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Hugh Freeze reveals what he hopes to accomplish during Auburn's spring football On3 Staff Report Liberty football coach Hugh Freeze conducts a post-game interview on the field on Dec. 21, 2019. (James Gilbert / Getty Images) Going into Auburn‘s spring football practice, new coach Hugh Freeze isn’t looking to put in complex schemes that will help the Tigers take the SEC by storm. If that happens, great. But Freeze is first focused on making sure Auburn is sound fundamentally. “I really want us to get in spring ball and get good at something, particularly offensively,” Freeze said. “What can our quarterbacks do? And how can we make that look different and what different things can we do with what they can do?” So don’t be surprised if you don’t see a lot of complex looks in Auburn’s spring football practices. That stuff is likely to come at a later date. “We’ve got plenty of time in fall camp and the week for a gameplan to add some of this auxiliary stuff in if we think that’s going to help us win a game, but truthfully what can we do on offense that we feel like our personnel can do that we currently have?” Freeze said. “Then defensively, man, we must play hard and we must be physical and we must tackle well.” Auburn spring football about the fundamentals Like on offense and figuring out what the quarterbacks can do before trying to get complex, the defense will also be focused on the fundamentals. What exactly Auburn will run remains to be seen, but Freeze wants to make sure the basics are in order first. There will be an emphasis on forcing takeaways, too. “I don’t care if we get two fronts in, let’s get all of those things down and go get the ball and take the ball away,” Freeze said. “Those will be my focus. I’m not real caught up. I told them this morning in staff I don’t care if we have just three install days and the rest are just us getting better at those three things that we installed on those days. I really could care less how much we get in.”

I don’t call those plays lucky. I call them great plays by great players! There are plays all the time that are rare but done by great players.

Top247 2024 QB Walker White commits to Auburn 3 minutes ago Little Rock (Ark.) Christian Academy Top247 2024 quarterback Walker White announced his commitment to Auburn on Friday afternoon during a live broadcast on the 247Sports YouTube Channel. The 6-foot-4, 218-pound White chose to play for Hugh Freeze and the Tigers over his other finalists in Baylor and Clemson. He also strongly considered the likes of Arkansas and at one point long-time leader Ole Miss. Tabbed by 247Sports as the nation’s No. 8 quarterback and No. 92 prospect overall, White visited The Plains in January and towards the end of his visit he got a chance to check out Jordan-Hare Stadium. “As soon as I stepped on that football field my heart (jumped),” White told 247Sports. “I said this is the place.” It was still the place following White’s future visits to Baylor and Clemson. Regardless of how great those trip were, they din’t give him the same feeling as the one he had spending the day at Auburn. “When I go to Auburn, I know I’ll be developed to my full potential,” White said. He’s excited to play for Freeze, offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery, quarterbacks coach Jesse Stone and the staff. “They are geniuses about offense and the quarterback position,” White stated. White added that he loved the vibe when he was on campus and in the football facility. “You can tell it’s very family oriented and the players enjoy being there and you could see the players getting extra workouts,” White said. “It was special to see the attitude on the team was an extra-work mentality.” As a junior White threw for nearly 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns with another 837 rushing yards and 16 more scores. He is commit No. 3 for the Tigers in the 2024 class joining fellow four-stars in cornerbacks Jaden Lewis and A’Mon Lane. White reiterated to 247Sports what he said earlier in the week about how the entire Auburn staff welcomed him when they first walked through the door for his visit. His family loves the decision too. “I think I loved about Auburn what he does,” White’s father David told 247Sports. “The guys that are going to be in charge of developing him as a player, there are several of them and they’re all really good quarterback coaches. I think the quarterback room there coaching-wise is top notch. Being in the SEC West I love that. We’re going to be able to watch him play at a lot of places we love to watch games at. The new staff is so excited and so energetic and really believes Walker can be a big part of building on what they’re doing. They cast a vision for him personally how he would fit in the program personally and it resonated with Walker big time and I felt the same way.” White’s head coach Eric Cohu obviously loves the pickup for Auburn. 2COMMENTS “He’s one of the hardest-working players I’ve ever coached and he has got a professional work ethic, great character, solid young man,” Cohu said. “He’s a personality that does great leading in the locker room and on the field. Players love him. He’s well rounded. "He’s such a phenomenal athlete," Cohu continued. "He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast. He’s a guy that is athletically can take over a game. He can obviously spin the ball really well. Game time, when you’re talking about someone that strong and fast, arm strength, he has made some phenomenal plays for us.”

Yeah, I don’t care what they call us, just call us!

