9.2.24 Football Articles

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si.com

Malcolm Simmons Learns Valuable Lesson, Gets Earful from Hugh Freeze

Keith Cummings

3–4 minutes

Huge 70-point wins against vastly inferior opposition will certainly get you in the habit of crossing the plane of the end zone. While that's in large part all gravy, there's still some issues in that department, especially for budding Auburn Tigers star receiver Malcolm Simmons.

During Simmons 57-yard scoring catch and run on Saturday night, the talented young freshman very nearly let the ball slip out of his hands prior to crossing the goal line.

Ultimately, Simmons' brief lapse of concentration didn't end up costing anything, but head coach Hugh Freeze confirmed via his X account reply to Mike Gittens, that it did indeed elicit a reaction.

Yes he did!!!!!!

— Hugh Freeze (@CoachHughFreeze) September 1, 2024

Some minor nitpicking, but Freeze is clearly determined to keep his young unit very much focused on the little things. Of course, that's particularly pertinent with far tougher challenges lying ahead - starting with the Cal Bears this weekend.

"Five newcomers with a receiving touchdown, most team passing yards in the opener," Freeze noted post-game. "It should have been more; we had some drops and two bad decisions by the quarterbacks. So, solid, solid day."

Call it the exuberance of youth, or even the amnesia brought on by scoring in a big win, but Simmons was a lot more focused on the positives when he spoke post-game.

"The coaches kept harping on going out," Simmons explained. "Every time you are on the field, just playing 100 percent and that would lead to that."

Freeze is bound to find some chinks in the armour of his team, as much as anything else, he knows how he must keep the more youthful elements of his squad completly grounded.

Even so, Saturday's lopsided victory was notable because it served as a real coming out party for the "Freeze Four", well the three members who hit pay dirt anyway. Indeed, Freeze seems entirely comfortable on the whole with letting his precocious young group of receivers cut loose, with Simmons noting that this Tigers offense will also attack in multiple ways.

"It was a big task, with us throwing the ball, it's going to open up the box," Simmons insisted. "When we run the ball, it's going to open the receivers to go in on 1-on-1s to score."

Fact remains, nobody will be allowed to get carried away and lose their concentration, so being forcibly reminded of smaller errors is very much fundamental to the process of polishing this team up to much higher standards.

In all fairness, Simmons only suffered a momentary lapse of execution as he sped toward the end zone, but what's particularly encouraging is how the explosive pass catcher's confidence remains sky-high moving forward.

"We had a long summer," Simmons declared. As long as we come together, we are going to put up points and do what we do as a receiver room."

Simmons might not face an easier opponent in his college career. It was a perfect time to get a freshman mistake out of his system as the Auburn Tigers hunt bigger prey starting this week with Cal.

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theplainsman.com

 

Auburn defense plays with intensity in dominating win over Alabama A&M

 

4–5 minutes

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The Auburn Tigers handled business in a dominating win over the Alabama A&M Bulldogs on Saturday night in Jordan-Hare Stadium, scorching the Bulldogs 73-3. 

Large part of that was the intensity brought on the defensive side of the ball from DJ Durkin and the veteran presence along the defensive front. 

“All in all, we got a lot of kids in. Held out Isaiah (Raikes) and got his ankle some rest. So, hopefully we can learn from the mistakes we did make and be improved next week,” said Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze. 

The Tigers’ lived in the backfield early and often, recording 11 tackles for loss including three sacks on A&M quarterback Cornelious Brown and forcing five three-and-outs in the first half. Jalen McLeod led the way for the defense with five tackles and recorded his first sack on the season. 

The addition of Keyron Crawford and having a guy like Keldric Faulk able to wreak havoc on the inside is large part in McLeod’s success. 

“It’s a lot of versatility,” McLeod said. “You can’t just focus on me. You’ve got to focus on two more people. It’s four people that we’ve got that can rush the quarterback this year. So, that right there, just put on film that we’ve got people that can move any way.” 

