9.6.23 Football Articles

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

Gunner Britton reflects on 'special' first game as an Auburn Tiger

JD McCarthy

~3 minutes

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Gunner Britton was one of Auburn’s top pickups in the transfer portal over the offseason and he showed why in the Tiger’s first game of the season. He showcased his versatility by playing three different spots along the offensive line on his way to being named the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week.

“It’s a blessing,” Britton said. “It’s not really about me. It’s about my teammates and what they do for me. I can’t wait to call my dad. He’s going to probably cry. It will be a good thing for my whole family. It’s a big accomplishment but for me, it’s the first game. I’ve got 11 more, hopefully, 12 and 13.”

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It wasn’t Britton’s first time playing in Jordan-Hare Stadium, he did so last year as a member of Western Kentucky, but it was the first time he did so as a Tiger and he admitted that it was a special moment that he and his family will treasure.

“I think it’s special, even for me,” he said. “I got emotional on the Tiger Walk, cause for me, I haven’t told my parents, I’ve never had so many people cheer for me and being able to come to a school like Auburn, being able to play well. Seeing how much it means to the fans is something that’s special. It was kind of a crazy moment.”

Obviously, I’ve been here for seven months and part of you is like when I put on the pads and run out and see 90,000 people or for Tiger Walk it’s like ‘Dang, I really do play at Auburn now.’ It’s special, I think the transfer portal is something crazy. I remember thinking when I prayed on the field thinking that ‘I’m not supposed to be here.'”

The new transfer rules have made it far easier for coaching staffs to flip a roster and while some of these transfers come from other SEC programs, many of them are coming up from lower levels and Britton is thankful for the opportunity.

“Ten years ago this would have never been a thing for a guy to be able to transfer to a big school and play,” he added. “So for me, it was a special moment, it was a special moment for my family, it is something that we will never forget, me running out the tunnel for the first time, me on Tiger Walk. People know my name and stuff, that’s something that is really special to me and I was emotional about it. It was a crazy opportunity for me to play in front of 90,000 people, it’s something that is special. I think it’s something that is awesome.”

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15.

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247sports.com

 

'Keep 'em fresh': Why Auburn will continue to use deep offensive line rotation

Nathan King

9–11 minutes

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• 

• 

“We’d see it some in fall camp — what happens when you really tempo somebody."

Auburn believes it doesn’t just have a strong two-deep on the offensive line for depth purposes.

The Tigers’ coaching staff considers several of them starting-adjacent players who can contribute early and often in any game — whether it’s a blowout, like Auburn’s 59-14 win over UMass in the season opener, or what’s expected to be a closer matchup at Cal this Saturday (9:30 p.m. CDT, ESPN).

Most power programs roll with a starting five for the majority of the season, with maybe one or two additional pieces who can sub in depending on the style of defense they’re facing that particular week. But because of the speed at which Auburn wants to snap the ball on offense this year, Hugh Freeze is more than comfortable playing almost his entire two-deep like starters.

“I think if we continue to push the boundaries and go fast, I think we’re really comfortable with eight to nine guys,” Freeze said Monday.

In all, 13 Auburn offensive linemen saw the field in the win. The starting group was, left to right, Dillon Wade, Gunner Britton, Avery Jones, Kam Stutts and Izavion Miller. But Freeze and first-year position coach Jake Thornton shuffled the offensive line as early as the second drive of the game — with Stutts swapping over to left guard, Britton at right tackle and Jeremiah Wright inserted at right guard — and used five different groupings in the first half alone.

“I think you gotta keep ‘em fresh,” Freeze said. “Maybe some weeks it’s better that Jeremiah (Wright) rolls out there the first series. It depends what kind of front you’re playing. He’s got more girth to him, obviously. Really, the reason we did what we did this past week was because of all the chaotic looks, and Gunner has a really, really sharp IQ. We felt like he and Dillon and Stutts beside (Miller) was a really good combination so that we — the chance of us giving up negative plays against the (UMass coach) Don Brown’s different looks, I thought, were less by having Gunner on one side and Kam on one side. That’s the reason that that’s who rolled out there the first series.”

The uptick in Auburn’s offensive tempo was noticeable, as the Tigers sometimes occasionally snapped the ball in under eight seconds. In the first half, Auburn averaged 3.4 plays per minute, compared to 2.2 for the Tigers’ offense last season.

That pace is obviously the toughest on the biggest players on the field at the line of scrimmage, but Britton said he noticed it take more of a toll on UMass than Auburn, since the Tigers were rotating plenty of players up front.

“We’d see it some in fall camp — what happens when you really tempo somebody,” said Britton, who played three different offensive line spots in Saturday’s win. “You saw the first drive, where they’re breathing heavy, they don’t know how to line up and what it does to a defense. It almost kind of makes it easier the faster you go because it’s harder for them to go and look at the sidelines and get a signal in.”

