMass team, which allowed opponents to score 31.1 points per game in 2022 — a step up from 43.1 points per game in 2021.

“With another offseason to learn under Brown and a handful of additions from the portal, UMass’ defense should take another step forward this fall,” Lassan wrote. “However, for the Minutemen to climb the rankings and exceed last year’s one win, the offense must show marked improvement. This unit averaged only 12.5 points a contest and four yards a play in ‘22.”

While Auburn’s Week 1 opponent ranks dead last in the rankings, the Tigers come in at No. 47 in Vannini’s list, No. 34 in Lassan’s list and No. 38 in CBS Sports’ rankings.

Though Auburn’s Week 1 matchup won’t serve as a good measuring stick considering UMass doesn’t present itself as the strongest competition, it will be a good opportunity for the Tigers to knock some of the dust off — which could be more important considering some of the injuries Auburn is dealing with heading into Week 1.

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al.com

Seattle Seahawks sign former Auburn tight end

Updated: Aug. 21, 2023, 7:07 p.m.|Published: Aug. 21, 2023, 6:57 p.m.

3–4 minutes

Arlington Renegades tight end Sal Cannella runs for the end zone after making a reception against the D.C. Defenders during the XFL Championship Game on May 13, 2023, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.(Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)

By

Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com

Former Auburn tight end Sal Cannella has signed with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.

Cannella played for the XFL champion Arlington Renegades earlier this year, and the XFL announced Cannella’s signing on Monday before the Seahawks. The league has had 64 of its players sign with NFL teams since the XFL season ended in May.

MORE NFL:

· MIAMI COACH ON TUA TAGOVAILOA’S GAME-OPENING INTERCEPTION: ‘PERFECT’

· JARRAN REED: ‘WE’RE REALLY LUCKY WE GOT HIM BACK’

· JAMEIS WINSTON WORKS IN SAINTS’ PRESEASON WIN

Cannella finished sixth in the XFL with 42 receptions during the regular season. He caught six passes for 89 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown reception in the league championship game, in Arlington’s two playoff victories.

Cannella’s 42 receptions and 415 receiving yards ranked second among XFL tight ends this season.

Cannella was the All-USFL tight end for the 2022 season, when he caught 34 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns for the New Orleans Breakers in 10 regular-season games. In the Breakers’ 31-17 loss to the Birmingham Stallions in the USFL semifinals on June 25, 2022, Cannella had 12 receptions for 154 yards.

Cannella received a tryout invitation from the Green Bay Packers after that performance and earned a contract with the NFL team, although he was waived at the end of the 2022 preseason.

Cannella played at Auburn from 2017 through 2019 as a junior-college transfer. He caught 25 passes for 330 yards and five touchdowns for the Tigers.

Cannella was not drafted after his Auburn career. In 2020 and 2021, he played in the Spring League, and he was in the Miami Dolphins’ NFL training camp in 2021, too.

Cannella joins a well-stocked position group with the Seahawks. Last season, tight ends Noah Fant had 50 receptions for 486 yards and four touchdowns, Will Dissly 34 receptions for 349 yards and three touchdowns and Colby Parkinson 25 receptions for 322 yards and two touchdowns for the Seattle.

The Seahawks will complete their preseason schedule by visiting the Green Bay Packers at noon CDT Saturday.

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i thought this might interest some of you.

 

al.com

Urban Meyer reveals addiction to Ambien in Netflix series: ‘I thought I was going to die’

Published: Aug. 21, 2023, 9:53 a.m.

2–3 minutes

FILE - In this Oct. 25, 2008, file photo, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow (15) shares a laugh with coach Urban Meyer during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against Kentucky in Gainesville, Fla. Florida is No. 1 in The Associated Press' preseason Top 25 released Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009, followed by Texas, Oklahoma, Southern California and Alabama. The Gators are in a class by themselves, the most overwhelming preseason No. 1 in the history of the media poll. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin, File)AP

Urban Meyer reveals in Netflix’s upcoming documentary, “UNTOLD: Swamp Kings” that he fought depression and addiction while coaching the Florida Gators.

The Netflix documentary, which drops Tuesday, explores the championship run in Gainesville under Meyer. In it, he details his panic attack-ridden 2009 season.

247Sports got an early viewing of the documentary.

“(I was) addicted to Ambien, I lost weight and couldn’t sleep,” Meyer said of the 2009 season.

Meyer reveals he fell into a depression after the undefeated Gators fell to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.

