10.26.23 Football Articles

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saturdaydownsouth.com

Hugh Freeze ‘pleased’ with player reactions after tough 4-game skid

Andrew Peters | 14 hours ago

~3 minutes

Despite a 4-game losing streak, Auburn’s players are staying positive.

The Tigers have not won a game since their Week 3 bout with Samford, but they believe there are still plenty of games to be won this season.

Hugh Freeze explained that during a life-talk session with his team Monday, his players has a positive reaction as they discussed dealing with unmet expectations.

“I talked to our team on Monday and we do life talks on Monday and it was all about all of us face at some point or another closed doors or unmet expectations,” Freeze said during the SEC coaches teleconference Wednesday. “That’s never going to go away in life and how we handle them I think will really determine how we get through them and the challenge and temptation that most people have when they have an unmet expectation or closed door is they’ve become disengaged. And therefore just don’t get better and my challenge to our staff and our players this week has been let’s just get 1% better. Let’s clear the fog and play free and I thought we had one of our better Tuesdays. So I’m pleased to this point.”

Freeze is hoping that Auburn is able to get back into the win column following a tough stretch of games. Looking at the Tigers’ remaining schedule, they will see Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Arkansas and UMass before closing out the season against Alabama. Auburn has had some promising results, like playing within a touchdown of Georgia and Ole Miss, so it is very likely the Tigers could find themselves in a bowl game this season.

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247sports.com

Lew ready if his name is called vs Mississippi State

Jason Caldwell

17–22 minutes

Auburn true freshman Connor Lew could get his first start this Saturday.

AUBURN, Alabama—After taking over for an injured Avery Jones early in last week’s loss to Ole Miss, Auburn true freshman center Connor Lew could be in the lineup again this week when Mississippi State comes to town. Playing well against the Rebels, Lew would get his first career start if he’s on the field to open the game Saturday night. It’s something he’s already preparing for.

“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Lew said. “Probably when I run through the tunnel, step out on the field for the first time is probably going to hit. But treating this week as I do every week. As normal as possible.”

A true freshman making his first career start would be something that might scare most veterans counting on him in a game, but Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne said he and the team have the utmost confidence in Lew that he’ll get the job done.

“He’s a hard worker,” Thorne said. “When you look at him, he doesn’t look like a freshman. He’s done everything he needs to, I feel like, in practice. He’s proven himself in practice and then he went out there and played well in the game, I thought. I didn’t look at his grade or anything. I wasn’t really watching him particularly on film, but I think people say as an offensive lineman if nobody mentions your name that’s usually a good thing. I don’t think anybody mentioned his name. I think he did his job while he was in there. I thought he played well.”

A player that has been impressive since he stepped foot on campus in the spring, Lew said that experience has played a big factor in his development and ability to be ready when his name was called.

“Definitely. I tell everybody that asks: ‘If you could do it all over again, would you still come in the spring?’ And I say, ‘No hesitation. I definitely would.’ Getting that experience to learn the offense with everybody, right? And then re-learning it again in the summer and then by the time we’re going into fall camp it’s my third time looking at all. So, it’s definitely helped me.”

Something else that has helped Lew get prepared and will be a big benefit this week is having two of Auburn’s oldest and most veteran players alongside him this week, guards Kameron Stutts and Gunner Britton.

“We’ve been watching film together as a unit overall,” Lew said. “I sit right next to Avery and then when I go out on the field, I’m right next to Gunner Britton, right next to Kam Stutts. So they’ve all been really helpful and just me preparing and stuff like that.”

Facing a defense that will present some unique challenges because of the blitzing it does, Lew said getting that experience against a similar team last week vs. Ole Miss is a big help as he gets ready for this week. But, there’s nothing that helps like true game experience and now he’s got a little to lean on as he gets ready for Saturday.

“I think it definitely is beneficial going forward,” he said. “Once you get your feet wet for the first time you just build off of it going forward and then feel better now that it’s not guessing, ‘Oh, I wonder what it’s like to be in the SEC game.’ Now I know what it’s like. Now I know when I’m practicing what I need to work on and just how to build from it going forward.”