After the win Saturday evening, Freeze noted how Britton’s versatility is key to the Tigers utilizing so many different offensive line groupings, since he can seamlessly slide to any of the five positions. The Western Kentucky transfer repped as Auburn’s starting right tackle for most of the offseason, then saw a lot of work at left guard once Miller started to surge at right tackle late in preseason camp. Britton played those two spots, plus six snaps at left tackle, in the win over UMass.

And the shuffling clearly doesn’t affect his performance: Monday afternoon, Britton was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week.

“For me, once I get into the rhythm of the game and stuff, changing positions is just something that they’ve asked me to do — and it’s something that I’ve done a long time,” Britton said.

Can Auburn continue to rely on such a deep O-line group moving into competition against Power Five and SEC opponents? The coaching staff will start receiving more data this Saturday against the Golden Bears.

Here are the seven offensive lines Auburn trotted out in the UMass win, presented in chronological order of when they saw the field.

GROUP 1

LT Dillon Wade

LG Gunner Britton

C Avery Jones

RG Kam Stutts

RT Izavion Miller

GROUP 2

LT Dillon Wade

LG Kam Stutts

C Avery Jones

RG Jeremiah Wright

RT Gunner Britton

GROUP 3

LT Jaden Muskrat

LG Tate Johnson

C Avery Jones

RG Jeremiah Wright

RT Gunner Britton

GROUP 4

LT Dillon Wade

LG Kam Stutts

C Connor Lew

RG Jeremiah Wright

RT Izavion Miller

GROUP 5

LT Gunner Britton

LG Tate Johnson

C Connor Lew

RG Jalil Irvin

RT Izavion Miller

GROUP 6

LT Tyler Johnson

LG Tate Johnson

C Connor Lew

RG Dylan Senda

RT Jalil Irvin

GROUP 7

LT Tyler Johnson

LG Dylan Senda

C Connor Lew

RG E.J. Harris

RT Jalil Irvin

And here’s how the snaps were distributed at all five positions over the course of the game, according to Pro Football Focus:

LEFT TACKLE

Dillon Wade: 47

Tyler Johnson: 15

Gunner Britton: 6

Jaden Muskrat: 5

LEFT GUARD

Gunner Britton: 27

Kameron Stutts: 20

Tate Johnson: 15

Dylan Senda: 11

CENTER

Avery Jones: 45

Connor Lew: 28

RIGHT GUARD

Kameron Stutts: 27

Jeremiah Wright: 25

E.J. Harris: 11

Jalil Irvin: 6

RIGHT TACKLE

Izavion Miller: 39

Gunner Britton: 19

Jalil Irvin: 15

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Confident Keionte: Auburn's punt returner alters mindset in Year 2

“I had to learn a fair catch is not a bad play,” Scott said Monday.

VIDEO: What is Auburn getting in 4-star DeAndre Carter?

Keionte Scott knew something had to change.

In his first season at Auburn last year, the former JUCO star was one of the most explosive return men in the SEC, no doubt. His 9.6 yards per return was the fourth-best mark in the conference, and that positioned him in the top 20 nationally, too.

But that was only when he was able to get his hands on the ball cleanly. Scott had three muffed punts in 2022, plus a muffed kickoff. He sometimes made dangerous decisions to either field punts in traffic, or go after a ball on the ground that should be left for the kicking team to down.

Of course, Scott always just trying to make a play for his team. But he had to learn this year — once it became apparent he was going to have an opportunity as Auburn’s punt returner once again — and teach himself that those success plays on special teams aren’t always the ones that end up on a highlight reel.

“I had to learn a fair catch is not a bad play,” Scott said Monday. “I felt like last year I was too antsy to make a play, like I was forcing it. This year it'll be more of, hey, if I get the opportunity, I'll make the play. If it hangs up there, make the fair catch and get the offense on the field.”

That comes from reps with first-year special teams coordinator Tanner Burns, sure, along with receivers coach Marcus Davis, who was an Auburn punt returner himself less than a decade ago and works with those players in practice often. But it was more so a new mindset for Scott that he had to adopt in practice.

“Just comfortability and confidence,” Scott said. “I felt like last year — it's really just confidence back there. You've got to be confident. If you're confident and you go out there — if you're thinking too much, bad things happen. But if you're confident, no matter what happens on this play, I get the ball in my hands and get a chance to do something for the offense. I get an opportunity to help them out, and that's just how I think about it this year.”

And it paid off in Game 1 of Auburn’s 2023 season. In the Tigers’ 59-14 win over UMass, Scott corralled a punt off one bounce in the first quarter, caught a couple blocks moving right to left across the field, and took the angle for a 56-yard return.