“I couldn’t get out of bed, no energy, no desire,” Meyer said. “I thought I was going to die.”

Alabama’s Mark Ingram rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns in the Tide’s 32-13 win. Greg McElroy threw for 239 yards and a touchdown to claim the MVP award. The Alabama defense held Florida quarterback Tim Tebow in check and left him crying at the end.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.

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Again, please be safe out there as it hot enough to cook a breakfast buffet on pavement. and as always thanx for stopping by.

[SaltyTiger 8,579]

Thank you Fiddy. Right on time this morning. You are off the hook for being tardy Sunday.

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al.com

Shane Hooks makes ‘SportsCenter’ grabs and could change Auburn’s passing game

Published: Aug. 22, 2023, 6:30 a.m.

5–7 minutes

It all seemed to culminate Saturday. All that talk and the hype and the “Holy s---” looks when seeing the new receiver with that size in practice — it all came together on one play Saturday.

Newly named starting quarterback Payton Thorne looked for Shane Hooks over the middle in the back of the end zone during Auburn’s second preseason scrimmage. Covered by linebacker Cam Riley, Hooks leaped in the air for the ball above his head and snagged it with one hand as he fell to the ground.

“One of the touchdowns he caught, if it were a game, it would be SportsCenter tonight,” head coach Hugh Freeze said after the scrimmage.

Hooks’ highlight catch was part of a monster day in Auburn’s scrimmage where he had six catches and found the endzone multiple times. This was the moment for a wide receiver who wasn’t with this team in spring practices to cement a spot in the starting lineup, show off why his teammates haven’t taken long to be impressed by him and make a case to be the receiver that finally breaks an Auburn streak of frustration at the position.

Before coming to Auburn, Hooks spent the last two years with head coach Deion Sanders as Jackson State. In that time he totaled 82 catches for 974 yards and 12 touchdowns. He earned a chance back to the FBS level after starting his career at Ohio University.

So when he took the field at Auburn for the first time in early August, not having been seen by anyone in an Auburn helmet to that point, nothing jumped out quicker than his 6-foot-4, 191-pound frame. This was the look of a playmaker, but it was going to take him some time to adapt.

Hooks wasn’t a member of the initial three-receiver sets Auburn used during drills in periods open to practice during the earlier parts of the preseason. But as he learned the playbook and built chemistry with his new quarterbacks, he still caught the eyes of his teammates.

“Shane Hooks, we’ve been working really well with each other,” cornerback D.J. James said. “I’m excited for Shane Hooks. That’s my guy.”

James called Hooks Auburn’s “high point guy.” And at that size, he’s shown to do just that.

Wide receivers coach Marcus Davis said the transition to Auburn for Hooks was difficult. But Davis looked back on Hooks’ experience with four years of college football behind him already. That helps him adjust, Davis said, because he already understands the routine and rigor of collegiate sports, whereas a younger transfer who hasn’t seen the field might not.

Davis said the wide receivers who had already been in town helped Hooks and other newcomers make the transition, too.

“I’d like to take my hat off to the guys who were already in that room,” Davis said. “You could see that they communicated. They want their brothers to do well at their job. So the communication and bringing those guys along, I thought it was a good fit with the guys who came in, just from a personality standpoint.”

Slowly, Hooks became more comfortable and has seemed to work his way to the top of Auburn’s broad wide receiver rotation. Freeze has mentioned eight wide receivers, including Hooks, who he foresees as part of Auburn’s top group of targets at the position, and that didn’t include Koy Moore and Malcolm Johnson Jr. who continue to deal with injuries.

As a whole, that group struggled in Auburn’s first scrimmage. Freeze said many receivers ran the wrong route or were “loafing” during the game. Certainly, the struggles of the first game include Hooks still learning the new offense and fitting his way in.

The ensuing week, Freeze said was the best week of practice for the whole position. Hooks played well enough in practice over the last week to keep himself in the rotation. The buzz continued to build.

Auburn wide receiver Shane Hooks (11) catches a pass during practice Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023 in Auburn, Ala. (AL.com Photo/Stew Milne)Stew Milne

But he’s not where Auburn wants him to be yet.

“I wish he played the game a little faster,” Freeze said. “We’ve got to get him to do that. I think some of that comes from maybe not playing against the speed of this level yet. If we can get him convinced to run every route and knowing, ‘Dude, you can get a break. Run this route like the game depends upon it.’”