Dominating an overmatched Alabama A&M offensive line, the Tiger’s defense held the Bulldog rushing attack to under 40 yards in the game, giving Durkin and his squad a lot of momentum riding into the season.

“With much tougher games ahead, it gives us a lot of confidence, McLeod said. “We put in a lot of work during the summer for stopping the run, emphasizing that, and that’s what we did tonight. We’ve got to keep doing that when we play big opponents.”

With the dominating performance, the Tigers’ do have a few miscues to clean up heading into a week two matchup with a tougher opponent. Committing two crucial 15-yard penalties, and a few miss-alignments defensively, Freeze and Durkin know that’s something to emphasize in the coming week. 

“I think DJ would agree that we misaligned too many times, and you expect some of that in the opener, because you’re really not sure what you’re going to see and you may not have worked everything that you see, but we’ve got to be able to adjust and line up correctly,” Freeze said. 

The Tiger’s look to carry their dominating performance into week two as the California Golden Bears make the cross-country trip to Jordan-Hare Stadium next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CTS and will be televised on ESPN2. 

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Logan Fowler | Sports Reporter

Logan Fowler is a Senior from Sumiton, Alabama and is majoring in journalism. He joined the Plainsman in Spring 2024.

You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @loganffowler

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247sports.com

Exit Survey Parting thoughts on Auburns 733 win over Alabama AM

Nathan King

6–7 minutes

Exit Survey: Parting thoughts on Auburn's 73-3 win over Alabama A&M

Dive in for our plays of the game, helmet stickers and exiting analysis on the season-opening victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium

Auburn made quick work of its season-opening opponent, and got plenty of different faces involved in the process. Highlighted by six touchdowns through the air, the Tigers scored their most points in 29 years and cruised to a 73-3 win over Alabama A&M on Saturday night.

Two of our football reporters — Jason Caldwell and Nathan King — took another look at Auburn's breezy win over the Bulldogs with some superlatives and final thoughts from the game in the Auburn Undercover Exit Survey.

Dive in for our plays of the game, helmet stickers and exiting analysis on the victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium — and what our observations could mean for the Tigers heading into a nonconference rematch against Cal in Week 2.

PLAY OF THE GAME (OFFENSE)

Jason: "I would probably go with the second touchdown of the game by KeAndre Lambert-Smith. A check at the line of scrimmage got Auburn into a play that allowed the easy touchdown with Cam Coleman sliding a few steps inside to set up the rub that allowed Lambert-Smith to coast into position for the easy pitch and catch."

Nathan: "Auburn fans have been waiting all offseason to see their prized wide receiver recruit in action, and he didn't disappoint. I'll go with Cam Coleman's touchdown just for the fact that it was the first career reception for the freshman. On top of the excitement of seeing him reach the end zone for the first of what will be many times in an Auburn uniform, the stop-and-go move he put on the cornerback was absolutely filthy."

PLAY OF THE GAME (DEFENSE)

Jason: "Early in the game, Keldric Faulk showed his potential with a strong pass rush off the edge that ended in a sack. Another player that jumped out to me was Jalen McLeod playing in space and chasing down the quarterback on a fourth down to get a big stop."

Nathan: "Perhaps Alabama A&M's Christian Silverstein would have missed the field goal anyway, but two tackles for loss from Jalen McLeod in the span of three plays backed the Bulldogs up after they had first-and-goal at the 1-yard line following the near-interception by JC Hart that was instead a chunk passing play. McLeod's sack on third down changed what would have been a 21-yard field goal to a 29-yarder, and he thwarted the Bulldogs' best chance at a touchdown in the game."

HELMET STICKER (OFFENSE)

Jason: "He wasn't perfect, but Payton Thorne was really good in the opener. Making several pinpoint throws down the field and also adding a threat in the run game, Thorne had a big night in a big win."

