9.15.23 Football Articles

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

How does Payton Thorne's QBR stack up with fellow SEC quarterbacks?

Taylor Jones

2–3 minutes

Through two games, quarterback Payton Thorne has not had an opportunity to unleash his full potential.

Hugh Freeze brought in Thorne from Michigan State to lead the offense, but he has not earned Freeze’s full trust to this point in the season. Freeze has rotated Thorne and Robby Ashford at the position, with neither doing enough to take the starter role for themselves.

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How has Thorne performed compared to other SEC quarterbacks entering week three? College Sports Wire breaks it down.

College Sports Wire’s Ryan Haley shared his take on SEC quarterbacks based on ESPN’s QBR. Thorne checks in at No. 9 this week with a rating of 63.4. Why is his rating so low? Haley explains.

Thorne has attempted the fewest passes (31) and thrown for the fewest yards (235) of any starter in the SEC through two weeks, but ESPN contests volume is not the only way to measure impact.

In Week 2 on the road against California, Thorne threw for 94 yards on 14 attempts, but he threw for both of Auburn’s scores in the 14-10 victory, including the eventual game-winner to tight end Rivaldo Fairweather in the final quarter.

The former Michigan State starter did attempt more than 380 passes in each of his last two seasons with the Spartans, so time will tell if Freeze lets his quarterback air it out a little more as the season progresses.

Through two full weeks of action, Texas A&M’s Conner Weigman leads the SEC in QBR with 89.5. Quarterbacks such as Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, Alabama‘s Jalen Milroe, and South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler are ahead of Thorne, while Georgia‘s Carson Beck, Tennessee‘s Joe Milton, and Florida‘s Graham Mertz trail behind.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

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si.com

 

Elijah McAllister shouts out Auburn fans for making the trip out west

Andrew Stefaniak

2–3 minutes

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Elijah McAllister thinks Auburn fans traveling to the Cal game helped the Tigers.

Elijah McAllister joined The Next Round to discuss the game the Tigers just won over the Cal Bears. 

McAllister was asked if it felt weird playing on the West Coast, and this was his response, "Honestly, not so much because I think about 10,000 or more fans traveled from all across the country to come to support us in Cal, so it felt like we were supported really well. It felt comfortable in the stadium, obviously, with the travel and everything else going on that was a big emphasis on the week, but I felt like we handled it pretty well and got the win, so that's a positive."

It's not easy to travel across the country to play on the road, so all of the Auburn fans who made the trip to support the Tigers clearly made a difference. 

Having a fan base like the Auburn Tigers do has to be a great feeling for the players as they know no matter where they travel, there will be fans in the stands cheering them on. 

McAllister made it clear that Auburn fans made a real difference in this game for the Tigers and helped them leave with the victory over the Pac-12 foe. 

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247sports.com

 

Backfield balancing act: Tigers look for best running back rotation

Nathan King

5–6 minutes

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In preseason camp, Hugh Freeze said Auburn’s offense had been consistent in a couple areas he deemed necessary for the success of an offense: running the ball, and taking care of it.

So the Tigers’ four turnovers — including three fumbles, two by the tailbacks — came as a surprise to the running back room.

“That wasn't us,” Damari Alston said this week. “I don't think we've turned the ball over that much during camp or even in the scrimmages. Got to be better from that aspect.”

It wasn’t just Alston’s and Jarquez Hunter’s fumbles — both of which were in crucial situations — that were frustrating for the Tigers’ running game in the 14-10 win over Cal. Auburn certainly found more success on the ground than through the air, rushing for 136 yards. Hugh Freeze wasn’t necessarily pleased with how he was able to utilize the group’s depth, which was heralded all offseason as arguably the deepest top-to-bottom position on the roster.

Hunter and Alston combined for 19 carries and 104 yards, but Freeze knows the other two ball-carriers — true freshman Jeremiah Cobb and USF transfer Brian Battie — need to be more involved. Granted, there weren’t a bunch of snaps to go around.

“I’ve never had as deep a running back room as I’ve had here, so it’s a challenge,” Freeze said Wednesday. “It’s also a challenge when you only have 50 offensive plays (against Cal). That was not a normal game to judge anything on.”

When Auburn’s running game seemed to find its footing against Cal, even just for a play or two, the Tigers were seemingly hit with a penalty, turnover or other setback every time. Their limited time of possession and turnover debacle derailed what Freeze thought was set up to be a successful night running the ball.

“I was absolutely very pleased with our run-blocking,” Freeze said. “We should have rushed for 250 or 300 had we not had four turnovers."

Alston echoed those comments earlier this week, when he said he felt Auburn’s offense was simply out of sync throughout the game — and when they were able to settle into a rhythm for a couple plays, or on the go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, they settled right back into what they thought would be a successful game plan.

"I just feel like that drive we kind of calmed down a little bit,” Alston said. “I just feel like from the beginning of the game, I don't know, we weren't as calm as we were supposed to be. Going into the game we had a pretty good game plan and I think the coach's called some great plays that should've hit. That last drive is how we should've played all game. That's the football team that we are."

Now the challenge is for Freeze to find a way to best utilize the backfield’s strengths — starting this Saturday against Samford (6 p.m. CDT, ESPN+). It’s the last tune-up opportunity for Auburn’s offense before seven straight SEC games.

“I hope we can find a way to keep them all involved — because I think they all add something to us that can help us win,” Freeze said. “But it is a challenge.”

Hunter made his return against Cal after missing the season opener while serving a suspension, and Freeze admitted the junior was “rusty.” The primary contender atop the rotation seems to be Alston, a sophomore who was one of the offense’s top risers in the preseason.

The career yardage nod goes to Battie, who transferred over from USF after rushing for 1,185 yards last year. He played only three snaps against Cal and had just one carry, which Freeze said immediately after the game was unacceptable.

The wild card might be true freshman Jeremiah Cobb, who has the highest yards per carry of the bunch (9.6).

“I hope to see him on the field a little bit more,” Alston said of Cobb. “Just the spark that he creates when he touches the ball, when he makes plays, I feel like he’ll be a really good player for us going forward.”

Freeze’s eyes light up when he talks about Cobb, the program’s highest-rated running back signee since Tank Bigsby in 2020. His early flashes have made it tough for Auburn’s staff to keep him off the field.

And maximizing the production of what now looks to be a true four-man rotation is now part of a list of offensive to-do’s for the coaching staff — though they likely anticipated as much heading into the season.

“I love it every time (Cobb) has the ball in his hands — the problem is I also like Damari and Jarquez and Battie,” Freeze said.

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auburntigers.com

 

Auburn alumni assistants have 'so much love for this program'

Auburn University Athletics

3–4 minutes

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AUBURN, Ala. – Zac Etheridge, Carnell Williams and Marcus Davis each left Auburn University with a degree in one hand and a championship ring on the other. 

