1/16/23 Auburn Articles

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Auburn gets 12th transfer with SEC linebacker Austin Keys

Updated: Jan. 14, 2023, 11:42 p.m.|Published: Jan. 14, 2023, 7:59 p.m.

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Standing ovation for Hugh Freeze, head coach introduced at Auburn/Arkansas

By

Nick Alvarez | nalvarez@al.com

Austin Keys became Auburn’s 12th transfer and second linebacker from a Southeastern Conference program. The three-star announced his decision on Instagram on Saturday night.

Of the dozen players Hugh Freeze has pulled in via the portal, Keys is the sixth defender. After the Tigers’ new head coach claimed the roster was in need of an overhaul on signing day, the quick work of his new staff is creating a blueprint for the 2023 season.

Keys entered the portal on Jan. 6. and will be a redshirt junior next season. He’s listed at 6-foot-2, 245 pounds and was a four-star out of Seminary (Miss.) High. In 23 games with Ole Miss, Keys has recorded 51 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble and a recovery. Against Auburn on Oct. 15, he made three stops.

With LSU transfer DeMario Tolan, Auburn will have 10 scholarship linebackers and depth to help the unit improve from the 29.5 points per game the defense allowed. Edge rusher Elijah McAllister also transferred in from Vanderbilt.

Freeze was active in his last few weeks ahead of the December high school signing period. The Tigers pulled in key flips on the defensive side of the ball like Keldric Faulk from Florida State and Kayin Lee from Ohio State. The new staff overhauled the offensive line with three additions from other colleges.

The Tigers 2023 recruiting class is listed at 18th overall on the 247Sports Composite team rankings. The transfer group is ranked fourth in the country.

MORE Tigers football: Hugh Freeze adds Group of 5 assistant to Auburn support staff

Alabama, Auburn prep for class of 2024 with weekend junior visits

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at NAlvarez@al.com.

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again very little news on the football front. mostly rehashes. Maybe this is the dead period?

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Athlon Sports shares biggest question surrounding Auburn football in 2023

Taylor Jones

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The offseason is now in full swing, which means that there are plenty of questions being asked ahead of next season.

Athlon Sports is kicking off the offseason by revealing its 10 Offseason Questions That Will Shape the Conference for 2023. As one would assume, Auburn and new head coach Hugh Freeze were thrown into the mix.

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Auburn football has regressed mightily over the last two seasons, both in recruiting and the on-field product. Tiger fans are desperately needing to see improvement, and believe that the recent recruiting success of Freeze will ultimately translate to success against SEC competition.

The recent storyline surrounding Auburn football caused Athlon Sports to ask the question “is Auburn Poised for Significant Improvement in Hugh Freeze’s Debut?” Here’s what Steve Lassan of Athlon Sports is looking for out of the Tigers this season.

With Alabama and LSU likely to be projected top-10 teams, along with Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Arkansas hovering around the Top 25, and an improved Texas A&M squad likely, finding wins in the SEC West won’t be easy for new Auburn coach Hugh Freeze. However, the roster isn’t completely devoid of talent, as Jarquez Hunter should emerge as the new No. 1 back with USF transfer Brian Battie sharing the load, and the defense returns enough to improve with Ron Roberts as the new coordinator. For the Tigers to push for six (or more victories), a handful of transfers must mesh along the line, and Robby Ashford needs to take a big step forward at quarterback. Freeze’s staff and work in the portal have this program pointed in the right direction. This offseason is the first look at a revamped roster.

Auburn finished with a 5-7 record in 2022, and a sixth-place finish in the SEC West. Freeze will lead Auburn onto the field for the first time on Saturday, Sept. 2 against UMass at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

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si.com

 

Five expectations for Auburn football's quarterbacks under Hugh Freeze

Lance Dawe

5–6 minutes

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Here are five things we can expect out of Hugh Freeze's quarterbacks at Auburn.

New Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is known as a bit of a quarterback guru.

Now entering his first season on the Plains, Freeze will have that reputation put to the test.

Auburn quarterback Robby Ashford was thrown into the fire as a freshman and unsurprisingly struggled in a variety of areas - accuracy, decision making, turnovers, etc. However, he did flash glimpses of potential, rushing for over 700 yards and finished sixth in the SEC in yards per completion (min. 100 attempts).

Unless Freeze decides to roll with a quarterback out of the portal, he's going to have the chance to build on Ashford's foundation and unlock his potential.

Regardless of who the signal-caller is, here are five things we can expect out of Freeze's quarterbacks at Auburn.

More gambling

Jason Homan/ Auburn Daily

Over the course of his ten seasons coaching Division I college football, Hugh Freeze quarterbacks throw an interception on 2.9% of their passes. Compare this to Auburn, who from 2013-2022 threw a pick on 2.1% of their passes.

The gap between these two styles of play starts to shift when you look at interception totals - Hugh Freeze QB's 117 interceptions to Auburn's 65 - but that's not a fair comparison because of two reasons. One, the Tigers have thrown the ball significantly less than the average SEC team over the last decade. Two, there's a two-year gap in the Hugh Freeze numbers because he was out of coaching.

Only twice has Auburn eclipsed double-digit interceptions since 2013. Hugh Freeze quarterbacks have done it seven out of his nine seasons.

More turnovers come with throwing the ball more. Especially in Freeze's offenses.

More explosive play

Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

While turnovers may be a downside, more explosive play is also to be expected from Freeze signal-callers.

During his time at Ole Miss, Freeze never had a passing offense finish outside of the top five in the SEC in yards per game and only had one aerial attack step outside the top five of the league in yards per attempt.

If we're looking at this year specifically, there's reason to expect Auburn's receiver room to be used pretty differently considering the blend of size and speed the Tigers have in the rotation. Physical, big-bodied receivers are what have thrived in Freeze's systems in the past - and part of it has to do with the downfield passing from his quarterback.

This isn't Joe Burrow and the 2019 LSU Tigers by any stretch. However, fans should be excited about a more, well, exciting passing game.

Better accuracy

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Seven of Freeze's ten offenses have seen better completion percentages than Auburn's passing attacks in the same year.

We won't sit here and tell you that every year Freeze beat out the Tigers' passing attack by a wide margin in that category, but it's not unfair to say Freeze's quarterbacks have had a consistent edge over Auburn's from a raw numbers perspective - more reps, completions, accuracy, etc.

If we're talking specifically about this upcoming season, there's little doubt that Ashford will improve on his 49.5% completion percentage.

Dual-threat abilities

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Freeze has utilized his quarterback's legs to not just produce yardage, but to actually get in the endzone.

His starting signal-callers have averaged 447.1 yards on the ground per season to go along with 7.5 rushing touchdowns.

What's interesting about Freeze's use of dual-threat quarterbacks is that the more he's used them in a given season, the better the team has done overall. Now, the utilization of a QBs legs may not directly correlate to wins, but it does indicate that the offense probably performs better and therefore the team as a whole is more competitive.

Four of Freeze's ten seasons have included his starting quarterback rushing for over 500 yards. Those teams went a combined 38-11 (0.78 win percentage) and produced all three of his ten-win seasons.

It does make one wonder what could be in store if Auburn were to ride with Robby Ashford and improve his passing game...

Big performances in big wins

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Excluding 2012, Hugh Freeze is 5-7 against top 10 opponents. In those five wins, his quarterbacks produced some solid (averaged) stat lines:

- 314.4 passing yards per game

- 10 total TD/2 INT

- 79.6 QBR

When the quarterback plays well in important contests, the team plays well.