6.1.23 Football Articles

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

Auburn listed among teams with the most blue-chip commits so far in the 2024 recruiting cycle

Daniel Locke

~2 minutes

Since Hugh Freeze took over as head coach of the Auburn Tigers football program late last year he wasted no time trying to improve Auburn’s recruiting after lackluster efforts by the previous tenure.

The efforts have not gone unnoticed as Auburn’s recruiting class of 2023 improved drastically in a short period, and the Tigers have made a big splash in the transfer portal. The 2024 recruiting class, which will be the first recruiting class for Freeze, is already shaping up to be one of the best Auburn has seen.

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Blue-chip commits are recruits who have a four or five-star rating. The percentage of a team’s commits who meet that criterion is that team’s blue-chip percentage. Four of Auburn’s five commits for the 2024 class fit the mold: QB Walker White, RB J'Marion Burnette, CB A'mon Lane, and CB Jayden Lewis.

On3 ranked the programs with the highest blue-chip ratings so far in the 2024 cycle and Auburn is currently in fourth place with 80% of its commits meeting the bill.

The programs ahead of Auburn are Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and Ohio State. The rest of the top 10 after Auburn includes Clemson, Oregon, Georgia, Oklahoma, USC, and Michigan.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Daniel on Twitter @DanielJLocke

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si.com

 

PFF graded Shane Hooks well in 2022 while he was at Jackson State

Andrew Stefaniak

2–3 minutes

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Shane Hooks was one of the most significant additions to Auburn's transfer class as he brings 64 receptions, 748 yards, and ten touchdowns to the Plains. 

With these numbers, Hooks was Jackson State's leading receiver a season ago, catching passes from Deion Sanders's son Shedeur. 

The six-foot-four wideout graded out well on PFF, receiving a 72.1 receiving grade and a 72 overall offensive grade. 

He played 711 snaps on the outside while only playing 11 snaps in the slot. 

With the massive frame Hooks possess, you will see him manning the outside for Auburn this season, hopefully connecting for big gains from Payton Thorne or Robby Ashford. 

The receiver position was one that Auburn had to sure up with the transfer portal, and Coach Freeze did just that, bringing in four receivers. 

Hooks has a real shot at leading Auburn in receiving this season, as it is a well know fact that Coach Freeze loves big wideouts. 

Hooks makes a lot of highlight reel plays, so you can definitely expect to see him on Sports Center a time or two this season. 

This receiver room has transitioned from a room I was concerned about to one I'm excited about, and Hooks is a big part of that. 

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yahoo.com

Breaking down what Auburn football gained, lost in the transfer portal this offseason

Richard Silva, Montgomery Advertiser

4–5 minutes

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze has totally revamped his roster this offseason.

Since getting hired in November, the Tigers have brought in a whopping 20 transfers, a haul good enough to earn them the No. 3 portal class in the country, according to 247Sports. The only two programs with a class rated higher is LSU and Colorado, as new coach Deion Sanders has added an unprecedented 50 transfers. Auburn does, however, have the most four-star transfers in the nation with 11. LSU has eight. Colorado has four.

On the other end, the Tigers lost 18 transfers, though the production gained far outweighs what went out the door. Here's a breakdown of the numbers behind what Freeze has done through the portal this offseason.

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Auburn football's new-look receivers

It took until the spring portal period, but Auburn's wide receiver room got a makeover.

The position was one in which the Tigers had the most attrition — Dazalin Worsham (UAB), Ze'Vian Capers (Western Kentucky), Tar'Varish Dawson (Colorado) and Landen King (Utah) all left — but also the one with the most new faces. Auburn brought in Nick Mardner from Cincinnati in December and added three WRs —Jyaire Shorter from North Texas, Shane Hooks from Jackson State and Caleb Burton III from Ohio State — in May.

In terms of production gained and lost, Auburn's departures are taking with them 23 career receptions for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, the additions come to the Plains with a combined 253 receptions for 4,390 yards and 49 scores. A stark difference.

Of course, each of the new receivers are coming from a perceived lower level of competition than the SEC, but the staggering disparity in production can't be overlooked.