They came back to the Plains to help others do the same. 

"To have guys who went through this program come back years later to serve and give back to their alma mater that's been so inspirational to them, it's special," said Williams, Auburn's associate head coach and running backs coach who provided inspired leadership while serving as interim head coach for the final four games of the 2022 season. 

Auburn's program leader with 46 touchdowns and second-leading all-time rusher, Williams helped the Tigers win the 2004 SEC Championship during a 13-0 season while earning All-America honors. 

Auburn's secondary coach, Etheridge arrived in 2007, captaining the 2010 national champions as a senior. 

While 2023 marks Williams' fifth season as an Auburn assistant coach and Etheridge's third, receivers coach Marcus Davis joined head coach Hugh Freeze's first staff in December. 

"You know what it takes to win here," said Davis, a receiver and punt returner for the Tigers from 2013-16. "It's an honor to be back and a privilege to serve these student-athletes who I get to lead. I know to whom much is given, much is required."

Ingrained with the Auburn Creed, the trio of Tiger alums seeks to pass along to their players the attributes that have fostered Auburn football success since the days of Shug Jordan to Pat Dye.

"We all love Auburn," Davis said. "We all know what it truly is to be an Auburn man. We all believe in work, hard work. We want to create that for the next generation, the guys we get to mentor."

"We all think the same way with the work, hard work," Etheridge said. "We're not selling Auburn. We actually lived it. It's in our DNA to share with families how we've been able to come to Auburn and be successful by the way we walk and how we treat people."

"They bring that blue-collar mentality and that work ethic," Williams said of his fellow Auburn football lettermen. "They're out there giving back, serving guys. We have a chip on our shoulder and so much love for this program because it's been dear to us and so good to us."

While striving to win games and experience championship seasons as they did in their playing days, the homegrown coaches are motivated by a higher calling.

"It's bigger than football for me," Davis said. "It's about changing lives in the way that Auburn changed my life and giving them the opportunities I had."

"It's easy for us to work together because we all understand what Auburn is about," Etheridge said. "We understand what it's like to put on that AU every day. We don't take it for granted. This is an opportunity to work for this university that helped us get to where we are now."

"A lot of people poured into my life," Williams said. "I tell student-athletes you're giving people hope. Whatever community you're from, you're an inspiration and a role model. Truly changing lives. I think this is what it's all about. We are competitors. We want to see this program back on top."

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer

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wsfa.com

 

Samford football looks to bounce back with road trip to Auburn

Jake Stansell

~2 minutes

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - After a lengthy weather delay and a tough 30-7 loss to Western Carolina last weekend, the Samford Bulldogs will try to bounce back in their penultimate non-conference game of the season on The Plains.

The first road game of the season featured a nearly six-hour lightning delay in a game where quarterback Michael Hiers threw for 315 yards and a touchdown. Samford hits the road once more in the all-Alabama affair, looking for the program’s first win over an SEC opponent since defeating Ole Miss in 1936.

Samford, with a 1-1 record on the early season, will treat the game against Auburn like a home game with the two schools being about two hours apart in distance. Players and staff will get the chance to sleep in their own beds before making the trip to Jordan Hare Stadium.

Plenty of local interest surrounding this matchup as the Bulldogs play for the upset and a chance to hand the Tigers their first loss of the season.

“You don’t get to play in this type of atmosphere often, especially at Auburn, who has a tremendous atmosphere and only two hours down the road,” Samford head football coach Chris Hatcher said. “So, we’re excited about it, we’re looking forward to it. It’s a lot of fun, guys get on national TV, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

In 29 tries, Samford has yet to defeat Auburn but will try again come Saturday night at 6 p.m. when the Bulldogs and Tigers tee it up at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

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Copyright 2023 WBRC. All rights reserved.

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saturdaydownsouth.com

 

Hugh Freeze evaluates QB rotation, says it’s not ‘healthy for anyone’

Andrew Peters | 2 days ago

~3 minutes

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Hugh Freeze has been looking to multiple quarterbacks to start the season, but the Auburn head coach believes it might be time for a change.

On Saturday against Cal, Freeze didn’t get strong play from either of his quarterbacks. The starter, Payton Thorne, had just 94 yards and threw an interception. Robby Ashford got just a handful of reps and didn’t complete a pass.

While Freeze thinks Ashford is capable of starting and playing big reps, the 2 quarterback system isn’t benefitting the team.

“I’ve said and I mean this: Robby needs touches. But the cycling in and out, I don’t think is healthy for anyone,” Freeze said during the SEC coaches teleconference Wednesday. “We’re still learning. Everyone in this building understands that you’ve got to earn the right to maintain your playing time. Payton gives us the best chance to run the entire offense.”

But Freeze also mentioned that Ashford and Holden Geriner are “nipping at his heels,” so it could be a matter of time before Auburn has a different starter.

Auburn will have a chance to get the offense in motion this weekend as the Tigers host Samford. After this week, Auburn will get into some tough SEC games, so this week will be vital in getting things dialed in.

Auburn and Samford kickoff at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday.

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247sports.com

 

Backfield balancing act: Tigers look for best running back rotation

Nathan King

5–6 minutes

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In preseason camp, Hugh Freeze said Auburn’s offense had been consistent in a couple areas he deemed necessary for the success of an offense: running the ball, and taking care of it.

So the Tigers’ four turnovers — including three fumbles, two by the tailbacks — came as a surprise to the running back room.

“That wasn't us,” Damari Alston said this week. “I don't think we've turned the ball over that much during camp or even in the scrimmages. Got to be better from that aspect.”

It wasn’t just Alston’s and Jarquez Hunter’s fumbles — both of which were in crucial situations — that were frustrating for the Tigers’ running game in the 14-10 win over Cal. Auburn certainly found more success on the ground than through the air, rushing for 136 yards. Hugh Freeze wasn’t necessarily pleased with how he was able to utilize the group’s depth, which was heralded all offseason as arguably the deepest top-to-bottom position on the roster.

Hunter and Alston combined for 19 carries and 104 yards, but Freeze knows the other two ball-carriers — true freshman Jeremiah Cobb and USF transfer Brian Battie — need to be more involved. Granted, there weren’t a bunch of snaps to go around.

“I’ve never had as deep a running back room as I’ve had here, so it’s a challenge,” Freeze said Wednesday. “It’s also a challenge when you only have 50 offensive plays (against Cal). That was not a normal game to judge anything on.”

When Auburn’s running game seemed to find its footing against Cal, even just for a play or two, the Tigers were seemingly hit with a penalty, turnover or other setback every time. Their limited time of possession and turnover debacle derailed what Freeze thought was set up to be a successful night running the ball.