Nathan: "There are plenty of candidates after a game with more than 400 passing yards, but I'll keep things centralized and go with Thorne at quarterback. There were a couple misfires, and a couple drops, but more importantly, Thorne was the orchestrator of the exact type of performance Auburn needed to get some early season confidence with a new-look passing game. He also reminded everyone that he's still got some wheels to use in the RPO scheme, too."

HELMET STICKER (DEFENSE)

Jason: "There are a few players that could get the nod here, but Jalen McLeod had a couple of really big plays for the defense in the win. After seeing what he could do last season when healthy, the Appalachian State transfer is a key player for the Tigers."

Nathan: "It's hard not to go with McLeod, but I'll pick true freshman defensive tackle Malik Blocton in his first college game. He played early and often at all three spots on the defensive line, and ended up with a pair of tackles for loss."

HELMET STICKER (SPECIAL TEAMS)

Jason: "Another one with several choices, but freshman kicker Towns McGough was on target and showed off a strong leg in a perfect night of kicking in his first game at Jordan-Hare Stadium."

Nathan: "Malcolm Simmons had no idea where the ball was, but he knew he wasn't going to let a punter beat him to it. The freshman receiver had two total touchdowns on the game, adding to his long score in the passing game by securing Micah Riley's blocked punt in the end zone. Simmons was also close to blocking a couple punts himself earlier in the game, and that type of effort on special teams surely has a good chance of resulting in more opportunities for Simmons this season."

YOUR BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM THE 70-POINT WIN?

Jason: "Auburn executed in every area on Saturday night. While it wasn't perfect, that was about as much as you can ask for in a first game. You can see an offense that understands how to attack defenses, and that's a huge advantage when you get into a game."

Nathan: "It has to be those new wide receivers. They were always going to be huge mistmatches for Alabama A&M's defense, sure, but it was more so the fact that so many different receivers got to show off their skill sets. If Thorne can have just a fraction of that downfield confidence moving into more competitive games, Auburn's whole offense will open up."

#PMARSHONAU: Monday reflections from Auburn and beyond

Work to be done, Freeze's offense, SEC's football weekend and more

Much to like, but work isn't done

No one should believe Auburn's work is done after a 73-3 demolition of Alabama A&M on Saturday. At the same time, there was much to like in the first game of the 2024 season.

I have seen enough of those kinds of games become slogs to the finish to be impressed by the way the Tigers played on Saturday. But plays that came easily against Alabama A&M will come harder next Saturday against Cal and harder still in the SEC challenges to come.

But Auburn players, young and old, did what they needed to do to make the game what it needed to be. And that's as much as anyone could have expected.

To read this full article and more, subscribe now —

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al.com

 

Hugh Freeze on coaching Payton Thorne: 'I wish the camera wasn’t on me all the time'

Updated: Sep. 02, 2024, 1:42 p.m.|Published: Sep. 02, 2024, 12:31 p.m.

~3 minutes

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By

• Peter Rauterkus | prauterkus@al.com

There was little to complain about during Auburn’s 73-3 win over Alabama A&M Saturday, but that didn’t stop head coach Hugh Freeze from coaching hard.

The most visible instance came around the six-minute mark of the first quarter when Auburn was forced to punt after an incompletion on third down.

Quarterback Payton Thorne rolled to his right before throwing a high pass that came off the fingertips of wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith. The pass would’ve been enough for a first down had it been completed, but Freeze mentioned after the game that he missed an open spot route on the play, which was supposed to be his first progression.

After the play, the broadcast panned to Freeze visibly upset with his quarterback.

“I wish the camera wasn’t on me all the time. My wife got on me about one of those,” Freeze said during his Monday press conference. “But you know, it was a third down play that I know how critical those downs are in coming weeks, and I expect him to get those right.”

Freeze mentioned the positive side of that moment, saying he wouldn’t be as upset if he didn’t expect Thorne to make plays like that.

Statistically, Thorne had the best game of his Auburn career on Saturday. He threw for 322 yards and four touchdowns, adding 49 more yards and another score on the ground. Freeze was satisfied with Thorne’s performance overall, but did mention things that could improve.

