12/7/22 Auburn Articles

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

Derick Hall named to All-SEC First Team

River Wells

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It was a disappointing season for the Auburn Tigers, but that doesn’t mean there was nothing to praise on the Plains.

Edge rusher Derick Hall was named to the Coaches All-SEC First Team on Tuesday. The nomination is Hall’s maiden First Team nod (he was named to the All-SEC Second Team in 2021) and comes on the day he announced his intentions to declare for the NFL Draft.

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Hall netted seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss in his last season as a Tiger. Hall was a rotational player for his first two years at Auburn, but he became a dominant edge rusher during a junior year where he recorded nine sacks and terrorized Alabama quarterback Bryce Young during the team’s matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Hall is expected to be a high draft pick in the 2023 NFL draft and is currently the fifth-highest-ranked edge rusher on the Draft Network’s big board.

Hall was the only Auburn player to be named with Coaches All-SEC honors.

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Questions for Hugh Freeze on Auburn’s offense

Published: Dec. 06, 2022, 4:56 p.m.

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Auburn head football coach Hugh Freeze is a busy man these days. Freeze is rebuilding a coaching staff, checking the transfer portal for potential incoming players and outgoing members of last season’s squad, and connecting with donors.

Freeze will have lots of work ahead of him as he attempts to bring Auburn back to winning after two consecutive losing seasons for the Tigers.

Let’s look at the problems Freeze will have to solve on offense.

Read More Auburn Football: Colby Wooden, Derick Hall declare for NFL Draft

Auburn president defends Hugh Freeze hire in email response to concerned fans

Hugh Freeze on ESPN’s College GameDay: Auburn must ‘revamp the roster’ to compete for titles

1. Is Robby Ashford, the answer at quarterback?

Freeze expressed his excitement about coaching Ashford was piqued during the Iron Bowl. Ashford threw a tightly-wound spiral that gently fell into Ja’Varrious Johnson’s hands in the end zone for a second-quarter touchdown.

Ashford also rushed for two touchdowns and was the second-leader rusher on the team with 121 yards against Alabama.

Auburn didn’t win because Alabama is the better team. Despite the loss, Ashford’s promise was eye-catching for Freeze.

“I knew he could run around, and obviously, that’s very positive, but I saw him make some throws in that game. There was one particular in the right corner of the endzone,” Freeze said. “That was a really, really, really difficult pass. And it was beautifully done. I do think I have a gift to help develop quarterbacks. If you look at everywhere we’ve been, we’ve had pretty good success with that.”

“I’m very anxious to get to work with not only him, he’s a tremendous athlete, but I think there are other good players in that room too. But I was impressed with how I thought he improved.”

Ashford told reporters his first phone call after discovering Auburn hired Freeze was to Malik Willis, who played for Freeze at Liberty. Willis transferred from Auburn to Liberty. Ashford believes Freeze can help him become a player similar to Willis, who now is a quarterback for the Tennessee Titans in the National Football League.

Ashford was one of the players that attended the press conference. He expressed excitement about working with Freeze.

I’ve been praying for this,” Ashford said Tuesday after Freeze’s introductory news conference. “I was like, ‘If I get coach Freeze, it’s going to be deadly.’ ... “I’ve seen what he’s done in the past. He’s a winner. I feel like me, and coach Freeze are going to be a great dynamic duo. I’m excited.”

College football, more than ever, is about quarterback play. Ashford and Freeze blending, as advertised, could get the Tigers back to winning.

2. Offensive line?

Ashford or whomever the quarterback will be working behind an offensive line that has to get revamped through the transfer portal. Nick Brahms (retired), Austin Troxell, Alec Jackson, and Brandon Council have exhausted their eligibility. It’s likely that Brenden Coffey and Kilian Zierer, who spent several positions on the line but mainly tackle, won’t return.

Jeremiah Wright, Tate Johnson, Kam Stutts, and Jalil Irvin all saw lots of playing time, and several people around the program expect them to return.

Auburn expects to have five scholarship athletes on the offensive line. Freeze will need to find, at least two tackles in the transfer portal.

3. Wide receiver?

Dazalin Worsham, Ze’Vian Capers, and J.J. Evans are in the transfer portal. Landen King and Tar’Varish Dawson Jr said they’d enter the portal before it opened, but both are reported to return to the Plains. Auburn needs depth at wide receiver. The Tigers could use one or two deep threats. Freeze will be busy searching the portal and high school ranks as signing day approaches.

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.

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Auburn’s top 2 pass rushers heading to NFL draft

The Auburn Tigers(Source: WSFA 12 News)

By The Associated Press

Published: Dec. 6, 2022 at 3:38 PM CST|Updated: 17 hours ago

 

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn’s top two pass rushers are leaving for the NFL.

Defensive end Colby Wooden announced in a video on social media that he is skipping his senior season to enter the draft. Edge rusher Derick Hall also posted a video to announced his plans to leave.

Hall is a senior who already had accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl but could have returned for a fifth season. He was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection.

Hall is projected as a potential second-round draft pick while projections have Wooden in the mid-round range.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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D.J. Uiagalelei to the Plains? One expert believes Auburn is a great fit

Taylor Jones

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The transfer portal officially opened on Monday. While Auburn did not take as big of a hit as many programs did, they are in the hunt to boost several key areas.