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theplainsman.com

Embracing frustration, Auburn football remains dedicated

5–6 minutes

Ole Miss served Auburn its fourth consecutive loss on Saturday, so the Tigers have had time to process the loss and reflect on what they need to do this week to defeat Mississippi State.  

“It’s a great thing as a competitor going against teams that are highly ranked – Georgia, LSU (and) Ole Miss,” said linebacker Eugene Asante. “Because you want to see where you are – in terms of your standard of what you bring to the table…We just want to learn from those experiences and to continue to try to develop games where we’re playing our standard of football.”

Head coach Hugh Freeze and his team have struggled in SEC play – going 0-4 against Texas A&M, No. 1 Georgia, No. 22 LSU and No. 13 Ole Miss. Although the back half of the schedule doesn't have as many ranked teams, the Tigers are up against the unpredictable nature of the SEC. 

“But at the end of the day, it’s (the) SEC…anybody can get beat,” said cornerback Jaylin Simpson. “Anybody can win…We really want to play in a bowl game, and that’s on the line right now – (if) we don’t get out (of) this mess together. So, we gotta win out.”

Under constant pressure to win, frustration is inevitable. Quarterback Payton Thorne admitted that it is something he and his team are dealing with and are using it as fuel to continue improving. 

“It’s extremely frustrating – to be honest,” Thorne said. “It has been tough. You just got to keep showing up and keep working through, so, you know, I’m not going to be giving up this season or ever.”

As a captain, Thorne emphasized that it is important for him to respond correctly, especially when things get rough. However, the Michigan State transfer admitted that being level-headed isn’t always the right response. 

“You know, you have to be able to respond the right way when things aren’t going great,” Thorne said. “I feel like being an older guy, I’ve had practice at that, honestly… It’s not always going to be calm, though. Some guys think that, 'Oh, you go to respond the right way. That’s being level-headed at all times,' and there’s an element to that for sure. But sometimes enough’s enough, you know, and some guys need to hear it.”

It is crucial for players to learn from a loss and immediately transition to the next game, so they don’t waste time meditating on a “What could’ve been?” Freeze has emphasized responsibility and accountability to his players while practicing those qualities himself when processing a big loss. 

“That’s one thing Coach Freeze emphasized within the game – not hanging our head about our performance (and) just working on the things we have to work on as players and him working on things he has to work (on) as a coach,” Asante said. “So, you know, everyone takes responsibility, and everyone is accountable for their actions and what they bring to the table.”

Freeze has remained dedicated to building a locker room built on trust and camaraderie. Offensive lineman Connor Lew highlighted that everyone is committed to competing for the people in that locker room and the Auburn Family. 

“Obviously, everybody in that locker room is a competitor, and we all want to win games,” Lew said. “We’ve realized we need to play for each other, so that’s kind of been the thing that we’ve been going forward – just play for each other, play for the man next to you, play for Auburn, play for the name on your back and the name on the front.”

The Tigers have a big opportunity to change the course of the season this weekend on Oct. 28, and it all starts at home on the Plains at 2:30 p.m. CST. 

“We need some momentum, and it starts here in Jordan-Hare,” Simpson said. “It’s better to have it here than trying to start this on the road.”

Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.

Caitlyn Griffin | Sports Writer

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247sports.com

Why the Tigers have 'Plankton Mentality' entering winnable stretch

Nathan King

5–6 minutes

Auburn’s midseason All-American safety certainly doesn’t lack personality.

Jaylin Simpson battle-rapped at his high school. He nicknamed his own play style “Slime Time” because of the green mouthguard he wears. He taught Hugh Freeze how to dance to NBA YoungBoy. And this week, he created his own slogan for his mindset on the rest of Auburn’s season.

He calls it Plankton Mentality.

“I thought of it myself,” Simpson said while beaming with pride Tuesday.

Alright, so what does that mean? For the uninitiated, Plankton is the primary antagonist in the long-running kid’s show, Spongebob Squarepants. His goal since 1999 has been to steal his business rival’s recipe for his popular hamburgers — that being Mr. Krabs’ “secret formula.”

On Monday night, Simpson posted a picture of Plankton on his Instagram with the caption: “Plankton Mentality.”