It was Auburn’s longest punt return since fellow defensive back Stephen Roberts went 58 yards in the 2016 Iron Bowl.

“I felt like the blockers up front did a really good job of holding up and giving me some space,” Scott said. “On the first punt, I had 11 yards before anybody was even near me. When I have the opportunity to scan the field I feel like we have good chances, I can find some space and make big plays and put our offense in position.”

Special teams was one of Auburn’s positives for the entire game, and Hugh Freeze gave that unit its flowers Monday. Auburn had 131 return yards in the first quarter alone, helping the Tigers produce an average starting field position in the first half at its own 48-yard line.

Considering the Minutemen also missed a field goal and shanked a punt for only 22 yards early in the third quarter, Auburn’s special-teams advantage was significant.

Auburn hopes Scott’s ball security can improve this season and yield one of the better return-man duos in the SEC, as kick returner and running back transfer Brian Battie was a consensus All-American in 2021, when he returned three kickoffs for touchdowns.

“I just feel like this game we play is about momentum,” Scott said. “That punt return can bring a lot of momentum to the game and flip the field for the offense and put them in better positions to get points.”

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247sports.com

 

Auburn opponent preview Taking a look at the Cal defense

Jason Caldwell

4–5 minutes

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A veteran defensive coordinator that earned his stripes calling plays on that side of the ball before taking over as the head coach at Cal for the 2017 season, Justin Wilcox has spent time on the West Coast and was also at Tennessee in 2010-11. This weekend he’ll be going up against Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers in the first big game of his tenure on the Plains.

Bringing in a unit that allowed 21 points last Saturday in a big win over North Texas, but just 41 yards rushing on 27 attempts thanks to a pair of sacks and six tackles for a loss, Wilcox is someone that Freeze respects heading into Saturday night’s late kickoff.

“This is not like last week,” Freeze said of Cal’s defense. “We can see everything. But his kids are going to be in the right spot. They’re going to be lined up correctly. They’re going to play hard. They’re going to tackle well. You’re going to have to drive the field multiple times and they’re going to try not to give you explosive plays. 

“You’ve got to try to find a way to have some. But they’re going to be in the right spot. They’re just extremely well coached for what they do. It’s not a complicated scheme but they do what they do really, really well. And last week it worked. They only gave up 40 yards rushing, I think. Had three picks. Held them to 2 of 11 on third downs. They had a really, really good defensive effort in game one.”

The leader of the group is sixth-year senior linebacker Jackson Sirmon. A Washington transfer originally from Brentwood Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, the 6-2, 240 Sirmon led the team with six tackles and a sack in last week’s game. A first-team All-Pac 12 selection last season, Sirmon had 106 tackles, three and a half sacks and six tackles for a loss for the Bears.

He’s joined by a group of big linebackers in the 2-4-5 scheme that could feature two, three, four or even five down linemen at times. Alongside Sirmon in the middle is 6-2, 230 redshirt sophomore Kaleb Elarms-Orr. On the outside, the Bears have a pair of big, athletic linebackers in 6-3, 235 redshirt junior Myles Jernigan 6-2, 240 redshirt senior David Reese. A player to watch at the position is 6-6, 270 Xavier Carlton. He had four tackles and one and a half tackles for a loss last week after starting seven games a season ago and finishing with 36 tackles and four and a half sacks.

Up front, 6-3, 285 Ethan Saunders is one of the leaders on the defense after starting all 12 games a season ago. For his career, the junior has 45 career tackles with four sacks and five and a half tackles for a loss. He’s joined by 6-3, 295 Brett Johnson with massive 6-4, 335 junior Ricky Correia providing depth along with 6-2, 270 Nate Burrell.

In the secondary, redshirt junior safety Craig Woodson (6-0, 210) has 98 career tackles with a pair of interceptions and is one of the keys for the Bears on the back end of the defense. The other safety is San Diego State transfer Patrick McMorris. The 6-0, 210 senior played in 42 games for the Aztecs with 27 starts. He made 162 tackles in four seasons at San Diego State before making the move to Berkeley.

DT 

99 Ethan Saunders 6-3 285 Jr.^

- or - 98 Nate Burrell 6-2 270 So.

- or - 51 Curlee Thomas 6-4 260 R-Fr.

- or - 96 Derek Wilkins 6-5 285 R-So.

DT

90 Brett Johnson 6-5 295 R-Jr.^

- or - 91 Ricky Correia 6-4 335 Jr.^

- or - 94 Stanley Saole-McKenzie 6-2 330 R-So.^

OLB 

33 Myles Jernigan 6-3 235 R-Jr.^

- or - 92 Myles Williams 6-3 240 R-So.

50 

Tidiane Jalloh 6-5 270 So.