Offensive line reconstruction

With Avery Jones (East Carolina), Dillon Wade (Tulsa), Gunner Britton (Western Kentucky) and Jaden Muskrat (Tulsa) added this offseason, the Tigers may have four new starters on the offensive line. Wade at left tackle, Jones at center and Britton at right tackle were locks at their positions during spring practice, and even though Muskrat played tackle with the Golden Hurricane, Freeze said he has the versatility to play inside if needed: "He can do both, which is why he was that high for us," Freeze said May 10.

Two offensive linemen hit the portal for Auburn in Keinondre Jones and Colby Smith. Jones played 334 offensive snaps last year, per Pro Football Focus. Smith's numbers aren't available, but he didn't see the field until late in the season — his first playing time came against Western Kentucky in AU's penultimate game.

Similar to wide receiver, the numbers here are jarring. The four newcomers combined for 3,552 snaps on the offensive line a season ago, with Britton's 1,036 leading the way.

Front seven the focus for Auburn Tigers defense

Aside from special teams, the only position group Auburn didn't add a transfer to this offseason was at defensive back. There wasn't much movement in the other direction, either, as Craig McDonald was the only DB to leave.

Amongst the front seven, though? The Tigers made significant changes. At defensive line, jack and linebacker, Auburn lost eight players and added nine. The departures have combined career stats of 38 total tackles, three tackles for loss, a pass deflection and a forced fumble.

As has been the trend, Auburn's additions have produced much more at the schools they're coming from. The group of nine has a collective 707 total tackles, 65.5 tackles for loss, 17 pass deflections and nine forced fumbles.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: What Tigers gained, lost in the transfer portal

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Payton Thorne is the 'battery' to Auburn's offense in 2023

Andrew Graham

(Photo by Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Auburn made an upgrade to the quarterback room this spring, bringing in two-year starter Payton Thorne from Michigan State. And the Tigers will ultimately go as he goes, according to On3’s J.D. PicKell.

Running the RPO-heavy offense employed by Hugh Freeze, the quarterback is integral to keep the offense humming along by making consistent reads on those plays. If Thorne can get up to speed on that, he’ll key in success for the entire Auburn offense.

“But he’s the battery to this offense at Auburn,” PicKell said. “Make no mistake about it. The offense under Hugh Freeze at Auburn will go as Payton Thorne goes. Did a lot through the portal. Have one of the top portal classes this cycle, Payton Thorne being a part of that portal class. But if Payton Thorne doesn’t bring his A game, if he doesn’t allow the offense to operate because he’s not up to speed or he’s making mistakes, he’s not consistent, whatever it ends up being, they will go as Payton Thorne goes.”

Thorne’s best college season came two years ago in 2021, when Michigan State went 11-2 and won the Peach Bowl. Kenneth Walker III was a main reason for much of that success, but Thorne provided a perfect complement in the passing game. 

That season, Thorne completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 3232 yards and 27 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. He’s also a functional runner, though not one to design plays around. Thorne regressed slight in 2022 as the Michigan State offense struggled. He improved his completion percentage a few points to 62.5 percent, but has just 19 touchdowns to 11 interceptions and 2679 passing yards. 

Even still, he’s more experienced and accomplished than any quarterback Auburn had on the roster.

If he can provide the consistent, competent play he’s given Michigan State, PicKell is bullish on where he take the Tigers.

“But there was newfound optimism when Payton Thorne decided he was going to come to The Plains. And for good reason. You know what you’re getting with him. He was a starter, he’s had solid production throughout the course of his career,” PicKell said.

And with that optimism and hope around Auburn comes pressure, which Thorne will have to navigate as the Tigers seek to make a big jump in Year 1 under Freeze.

“If they want to have success in ’23, looking right at Payton Thorne and saying, ‘Alright, you’re the batteries, we need you to have this whole thing humming.’ So a lot of pressure on Payton Thorne, I think, in a positive way,” PicKell said. “Again, pressure is privilege and Payton Thorne is going to bear a fair amount of that in ’23 at Auburn.”