“Since I've been knowing Plankton, dude’s just got one goal, man: Get that Krabby Patty formula,” Simpson said, to the backdrop of reporters cackling. “He don't stop, no matter what. Every episode, he’s on it. We’ve got to get that Plankton mentality every game. We’ve got to get that formula every game.”

The Tigers don’t really care how it happens: They need a win Saturday against Mississippi State. They’re already off to their worst start in conference play since 2012, winless in four SEC games.

Simpson and other leaders on this Auburn roster don’t believe there is any shortage of confidence, though, even with the four straight losses. After all, many were here last season, when the Tigers lost five in a row and fired their second-year head coach.

Things feel different this time around — more unified, linebacker Eugene Asante said this week. Still, the coaching staff wants to get out ahead of any issues that may arise.

“A lot of it came from Coach Freeze yesterday, the talk he had with us,” Simpson said. “It was — we were kind of on it before he even talked to us, like in our little group chats and stuff, but just basically saying flat out: Don't disengage, and basically, just don't quit on us. Just keep going, having that Plankton Mentality. Just keep going. Whatever. Doesn't matter. Just don't quit.”

Freeze echoed much of that same language Wednesday on the SEC coaches teleconference, when he said the team had productive meetings early this week.

"The challenge and temptation that most people have when they have an unmet expectation or a closed door is they become disengaged,” Freeze said. “Therefore they implode or don’t get better. My challenge to our staff and to our players this week is let’s get 1 percent better. Let’s clear the fog and play free."

There are no moral victories in college football, but Auburn has had the No. 3 strength of schedule in the country thus far this season. As Freeze pointed out Monday, the Tigers’ last three games have all come against teams ranked in the top 15 in this week’s AP poll.

In the win-loss department, Auburn’s load gets a lot lighter over the next four weeks. The team’s next three SEC opponents — Mississippi State, Arkansas and Vanderbilt — have a combined conference record of 1-12 this season. Then there’s the New Mexico State matchup before the Iron Bowl at home.

There are five games remaining for Auburn to grab three more wins and secure bowl eligibility — something players said Tuesday is important to them.

“I think it would mean a lot,” Asante said. “I think it will set the foundation for especially the young guys coming in — recruits, the freshmen that are here now — just understanding that that's the standard every year. A bowl game, and then eventually growing upon. Each goal is set, and then you develop upon that goal. It goes from a bowl game, then it goes for double-digit wins, and then it goes to — we want to compete for SEC championships. So we understand that.

“... We want to just continue to lay the foundation and let the young guys understand that. So whenever the seniors are out of here, we want to leave a foundation that is unbreakable.”

Simpson remembers the feeling of sitting home during bowls and watching other teams continue their seasons, while Auburn missed out for the first time since 2012 with a 5-7 record.

“I just want to go to a bowl game because I just like to play,” Simpson said. “It's just important because if you don't go to a bowl game you have to sit and watch everyone play. You feel like the season wasn't a success or something like that. That's really it, we just want to get a bowl game so we can feel some kind of success for the season because right now I feel like a lot of people ain't feeling that right now.

“So we get this first win and keep it rolling, get a bowl game, I feel like it won't be such a failure for everybody.”

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

Auburn vs. Mississippi State: Five things to know about the Bulldogs

JD McCarthy

4–5 minutes

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After four weeks against some of the most talented teams in the country, Auburn’s schedule has slightly eased up as they are set to play the Mississippi State Bulldogs this Saturday.

While they have struggled so far, they just picked up their first conference win, something Auburn and Hugh Freeze are still looking to do. The Bulldogs took down Arkansas 7-3 and improved to 4-3 with the victory.

The Bulldogs also have a new head coach with Zach Arnett taking over the program after the tragic passing of Mike Leach. Arnett was their defensive coordinator from 2020-22 before getting the promotion.

Here are five things you need to know about the Bulldogs before their game against Auburn.

Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Mississippi State’s offensive scheme last season under Leach was extremely straightforward. They were going to run the air raid system and they were not going to run it much at all, they averaged just 22.69 carries per game.