ILB 8 Jackson Sirmon 6-2 240 R-Sr.^

32 

Blake Antzoulatos 6-2 225 R-Jr.^

27 Cade Uluave 6-1 230 Fr.

- or - 31 Hunter Barth 6-2 215 R-So.

ILB 

53 Kaleb Elarms-Orr 6-2 230 R-So.

10 Sergio Allen 6-1 230 R-So.^

- or - 32 Blake Antzoulatos 6-2 225 R-Jr.^

55 Muelu Iosefa 6-3 230 Jr.^

OLB 

7 David Reese 6-2 240 R-Sr.^ 

- or - 44 Xavier Carlton 6-6 270 Jr.^

43 Ryan McCulloch 6-3 240 Fr.

CB 

15 Lu-Magia Hearns III 5-10 170 Jr.

- or - 6 Jeremiah Earby 6-2 185 So.

S 

9 Patrick McMorris 6-0 210 Sr.^

5 Raymond Woodie III 6-0 200 Sr.^

23 Dejuan Butler 5-11 205 R-So.^

S 2 Craig Woodson 6-0 210 R-Jr.^

13 Miles Williams 6-0 190 R-Jr.^

CB 

3 Nohl Williams 6-1 195 Jr.^

41 Isaiah Young 5-10 180 Jr.^

NB 

22 Matthew Littlejohn 5-11 180 Jr.

4 Kaylin Moore 5-11 190 Jr.

20 Cam Sidney 5-11 185 R-Fr

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al.com

 

Cal starting QB said to be ‘day-to-day’ ahead of Saturday’s matchup with Auburn

Published: Sep. 05, 2023, 1:19 p.m.

~2 minutes

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Auburn coach Hugh Freeze previews Cal week

After being without starting quarterback Sam Jackson for the better part of its season-opening win against North Texas last week, Cal might once again be without its starter under center when Auburn comes to town Saturday.

In his press conference Tuesday, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said Jackson is “day-to-day”, but was “running around at practice.”

Jackson came out of Cal’s game against North Texas after playing just 18 snaps before suffering an upper body injury. Jackson totaled 33 passing yards and a touchdown after going 3-for-4 passing and running for 18 yards on three carries.

Jackson, a former 4-star QB out of high school, previously played at TCU before joining the Golden Bears this January.

Should Jackson not be able to go Saturday, Auburn still has plenty to prepare for as Cal’s offense fared just fine without him and under the command of NC State transfer Ben Finley, who went 24-for-24 through the air for 279 yards and touchdown.

Wilcox did not provide a timeline for ruling Jackson out.

“We will make that decision when the time is right,” Wilcox said.

Auburn’s visit to Cal kicks off on Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. CT.

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saturdaydownsouth.com

 

Auburn football: “Red Zone” Robby Ashford remains big key to Tigers’ success

Glenn Sattell | 19 hours ago

4–5 minutes

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First-year Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze put it simply and succinctly when he talked about the importance of having a quarterback like Robby Ashford on the roster.

“Robby Ashford is vital to us winning football games,” Freeze said. “We need him.”

That was evident last Saturday.

Although he may have lost his starting position to transfer Payton Thorne, Ashford remains a key player in the Tigers’ attack. The 6-foot-3, 218-pound sophomore scored 3 rushing touchdowns in Auburn’s 59-14 thumping of UMass in the 2023 season opener at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Ashford’s scoring dashes all came in the 2nd quarter on successive possessions at a time when the Tigers already held a 10-7 lead but were looking to display their dominance. Ashford played a huge role in helping them do just that.

While it was Thorne who drove the Tigers down the field, Ashford came off the bench each time with Auburn in the red zone to complete the touchdown marches. It started with the 1st play of the 2nd quarter when Ashford came off the bench to race 10 yards to the end zone.

He finished the next TD drive from the UMass 14-yard line with 3 consecutive runs of 6, 7 and 1 yard to reach the end zone. Ashford then finished off the barrage, scoring his 3rd and final TD on just 1 play. After a timeout, Ashford entered the game and scored on a 4-yard run.

His 3 rushing touchdowns put Ashford in good company. The last Auburn quarterback to score 3 rushing TDs was a fellow by the name of Cam Newton, who did it in 2010 vs. Arkansas.

It seems that Ashford has a knack for finding the end zone. He’s scored multiple rushing touchdowns 4 times now in his career and has now recorded 10 rushing TDs in his Auburn career.

On Saturday, he increased that 10-7 lead by scoring the Tigers’ next 3 TDs on those runs of 10, 1 and 4 yards, and when the dust settled Auburn held a commanding 31-7 advantage.

For the game, Ashford finished with 51 yards on 9 carries.