“I was only really upset one time,” Freeze said. “He still made good throws and made a touchdown or whatever, but he didn’t get himself protected like he’s supposed to, and I don’t want him taking unnecessary hits.”

Thorne’s rushing touchdown came late in the first half and he showed a willingness to call his own number at times. As Freeze mentioned, though, he wasn’t afraid to take hits either.

Thorne responds well to the hard coaching, though, according to Freeze. Thorne has the trust of the staff to be the starting quarterback, and the tough teaching can sometimes come with that.

“I’ve made it clear I believe in him,” Freeze said. “With that, though, comes the expectation that if we’ve thoroughly discussed something, the expectation is that you get that right. He handles that fine.”

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Auburn’s Hugh Freeze says players used NIL money to help keep children out of foster care

Published: Sep. 02, 2024, 3:01 p.m.

~3 minutes

Hugh Freeze addresses the media Monday as Auburn looks ahead to its week 2 game vs Cal

Love it or hate it, NIL has fully arrived to the world of college sports and is here to stay.

And with that being the case, the Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers’ football team have set out to make something positive come out of players being able to profit on their name, image and likeness.

“They’re blessed with scholarships and financial things. Obviously, we want to give back,” Freeze said during his press conference on Monday.

Picking back up on a cause Freeze and his wife Jill have supported in the past, some of Auburn’s football players elected to use portions of their NIL funds to benefit foster care organizations local to Auburn.

“We finally have it created in Alabama now where our foundation that we’ve been a part of for years can help orphans and foster care kids in Alabama,” Freeze said on Aug. 1.

“I challenged our kids to use some of their resources to help us. Jill and I have given a large amount to Auburn For Others, and we’ll start meeting the needs to try to keep as many foster care kids in the state of Alabama out of the system that we can.”

During Monday’s press conference, Freeze said that between he and his family’s contributions and the contributions of some of Auburn’s football players, the effort was able to “meet the needs of 13 families in the state of Alabama to help keep their children out of the foster care system.”

“That’s something I’m really, really proud of. Proud of our kids that said, ‘Coach, I want to help and be a part of that,’” Freeze said. “That’s something that I hope continues to grow throughout the year as we continue to meet needs in the state of Alabama for the orphan and foster care systems.”

When Freeze was the head coach at Ole Miss, he and his wife founded “The Freeze Foundation,” which had a state mission to “express God’s love by improving the quality of life for orphans and needy children.”

That foundation paused its fundraising efforts in 2017 following Freeze’s messy dismissal from Ole Miss.

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al.com

Auburn football injury update: The latest from Hugh Freeze before Cal

Updated: Sep. 02, 2024, 12:22 p.m.|Published: Sep. 02, 2024, 11:55 a.m.

~3 minutes

AUBURN, AL - August 03, 2024 - Auburn Defensive Back Champ Anthony (#25) and Tight End Rivaldo Fairweather (#13) during a fall camp practice at the Woltosz Football Performance Center in Auburn, AL. Photo by Austin PerrymanAustin Perryman

Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze seems confident the Tigers could return a dinged up defensive lineman for Saturday’s game vs. Cal, though the status of a staple in Auburn’s secondary is in question.

Defensive lineman Isaiah Raikes, who transferred in over the offseason, was held back and didn’t log a snap during Auburn’s season-opener against Alabama A&M in an effort to get his ankle “some more rest,” Freeze said after Saturday’s win.

However, come Week 2′s game against Cal, Raikes is expected to make his Auburn debut after starting his career at Texas A&M and then briefly transferring to USC.

“I do expect Isaiah to be ready,” Freeze said of Raikes during his Monday morning press conference.

Meanwhile, Auburn junior cornerback Champ Anthony saw limited action in the season-opener, though Freeze made it sound as though it’s more of a precaution than anything.

“Champ is struggling with a calf strain,” Freeze said of Anthony. “He really could’ve played more snaps but we just want to make sure were trying to get him as healthy as possible.”