Arnett has taken the offense in a different direction with them now averaging 32.29 carries and leaning heavily on running back Jo’Quavious Marks. The senior has had a great season, averaging 5.15 yards per carry and 71.43 yards per game.

Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Rogers is one of the most decorated quarterbacks in SEC history, having completed a record 1,264 passes for 11,964 yards and 92 touchdowns in four seasons.

He was forced to miss their game last week after suffering a shoulder injury against Western Michigan on Oct. 7. And while the Bulldogs were able to pick up the victory, backup quarterback Mike Wright attempted just 12 passes and struggled to get anything going offensively.

The Mississippi State offense has struggled all season but if Rogers is once again unable to go then the Auburn defense can expect plenty of carries by Marks on Saturday.

(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

It wasn’t pretty, but the Bulldogs picked up their first SEC win of the season by beating the Arkansas Razorbacks 7-3 in Fayetteville. Their defense led the way as they held the Razorbacks to just 2.9 yards per play and forced two turnovers.

Defensively, the Bulldogs were able to dominate the line of scrimmage and lived in the backfield, making 4.0 sacks and 7.0 tackles for loss. The Bulldogs defense has struggled against the more talented teams in the conference but they will be ready for an Auburn offense that is searching for an identity.

Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Auburn leads the all-time series 62-31-3 but has not been nearly as dominant in the past 10 years with the series being split 5-5.

In fact, the Bulldogs are currently riding a two-game winning streak against Auburn and have won three of the past five. With a win their three game winning streak would be their longest since they won four straight from 1997-2000.

Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

QB Mike Wright

If Will Rogers is unable to go then it will be Wright. The veteran spent three seasons at Vanderbilt before transferring to Mississippi State this offseason.

RB Jo’Quavious Marks

Marks is their top offensive player and one of the better backs in the league, if Auburn can slow him down they they should be able to shut down the Bulldogs’ offense.

WR Lideatrick Griffin

Mississippi State doesn’t throw it much, but when they do it is likely going to Griffin, and he leads them in every major statistic.

LB Nathaniel Watson

Watson has had a great senior season, totaling 7.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss, Auburn’s offensive line will have to pay attention to where he is and keep him out of the backfield.

S Shawn Preston Jr. 

Preston is the player to know in the secondary, leading the team with three interceptions to go with 36 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.

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

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collegefootballnews.com

Mississippi State vs Auburn Prediction Game Preview

Pete Fiutak

3–4 minutes

Mississippi State vs Auburn prediction, game preview, how to watch, lines. Saturday, October 28

Oct 21, 2023; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers quarterback Robby Ashford (9) drops back to pass during the first quarter against the Mississippi Rebels at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

© John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Mississippi State vs Auburn How To Watch

Date: Saturday, October 28
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Venue: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
How To Watch: SEC Network
2023 Record: Mississippi State (4-3), Auburn (3-4)
Pete Fiutak on X | CFN on X
College Football News on Facebook

Mississippi State vs Auburn Game Preview

Why Mississippi State Will Win

Auburn’s offense isn’t exactly a well-oiled machine.

It starts with an offensive line that’s having issues in pass protection and has been just okay for the ground game. It all leads to the biggest problem - the Tigers just aren’t moving the chains.

They’ve been awful on third downs, they’re not going on enough long marches, and the passing attack is dead last in the SEC. It’s not like the team has been getting rolled in every game, but it can’t come up with the right play or drive in the key moments.

That will all suit Mississippi State just fine because …

Predicting Every Remaining Game
AAC | ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | CUSA | IND
MAC | MWest | Pac-12 | SEC | Sun Belt
Every Team's Bowl Status

Why Auburn Will Win

Mississippi State has hit a wall.

It won two in a row, but the pass defense struggled in the win over Western Michigan, and the offense didn’t show up in the puzzling 7-3 win over Arkansas. The ground game isn’t good enough, the passing game is all over the place, and like it is for Auburn, third down conversions are like pulling teeth.

Yes, Auburn is having a hard time in this four game losing streak, but it’s not like there’s a dud in the bunch - at Texas A&M, Georgia, at LSU, Ole Miss - and the Tigers held their own against everyone but LSU.