Perhaps somewhat overshadowed but certainly not overlooked was the play of the new starting quarterback. In his 1st start on The Plains, Thorne completed 10 of 17 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. He was efficient in moving the team up and down the field.

Thorne’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Jay Fair was the Michigan State transfer’s 1st TD as a Tiger and the 50th TD pass of his career.

And defensively, let’s not overlook the effort of Jaylin Simpson, who recorded his 1st interception of the season and 4th of his career, returning the pick 50 yards for a touchdown. He also came up with his 1st career fumble recovery in the win.

But it was Ashford who punctuated Auburn’s season-opening triumph and cemented his role as the season unfolds. Good size and excellent speed make him a prime go-to dual threat in the red zone and another option for Freeze to utilize near the opponents’ goal line.

Ashford’s passing accuracy still needs work — he was just 2 for 6 for 3 yards on Saturday (and is 125 for 256 with 7 interceptions for his career) — and is probably the only thing holding him back from a starting role.

Despite that, Ashford now has a valuable spot in Freeze’s system.

That’s not to say that Ashford can’t throw the ball. He does own a career-best, 337-yard passing game against LSU last season and a 285-yard passing game against Arkansas.

But Ashford also possesses a couple of 100-yard rushing games — 108 vs. Mississippi State and 121 vs. Alabama.

So, while Freeze is using the big, strong quarterback’s legs at the moment, Ashford remains a serious dual threat.

And that’s what keeps him in the game and keeps opposing defenses on their heels.

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si.com

 

Auburn's Payton Thorne, Cal's Sam Jackson V have surprising connection

Lance Dawe

6–7 minutes

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California's Sam Jackson V played high school football at Naperville Central, a high school in the suburbs of Chicago.

Over the course of his time at Naperville, Jackson moved around and molded himself to the team's liking in order to get onto the field.

That included switching from quarterback to receiver because of current Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne.

“We play the same position, but [because] I didn’t want to sit on the sidelines […] I tried to contribute to the team by [becoming a] receiver and being one of his main targets,” Jackson told the Central Times in 2018.

Jackson transferred to Naperville from Bolingbrook High School, becoming the only sophomore on that Redhawks squad. He was said to have trained closely with Thorne, with the team environment surrounding the two aiding in their building chemistry.

“I kind of look up to Payton Thorne,” Jackson said. “He’s a great leader, and he knows everything about the game.“

The duo were electric that season. Jackson exploded onto the scene as a transfer, catching 50 passes for 847 yards and 14 touchdowns.

After a stellar 92-yard performance against Naperville North mid-season, it was clear that Jackson greatly benefitted as a receiver in Thorne's offense. 

“To have a guy like Payton is crazy because he can make plays or extend plays,” Jackson said (Naperville Sun/Chicago Tribune). “As soon as I found out I was transferring here we got to work. Payton is a pocket passer who has targets down the field, and he can hit anybody.”

Following the end of that 2018 season, Payton Thorne committed to Michigan State. It was now Jackson's turn to return back to quarterback and lead.

According to Naperville Central head coach Mike Stine, Jackson learned how lead behind Thorne, one of the best quarterbacks in the state.

“He had a great mentor,” Stine said of Jackson (Shaw Local). “He got to play behind the best quarterback in the state last year in [Thorne], and Sam really learned a lot from just watching Payton’s work ethic and what he does in the classroom breaking down film.”

Jackson agreed. “I learned a lot,” he said. “He showed me how to become a better leader to my teammates, not only on the field, but off the field, too. He taught me a lot of things about coverages. When I came to [Naperville] Central he was talking about the reads on every play, the coverages and how to beat the coverages.”

In nine games as the full-time starter in 2019, Jackson threw for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns. His senior season was cut due to COVID-19, so immediately following his junior campaign, Jackson was off to college.

After originally committing and playing early for TCU, Jackson transferred to California this offseason. He ended up winning the starting quarterback job for the Golden Bears while impressing in camp.

Jeff Faurado of Cal Sports Report got a chance to talk with Naperville's Mike Stine about Jackson's skill set earlier this year. Sam isn't just a quarterback, says Stine. He's an athlete.

“He definitely is a unique athletic talent," Stine said. "Everyone is going to see that. He can run 4.4 in the 40, he can windmill dunk a basketball and he can throw a football 70 yards. He’s extremely dynamic. He’s a playmaker. That’s what you’re going to see on the field.

Stine continued to rave about Jackson's skill set as an athlete. High football IQ. Special. Good work ethic.

Current Naperville Central head coach Mike Ulreich, who was the defensive coordinator for the Redhawks while Jackson was there, also was blown away by Jackson's abilities.

“He did things in games and every day in practice that just kind of blew you away throwing the football,” Ulreich said. "He’s got enormous hands. The ball just explodes off his fingers. He’s got a very smooth, natural motion and the ball just kind of jumps out of his hand.”