Freeze also briefly mentioned veteran defensive back Keionte Scott, who dealt with a nagging hamstring issue through much of fall camp and appeared in just 13 snaps on defense, while also lining up at punt returner four times against Alabama A&M.

“We want to keep him as healthy as possible,” Freeze said in response to a question about Scott being Auburn’s go-to punt returner. “But we need him back there for sure.”

Freeze and the Tigers are set to play their second game of the 2024 season on Saturday afternoon as they play host to the Cal Golden Bears, who could have some major injury news of their own as starting running back Jaydn Ott left Cal’s game vs. UC-Davis in the third quarter with an apparent ankle injury but never returned.

Following the game, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox didn’t have an update on Ott’s injury.

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al.com

‘We don’t run from that’: Auburn offense hoping to look different vs. Cal this time around

Published: Sep. 02, 2024, 12:50 p.m.

4–5 minutes

Hugh Freeze addresses the media Monday as Auburn looks ahead to its week 2 game vs Cal

Similar to Saturday, Auburn posted a lopsided win over UMass to open its season last fall.

Sure, last year’s opener wasn’t a 70-point onslaught, but the Tigers won in convincing fashion before packing it up and heading west to Berkeley, California to take on the Cal Golden Bears in Week 2.

And there in the hills of California, Auburn’s offense appeared stuck in the mud as the Tigers needed a late-game drive to secure a narrow, 14-10 win over Cal.

“We don’t run from that,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said when reminded of how different the Tigers’ offense looked from Week 1 to Week 2 last year.

Now set to see Cal in another post-blowout, second-week-of-the-season meeting, the Auburn offense will be challenged by a Cal defense that Freeze expects to look largely similar to what it did a year ago.

"Justin Wilcox is one of the better defensive coordinators in the nation, and has been for years,” Freeze said of Cal’s head coach, adding that Cal also has former Mississippi State defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon on staff.

“Both of those guys have been in Power 5 conferences for a long time and done a really nice job. And they did a great job against us last year.”

Cal held Auburn’s offense to just 257 yards last season — of which 136 came on the ground.

The Tigers also struggled with turnovers as it coughed up the football four times in the close win out west.

“Will they play us the same exact way they did last year? I don’t know,” Freeze said. “But last year, they were basically saying we’re going to make you have to throw the football and win some 1 on 1s, and we struggled to do that some.”

Of course, the Tigers didn’t have the reloaded wide receiver room it does now when they were struggling to find an offensive spark against the Golden Bears last fall, when the heroics of tight end Rivaldo Fairweather were needed to capture the win.

Given Auburn’s changes at the wide receiver position, it may not be likely that Cal tries to force the Payton Thorne and the Tigers to throw the football as much as it did last year.

However, when it comes to experience on the defense, Cal has plenty as it returns nine players who made at least six starts in 2023.

“They have quite a few returners on that side,” Freeze said.

Of those returners, Freeze explicitly mentioned a pair of edge rushers in former Florida defensive end and seventh-year player David Reese, in addition to former Utah outside linebacker and fifth-year player Xavier Carlton.

In 2023, Reese and Carlton combined for 84 total tackles, 13.5 tackles for a loss and 11 sacks.

Against Auburn, Reese and Carlton combined for five tackles, a tackle behind the line of scrimmage and a sack.

“You’ve gotta have a plan for those guys,” Freeze said, referring to Reese and Carlton.

Freeze also said Cal’s linebackers are “aggressive” and “play hard,” while the secondary is “athletic.”

As a unit, Cal’s defense is coming off a season-opener that saw it hold UC-Davis to 13 points and 304 yards of total offense — 221 passing and 83 rushing.

“They do a really nice job,” Freeze said. “They’ll have a good plan, I’m sure. And it’ll be a good challenge for us to see kind of where we are offensively now.”

The hope heading into Saturday is that Auburn can sustain the offensive showing it had against Alabama A&M.