“I was absolutely very pleased with our run-blocking,” Freeze said. “We should have rushed for 250 or 300 had we not had four turnovers."

Alston echoed those comments earlier this week, when he said he felt Auburn’s offense was simply out of sync throughout the game — and when they were able to settle into a rhythm for a couple plays, or on the go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, they settled right back into what they thought would be a successful game plan.

"I just feel like that drive we kind of calmed down a little bit,” Alston said. “I just feel like from the beginning of the game, I don't know, we weren't as calm as we were supposed to be. Going into the game we had a pretty good game plan and I think the coach's called some great plays that should've hit. That last drive is how we should've played all game. That's the football team that we are."

Now the challenge is for Freeze to find a way to best utilize the backfield’s strengths — starting this Saturday against Samford (6 p.m. CDT, ESPN+). It’s the last tune-up opportunity for Auburn’s offense before seven straight SEC games.

“I hope we can find a way to keep them all involved — because I think they all add something to us that can help us win,” Freeze said. “But it is a challenge.”

Hunter made his return against Cal after missing the season opener while serving a suspension, and Freeze admitted the junior was “rusty.” The primary contender atop the rotation seems to be Alston, a sophomore who was one of the offense’s top risers in the preseason.

The career yardage nod goes to Battie, who transferred over from USF after rushing for 1,185 yards last year. He played only three snaps against Cal and had just one carry, which Freeze said immediately after the game was unacceptable.

The wild card might be true freshman Jeremiah Cobb, who has the highest yards per carry of the bunch (9.6).

“I hope to see him on the field a little bit more,” Alston said of Cobb. “Just the spark that he creates when he touches the ball, when he makes plays, I feel like he’ll be a really good player for us going forward.”

Freeze’s eyes light up when he talks about Cobb, the program’s highest-rated running back signee since Tank Bigsby in 2020. His early flashes have made it tough for Auburn’s staff to keep him off the field.

And maximizing the production of what now looks to be a true four-man rotation is now part of a list of offensive to-do’s for the coaching staff — though they likely anticipated as much heading into the season.

“I love it every time (Cobb) has the ball in his hands — the problem is I also like Damari and Jarquez and Battie,” Freeze said.

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al.com

 

Can Hugh Freeze find Auburn a top wide receiver? The first two games weren't promising.

Published: Sep. 14, 2023, 6:30 a.m.

5–6 minutes

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1. Auburn Football

Auburn football doesn’t have a No. 1 receiver. Does it matter?

Auburn wide receiver Jay Fair reacts after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against California, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)AP

Auburn wants rotation at the wide receiver position. And its gotten that. But there comes a point where rotation may mean ineffectiveness.

Through two games, Auburn may be getting that, too.

Auburn has five wide receivers listed as starters, but only four total wide receivers have a catch. Auburn quarterbacks have completed 24 passes over two games and seven players have catches. But two players — Jay Fair and Ja’Varrius Johnson — make up more than half the receptions.

Two of the wide receivers Auburn lists as starters — Jyaire Shorter and Omari Kelly — don’t have catches at all.

Here’s the thing: This isn’t necessarily a new problem for Auburn. It’s been well documented that Auburn only has two 1,000-yard receivers in the school’s history. For a program so nationally known for running the ball, it’s hard to find many truly go-to receivers in this program’s past.

But this is a different offense. Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is prioritizing the running game because Auburn has such a deep running back room. But Freeze is known for developing quarterbacks and the passing offenses his teams have had. Not being able to throw the ball is an anomaly.

Freeze has talked this week about re-evaluating Auburn’s changes at quarterback. All three of Payton Thorne, Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner have seen playing time this year — albeit Geriner’s largely in mop-up duty with Auburn out to a comfortable lead over UMass in Week 1.

None have gotten help from wide receivers.

“We haven’t proven we can do it yet,” Freeze said of his wide receivers. “Until you do, we’ve got to prove we can win some one-on-ones, and get the right balls to them. We’ve got to improve that room; I’ve said that since I got here. That’s still the case.”

While Freeze and players have spoken about the potential of Auburn’s wide receivers, there have been clear issues for the position group throughout the preseason. Freeze called out his wide receivers for lining up wrong in the team’s first two scrimmages, for “loafing” on the field and not giving the type of consistent effort he hoped for. He specifically mentioned starting receiver Shane Hooks.

Freeze held out hope because he envisioned between eight-to-nine receivers providing contributions. In reality, it’s only been two so far.

The problems continued into the season with receivers struggling to get open. The only two receivers who have been productive have been Jay Fair and Ja’Varrius Johnson.

Johnson was Auburn’s leading receiver last year, but had fewer than 500 yards for the season. Fair was among the biggest risers on Auburn’s roster during fall camp, and so far he has delivered. He leads Auburn in both catches (7) and yards (81). Fair has scored in each of Auburn’s first two games.

But neither Fair or Johnson are able to play on the outside. Auburn hasn’t necessarily used them on the field at the same time because they have similar skill sets, but Freeze said that may have to change.

“I said they needed to get more touches,” Freeze said. “Does that look like them playing more at the same time? Maybe. We’ve got to figure that out this week for sure -- or today.”

That doesn’t preclude Auburn’s desire to find a receiver who can win on the outside. That was supposed to be Shane Hooks, a transfer from Jackson State. That hasn’t happened yet.

Hooks has two total catches this year. He changed his number from 11 to 3 before Auburn played, Cal, that didn’t change his struggles from playing UMass.

Auburn tried to take shots downfield in the abysmal offensive display against Cal. But the receiver play was a key reason why that didn’t work.

“But there were times that we, I thought, early in the game I know we had one real shot and we read a different side of the field,” Freeze said. “And then our receivers didn’t win a few of the others that were called. They were in man coverage quite a bit and they won some of those battles on us.

It’s all why through two games Auburn, the three quarterbacks combined don’t have 300 total passing yards yet.

Are any of these receivers going to break the 1,000-yard receiver drought? Unlikely. But if Payton Thorne is going to cement himself as the only quarterback to consistently throw the ball, he’ll need some help.

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

 

Auburn Opponent Preview Samford defense

Jason Caldwell

~4 minutes

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Following a win over Shorter College to open the season before falling 30-7 last week at Western Carolina, the Samford Bulldogs come into Saturday night’s homecoming game at Jordan-Hare Stadium known more for their offense with quarterback Michael Heirs leading the way. But, this is an opportunity for Auburn’s offense to build some confidence heading into SEC play against a Samford defense that was shredded last week at Western Carolina.

The Bulldogs allowed 34 first downs to the Catamounts, giving up 284 yards rushing on 49 attempts and another 262 through the air with WCU completing 29-35 attempts for the game. 

