1/31/23 Auburn Articles

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247sports.com

 

Jason Caldwell's Monday morning quarterback column

Jason Caldwell

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Junior Day a huge success

We probably won’t know the true impact of Saturday’s Junior Day until months or even years down the road, but there is no question that what Hugh Freeze and his staff pulled off will be felt for a long time in the Auburn program.

More than 150 kids showed up for the visit to check out the program and the Auburn facilities, which shows you the interest in the program. It’s amazing the difference in just a year’s time in that regard.

There is some downside to having a group that big with some kids probably not able to get as much one-on-one attention as would be ideal, but the positives far outweigh the negatives in that regard. It’s also a case of being the first one. If you’re Freeze and his staff, you don’t turn down anyone who wants to visit the program right now. It’s all about building goodwill and relationships with players and their parents. Saturday went a long way towards doing just that. 

It’s also a chance to make up some ground on 2024 prospects who had pretty much written Auburn off and started looking in other directions. 

One of those is big-time wide receiver Mario Craver from Clay-Chalkville. One of the most dynamic wide receiver prospects in the country, Craver has offers from all over the country. After showing a lot of interest in Auburn early on, Craver had cooled considerably on the Tigers.

I asked him his thoughts on Auburn after the visit and here was his response.

“I can definitely tell Freeze got something special going on!”

That’s a long way from getting a commitment, but it’s a big step in the right direction for Auburn with one of the top players in Alabama. 

Stretch run up for Auburn hoops

With Wednesday night’s game against the Georgia Bulldogs marking the halfway point of the SEC schedule for the basketball Tigers, crunch time is here for Bruce Pearl’s club after dropping a second-straight contest on Saturday at West Virginia.

Currently 16-5 overall and 6-2 in SEC play, Auburn’s schedule only gets tougher. After the Georgia game, the Tigers go on the road for back-to-back games against Texas A&M and Tennessee before coming home to play Alabama on Saturday, February 11. Those are huge opportunity games for this team that needs a couple of big wins down the stretch to bolster its resume for the NCAA Tournament.

Even though Saturday’s game ended in a loss after trailing by as many as 17 points, I thought Auburn found something in the second half against the Mountaineers. That is going inside over and over and over again and running the offense through Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams. Playing that way helped with shot selection and led to Auburn making 5-8 from behind the arc after making just 2-9 in the first half.

For this team it’s all about consistency and getting off to a good start. Two straight games Auburn has dug too big of a hole to climb out of in the final 20 minutes. If this team wants to make a run it needs to start now and it’s going to start with the ball in the hands of its two most consistent scoring threats more often.

Auburn women getting healthy at the right time

For much of the 2022-23 season Coach Johnnie Harris’ team has been far less than full strength, making it tough to put up much of a fight in many of the games the Tigers have played in the Southeastern Conference. Finally getting most of the key players back three games ago, Auburn has put together back-to-back wins as the Tigers look to make it three in a row on Monday evening with a home game vs. Florida.

18COMMENTS

If you haven’t had the opportunity to do so, go check out Auburn junior Aicha Coulibaly. She’s quietly putting together a monster season for the Tigers, averaging 17.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game to go along with 37 steals. Double figures in eight-straight games, Coulibaly is averaging 19.2 points in SEC play with games of 31 points and 20 points in Auburn’s two wins. She has done it while overcoming a knee injury and then a concussion.

Do yourself a favor and go watch her and this team continue to battle.

">247Sports

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

Auburn's transfer haul among SEC's best

Taylor Jones

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Auburn Football has seen an astonishing boost in recruiting since Hugh Freeze has taken over the program. Auburn currently has the No. 17 high school recruiting class for the 2023 cycle according to 247Sports and reeled in a top-five transfer portal class during the first window.

Now that recruiting has begun to wind down for the 2023 cycle, media outlets are starting to share their thoughts on how well each college football program did in their transfer portal recruiting efforts, including Auburn.

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Athlon Sports recently dropped their SEC Football transfer portal rankings, where they have placed Auburn at the No. 3 spot, behind fellow SEC West foes LSU and Ole Miss.

Steven Lassan of Athlon Sports was pleased with Freeze’s ability to fill team needs in a short period of time.

This haul of transfers boosts Auburn’s chances of making marked improvement under new coach Hugh Freeze. Landing three Day 1 starters on the offensive line was crucial with the entire group in transition. (Brian) Battie and (Rivaldo) Fairweather add to a thin group of playmakers, with Battie capable of sharing carries with Jarquez Hunter. Depth is crucial to any defense in the SEC, and even if (Justin) Rogers, (Lawrence) Johnson, (Austin) Keys and (Demario) Tolan don’t start, Auburn just needed more talent on this side of the ball. These additions accomplish that, plus add starter-capable players in the front.

Auburn ranks No. 3 overall in 247Sports’ team transfer portal rankings, behind LSU and Florida State. The first window closed on Jan. 15 and will open again on May 1 for a 15-day period, meaning that Auburn could bring in more talented additions before the 2023 season begins.

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How Auburn is retooling its defense through the transfer portal

Published: Jan. 23, 2023, 3:58 p.m.

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Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze is introduced during Auburn basketball vs Arkansas on Saturday, Jan. 7,.2023 in Auburn, Ala. Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics/AU At

By

• Nubyjas Wilborn | nwilborn@al.com

Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze and defensive coordinator Ron Roberts knew replacing All-SEC EDGE Derick Hall, team captain linebacker Owen Pappoe, EDGE Eku Leota, defensive line Colby Wooden, and several others would be a tough challenge for the program.