What made Jackson more than a quarterback? Well, while Jackson himself would tell you he's a pass-first QB, many of his highlights will show that he's every bit of a dual-threat. He's hard to bring down in the backfield, and was excellent at extending plays.

It reminded the coaches of a certain NFL quarterback.

“One of his strengths is when the defense thinks they have a good play going and the play breaks down offensively, Sam can extend that and get out of the pocket. He can hurt you out of the pocket by running, but if you come up and try and tackle him he can throw the ball 70 yards [...] He has a little Patrick Mahomes in him,” Stine said. “He’s that kind of guy — he extends plays with his feet [...] and if a receiver’s open down field he’ll get him the ball. That’s what puts pressure on the defense.”

Jackson suffered an upper-body injury vs North Texas in Cal's season opener. Before getting hurt, he was 3-of-4 passing for 33 yards and a touchdown with 18 yards rushing.

He's an impact player that could give Auburn fits this weekend if he's able and ready to go.

The Tigers travel to Berkley to take on the Golden Bears this Saturday, September 9th. Kickoff is at 9:30 CT on ESPN.

---

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247sports.com

 

Aggressive scheme fits well for Auburn duo of Scott and Kaufman

Jason Caldwell

7–9 minutes

---

Auburn's duo of Keionte Scott and Donovan Kaufman had a big first game under Ron Roberts.

AUBURN, Alabama—They are called layups by Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts. Those are plays that are there for the taking for the defense, with many of those coming from the star position that is such a big key for the success of his scheme. On Saturday those layups proved to be huge with Keionte Scott and Donovan Kaufman having success sharing the duties at the position and creating pressure on the quarterback.

Kaufman had four quarterback pressures on the day and had a strip sack that Jaylin Simpson recovered for one of Auburn’s two turnovers on defense. The other came on a Simpson interception, caused when Scott got pressure on the quarterback coming off the edge.

Scott said the duo feels like they can impact the game in a lot of ways, thanks to the scheme and aggressive nature of their new coordinator.

“I just feel like we're two antsy guys, two highly productive guys,” Scott said. “So just having us on the field, no matter what, it's not a drop-off at that star position. No matter what, you're not going to have a star you can attack in the run game and let's make him tackle. We're both willing tacklers. So it's going to be exciting as the year goes on to see us both grow.”

It’s something that walk-on safety Griffin Speaks thinks Auburn fans can expect to see more of throughout the season with Roberts in charge. Playing for him the last three seasons at Baylor, the former Auburn High standout said Roberts is a guy that wants to put his players in position to make plays and then trusts them to go out and do just that.

“He is aggressive, but he’s also very smart,” Speaks said. “He knows what he’s doing. I think he knows how to attack an offense we go against. He prepares us unlike anybody. I think we can be aggressive, but some games we might hold off. He’s always had an aggressive nature. It’s great. That’s all you can ask for.”

Speaks said because of that aggressive nature, he thinks the combination of Scott and Kaufman could be in for some big things in this scheme.

“It’s incredible,” Speaks said. “Coach Roberts provides guys like that layups. They have a green light to go make plays. Guys like that, DK and Keionte, they are world class athletes. When you give them the green light to go make plays, the sky's the limit. Anything can happen.”

Now preparing for a much bigger challenge this Saturday night against a Cal offense that torched North Texas for 58 points and 669 yards of total offense in the season opener, Scott said the defense is headed in the right direction after getting a game under their belts to work with each other and also with Roberts.

“I feel like now that we know defensively the situations and what he's trying to do, we're just learning each other,” he said. “He's learning us and we're learning him; that's all we're trying to do. Just getting together and looking at how he wants to do things. We're starting to click -- even this week, I feel like even just today in this walkthrough, we're going to have a better advantage of knowing the situations, the things he wants to call and when he wants to call them.”

#PMARSHONAU: On 'truth day,' Auburn turns focus forward

After a happy opener, Auburn must play better as trip to California looms

AUBURN, Alabama - I am not sure what coach I heard say it years ago, but the words stuck with me. “Never apologize for winning.” And from another coach before a projected blowout: “If you don’t think it’s a big game, try losing it.” Such is the reality of college football, especially in the first week of the season when so many teams are playing overmatched opponents.

Usually, one of two things happens: The stronger team imposes its will and runs away to a lopsided victory or the stronger team plays down to the level of its opponent and the result is a game that could put even the staunchest fan to sleep. Rarely, the stronger teams plays poorly enough to learn the horrors of losing to such an opponent.

Hugh Freeze’s Auburn team took the first option last Saturday, crushing overmatched UMass 59-14 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It was, in its own way, a big game because it was Freeze’s first as Auburn head coach. He and his team were welcomed by a record crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Everyone went home feeling good.