Leading the way for Samford is senior linebacker Noah Martin. Already with 21 tackles and four tackles for a loss in two games, the 6-1, 232 Martin enters Saturday’s game with 220 career tackles. He’s joined at linebacker by 6-2, 208 Jayden Mosley, who is in his first season with the Bulldogs after playing at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. On the weak side is 5-11, 228 senior Josiah Cotton. Mosley and Cotton are tied for second on the team with 12 tackles each after two games.

Playing a 3-4 scheme, the Bulldogs don’t have a ton of size up front, but they do have an anchor in the middle in 6-2, 325 junior Josh Mathiasen. He’s backed up by 6-3, 290 Makhi Gilbert from Central-Phenix City. At defensive tackle, the Bulldogs have 6-1, 270 Nick Jackson with 6-3, 268 Jamall Thompson behind him. On the other side is 6-2, 261 Joseph Mera with 6-1, 263 Johnny Johnson also in the rotation. Thompson and Johnson have one sack each this season, accounting for all of the sacks for the Bulldogs.

In the secondary Samford has a pair of transfers that have been very productive so far in South Carolina’s Tyrese Ross and former Auburn High standout Garrett Morris, who transferred from Penn. The free safety, Ross has 12 tackles on the year while Morris has 11 stops playing the nickel. Finishing off the starting group for the Bulldogs on the back end of the defense are cornerbacks Dontae Pollard and Devin Smith along with rover Kortlan Marsh.

DEFENSE

W 

28 Josiah Cotton 5-11 228 Sr. Macon, Ga. / Mt. De Sales Academy

22 Xavier Nurse 6-3 245 Gr. Brooklyn, N.Y. / Maine

NT 

98 Josh Mathiasen 6-2 325 Jr. Elmhurst, Ill. / Olivet Nazarene

94 Makhi Gilbert 6-3 290 So. Phenix City, Ala. / Central HS

DT 

97 Nick Jackson 6-1 270 Gr. Orlando, Fla. / Winter Park HS

81 Jamall Thompson 6-3 268 Jr. Sarasota, Fla. / Sarasota HS 

B 

35 Joseph Mera 6-2 261 Gr. Fort Myers, Fla. / Bishop Verot HS

55 Johnny Johnson 6-1 263 Sr. St. Amant, La. / Winter Park HS

MLB 

32 Noah Martin 6-1 232 Sr. Chattanooga, Tenn. / Baylor School

47 Bryce Graves 5-11 227 Gr. Clayton, N.C. / Elon

SLB 

33 Jaden Mosley 6-2 208 Jr. Mobile, Ala. / Hutchinson CC

44 Kiylan Miller 6-3 200 Jr. Forest City, N.C. / Coastal Carolina

NKL 

17 Garrett Morris 6-0 215 Gr. Auburn, Ala. / Penn

40 Wade White 6-0 200 Jr. Prattville, Ala. / Prattville HS

CB 

23 Devin Smith 5-10 190 Gr. Kennesaw, Ga. / Austin Peay

11 JB Bouye 5-10 173 So. Waco, Texas / Middle Tennessee

RVR 

1 Kourtlan Marsh 5-11 190 Jr. Warrior, Ala. / Mortimer-Jordan HS

30 Avery Hughes 5-11 180 Gr. Sugar Land, Texas / Texas A&M

FS 

2 Tyrese Ross 6-0 200 Gr. Jacksonville, Fla. / South Carolina

24 Jonathan Searcy 6-1 193 Gr. Medford, N.J. / Bucknell

CB 

36 Dontae Pollard 5-10 185 Jr. Pittsburgh, Pa. / Arkon

16 Kamron Smith 6-0 195 Jr. Bonaire, Ga. / Charleston Southern

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al.com

 

Auburn’s eagle Independence flies at Philadelphia Eagles game

Updated: Sep. 14, 2023, 9:39 p.m.|Published: Sep. 14, 2023, 9:32 p.m.

~2 minutes

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A tradition that is uniquely Auburn made its way to Philadelphia on Thursday night as Independence, one of the eagles that fly before Auburn home football games, circled Lincoln Financial Field.

An Auburn athletics department spokesperson confirmed this was Independence, better known as Indy, flying before the Eagles Thursday Night Football game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Independence is a bald eagle who lives at Auburn’s Raptor Center, which trains the birds for their famous flight around Jordan-Hare Stadium. Independence is one of four eagles who currently live at the Raptor Center and have flown at Auburn games. The others are Nova (War Eagle VII), Spirit and Aurea (War Eagle VIII).

Spirit had once been the only eagle to fly in Jordan-Hare before her retirement in 2021. Indy debuted as Spirit retired. Aurea is a golden eagle who still flies before games, too.

Indy was also the eagle to fly at a baseball game in Plainsman Park during the 2023 season. That was the first time the tradition had come to a baseball game.

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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al.com

 

Rewinding Hugh Freeze, Eugene Asante, Rivaldo Fairweather on Auburn’s Tiger Talk show

Updated: Sep. 14, 2023, 7:18 p.m.|Published: Sep. 14, 2023, 5:51 p.m.

4–5 minutes

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Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze greets fans during Tiger Walk before the UMass vs. Auburn football game Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in Auburn, Alabama. (Julie Bennett | preps@al.com) Julie Bennett | preps@al.comJulie Bennett | preps@al.com

Welcome to Week 3, and Auburn football’s Homecoming weekend — well it’s also a homecoming for the football team getting back from last week’s game in California.

With the 2-0 football team’s next game on tap for 6 p.m. Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium against Samford, Auburn’s Tiger Talk radio show returns to a live setting at Baumhauer’s Victory Grill in Auburn.

Head coach Hugh Freeze was on the show along with linebacker Eugene Asante and tight end Rivaldo Fairweather. Swimming and diving head coach Ryan Wochomurka also chatted about his team.

Below is a recap of what Freeze, Asante and Fairweather said on the show.

- Hugh Freeze joins the show. Said it’s good to be home, but he again praised Auburn fans for how well they traveled to California. “The Tiger Walk there felt similar to the one here,” Freeze said. “All of us were blown away.”

- Freeze said the fact that Auburn fans would travel all the way across the country helps recruiting from the standpoint of showing how passionate the fanbase is. But Auburn isn’t doing much recruiting on the West Coast so that trip itself didn’t matter much for Auburn in a recruiting standpoint.

- Freeze said this week of practice was sluggish, but that is fitting for a team that lost a night of sleep on the red-eye flight back home.

- Freeze asked who has surprised him the most. He mentions Jeremiah Cobb as the first name that comes to mind. The true freshman’s name has come up frequently of late. “He really jump-started the drive that gave us the win,” Freeze said.

- Freeze said Eugene Asante is the defensive player who has surprised him the most.

- Freeze said kicker Alex McPherson’s range could go out to 60 yards if Auburn really needed it. But he feels very comfortable 50 yards and closer.