Just hit the short range passes. Auburn is having a rough time even getting to the 60% mark passing, but Mississippi State has allowed a 70% completion rate in five of the seven games, and …

- CFN Rankings 1-133 | Bowl Projections

Recommended for You

Mississippi State vs Auburn Who Will Win

Mississippi State is 0-3 when allowing teams to get to 74% passing, 4-0 when it doesn’t. Auburn isn’t going to get to 74% passing, but it’ll be far sharper than it’s been over the last month.

Be shocked if this isn’t a grind. It might not be the MSU-Arkansas game in terms of yuck, but this will hardly be a back-and-forth firefight.

Auburn won’t be perfect, but this is the first time it’s playing an SEC team it’s supposed to beat.

- Week 9 Schedule, Previews, Predictions

Mississippi State vs Auburn Prediction, Line

Auburn 23, Mississippi State 17
Line: Auburn -6.5, o/u: 43.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5
Must See Rating (out of 5): 3
 

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247sports.com

 

Auburn Opponent Preview Mississippi State defense

Jason Caldwell

4–5 minutes

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Auburn faces another aggressive defense this weekend in Mississippi State.

On Saturday, the struggling Auburn offense will face a Mississippi State defense that is allowing 25.7 points and 367.3 yards of total offense per game, but the Bulldogs are coming in with plenty of confidence after shutting down the Arkansas Razorbacks on the road last Saturday. Dominating the Hogs in a 7-3 win, Mississippi State limited them to just 2.9 yards per play. It was the lowest for an Arkansas team since 2018. The Bulldogs have definitely caught the eye of Auburn’s Hugh Freeze.

“This team you’re playing this week, they are really, really chaotic on defense and it’s really, really hard to consistently run the ball on them and it’s also really, really hard to protect,” Freeze said. “We’ve got a lot of things facing us for sure.”

The strength of the Mississippi State defense is in the front seven, led by its linebackers. Veterans Jett Johson and Nathaniel Watson have combined for 148 tackles this season and three interceptions after totaling 228 a year ago. A native of Maplesville, Watson is having a monster final campaign for the Bulldogs with a team high 7.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for a loss. Johnson has added four sacks for a defense that has 21.5 on the year. Redshirt freshman Donterry Russell rounds out the starting linebackers for Mississippi State.

Up front, the Bulldogs are a veteran group with seniors Nathan Pickering, Jaden Crumedy and De’Monte Russell anchoring things in the middle. The trio has combined for 77 tackles and five sacks this season. On the outside, sophomore Deonte Anderson is the starter for the Bulldogs with graduate Jordan Davis behind him. 

In the secondary, graduate Shawn Preston Jr. has been the playmaker for the Bulldogs with three interceptions while also adding 36 tackles and 4.5 tackles for a loss. Senior cornerback Decamerion Richardson is third on the team with 43 total tackles. Senior DeCarlon Nicholson and junior Corey Ellington round out the starters for the Mississippi State defense. 

DE 

91 Deonte Anderson (6-3, 260, So.) 

6 Jordan Davis (6-4, 275, Gr.) 

NG 

22 Nathan Pickering (6-4, 305, Sr.) 

92 Eric Taylor (6-4, 290, So.) 

DT 

94 Jaden Crumedy (6-5, 305, Gr.) 

9 De’Monte Russell (6-4, 280, Sr.) 

SAM 

36 Donterry Russell (6-4, 220, R-Fr.) 

37 John Lewis (6-3, 240, So.) 

MIKE 

14 Nathaniel Watson (6-2, 245, Gr.) 

26 J.P. Purvis (6-1, 255, Sr.) 

WILL 

44 Jett Johnson (6-2, 230, Gr.) 

0 DeShawn Page (6-2, 235, Sr.) 

CB 

3 Decamerion Richardson (6-2, 195, Sr.) 

34 Brice Pollock (6-1, 190, Fr.) 

S 

7 Shawn Preston Jr. (6-0, 205, Gr.) 

20 Isaac Smith (6-0, 205, Fr.) 

S 

10 Corey Ellington (6-3, 200, Jr.) 

27 Chris Keys (6-0, 190, R-Jr.) 

17 Jordan Morant (6-0, 210, R-Jr.) 

S 

1 Marcus Banks (6-0, 190, Sr.) 

21 Hunter Washington (5-11, 190, R-So.) 

CB 

4 DeCarlos Nicholson (6-3, 195, Sr.) 

2 Esaias Furdge (6-0, 185, Gr.)

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5-star WR commit Perry Thompson eager to make early impact at Auburn

Perry Thompson will graduate early and enroll at Auburn in January.