And heading into Auburn’s second scrimmage, Hooks had worked his way up to the top group of wide receivers along with Jay Fair and Omari Kelly. The game doesn’t count and there were no television cameras to show it, but Hooks play in the scrimmage seemed to validate why Auburn brought him in.

If he can play as he did in the scrimmage in a game against a team wearing a different helmet, Hooks ability on contested catches — and running after the catch, as Freeze noted — gives Auburn a weapon it hasn’t had on the outside since Seth Williams, Darius Slayton or Sammie Coates — and only Coates was legitimately close to breaking Auburn’s more than two-decade drought of a 1,000-yard single-season wide receiver.

Hooks likely won’t be the one to finally hit that milestone. Auburn has too many options to key in on just one guy.

He may well wind up on SportsCenter though.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

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247sports.com

PMARSHONAU Thorne familys connection to Auburn runs deep

Phillip Marshall

4–5 minutes

When Payton Thorne, Michigan State’s starting quarterback for two seasons, entered the transfer portal and got an offer from Auburn, there was little question what he would do. He would go south and try to win a job. Though Thorne, the son and grandson of football coaches, grew up and lived north of the Mason-Dixon Line, he and his family felt a special connection to Auburn.

Long before the late Philip Lutzenkirchen became an iconic Auburn football player, Jeff Thorne, Payton’s father, and John Thorne, Payton’s grandfather, had a years-long relationship with the Lutzenkirchen family.

Mike Lutzenkirchen, Philip’s father, was John Thorne’s first varsity quarterback as a head coach at Wheaton-Warrenville (Illinois) South High School.  Philip’s uncle, Andy, was a year behind Jeff Thorne in high school and became athletics director. Dave Martin, his grandfather on his mother's side, played football at Wisconsin. But the connection goes even deeper. Freshman Auburn quarterback Hank Brown spent his first two years at the same high school before moving to Tennessee. His uncle played quarterback for John Thorne.

“We have heard about Auburn for years,” Jeff Thorne told Auburn Undercover. “We have cheered for Auburn from a distance for a long time. When this opportunity presented itself, it was really exciting for Payton and our family.”

Jeff Thorne was a standout high school quarterback and a four-year starter at Eastern Illinois. He was offensive coordinator on his father’s staff at his high school alma mater before following his father, who had been named the head coach at North Central (Illinois) College, a Division III program, in 2002. Jeff Thorne took over as head coach in 2018 and won the national championship in 2019. His 2021 team finished second before he left to be the offensive coordinator at Western Michigan.

Football, it is fair to say, was and remains the Thorne family business. Jeff passed his knowledge on to his and Joanna Thorne’s only son. Payton has two sisters – Noelle and Lauren.

Last Wednesday, Jeff Thorne got a phone call from his son. First-year Auburn coach Hugh Freeze had made a decision. Payton would be Auburn’s starting quarterback.

“We are super excited for him,” Jeff Thorne said. “It’s a great opportunity to play in the SEC at a place like Auburn.”

Payton Thorne got Freeze’s attention before he ever took a snap on the practice field.

"The guy is in here all the time," Freeze said. "I can't get rid of him. He wants to know the ins and outs of everything I'm thinking or (offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery) is thinking on every aspect of our passing game, run game. "He's a pro at knowing how to prepare.”

So it has long been. Even as young boy, Payton Thorne had an uncommon work ethic and grasp of the game his father taught him.

“He has grown up around the game,” Jeff Thorne said. “My father and I were fortunate to coach together. Payton saw how much work it takes to be good at something. Work is not anything he has ever shied away from. As early as his youth athletic days and through high school, he put a lot of time in to trying to be the best he could as an athlete.

“In college, if you want to have any chance of being good, you have to put the work in. Everybody is so athletic. If you’re not willing to put the work in, you are going to get passed up. That’s something he has always taken pride in.”

Payton was a three-sport athlete in high school, standing out in football, baseball and basketball. But as time went on, his focus turned to football.

“His best sport when he got to high school was probably baseball,” Jeff Thorne said. “Basketball was probably second. He was still pretty thin. You could tell he was going to be a really good quarterback because of the way he could think the game. He kind of saw things at an early age that other kids didn’t see.

On Sept. 2, Payton Thorne will put on his blue jersey, run out of the Jordan-Hare Stadium tunnel and take his first snap as Auburn’s starting quarterback. It’s an exalted position. His family will cheer for Auburn again, but it won’t be from a distance.