- Freeze still believes Auburn would have had possibly another 200+ rushing yards if not for all the penalties and four turnovers in the game. He said Auburn’s offensive line was “mauling” Cal’s defensive line, but mistakes greatly cost Auburn. Freeze has said this throughout the week. He thinks Auburn would have comfortably won that game if not for turnovers and penalties because he felt the offense was much better in the second half. That then goes back to his conversation about Jeremiah Cobb, who had a big play taken off in the second half due to a penalty long behind him on the field.

- On the WR room, Freeze said while he still deals with the frustration of receivers not in the right spot, he has to remember how young the group is but also how still fresh to Auburn players like Shane Hooks, Caleb Burton and Jyaire Shorter are — not getting to Auburn until the summer. It’s hard to fit all those pieces together. So in turn it makes sense that Jay Fair and Ja’Varrius Johnson, receivers who have been here, are making quicker impacts.

- “I’m excited to see what he will become, but the truth, I’m probably too candid sometimes, he left a lot of yards out there. He was rusty,” Freeze said of getting Jarquez Hunter back against Cal after a murky offseason. Said Damari Alston and Cobb did a better job of waiting for and setting up blocks.

- Eugene Asante is a crowd favorite. He and Rivaldo Fairweather join the show for the final segment.

- “Playmakers make plays,” Fairweather said of his game-winning catch. “I tell the quarterback, throw it anywhere in my presence.”

- Off the field, Fairweather said he plays video games like Madden, NBA 2K and Call of Duty.

- Asante said he’s reading “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins. He also said he’s a painter, and he gave this crowd his now famous “Let’s Work!”

- Asante said the Cal game was like a home game for Auburn.

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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al.com

Auburn 4-star commit has surgery, hopes to return for playoffs

Updated: Sep. 14, 2023, 1:55 p.m.|Published: Sep. 14, 2023, 1:52 p.m.

~3 minutes

Moody's A'mon Lane had surgery on his knee on Wednesday, but hopes to return for the Class 5A playoffs in November. (Vasha Hunt | preps.al.com)Vasha Hunt

Auburn commit A’Mon Lane will likely miss the rest of Moody’s regular season after having surgery on Wednesday.

Lane dislocated his kneecap during practice last week and sat out the Blue Devils’ 42-7 victory at Alexandria on Friday.

“After talking to Dr. (Benton) Emblum and Dr. (T. Daniel) Smith at Andrews (Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center), we felt it was best to go ahead and get it fixed,” Lane wrote on social media. “Surgery went great yesterday, and I’ve already started therapy. Thanking God, it wasn’t anything more serious.”

Moody coach Jake Ganus said doctors have told him recovery from this type of surgery is usually about eight weeks. That would put Lane back in time for the Class 5A playoffs, which start Nov. 10.

“That’s the hope,” Ganus said. “It was a 30-minute procedure, very minor. Basically, they re-attached the ligament where it pulled off. A’mon was walking today. He will attack it like he attacks everything, which is full speed. We are not going to be dumb, not going to jeopardize his future. As soon as he is good and he is cleared, he is going to roll.”

Lane is the No. 15 senior recruit in Alabama, according to the 247 composite rankings. The 4-star cornerback committed to Auburn on July 30, 2022. He is one of eight players in the top 20 committed to Hugh Freeze and the Tigers.

RELATED: 5 Alabama players among top sophomores

“This is a minor speed bump for me, and I can’t wait to get back to my teammates for the playoffs,” Lane wrote. “My time for Moody football isn’t over yet.”

The fifth-ranked Blue Devils (3-0) host Bishop McNamara, Md., on Friday before returning to Region 6 play on Sept. 22.

“Until he gets back, A’mon will put a whistle on for seven or eight weeks and continue to be our leader,” Ganus said. “I think our kids will play hard for him. Our kids will be motivated by the thought of him coming back for the playoffs.”

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Ole Miss player DeSanto Rollins files lawsuit against football coach Lane Kiffin, university

David Eckert, Mississippi Clarion-Ledger

Thu, September 14, 2023 at 10:33 PM CDT·5 min read

6

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OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss defensive lineman DeSanto Rollins filed a suit against Rebels coach Lane Kiffin and the university in a United States District Court on Thursday.

In the filing, Rollins, a Black male, said Kiffin kicked him off the team in March, and levies the following allegations:

Racial discrimination on the part of Kiffin and Ole Miss

Discrimination on the basis of disability – or perceived disability – on the part of Kiffin and Ole Miss

Sexual discrimination on the part of Ole Miss

Intentional affliction of emotional distress on the part of Kiffin

Negligence and gross negligence on the part of Kiffin and Ole Miss

In a statement released Thursday night, Ole Miss said it never received a lawsuit, and that Rollins was never removed from the team. He remains on the Rebels' online roster.

The Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network, obtained a letter addressed to Kiffin, Ole Miss Chancellor Glenn Boyce, Mississippi Commissioner of Higher Education Alfred Rankins Sr. and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch dated May 3, 2023, detailing Rollins' Tort Claims Demand. The parties have 21 days to respond to the complaint, records show.

Rollins had appeared in three games for the Rebels. The native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is seeking $10 million in compensatory damages from Kiffin and Ole Miss, and $30 million in punitive damages from Kiffin. He is also seeking a temporary restraining order, as well as an injunction reinstating him.

"(He) remains on scholarship," the statement from Ole Miss reads. "In addition, he continues to have the opportunity to receive all of the resources and advantages that are afforded a student-athlete at the university."

What did Lane Kiffin allegedly tell DeSanto Rollins?

According to the suit, Rollins' mother asked Ole Miss trainer Pat Jernigan to find a counselor to monitor her son. Jernigan then scheduled a meeting with Josie Nicholson, Ole Miss' assistant athletic director for sport psychology. They met on Feb. 28.

The filing claims that Ole Miss defensive line coach Randall Joyner notified Rollins on March 1 that Kiffin wanted to meet with him again. In a March 7 meeting with Nicholson, Rollins told the counselor that he did not yet want to meet with Kiffin because he was "not in a good place." After further attempts to schedule a meeting on the part of the staff, Rollins says he met with Kiffin on March 21.

The suit reproduces a dialogue between Rollins and Kiffin in which Rollins alleges that Kiffin berated him for not meeting with him when asked, despite Rollins notifying the staff of his mental condition. Rollins alleges Kiffin kicked him off the team.

Rollins alleges Kiffin said the following to him at the meeting:

"See ya. Go, go, and guess what, we can kick you off the team, so go read your (expletive) rights about mental health. We can kick you off the team, for not showing up, when the head coach asks to meet with you and you don't show up for weeks. OK, we can remove you from the team.