Freeze and Roberts also were aware that solely signing high school players wouldn’t be nearly enough. The Tigers needed to improve on a run defense that was 97th in yards allowed (172.6 yards per game) and 105th at 4.64 yards per carry.

Former head coach Bryan Harsin often talked about establishing the run on offense and being a physical defense that can stop the run. Auburn’s results didn’t reflect Harsin’s emphasis in the run game.

Read More Auburn Football: Auburn sets date for 2023 A-Day spring game

Hugh Freeze makes it a dozen transfers added, signs SEC linebacker

Breaking down Auburn’s additions, losses and remaining needs after 1st transfer window closes

If Freeze wants a longer tenure than Harsin’s 19 games, it’ll start with stopping the run. Here’s a look at the players Freeze and Roberts are hoping can help the Tigers in the 2023 season.

Austin Keys LB 6′2 245 Ole Miss

Keys had 35 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks last season at Ole Miss. He started in five games and played 13 for the Rebels. He racked up 51 tackles from 2020-22 and played in 23 games. The Tigers needed an experienced linebacker with Pappoe leaving for the National Football League draft. Keys has an opportunity to play an impact role.

Quientrail Jamison-Travis DL 6′4 280 Iowa Western

Jamison-Travis is Iowa’s top-rated junior college prospect and America’s No. 3 juco defensive lineman prospect. He was part of a national championship-winning program at Iowa Western. He tallied 45 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks last season, and in 2021 posted 45 tackles, 6.5 TFL, and 2.0 sacks. Freeze told reporters that winning in the trenches is a primary focus. Keeping Jamison-Travis, who was initially recruited by Harsin’s staff, was a priority.

Justin Rodgers DL 6′3 332 Kentucky

Rodgers had 35 tackles last season at Kentucky. He has played in 33 games with 60 tackles, three sacks, and five tackles for loss for the Wildcats. Several recruiting sites considered Rodgers as one of the best available defensive linemen in the portal.

Mosiah Nasili-Kite DL 6′2 320 Maryland

Nasili-Kite comes to Auburn as a grad transfer. He played three seasons at Maryland after transferring from Independence Community College. He totaled 83 tackles, nine sacks, and 13.5 while playing for the Terrapins.

Elijah McAllister EDGE 6′6 265 Vanderbilt

McAllister had 65 tackles, two fumble recoveries, and forced three fumbles during 36 games over five seasons for the Commodores. He’s a former team captain who has 12 starts. He’ll add to a position group seeking depth with the losses of Hall and Leota.

Lawrence Johnson DT 6′3 310 Purdue

Johnson had 29 tackles, 2.5 for a loss, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble last season while starting in all 13 games for the Boilermakers. The grad transfer is a three-year starter with 88 tackles, 7.5 TFL, and 2.5 sacks in 46 games at Purdue.

DeMario Tolan 6′2 222 LSU

Tolan had 10 tackles as a freshman in 12 games last season for LSU. He was a four-star recruit in the 2022 class, and several recruiting sites had him a four-star portal athlete. Getting a youngster like Tolan is good for Freeze and Roberts for next season and beyond.

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Ex-Auburn football assistant blocks a bunch of Auburn media members on Twitter... for some reason?

Auburn Daily Staff

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Bryan Harsin may have not passed much onto his assistants during his time at Auburn, but at least he showed one of them how to use the block feature on Twitter.

Former Auburn wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard has gone on a blocking spree on Twitter, removing a number of Auburn beat writers, media members, and fan pages alike from his account's view - and the strangest thing about it is the fact that almost no one in the Auburn media sphere has ever said anything negative about Hilliard.

In fact, some of those blocked pointed out that they haven't ever done anything other than support him.

Hilliard was hired by former Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin to coach the receiver room this past offseason after the previous coaching stint with the core featured Cornelius Williams being fired four games into the season and offensive analyst Eric Kiesau moving up to take over the role.

Bryan Harsin went on a similar run following his firing, blocking several beat writers and "soft blocking" others, meaning he removed them as a follower but didn't block them (which is significantly more petty).

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Former Auburn defensive back joins USFL’s Generals

Published: Jan. 30, 2023, 1:00 p.m.

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Los Angeles Rams safety Blake Countess runs with the football after intercepting a pass during an NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 30, 2018, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

By

• Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com

While the NFL has one game remaining in its 2022 season – Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 – the XFL, USFL and CFL are preparing for their 2023 campaigns.

The XFL kicks off its season on Feb. 18, the USFL starts on April 15 and the CFL begins its preseason slate on May 22.

The roster building for the leagues’ teams has continued over the past week, and three players with Alabama football roots are among the most recent signings:

· Linebacker Beniquez Brown (Florence) signed with the USFL’s Houston Gamblers. Brown played for the AAF’s Birmingham Iron in 2019, and he appeared in six games with the Gamblers last season.

· Defensive back Blake Countess (Auburn) signed with the USFL’s New Jersey Generals. Countess joins the Generals after playing in 45 regular-season and seven playoff games across six seasons in the NFL.

· Defensive end Wallace Cowins Jr. (North Alabama) signed with the CFL’s Ottawa Redblacks. Cowins’ final season at UNA was the 2021 campaign.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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