But it is worth noting that Bryan Harsin’s Auburn teams outscored Akron and Mercer 102-26 in his two season-openers.

Monday was “truth” day for Freeze and his players. And the truth, Freeze said, was that Auburn would have to play better to beat an extremely dangerous Cal team on the West Coach come Saturday night. Sometimes, mistakes don’t show against such teams as UMass. A player goes the wrong way, but the play works anyway. A bad read doesn’t result in a bad outcome. Execution is crucial, but it’s much easier to execute against UMass than it will be against Cal.

Freeze is nothing if not bluntly honest, a trait that is appreciated by those who cover his team. Harsin told us essentially nothing. Gus Malzahn liked every practice. Gene Chizik, for the most part, did, too. Be it a practice or a game, Freeze will tell you what he liked. And he will tell you what he didn’t like. The don’t likes seem to bug him for than the likes please him. And that’s OK.

Freeze was delighted with the way the special teams played in the first half against UMass and not so delighted in the second half. He liked the way his offense ran the ball and, for the most part, the offense as a whole. He didn’t like that quarterback Payton Thorne made wrong decisions three times. He didn’t like the perimeter blocking and didn’t believe route-running was what it should have been. He loved having no turnovers and no presnap penalties.

On defense, Freeze was happy about holding UMass to 1-for-11 on third downs. What he didn’t like were issues with alignment and assignment, issues that could cause big problems against Cal and the brutal schedule ahead.

“We had numerous snaps, probably 15 I think it was, where we were not lined up properly, and it’s going to bite us big time if that continues to be the issue,” Freeze said. “We did have a lot of young kids out there, but nobody is going to write that, and it’s not going to make you feel better sitting in the film room after a week that it bites you. It’s one thing if somebody makes us miss a tackle, like this back (California’s Jaydn Ott) this week will. That is one thing, but for us to be aligned improperly and be a gap short or not be on the same page with all 11, on the back end, especially, it will burn you.”

Freeze buys into the philosophy that you never apologize for winning, and he sure was not apologizing Monday. The ultimate goal is to win, and Auburn won in fine fashion.

“The biggest truth of the day is we are 1-0,” Freeze said. “We defended our home, and we celebrate that.”

The life college football players have chosen for themselves is grueling year-around. Once the season starts, the burden of carrying the hopes of so many is heavy. For some, it gets too heavy. You win and celebrate, or you lose and suffer disappointment. In the day of social media, one week you are praised and the next week you are criticized or even vilified. Either way, there’s another fight ahead and you must prepare for it. You must learn from the past. You must get better.

Truth day is fun when you win, even if part of it is being shown what you did wrong. It stinks when you lose. Auburn’s season-opener was lots of fun for all involved. It’s over now. What truth the next one brings is what matters most.

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Road game at Cal creates a game week that's a 'little different' for Auburn

Updated: Sep. 04, 2023, 2:20 p.m.|Published: Sep. 04, 2023, 12:45 p.m.

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Hugh Freeze calling this week “a little different” was an understatement.

A road game that requires a team to travel just less than 2,500 miles is all but typical. Heck, since joining the college coaching ranks in 2006, Freeze has never had to travel that far for a single game.

In 2019, Freeze and the Liberty Flames took a trip to BYU. The journey from Lynchburg, Va. to Provo, Utah stretched a little less than 2,100 miles.

What did Freeze takeaway from the long trip? That he didn’t like it.

“I don’t like scheduling teams on the West Coast,” Freeze said. “I just assume play somebody over here on the East Coast, but it was done. Me complaining or not embracing it is not the proper response.”

Nonetheless, Freeze says Auburn’s matchup with Cal on Saturday might be more difficult than Liberty’s visit to BYU as he and the Tigers jump over another time zone for a game that won’t kick off until 9:30 p.m. CT — which ties for the latest kickoff in Auburn football history.

The Tigers traveled to Arizona in 1976 for a ball game that also kicked off at 9:30 p.m. CT, or 7:30 p.m. PT.

In an attempt to embrace the challenge, Freeze says he’s looking forward to seeing how the program responds to the adversities that come with a true road game like the one on the docket this weekend.

“I think it creates some challenges, but this will be a good test for all of us. Coaches, trainers, staff, nutritionists, drink staff, support staff, players. How do we handle it if things are a little uncomfortable?,” Freeze said. “You’ve gotta play a really good football team at their place when our body times are 9:30 or 10 at night and we’re kicking it off. All of that is going to be a challenge, but you know what, that’s what life is.”

And contrary to what many might assume, Monday’s Labor Day holiday might’ve helped the Tigers set the foundation for their abnormal week ahead.