"It's called being a (expletive). It's called hiding behind (expletive) and not showing up to work. You show up when your boss – so, when you have a real job, OK, someday, and your boss says, 'Hey, come in and meet,' I advise you to go meet with him, and not say, 'No, I'm not ready to meet with my boss, maybe a few weeks from now.'"

DeSanto Rollins' allegations against Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin

According to Rollins' allegations, he did not receive a mental health evaluation after suffering a concussion in the Grove Bowl in April 2022. That July, he endured an injury to his Achilles tendon that the filing says left him suffering from "severe depression, anxiety, frustration, embarrassment, humiliation, a loss of sleep and loss of appetite that substantially limited his ability to perform major life activities of walking, jumping, standing for long periods of time, standing on his toes, climbing, eating and sleeping."

The suit says Rollins suffered similar symptoms when he reaggravated a previous injury to his lateral collateral ligament in his knee that August. He alleges that Kiffin and the Ole Miss coaching staff forced him to practice afterward. He alleges Ole Miss failed to provide him with mental health resources in response to his injuries, or the death of his grandmother the following January.

Rollins alleges that Joyner pressured him to transfer following the 2022 season and that Kiffin met with him in February to tell him he would be moving to the scout team offensive line because he wouldn't transfer, and that if Rollins didn't like it, he should quit. The court filing says Rollins suffered more mental and physical health issues in response to the alleged meeting with Kiffin, including anxiety, panic attacks, hives and difficulty sleeping.

Lane Kiffin's previous remarks about mental health at Ole Miss

Kiffin said this summer that Ole Miss' entire staff is Mental Health First Aid certified. Ole Miss has claimed that it was the first program in the country to do that.

Rollins alleges that Kiffin has never kicked a white player off the team for requesting or taking a break, and that a white player who had been removed from the team had been allowed to return. The filing also alleges that women's volleyball players and white softball players had been allowed to take breaks to deal with "mental issues."

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

 

I thought this would interest you good folks since we came close to hiring kiff..............

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thanx for stopping by.

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does Auburn still have homecoming parades?

[bigbird 60,940]

25 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

thanx for stopping by.

You're the man, 50!  Thanks so much for doing this every day for the rest of us. 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

Just now, bigbird said:

You're the man, 50!  Thanks so much for doing this every day for the rest of us. 

it is not real hard and i enjoy trying to give back. i have missed one day since i started this and i am proud of that. if i had not let someone make me mad i would not have missed any days. i hate ungrateful people. it gives me something to do as well. thanks for the idea. i get from about 150 up to 3-400 views a day so i am helping in my own little way.

[Paladin 3,307]

Punting, dunking and ‘dominating:' Dropping jaws is Rivaldo Fairweather’s specialty

Auburn's athletic tight end made his name known with his play against Cal. And he may be one of the Tigers' most important pieces this season

Nathan King

Rivaldo Fairweather certainly didn’t look it when he rose up for Auburn’s go-ahead touchdown pass over the weekend, but the 6-foot-4, 251-pound tight end is one of the most inexperienced players on the Tigers’ roster.

Of course, he’s also probably one of the best. After he was the first commitment of the Hugh Freeze era, less than a month after the hire was made, the FIU transfer was lauded throughout the offseason by his coaches for his consistency and playmaking abilities as a pass-catcher. That was on full display when Auburn beat Cal 14-10, as the Tigers looked his way in the clutch. On Auburn’s go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, Fairweather moved the chains with a 28-yard reception on third-and-17, then did so again by drawing a pass interference, and finally capped things off with a 5-yard touchdown from Payton Thorne on a fade route.

But Fairweather is, relatively speaking, a raw football player. He first stepped foot on the gridiron when he was a junior in high school, and he didn’t start catching passes until he was a senior.

No, Fairweather’s first love was basketball. Although he and his brother, Ronaldo, are named for world famous former Brazilian soccer players, Fairweather never had much interest in anything but basketball.

By the time he was a freshman playing for Admore White at Boyd Anderson High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he was 6-foot-4. He could palm a basketball at age 15. Fairweather played center, but his coaches began urging him to try football heading into his junior year.

Fairweather was “big, fast and athletic” and could keep up with anyone on the floor in that regard — and could complete a 360 dunk from standing under the rim. He would have kept playing and playing well if he stuck with hoops, White said, but his coaches wanted him to maximize his potential of playing in college.

“His first love was basketball, but he was a smart kid,” said White, who played at Notre Dame in the mid-90s.

So Fairweather went out for the football team ahead of his junior year. He made it, of course, and was the most athletic person on the field immediately.

But despite those gifts he was “rough and unpolished,” his former high school football coach Darion Gray said. After all, Fairweather had never played a down of football before.

But he found his way onto the field in a way that would have made his soccer namesake proud.

“This kid went from never playing football to coming out and kicking the ball 45 to 50 yards on the first day as a punter,” Gray said. “So we had a 6-4 punter.”

It was almost laughable, Gray said, having such a superb athlete kicking the ball, but to Fairweather’s credit, he was good it at his junior season. But Gray knew they had to start finding ways to get the ball in his hands.

Fairweather began working at receiver — or just a big tight end split out wide — in practice, but things weren’t progressing well. Gray remembers his quarterbacks targeting Fairweather eight times in Boyd Anderson’s spring game, and Fairweather coming up with one reception.

Things were moving quickly — and beginning to get overwhelming — for a young player without any football training in his past.

“Moving into the summer, I decided I need to do some unorthodox things with him,” Gray said. “He wasn’t football tough yet, and he needed to be football tough.”

So Gray began the trials.

First was ball security, which Fairweather lacked, despite his massive arms. Gray made him stand on one goal line and jog 100 yards to the other — but once Fairweather took off, Gray unleashed his attack dogs.

“I sent two kids at him — and I told them I didn’t care how the hell they did it, I just wanted them to get the ball out of Rivaldo’s hands,” Gray said.

Gray laughed as he remembered Fairweather yelling back at him: “Coach, what in the world are you doing?”

But Fairweather made it to the other end zone.

“So then I sent two more kids,” Gray said. “And two more. And he pushed them all down and wasn’t fumbling. So I sent more.”

Eventually, Gray estimates he had 15 players draped on Fairweather, trying to rip the ball out. But Fairweather was able to hold it all 100 yards down the field. He passed the first test.

Next was Fairweather’s hands. Gray made Fairweather stand behind the 7-foot–tall punting nets and extend overtop of them to catch passes.

“I told him, ‘You’re going to be catching a lot of jump balls,” Gray said. “‘You’ve got to be able to go up and get it.”

As Boyd Anderson’s senior season approached, Fairweather’s skills were on the rise. But his work ethic, Gray said, left some to be desired.

Then one day, Gray’s phone buzzed to a text from his rising senior: “Coach, I want to be great.”