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al.com

Auburn TE Rivaldo Fairweather primed for big first season on The Plains

Published: Aug. 22, 2023, 10:45 a.m.

4–5 minutes

When first-year head coach Hugh Freeze arrived to The Plains in November of 2022, there were a number of on-field positions he and his pieced together coaching staff wanted to prioritize immediately.

Auburn’s offensive line was perhaps No. 1 on the list after the unit struggled mightily in the 2022 season.

Next on the list was beefing up the Tigers’ receiving corps. And while that obviously meant plucking wide receivers out of the transfer portal – which Auburn did as it added four receivers from the portal – Freeze first went and picked up an unsuspecting tight end out of Florida International University.

Junior Rivaldo Fairweather announced his intentions to transfer from FIU on Nov. 29, 2022, with his name first appearing in the portal on Dec. 5.

That same day, Freeze and the Auburn Tigers offered the athletic, 6-foot-4 tight end. But so did countless other programs like Maryland and UConn.

But Freeze was serious about landing Fairweather, a guy he got to see play with his own two eyes when Freeze’s Liberty team welcomed FIU in 2020.

Fairweather caught just one pass that game, but it was a 22-yarder late in the fourth quarter that set up a scoring drive to help the Panthers come within two points of the Flames. Liberty went on to win the game 36-34.

But Freeze remembered Fairweather.

“I do remember game planning and then watching them and thinking, ‘Dang, that dude’s good.’,” Freeze said of Fairweather at SEC Media Days in July. “So when he did go in the portal and we came here, we were on it in a hurry, because I think he’s a really talented kid.”

And it’s a good thing Freeze and the Tigers acted with urgency, going as far as to send tight ends coach Ben Aigamaua to Fairweather’s home on Dec. 6 to recruit him to The Plains.

When all was said and done, Fairweather, who ranked as a 4-star transfer prospect, committed to the Tigers on Dec. 18 in a tweet from his younger brother’s Twitter account.

Fairweather joined a tight end room that featured veterans Luke Deal, Brandon Frazier and Tyler Fromm, as well as redshirt freshman Micah Riley.

Together, the five tight ends all hover around the 6-foot-5 mark, making them a mismatch nightmare for opposing defensive backs, assuming they have a pass-catching role in Auburn’s new-look offense.

And by the sounds of it, they do.

“We are kind of putting more on his plate as far as the pass game and the RPO world,” Aigamaua said when asked of Fairweather specifically. “This spring, every day, he’s doing something out there spectacular with the catches, taking the ball off the DB’s head, whatever it is. He’s been really, really impressive during camp with the work he’s doing in the passing game.”

In Auburn’s 11th practice of fall camp on Aug. 17, Fairweather was seen adjusting to a short pass during one-on-one drills and making a spinning, one-handed catch in the deep corner of the end zone for a touchdown.

It was the type of play you might see on SportsCenter the next morning. It was also the type of play you might expect out of a wide receiver – not necessarily a big-bodied tight end like Fairweather.

Given Fairweather’s size and athleticism, he’s got quite the role on Auburn’s offense, Aigamaua says.

“His role means a lot because we can do a lot of different things when he is in the game and when Luke’s in the game or with (Brandon) and Tyler,” Aigamaua said.

But when things will get real testy for opposing defenses is when the Tigers run more than one tight end out on the field.

“Defenses, they’ve got to figure how they want to play a two tight end system. We’ll even throw three out there and they’ve got to figure out how to do it,” Aigamaua said. “It’s very valuable to have guys like (Fairweather) out on the field. That’s a big body that can jump and run and be able to do the things that we ask them to do. It’s huge.”

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flywareagle.com

 

Auburn ‘quietly primed to exceed expectations’: Analyst

Andrew Hughes

~3 minutes

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Auburn football is "quietly primed to exceed expectations" during the 2023 season according to USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams Mandatory Credit: The Montgomery Advertiser

 

Auburn football is “quietly primed to exceed expectations” during the 2023 season according to USA Today’s Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams — who stubbornly stuck with their original prediction that Hugh Freeze would lead the Tigers to a last-place finish in the SEC West.

“Hugh Freeze doesn’t waste time reinvigorating programs,” Toppmeyer/Adams prefaced before saying, “Arkansas State won 10 games in his lone season as coach. Ole Miss went from 2-10 the season before Freeze’s arrival to 7-6 in his Oxford debut. Liberty won eight games in Freeze’s first season. In fact, in 10 seasons coaching FBS, Freeze has only had one losing season. Auburn’s offense will have more passing-game punch with transfer Payton Thorne winning the job, and the Tigers return a good dose of production on both sides of the ball. The Tigers might quietly be primed to exceed expectations.”