BREAKING: Auburn lands elite CG Labaron Philon 2 minutes ago Just a few days after Auburn got its point guard of the 2024 class, Bruce Pearl went out and got his combo guard for the class. Labaron Philon, the No. 40 player in the class and the No. 1 player in the state of Alabama, announced his commitment to Auburn at a school pep rally in Baker (Ala.) choosing the Tigers over Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Tennessee and Ole Miss. "Bruce Pearl, me and his relationship is out of this world," Philon told Auburn Undercover. "I feel like he’ll be one of those coaches that helps me become a pro, get me better and coach me up in practice and outside of basketball, too." Listed at 6-foot-4, 177 pounds, Philon is technically labeled as a point guard right now. His future, though, is more of a two-guard or combo guard at the next level. Philon is a more then capable ball-handler, but he excels as a true bucket-getter rather than a distributor. That's been on full display at Baker this season as Philon averages over 36 points per game and is currently shooting over 51 percent from the floor. Pearl and assistant coach Wes Flanigan were one of Philon's first offers a few years ago and never backed off since. “Coach Flanigan, he was my main recruiter when it first started,” he said. “I met Coach Flanigan a while ago and he takes care of everything with me.” Auburn was the only school that Philon took an official visit to. In the Class of 2023, 247Sports Composite 5-star point guard Aden Holloway is Auburn's lone signee and shaping up to be the only high school addition for Auburn basketball. The 2024 class is set to be much different. Kell (Ga.) center Peyton Marshall led things off on Dec. 9 when he announced his Auburn commitment. On Wednesday it was Tahaad Pettiford committing to Auburn and now Philon is in the fold. 1COMMENTS “I like their playing style,” Philon said about Auburn. “He’s always telling me that I’ll come in there and get stronger and eat better and grow as an athlete and a student.” With the addition of Philon, Auburn is currently No. 3 in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings for the 2024 class behind just North Carolina and Baylor.

Such a great point! When they’re committed the coaches can start getting them ready for the SEC by sharing dietary guidelines and drills and what to improve on. Great post AU Texan.

Class of 2024 Top247 CB Jayden Lewis commits to Auburn 13 minutes ago Jayden Lewis has been waiting to commit to Auburn. Finally, on Wednesday, the Class of 2024 Top247 cornerback from Anniston (Ala.) got to reveal his decision. “It’s really relieving," Lewis told Auburn Undercover. "I had been waiting to get it off my chest because I knew where I wanted to go. I was waiting on the perfect time. The word I would choose is relief.” Auburn now has two commitments in the Class of 2024, both Top247 cornerbacks primarily recruited by Zac Etheridge. Moody (Ala.) cornerback A'Mon Lane is Auburn's other current commitment. After signing a loaded defensive back class in the 2023 cycle, Etheridge now joined by Wesley McGriff has set Auburn up early for another loaded class in the 2024 cycle. “That was a big part because he was actually one of the first people I talked to from Auburn my ninth grade year," Lewis said about Etheridge. "We built a relationship and we’ve been going on from there. I go to these camps and I’m going crazy and locking people down. I won camp MVP my ninth and 10th grade year (at Auburn). That really brought us closer because he told me ‘I really want you. I can make you better and I like your versatility.’ He started hitting me up when the date came my junior year and we got super close then.” Since Hugh Freeze took over and brought in Ron Roberts as defensive coordinator and McGriff to join Etheridge, it was almost instant for Lewis. “I clicked real quick with them," Lewis said. "It wasn’t even the first whole week they had been in and Coach Etheridge hit my phone on Facetime and I got to meet all of the new coaches, coach Crime and the new defensive coordinator. Right then we all clicked. That was my type of vibe. That really made me 100 percent sure that I wanted to go to Auburn. I got there Saturday and it was the same vibe. It was real love. That really took it over the top and I was ready to commit now.” With recruiting being a two-year (or more) cycle now, Auburn is already behind for the 2024 class. But Freeze, Lane and now Lewis are working to get that changed. “I’m real excited," Lewis said. "Just seeing both sides of it, that really taught me a lot. These guys were trying to get me to commit. Now I’m on the other side. I’m trying to get guys to commit. It’s really fun and interesting.” 14COMMENTS A 4-star in the 247Sports rankings, Lewis is the No. 176 overall player, No. 13 cornerback and No. 12 player in Alabama. Auburn now has two of the top-20 players in the state of Alabama committed for the 2024 class. “War Eagle," Lewis said. "I’m 110 percent committed.”

BREAKING: Auburn lands nation's No. 3 point guard Tahaad Pettiford 7 minutes ago For the second straight class, Auburn has landed an elite point guard. The second commitment of Auburn's 2024 class is that of Tahaad Pettiford, the No. 3 point guard in the country who chose the Tigers on Wednesday afternoon over Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, UConn and others. A product of Hudson Catholic in New Jersey, Pettiford is a 5-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite ratings as the No. 22 overall recruit in the class. He joins 4-star center Peyton Marshall, who committed in December, in a 2024 class that has a chance to be special for Bruce Pearl's program. Pettiford's only official visit this past fall was to Auburn in September. He unofficially visited UConn during this season. The decision by Pettiford, who's been measured at 6-foot-1 recently, makes for back-to-back classes with a 5-star Composite point guard for Auburn, after Aden Holloway signed with the program this past November. Assuming Pettiford signs, he'll become the third-highest rated recruit in Auburn history, ahead of Yohan Traore and behind only Jabari Smith and Sharife Cooper. 5COMMENTS With Pettiford's commitment, Auburn makes an early move into the top 5 for 2024, with the No. 4 recruiting class in the country. The Tigers will likely pursue up to four players in the 2024 class, and more movement could come in just a couple days. The No. 1 player in the state of Alabama, combo guard Labaron Philon out of Mobile, told Auburn Undercover that he's set to commit during a ceremony at Baker High School on Friday. Philon currently has two 247Sports Crystal Balls, both to Auburn.