After that, Fairweather stayed after practice every day to catch passes from his teammate , and even started going to a personal coach to work on his footwork and route-running.

“From that day, he changed completely,” Gray said. “Something just clicked. His effort was 150 percent.”

It showed almost immediately. Now fully entrenched on offense, Fairweather had 210 yards and three touchdowns in the second game of his senior season.

“That’s the game where he realized, ‘Hey, I can really do this,’” Gray said. “I can start dominating.’”

247Sports rated Fairweather as the No. 8 transfer tight end in this year’s cycle, after he had 426 yards and three touchdowns last season at FIU. Freeze and Auburn tight ends coach Ben Aigamaua were infatuated with his skill set, and went after him swiftly. Fairweather was the first of Auburn’s 20-man transfer class to jump on board.

But it was a much different story for Fairweather coming out of high school, when he was outside the top 2,500 players nationally, and was ranked in the 247Sports Composite as the No. 119 tight end in the country. His other offers besides FIU were Western Kentucky, UT Martin, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Bethune Cookman.

But he certainly looked like an NFL-caliber player when he was helping Auburn to victory last Saturday.

“There’s upside to it,” Gray said. “If you’re Auburn, you don’t have to unteach or uncoach bad habits because he’s only been playing football four or five years.”

Whether that’s a tangible advantage for Fairweather or not, Auburn has been enamored with his potential within its new-look offense since he arrived on campus. Freeze said Thursday that Fairweather’s talent level is right up alongside the pair of current NFL tight ends he coached at Ole Miss: Evan Engram and Dawson Knox. All the way back when FIU coach Butch Davis was recruiting Fairweather out of high school, he met with White briefly on a visit to Boyd Anderson. Davis said Fairweather’s skills reminded him of Eric Ebron, who played tight end in the NFL for eight years and was a first-round pick in 2014 after he was recruited by White to play at North Carolina.

That rare talent may become one of Auburn’s biggest weapons in 2023.

Fairweather said Thursday that even greater than the feeling of celebrating a grind-it-out win with his teammates was the reaction from his family and close friends in the days that followed.

He told his mom on the phone before the game against Cal that he was going to catch a touchdown for her — because he didn’t have one in the season opener against UMass.

“I called her (after the game) and she was crying,” Fairweather said. “I promised her a touchdown.”

She may need to keep the tissues handy the rest of the season.

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saturdaydownsouth.com

Hugh Freeze excited for Jarquez Hunter to ‘get back in flow of things’

Grant Bricker | 18 hours ago

~2 minutes

Hugh Freeze commented on how excited he is when it comes to one of his running backs. Jarquez Hunter played in his first game for Auburn in Week 2.

Freeze is looking forward to seeing what Hunter will become and for the Auburn RB to get back into the flow of things.

“I’m excited to see what he’ll become… but he left a lot of yards out there,” said Freeze. “He’s getting back in the flow of things.”

Auburn’s Hugh Freeze on the return of running back Jarquez Hunter last week: “I’m excited to see what he’ll become… but he left a lot of yards out there” because he was rushing things and was rusty. “He’s getting back in the flow of things.”

— Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) September 14, 2023

Hunter had 11 carries for 53 yards rushing in Week 2. Hunter had the most touches out of any Auburn RB in that game.

Hunter had 668 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns last season. Something to watch will be Hunter’s usage as the season goes on.

Samford comes to town in Week 3. Samford and Auburn last played in 2019, as the Tigers came out on top 52-0.

Auburn and Samford kick off Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

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247sports.com

 

PMARSHONAU About those college football opinions

Phillip Marshall

9–11 minutes

---

• 

• 

For college coaches, decisions can't be based on outside opinions

Whether it is my opinion, a message board opinion, Paul Finebaum’s opinion, PFF’s opinion, the opinion of some dude on College Gameday or any other outside opinion, they are just opinions. Some are more informed than others, and nothing is wrong with that. But those opinions mean nothing at all to the people who have to make decisions on Saturdays.

Whether it is Hugh Freeze, Nick Saban or some Division III coach, the men whose livelihoods depend on winning football games are, 100 percent of the time, going to play the players and call the plays they believe give them the best chance to be successful.

Are they always going to be right? Of course not. No one is always right in any walk of life. But they know what worked and what didn’t work. They know why it worked or didn’t work. They watch practice live and on video every day. Nothing in football is easier than waiting to see if a play works or not and then declaring it a bad call if it doesn’t work.

I understand our world of hot takes, amateurs “breaking down” video and the thirst for immediate gratification. But building a program can't be based on opinions.

The 2023 Auburn football team, as Freeze reiterated on Tiger Talk on Thursday, is a work in progress. It will have good days and bad ones. It will certainly not go undefeated. With the brutal schedule ahead after playing Samford on Saturday, it might be beaten badly in a game or games.

Auburn will beat Samford. It might or might not be as lopsided as fans want it to be. It won’t matter. Auburn’s three games after that are at Texas A&M, No. 1 Georgia at home and at LSU. All those teams have more talent across the board than Auburn does. Maybe Ole Miss, which follows LSU, does, too. Does that mean Auburn can’t win? Of course it doesn’t, but it means winning will be difficult.

***

RANDOM THOUGHTS

The story about a former Ole Miss defensive lineman suing Lane Kiffin and the university for claims that mental health issues were not properly dealt with is sad. I have not the slightest idea if he has a good case or if he doesn’t.

But I know this: Mental illness is real. It’s real in football and real in life. I have seen it up close. I have seen it take the lives of people very close to me. I will never dismiss it.

***

For all the criticism the NCAA gets, I believe it is on the right path in denying immediate eligibility for players who transfer for a second time. The rule is clear. Undergraduates can transfer once to the programs of their choices and be immediately eligible. If they transfer a second time, they must sit out a year. Graduate transfers can transfer at any time without penalty. For too long, waivers were handed out like candy. The NCAA issued guidance in January saying that would no longer be the case.

Nobody is telling any player he can’t transfer. But allowing multiple transfers on demand would disrupt the game as much as NIL and penalty-free one-time transfers already have.

***

Why all the talk about Alabama head coach Nick Saban’s “dynasty” after losing to Texas when another team in the same conference has won the last two national championships? That is not meant in any way as a knock on Saban, whose record speaks for itself. It just seems to be a strange time to be talking about a dynasty.

As far as Alabama goes, it’s way too early to know what impact the loss to Texas will have on the season going forward. Alabama clearly has some issues, but one loss (or win) does not a season make.

***

After watching Northwestern lose at Rutgers, I really thought the Wildcats would go 0-12. And then they turned around and blew out UTEP 38-7 in their home opener, scoring 31 points in the second half.