Why the original last-place Auburn pick was retained, you may ask? Well, until Freeze starts winning games, piling on the negativity will be in vogue for perhaps the most selectively unforgiving American public we’ve ever been a part of. What Freeze is outspoken about will always have national publications turned against him. As will overhauling a roster seemingly overnight. But Sonny Dykes should’ve proven that a College Football Playoff team can be built through the transfer portal.

Auburn football will exceed expectations because of underrated transfer talent

An outdated trope that many college football analysts are still hung up on is doubting talent transferring from the Group of Five or the FCS. Brian Battie and Shane Hooks, as examples, are star-level playmakers who won’t get credit due to who they used to play.

With rebuilt trenches on both sides of the ball and a slew of new skill-position acquisitions, Auburn football has done more than any team in the SEC to take a step forward in 2023. The job Freeze has done has been so convincing that analysts are almost ready to drop their personal biases when talking about the Tigers exceeding Earth’s core-level-low expectations this fall.

• Published on 08/22/2023 at 10:53 AM EDT
• Last updated on 08/22/2023 at 10:53 AM EDT

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warblogle.com

 

War Blogle - Auburn's 2023 Schedule: One Sentence Predictions

War Blogle

4–5 minutes

---

Football returns this weekend, but Auburn football returns next weekend. That gives us a few extra days to figure out what shirt we’re going to wear this year, what food we’re going to have at the first tailgate, and how many games Auburn is going to win this year.

Since nobody can read over ten words anymore, for the 14th year in a row, I will dumb it down and give you a one sentence prediction of every game this season. If you’d like, you can go back and read the previous 13 years and see just how right I was.

2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022

The football is coming. This is what will happen. I am sure of it.

Sept. 2 – UMass – Historically, one of the worst teams in college football rolls into Jordan-Hare with a Clemson transfer quarterback and gives Hugh Freeze a nice little intro to football on the Plains.
Worry level: 1. Score: Auburn 63, UMass 7

Sept. 9 – at Cal – Most of the Auburn fanbase will miss church Sunday morning after the Tigers dispel all the “Pac-12 After Dark” fears quickly in front of a raucous crowd of 2,000 Bears fans.
Worry level: 3. Score: Auburn 38, Cal 13

Sept. 16 – Samford – Jarquez Hunter scores six rushing touchdowns before the 4th quarter, as Auburn easily rolls over their friendly in-state foe. 
Worry level: 2. Score: Auburn 42, Samford 10

Sept. 23 – at Texas A&M – The once scary location, that had no reason to be scary, will be proven not scary again when Payton Thorne throws for three touchdowns to three different receivers.
Worry level: 7. Score: Auburn 27, Texas A&M 17

Sept. 30 – Georgia – The Bulldogs return to Jordan-Hare to face a 4-0 Auburn and leave with their first loss sine 2021 after Shane Hooks makes a one handed touchdown catch as time expires.
Worry level: 10. Score: Auburn 28, Georgia 27

Oct. 14 – at LSU – The defending SEC West Champions that a not-great Auburn team should’ve easily beaten last year will be easily beaten by a great Auburn team as bourbon tears fall in Death Valley.
Worry level: 9. Score: Auburn 31, LSU 28

Oct. 21 – Ole Miss – The coach that many people were settling on months ago because he’s funny will leave Jordan-Hare without a smile after Brian Battie returns two kickoffs for touchdowns en route to a 20+ point Auburn win.
Worry level: 6. Score: Auburn 31, Ole Miss 10

Oct. 28 – Mississippi State – Remembering his hate for his old rival, Hugh holds nothing back in a quick dismantling of a team that will never be to Auburn’s level despite what many of their alum think.
Worry level: 5. Score: Auburn 45, Mississippi State 10

Nov. 4 – at Vanderbilt – Auburn’s first win in Nashville since Tommy Tuberville (20 years) will come easily as the defense scores two touchdowns while orange and blue spills onto Broadway.
Worry level: 5. Score: Auburn 36, Vanderbilt 9

Nov. 11 – at Arkansas – The trip to Fayetteville is always stupid, but the Hawgs will have six losses at this point, so it will be much less stupid and much more fun.
Worry level: 7. Score: Auburn 34, Arkansas 20

Nov. 18 – New Mexico State – Another one of the worst teams in college football history rolls into the Plains and rolls out after a 50-point beating from mostly backups.
Worry level: 1. Score: Auburn 52, New Mexico State 2

Nov. 25 – Alabama – An Iron Bowl that could get Alabama in the Liberty Bowl will become the biggest beatdown in Iron Bowl history as Payton Thorne and Jarquez Hunter continue to fuel the debate on who will win the Heisman,
Worry level: 10. Score: Auburn 35, Alabama 10

Now give me your predictions and/or tell me how smart I am in the comments section below.