“Here’s our chance to prove we can be a fundamentally efficient scoring machine against a team I think plays really efficient defensive football,” Freeze said. “It’ll be a really good test for us”

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al.com

Rewinding everything Auburn’s Hugh Freeze said ahead of Saturday’s game vs. Cal

Updated: Sep. 02, 2024, 12:21 p.m.|Published: Sep. 02, 2024, 10:50 a.m.

5–6 minutes

Hugh Freeze addresses the media Monday as Auburn looks ahead to its week 2 game vs Cal

Coming off of a 73-3 season-opening win over Alabama A&M, Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers now turn their attention to the Cal Golden Bears in the second game of the two programs’ home-and-home agreement.

Last September, the Tigers made the 2,500-mile trek to Berkeley and secured a narrow, 14-10 win over the Golden Bears.

Now, it’s time for Auburn to play host for a game that’s set to kickoff from Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Follow along as Freeze starts the week with his press conference previewing Saturday’s matchup:

Freeze opens his press conference in saying there’s plenty to be pleased with after Saturday. He adds Auburn’s student section, cheerleaders, band and fans all helped convince the recruits in attendance that Auburn is a special place.

“I thought the effort was really, really good,” Freeze said of Saturday’s win over Alabama A&M. Says he thought the defense tackled well and special teams was a positive.

“Towns did a really good job for us there,” Freeze said of freshman kicker Towns McGough.

Freeze said there are also plenty of positives to take from the offense, which only committed one penalty. However, the two turnovers are a still a concern.

Looking ahead to Cal, Freeze says the Golden Bears are largely the same on defense and he commends Cal head coach Justin Wilcox for being one of the better defensive coaches in the country.

“Will they play us the same exact way they did last year? I don’t know,” Freeze said of the Cal defense. “But last year they were basically saying we’re going to make you throw the football and win some one-on-ones.”

“We’re going to have to get ready for tempo. They go fast,” Freeze says of the Cal offense. “They are a new offense. It’s different.”

Freeze says Auburn defensive back Champ Anthony has been dealing with a calf strain and was held back some on Saturday. Meanwhile, defensive tackle Isaiah Raikes should be good to go this coming week after being held back against Alabama A&M.

On the Auburn defensive line: “We rotated a lot of guys in there and thought they were solid against the run, but we didn’t crush the pocket really well.”

“I continue to see six to seven guys in there, I hope,” Freeze says of the defensive line.

“We have some improving to do. We can’t panic and get so handsy,” Freeze said of the young defensive backs.

“Really good with it. There were a few routes that were a little short but outside of that there really weren’t any (missed assignments),” Freeze said of the freshman wide receivers. Freeze admits the game planning wasn’t as extensive for Alabama A&M, but will be a bit more so for Cal.

“I don’t think there’s any substitute for confidence and if our kids believe in the game plan... I think that’s great and we took a step in that direction,” Freeze says.

On coaching Payton Thorne: “I talked to him right after the play on the sidelines and now we’ve got those iPads on the sideline... I go and say, ‘Do you see what I see?’ Payton can take the hard coaching.”

Freeze said he was frustrated with quarterback Payton Thorne a handful of times on Saturday night, mostly as it pertains to Thorne getting into the right protections.

Freeze says he believes in backup quarterback Hank Brown: “He’s a gamer.” Adds that Brown hit the RPO throws when he needed to.

“Here’s our chance to prove we can be a fundamentally efficient scoring machine,” Freeze said of the Auburn offense heading into Saturday’s game vs. Cal.

When asked about Malcolm Simmons starting on Saturday: Freeze says again that he doesn’t care who the starters are from game to game. Adds that Simmons started as a result of a specific opening play vs. Alabama A&M and that Robert Lewis will likely start most games.

On if he’ll go talk to Cal transfer Sam Jackson V this week: “I may go talk with him,” Freeze says, though he’s pretty confident he and the staff will know what Cal is trying to do.

On the linebacker play: Freeze says he thought the group tackled well but could use work in dropping back in pass situations.

On Keionte Scott being back for punt return: “He’s dynamic... He has proven he can change field position.”

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