Clearly, UTEP is not a good team. But after what Northwestern players have gone through this offseason, it had be very sweet to not only win, but win big.

Interim head coach David Braun, who enthusiastically joined the locker room celebration after a 12-game losing streak ended, put it like this:

“We don’t know what the long term looks like. That’s indicative of the title I’m carrying right now. And that’s OK. At the end of the day, regardless of how this plays out in the long term, my wife and I and this group are going to look back and say ‘You know what? We’re proud of the way we did it.’ We stewarded the program. We navigated it through a really difficult time and set it up to have success.”

Inside the design process of Auburn's basketball's new uniforms

Auburn’s last uniform update was ahead of the 2019-20 season

VIDEO: Late Kick: Is 11 Tennessee on upset alert against Florida?

Bruce Pearl will enter Year 10 coaching Auburn basketball with his team donning some snazzy new threads.

The Tigers unveiled new uniforms earlier this month for use starting this season. The changes to all three sets — home whites, away blues and alternate oranges — are subtle but striking, with the most notable new feature being the return of the stripes that trim the collar and sleeves on the white and blue jerseys, now featured for the first time since Auburn’s uniforms in the early 2000s.

The Auburn logo on the shorts is no longer encased in a diamond design and now floats freely above the “power stripe” on the bottom of the uniform. The orange jerseys are similar to their previous model — still reading “Tigers” instead of “Auburn” like the other two jerseys — but now feature a vertical stripe on the pants, as compared to the horizontal one on the white and blue uniforms.

Auburn’s last uniform update was ahead of the 2019-20 season, when the more retro-feeling uniforms gave their swan song at the Final Four and were replaced by jerseys with tighter, smaller text, and the diamond design around the logo on the shorts.

pic.twitter.com/7MjzSMstfF

— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) September 4, 2023

The team’s head of equipment, Kevin Fuhrer, said the process of a new uniform for Under Armour programs starts about a year-and-a-half to two years out. This time last year was supposed to be when the new uniform cycle hit for Auburn, but COVID-19 deployed things.

Tra’Cee Tanner, now the director of operations for Auburn women’s basketball, previously spearheaded communication with Under Armour during Auburn’s design process. Fuhrer took over July of last year, and the new jerseys were officially approved in September.

“It’s as much back and forth as you want” during the design process, Fuhrer said, as Auburn submits its thoughts, and Under Armour offers some suggestions, too. Even during years when programs aren’t set to undergo uniform updates, Under Armour will still submit surveys to equipment staffs for feedback.

“Under Armour does a great job working with all their schools to try to find those little things that make a jersey stand out,” Fuhrer said. “But you also have that base model for it and make sure everything works with the school traditions.”

The material of Auburn’s new jerseys is the same as it’s been for the past several seasons — Under Armour’s “Ultimate,” which is its highest quality material, reserved for its top college programs.

Around this time last year, blank samples of the new jerseys were sent to Auburn — as not to spoil the design plans — and to ensure the sizing chart is the same as the previous model, making adjustments if need be. Fuhrer was aided in the process by Auburn’s operations staff, namely Mike Burgomaster, Chad Prewett and Maduxx Jeffreys — all of whom received promotions on Pearl’s staff this offseason.

Finally, after two years of communication, changes, deliberation and eventually a final design, the jerseys arrived. Auburn chose a trio of seniors — Johni Broome, Jaylin Williams and Chris Moore — to surprise the team in the locker room before a practice two weeks ago.

“As the equipment guy, you’re always nervous,” Fuhrer said. “You go into it and have a little say in it, but you just hope everybody likes it because at the end of the day, they’re looking at you as the one front and center with it. I’m glad all the back and forth worked out and that everyone seems to really enjoy it.”

Some college coaches prefer to have a higher level of involvement in off-the-court matters like uniform design, while others don’t give it much thought. What was Pearl like during the process?

“He’s very much so worried about coaching and recruiting; he lets everyone else worry about their stuff,” Fuhrer said of Pearl. “Luckily he trusts us. So far I think we’ve done pretty well.”

Auburn fans will get their first look at the new threads in a game setting when the Tigers face Auburn-Montgomery in their exhibition game Nov. 1 at Neville Arena, before the team opens its 2023-24 season against Baylor on Nov. 7 in Sioux Falls, North Dakota.

“It’s been nothing but positive feedback, which makes my day,” Fuhrer said. “The players are happy, and that means the coaches are happy, and obviously that means I’m happy.”

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

Five reasons why Auburn will beat Samford on Saturday

Taylor Jones

3–4 minutes

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Auburn welcomes Samford to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday evening and hopes to work out several kinks ahead of next Saturday’s SEC opener at Texas A&M.

One of the major aspects that head coach Hugh Freeze wants to build on is consistency at the quarterback position. The rotation of Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford has seen its ups and downs through two games, and Freeze wants to keep working to figure out the right way to utilize both players.

Buy Tigers Tickets

“That’s a big challenge, and I do not like the way the other night went with it,” Freeze said during his weekly press conference on Monday. “At the same time, I think Robby (Ashford) has to get his touches. That is absolutely on my mind, and we have to figure it out.”

There are many reasons why Auburn has the advantage over Samford, but we broke it down to five. Here are five reasons why Auburn should take care of business on Saturday night.

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

There is no doubt that Auburn’s defense will need to watch out for Samford quarterback Michael Hiers. The senior QB has passed for 690 yards through two games, but the rest of the offense has not reached the same level. Expect Auburn’s offense to put up solid numbers and for the Tigers’ defense to slow down Hiers’ fast start.

Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

After missing the first game, running back Jarquez Hunter returned to the Auburn running back rotation last Saturday at California. His performance did not live up to the hype, as he rushed for 53 yards on 11 carries in his season debut. Head coach Hugh Freeze said that he felt that Hunter was “rusty” last Saturday. The rust should be shaken off by Saturday, which will allow Hunter to compliment Damari Alston, Brian Battie, and Jeremiah Cobb in the best way.

John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Hugh Freeze has used a rotation of Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford at the quarterback position in both games to this point. Neither quarterback has been able to find an identity yet, but it helps that Freeze has identified the issue within the quarterback rotation. If Freeze can figure out an adequate balance between Thorne and Ashford, the Tigers should roll to a big win.

John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Since Auburn and Samford play football on different levels, most assume that there is not much history between them. However, the Tigers and Bulldogs will square off for the 30th time in history on Saturday night. The Tigers hold a 28-0-1 advantage over Samford, with the lone tie coming in 1927. The trend of Auburn beating Samford should not change on Saturday.

Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

Homecoming is such a treasured time for Auburn alumni. Do the players want to let their biggest supporters down? Absolutely not. The team will play lights out, which will end in a big-time victory.

Follow all your favorite Alabama teams at Auburn Wire and Roll Tide Wire!