Questions continue to arise for Auburn on offense in 2023. The play of the receivers has been a critique and the rotating quarterback situation continues to be an issue. But 5-star wide receiver Perry Thompson, the crown jewel of Auburn's 2023 class, isn't concerned by it.

All he's focused on is the future and changing that when he arrives at Auburn in January.

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

Auburn RB commit J’Marion Burnette sets official visit

JD McCarthy

1–2 minutes

J’Marion Burnette has been committed to Auburn since March and while he has visited several times since then, he has held off on scheduling his official visit. 

That is no longer the case as the four-star running back has set his official visit for Nov. 25, the weekend Auburn will host Alabama for the Iron Bowl. 

Burnette is the No. 255 overall player and No. 18 running back in the 247Sports composite ranking. The Andalusia product is also the No. 14 player from Alabama.

While an injury has limited him during his senior year, Burnette has been unstoppable the past two weeks for Andalusia High School. He has rushed for 336 total yards and five touchdowns on just 28 carries, good enough for an insane 12 yards per carry.

Iron bowl🔒🦅!#WDE pic.twitter.com/xXOMQFEimb

— J'Marion ‘‘Phat’’ Burnette (@JMarionBurnette) October 24, 2023

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 JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15

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si.com

LOOK: Two computer models dramatically disagree on Auburn vs Mississippi State

Lance Dawe

2–3 minutes

Two computer models have very different opinions as to how Auburn's matchup vs the Bulldogs will play out.

Auburn football needs a rebound win badly.

The Tigers are off to their first 0-4 start in SEC play since the dreadful 3-9 season in 2012. The offense has been horrid, the defense has been holding on, and the staff seems to be trying to rally the troops for what should be a much easier back half of the 2023 slate.

The first game of a stretch of easier contests is at home against Mississippi State, a team the Tigers have dominated in their all-time series.

However, because of the inconsistent nature of both teams this season, this feels like more of a toss up than a strong lean in Auburn's favor.

According to a computer model created by College Football Nerds, the game actually swings slightly in Mississippi State's favor.

The model projects the Bulldogs to win 24.5 to 23.2 over Hugh Freeze and the Tigers. A loss in Jordan-Hare would be Auburn's second-straight home loss to MSU and their fifth-straight loss this season.

However, there is another computer model that predicts the Tigers will win and cover the current spread of -4.5.

CFBGraphs' model believes Auburn will beat Mississippi State 22.16 to 14.50. An eight-point victory to get the Tigers back on track this season would be big.

Auburn's four upcoming games include Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and New Mexico State.

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Auburn QB Robby Ashford is ready to hush his doubters

Updated: Oct. 24, 2023, 4:40 p.m.|Published: Oct. 24, 2023, 4:38 p.m.

5–6 minutes

You name it and Auburn sophomore quarterback Robby Ashford has heard it.

He’s only a running quarterback.

He should’ve stuck with baseball.

Maybe they should move him to wide receiver or running back.

And perhaps his personal favorite: He can’t throw.

“I feel like it’s a stereotype that I can’t throw the football,” Ashford said Tuesday afternoon.

All the noise started during Ashford’s whirlwind-of-a-first-season on The Plains, where he took over the starting quarterback job midway through the season — beating out TJ Finley, who has since gone on to transfer to Texas State.

Ashford finished last fall 123-for-250 through the air — good for a completion percentage of 49% while tallying 1,613 passing yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. Meanwhile, Ashford added 710 yards and seven touchdowns with his legs in 2022.

Nonetheless, it was a lot for the then-freshman transfer to wrap his head around.

“Last year was just all types of crazy,” Ashford said. “I mean, transferred in, the coach I committed to is gone, I didn’t even get a full year. So, it was all crazy, just a lot of ups and downs.”