Due to the holiday, there weren’t classes to get in the way of practice and film sessions. So instead, the Auburn football team had their “truth meeting” early Monday morning, which is what Freeze calls his debrief with the team from the game prior.

After Freeze’s press conference, which ended at about 11:30 a.m., he went straight out to the practice field.

“We’re trying to get through practice and meetings a bit earlier today to try to gain some extra rest and maybe some extra game planning today,” Freeze said. “This week’s a little different so we’re trying to get a jump-start.”

The Auburn football team will go wheels up on Thursday afternoon, landing in California late Thursday night.

“When they’re still college students, and most of ours are (taking) in-class stuff, so it’s really hard to tinker too much with our schedules here,” Freeze said. “The only thing we did, we’re going to practice a little earlier Thursday, and we don’t want to get to California until late Thursday night, so that you’re not sitting in a hotel at all hardly Thursday. It’s time to go to bed.”

Come Friday, however, it’ll be time for Auburn’s players to get their bodies adjusted.

The Tigers will head to San Mateo Community College on Friday to practice at their normal practice time in an attempt to simulate as close to a normal schedule as possible.

“The hard day’s going to be, really, Saturday, sitting around,” Freeze said. “That’s a long time before kickoff.”

But once the Tigers and the Golden Bears do finally kick things off Saturday night, Freeze hopes that he and his team embrace the opportunity ahead of them.

It won’t be anything like Saturday’s season-opener against UMass — not from a talent standpoint, nor from an environment standpoint.

“How we approach it and the attitude we have for the opportunity to the opportunity we have, it ought to be one of gratitude and thankfulness,” Freeze said. “We gotta suck it up and fly a long flight. That’s what we gotta do. We got another opportunity to represent this school, this conference and each other. Let’s go make the most of it.”

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Auburn vs. Cal: Six Golden Bears to know

JD McCarthy

Wed, September 6, 2023 at 6:00 AM CDT·3 min read

 

The Auburn Tigers (1-0) are set to embark on their first road trip of the season and it will be quite a long one as they are headed all the way to Berkley, California to take on the Cal Golden Bears (1-0).

In his weekly press conference, Hugh Freeze did not pull any punches about his thoughts on the road trip.

“One of the challenges I have for me is to embrace it because I don’t like it,” he explained. “I don’t like scheduling teams on the West Coast. I would like to play somebody over here on the East Coast, but it was done and me complaining or not embracing it, is not the proper response.”

Cal, just like Auburn, is coming off a big win as they took down North Texas 58-21 and racked up 669 yards of offense. The Golden Bears are led by Justin Wilcox who has amassed a 31-16 record in seven seasons as their head coach. His background is as a defensive coordinator and Auburn’s offense can expect to face a tough defense that is stout against the run.

 

Here is a look at six Cal players you need to know before the game.

RB Jaydn Ott

 

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Ott built on his stellar freshman season with a dominant performance against North Texas, rushing for 188 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. There are still plenty of questions about Auburn’s ability to stop the run and Ott will be a great test for the unit.

LB Jackson Sirmon

 

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Sirmon is a sixth-year player and the leader of the defense from the linebacker spot. He had a big game against North Texas, making eight tackles and 1.0 sacks. Auburn has shown it wants to run the football and they will have to deal with Sirmon when they do so.

QBs Sam Jackson V and Ben Finley

 

(AP Photo/LM Otero)

Cal named Jackson its starting quarterback ahead of the season but he left the North Texas game with an injury and Finley came in to lead the offense. Finley finished the day 24-for-34 for 279 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Wilcox hasn’t updated the status of Jackson yet and this will be something to watch as the game approaches. Jackson’s legs can complement the run game while Finley is more of a pocket passer.

S Craig Woodson

 

 

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Woodson is their only returning starter in the secondary but he is a great player to have back. This is his fifth season playing college football and he has the ability to be an NFL player.

WR Jeremiah Hunter

 

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Hunter is Cal’s top returning receiver after catching 60 passes for 965 yards and five touchdowns last season. He looked like their top target against North Texas, snagging six passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Regardless of who plays at quarterback for Cal, expect Hunter to be targeted early and often.

OLB Xavier Carlton

 

 

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

He led the Golden Bears with 6.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last season and once again looks to be their most disruptive player along the front seven. Auburn did not allow a sack last week and just 4.0 tackles for loss but the offensive line will have to keep an eye on Carlton to prevent him from getting into the backfield and blowing up any plays.

Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire

 

 

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i am not sure if you guys like hearing from the coaches and QB from Cal but i thought i would give it a shot. thanx for stopping by.i will check up for updates later.

[Paladin 3,307]

 

[Maverick.AU 13,295]

9 minutes ago, Paladin said:

 

Maybe just me but when I saw this I just thought "Man just wrap it up like PW back in the day and start clubbing people" lol

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