One of those positions is quarterback. Zach Calzada, who missed the 2022 season due to a shoulder injury, has announced that he will enter the transfer portal. His departure leaves Auburn with three scholarship quarterbacks, which could decrease even more if T.J. Finley elects to enter the portal, as rumors suggest.

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There are several strong options in the portal, including NC State’s Devin Leary and Western Kentucky’s Austin Reed. However, there is one transfer candidate that ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg feels is a good fit for the Tigers.

After recent struggles at Clemson, quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei has elected to get a fresh start elsewhere. Rittenberg explains why he and Auburn could pair well together.

Uiagalelei visited the Plains during his recruitment back in 2018, and might consider returning there to suit up for Tigers coach Hugh Freeze. Auburn certainly needs more competition at quarterback, and Freeze runs a QB-friendly offense and typically stacks up talented wide receivers. Freeze’s work in transforming Malik Willis, who struggled at Auburn before transferring to Liberty, likely will appeal to Uiagalelei and his camp.

He would get a chance to play in the SEC and develop his game against top defenders. Clemson and Auburn also have many similarities, so the environment wouldn’t be a big adjustment for Uiagalelei. Auburn should regain Robby Ashford, who showed some promise this season, and added an ESPN 300 recruit earlier this year in Holden Geriner. But there’s not much depth in the quarterback room.

Uiagalelei enrolled at Clemson as the No. 1 quarterback from the 2020 recruiting cycle from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California. He was expected to live up to the expectations of former Clemson quarterbacks Tahj Boyd, Deshaun Watson, and Trevor Lawrence. He appeared to be on his way to doing just that when he passed for 439 yards and two touchdowns in relief of Lawrence during a losing effort to Notre Dame in 2020.

However, his Clemson career did not pan out as he intended. He took over the starting job in 2021, where he threw for 2,246 yards, nine touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He improved in 2022 by tossing 22 touchdown passes to just seven interceptions, but a struggling performance against South Carolina, where he completed just 8-of-29 passes for 99 yards, was enough for head coach Dabo Swinney to bench Uiagalelei for freshman Cade Klubnik. Klubik would start the ACC Championship Game against North Carolina, thus closing the book on Uiagalelei’s career at Clemson.

Florida, Oregon, and Notre Dame are among other programs that Rittenberg believes Uiagalelei could be a great fit for.

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Former Auburn defensive tackle named as Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee

River Wells

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A former Auburn football player has been nominated for one of the NFL’s greatest honors.

Derrick Brown, who played for the Tigers as a defensive tackle from 2016-19, was selected as the Panthers’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, given to the NFL player that creates the biggest community impact through philanthropy and other means. Brown is one of 32 nominees, one for each NFL team.

Here is what Brown said on Twitter about being nominated for the award:

“Truly Honored (sic) to be nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. It wouldn’t have been possible without all the amazing people behind the scenes and all the Amazing (sic) partners that have helped in so many events and helped bring my vision to life in numerous ways!”

Brown’s community work involves helping high-risk children, both in Charlotte, North Carolina, and his hometown of Sugar Hill, Georgia. Brown’s efforts are numerous, including a football camp for 200 kids in Georgia and donating money and school supplies to high school children attending his alma mater.

The winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award is always announced at the NFL Honors ceremony the Thursday before the Super Bowl.

[jj3jordan 2,039]

DJ seems like another Bo Nix with a harder name to pronounce.  He under performed badly at Climpson. I hope we pass on him.

[AUINSY 2,228]

1 hour ago, jj3jordan said:

DJ seems like another Bo Nix with a harder name to pronounce.  He under performed badly at Climpson. I hope we pass on him.

In one way, I agree. In another way, I saw what Bo did at Oregon once he had a good coach/coordinator, staff, and teammates around him. Not sure if Auburn would get that team built around him. If DJ couldn't do it at Clemson with that team, I doubt he could do it against competition and at Auburn with our team, which, let's be real, Clemson's likely got better guys than AU does now. 

[CCTAU 3,287]

1 hour ago, AUINSY said:

In one way, I agree. In another way, I saw what Bo did at Oregon once he had a good coach/coordinator, staff, and teammates around him. Not sure if Auburn would get that team built around him. If DJ couldn't do it at Clemson with that team, I doubt he could do it against competition and at Auburn with our team, which, let's be real, Clemson's likely got better guys than AU does now. 

Many times it is about fit. I'm not sure DJ fit the mold that Clemson now has.

The question is, does he fit Freeze's offense better? The kid did not lose talent. As such, maybe CHF can help him put it all together.

I am not as opposed to the idea as I first was.

[AU_Tiger_88 417]

28 minutes ago, CCTAU said:

Many times it is about fit. I'm not sure DJ fit the mold that Clemson now has.

The question is, does he fit Freeze's offense better? The kid did not lose talent. As such, maybe CHF can help him put it all together.

I am not as opposed to the idea as I first was.

I would think there are better candidates out there.  Of course, that is my opinion.

[Hank2020 3,195]

3 hours ago, CCTAU said:

Many times it is about fit. I'm not sure DJ fit the mold that Clemson now has.

The question is, does he fit Freeze's offense better? The kid did not lose talent. As such, maybe CHF can help him put it all together.

I am not as opposed to the idea as I first was.

He dud not lose talent , but definitely was more inconsistent (at the worse times too).