To top it all off, Ashford says he spent the last nine games of the 2022 season with the same injury Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers recently suffered.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Sunday that Ewers suffered a Grade 2 AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder and is expected to miss “some time.”

“You see Texas’ quarterback? He’s sitting out with the injury that I played nine games through,” Ashford said Tuesday. “That should tell you, in itself, what I was going through. But people don’t really want to look at that.”

As a result of his injury, Ashford said he wasn’t able to throw during the final five weeks of practice last season and was instead having to rely solely on “mental reps” to get him through the week and only throwing on Saturdays.

But that isn’t an issue this season as Ashford has been full-go through fall camp and the first seven weeks of the regular season. And that alone has got him feeling more confident.

“I feel a whole lot better. I feel way more confident. I mean, just with the guys we have, I have the utmost confidence in them,” Ashford said. “So just being able to get those physical reps instead of mental ones when I was hurt, it’s definitely paid off really big for me.”

Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze has said all along that Ashford is too athletic not to see the field and that he’ll always have packages.

And Freeze has been a man of his word as Ashford has played in each of Auburn’s seven games to this point and recorded his first start of the year last week against Ole Miss.

However, Ashford still hasn’t been asked to throw the football much this season as he’s thrown just 26 passes, completed 14 of them and has recorded 145 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

“I look at it as, right now, it’s me more of a running guy,” said Ashford, who has tallied 180 rushing yards on 40 carries and five touchdowns — tying with running back Jarquez Hunter as the Tigers’ leading scorer.

“But I know I can sit back there and throw the ball around the yard. I did it last year, before I got hurt.”

While it’s hard to say exactly when Ashford got hurt last fall, if you take away his final four performances in 2022 — playing off his comment of not being able to throw in the final five weeks of practice — Ashford averaged just more than 162 passing yards per game and a 52.6% completion percentage.

In those final four games, Ashford averaged 78.5 passing yards per game and was completing passes at a 41.5% clip.

And while it is worth noting there was a lot going on at Auburn in those final four games after the firing of former head coach Bryan Harsin and running backs coach Cadillac Williams taking over as interim head coach, it might be worth hearing Ashford out.

As Auburn’s offense continues to sputter using this funky quarterback rotation between Ashford and junior Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne, Ashford sounds ready to try and silence the naysayers and prove he can throw the football.

“I feel more comfortable as a whole,” Ashford said. “Whoever says I can’t play quarterback, I really don’t care. They couldn’t do half of what I do. They can sit behind a phone screen and type all they want. It’s never going to faze me.”

And while Freeze hasn’t made mention of any significant changes to his approach at the quarterback spot, between his discontent with how the offense is currently operating and the fact that Ashford started last week’s game, it’s hard not to feel like there might be a shift happening.

“I’ve said from Day 1 that I think Robby has a place,” Freeze said Monday. “Is his place every down? We’ll see this week.”

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[gr82be 14,913]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

“I feel more comfortable as a whole,” Ashford said. “Whoever says I can’t play quarterback, I really don’t care. They couldn’t do half of what I do. They can sit behind a phone screen and type all they want. It’s never going to faze me.”

We’d be in great shape if Robby was as good as he thinks he is. Confidence is an attractive quality while arrogance isn’t…and I’m using my phone to type this. 
 

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

“I’ve said from Day 1 that I think Robby has a place,” Freeze said Monday. “Is his place every down? We’ll see this week.”

An every down QB would be nice to see but I don’t believe we’ll see that this season at this point. If we do we might as well go with Robby because he does have confidence in his own ability and Thorne seems to have lost his, or had it taken away from him by riding the QB carousel. 

Edited October 26, 2023 by gr82be

[SaltyTiger 8,579]

2 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

It’s a great thing as a competitor going against teams that are highly ranked – Georgia, LSU (and) Ole Miss,” said linebacker Eugene Asante. “Because you want to see where you are – in terms of your standard of what you bring to the table…We just want to learn from those experiences and to continue to try to develop games where we’re playing our standard of football.”

Eugene does a weekly pre recorded interview on the daily radio show I listen to. Seems to really have it together and appreciate where he is in life.

Thanks Fiddy