[SaltyTiger 8,579]

54 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

 

warblogle.com

 

War Blogle - Auburn's 2023 Schedule: One Sentence Predictions

War Blogle

4–5 minutes

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Football returns this weekend, but Auburn football returns next weekend. That gives us a few extra days to figure out what shirt we’re going to wear this year, what food we’re going to have at the first tailgate, and how many games Auburn is going to win this year.

Since nobody can read over ten words anymore, for the 14th year in a row, I will dumb it down and give you a one sentence prediction of every game this season. If you’d like, you can go back and read the previous 13 years and see just how right I was.

2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022

The football is coming. This is what will happen. I am sure of it.

Sept. 2 – UMass – Historically, one of the worst teams in college football rolls into Jordan-Hare with a Clemson transfer quarterback and gives Hugh Freeze a nice little intro to football on the Plains.
Worry level: 1. Score: Auburn 63, UMass 7

Sept. 9 – at Cal – Most of the Auburn fanbase will miss church Sunday morning after the Tigers dispel all the “Pac-12 After Dark” fears quickly in front of a raucous crowd of 2,000 Bears fans.
Worry level: 3. Score: Auburn 38, Cal 13

Sept. 16 – Samford – Jarquez Hunter scores six rushing touchdowns before the 4th quarter, as Auburn easily rolls over their friendly in-state foe. 
Worry level: 2. Score: Auburn 42, Samford 10

Sept. 23 – at Texas A&M – The once scary location, that had no reason to be scary, will be proven not scary again when Payton Thorne throws for three touchdowns to three different receivers.
Worry level: 7. Score: Auburn 27, Texas A&M 17

Sept. 30 – Georgia – The Bulldogs return to Jordan-Hare to face a 4-0 Auburn and leave with their first loss sine 2021 after Shane Hooks makes a one handed touchdown catch as time expires.
Worry level: 10. Score: Auburn 28, Georgia 27

Oct. 14 – at LSU – The defending SEC West Champions that a not-great Auburn team should’ve easily beaten last year will be easily beaten by a great Auburn team as bourbon tears fall in Death Valley.
Worry level: 9. Score: Auburn 31, LSU 28

Oct. 21 – Ole Miss – The coach that many people were settling on months ago because he’s funny will leave Jordan-Hare without a smile after Brian Battie returns two kickoffs for touchdowns en route to a 20+ point Auburn win.
Worry level: 6. Score: Auburn 31, Ole Miss 10

Oct. 28 – Mississippi State – Remembering his hate for his old rival, Hugh holds nothing back in a quick dismantling of a team that will never be to Auburn’s level despite what many of their alum think.
Worry level: 5. Score: Auburn 45, Mississippi State 10

Nov. 4 – at Vanderbilt – Auburn’s first win in Nashville since Tommy Tuberville (20 years) will come easily as the defense scores two touchdowns while orange and blue spills onto Broadway.
Worry level: 5. Score: Auburn 36, Vanderbilt 9

Nov. 11 – at Arkansas – The trip to Fayetteville is always stupid, but the Hawgs will have six losses at this point, so it will be much less stupid and much more fun.
Worry level: 7. Score: Auburn 34, Arkansas 20

Nov. 18 – New Mexico State – Another one of the worst teams in college football history rolls into the Plains and rolls out after a 50-point beating from mostly backups.
Worry level: 1. Score: Auburn 52, New Mexico State 2

Nov. 25 – Alabama – An Iron Bowl that could get Alabama in the Liberty Bowl will become the biggest beatdown in Iron Bowl history as Payton Thorne and Jarquez Hunter continue to fuel the debate on who will win the Heisman,
Worry level: 10. Score: Auburn 35, Alabama 10

Now give me your predictions and/or tell me how smart I am in the comments section below.

I don’t see the first 3 scoring a total of against us. All of the others are pretty much as I see it.