aubiefifty 17,100 Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 auburnwire.usatoday.com On3 expects Auburn to be 'astronomically better' this season Daniel Locke ~2 minutes After a rough stretch for Auburn, expectations for Hugh Freeze to turn things around are through the roof. Freeze wasted no time improving Auburn’s roster as an article from On3 written by Grant Grubbs describes Auburn’s talent as ‘astronomically better’ heading into the new era. Buy Tigers Tickets The article included some thoughts of JD PicKell on On3. “The talent alone at Auburn is astronomically better than what you had a season ago in terms of guys that are going to likely start for you,” PicKell said. “The quarterback, Payton Thorne, I think gives you a much better jumping-off point. You retooled the defense. Overall, you feel a lot better about the floor of where you’re sitting right now for Auburn.” The Tigers have made significant improvements to almost every position and their roster more so resembles one you would want to have in the SEC West than it did a year ago. Freeze used the transfer portal to make it happen. “The first thing we got to talk about is what Hugh Freeze did through the portal was awesome,” PicKell said. “He just saw the portal and took what he wanted. They have a top-five portal class right now. “They took 20 transfers. Props to Hugh Freeze. That’s what good bosses do when they take over a failing company. They bring in the personnel to help that company succeed.” Auburn fans will not have to wait too much longer before they get to see this new-and-improved team in action. 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 17,100 Posted July 3, 2023 Author Share Posted July 3, 2023 auburnwire.usatoday.com Walker White listed as a top-10 QB in 247Sports 2024 recruiting rankings Taylor Jones 3–4 minutes The Auburn Tigers are on the right track to becoming a national power in a few seasons. Hugh Freeze will need a buffer at quarterback for a season or two, but four-star Walker White will be sure to take the offense to places it has not experienced in several seasons when his time comes. Buy Tigers Tickets White has passed for 4,103 yards and 49 touchdowns over the last two seasons, and has rushed for an additional 1,381 yards. He has the skill set that will flourish in Freeze’s system and is seen as one of the top quarterbacks for the 2024 cycle. Auburn’s rebuild is off to a great start with White leading the way as Auburn’s top 2024 commitment to this point. Where does he rank among the best quarterbacks in the nation? Here are the top-10 quarterbacks according to 247Sports rankings as the calendar turns to July. Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports Hometown Height Weight 247Sports rating Committed to Midland, Texas 6-3 230 4-star Purdue Jake Crandall/The Montgomery Advertiser Hometown Height Weight 247Sports rating Committed to Little Rock, Arkansas 6-3 215 4-star Auburn Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Hometown Height Weight 247Sports rating Committed to Santa Ana, California 6-1 200 4-star Stanford Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports Hometown Height Weight 247Sports rating Committed to Charlotte, North Carolina 6-0 202 4-star Michigan For more Michigan recruiting news, check out Wolverines Wire. Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports Hometown Height Weight 247Sports rating Committed to Willis, Texas 6-2 225 4-star Florida For more recruiting news from Florida, visit Gators Wire. Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports Hometown Height Weight 247Sports rating Committed to Fairburn, Georgia 6-3 195 4-star Ohio State For more news on Ohio State recruiting, visit Buckeyes Wire. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Hometown Height Weight 247Sports rating Committed to Saline, Michigan 6-2 195 4-star Notre Dame For more Notre Dame recruiting news, visit Fighting Irish Wire. Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports Hometown Height Weight 247Sports rating Committed to Savannah, Georgia 6-4 185 4-star Florida State Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports Hometown Height Weight 247Sports rating Committed to Carlsbad, California 6-1 195 5-star Alabama For more on Alabama recruiting, visit Roll Tide Wire. Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports Hometown Height Weight 247Sports rating Committed to Buford, Georgia 6-3 220 5-star Georgia For more Georgia recruiting news, visit UGA Wire. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 17,100 Posted July 3, 2023 Author Share Posted July 3, 2023 si.com Auburn's 2023 Position Battles: Jack linebacker Zac Blackerby 4–5 minutes Who will Auburn start at Jack in 2023? Auburn fans became accustomed to seeing Derick Hall and Eku Leota at EDGE over the last two seasons. With their departures and a new defensive scheme, Auburn's EDGE position will look a little different. Under new defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, the position group will now be labeled as Jack linebackers and will be asked to do more than just primarily rush the passer. They'll need to drop in coverage, set containment, as well as pursue opposing quarterbacks this season. The room will look vastly different. With Hall and Leota gone, Marcus Bragg running out of eligibility, and Dylan Brooks transferring, Auburn returns no production at the position outside of Jayden Brice's two snaps in 2022. Auburn went out and added several pieces via the portal in Vanderbilt's Elijah McAllister, Liberty's Stephen Sings, and App State's Jalen McLeod. We also saw the prize of the 2023 class, Keldric Faulk, play Jack in the spring but there's been a lot of talk about him playing more defensive end this season due to positional needs. Let's look at who could start at Jack for Auburn this season. The case for Elijah McAllister Eric Starling/Auburn Daily Many expect the former Vanderbilt standout to start for the Tigers and it's a pretty easy case to make. He and Faulk appeared to play the most at the starting Jack spot this spring and he probably has the highest floor among all of the players in the room. He is not elite at stopping the run or rushing the passer but he can do both at an SEC level. We've seen him do it at Vanderbilt. There's a chance in a situation where the athletes around him are better, he could excel more this year in the SEC West. My prediction is that McAllister starts and plays the early downs for the Tigers but is asked to step to the side when the defense has the opposing team in key passing situations. The case for Jalen McLeod Michael Reaves/Getty Images McLeod's ability to rush the passer may allow him to lead the team in sacks and pressures this season. Roberts' scheme is famous for helping defenders create chaos and havoc against opposing offenses. If McLeod is able to reap the benefits from some of that scheme and face mismatches at the end of the line of scrimmage, he could be a huge part of what Auburn does at the Jack position this fall. While I believe his role will be large, I don't think he starts. I think he will be the go-to guy when it comes to generating pressure and will often replace McAllister in passing situations this fall. The case for anyone else on the roster Eric Starling/Auburn Daily The next guy in the pecking order is Keldric Faulk. The more folks I talk to within the program, the more I believe he will play both Jack and defensive end but after the second transfer window, it seems like he will be asked to play more end than anywhere else this fall. If asked, Faulk could play and exceed in several position groups on the defensive line. Stephen Sings transferred from Liberty so he knows what head coach Hugh Freeze and defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett want from him. Sings will more than likely be a rotational piece this season and could contribute at a high level but I don't see him getting more reps than anyone else we've mentioned here. Auburn's past rush will be crucial this season as it reloads at the position group and will need to again this offseason as the position group is still filled with veteran players. In Freeze's first season, he's done a great job building the Jack linebacker room on paper. In the fall, we will get to see how it translates to the field. Engage with Auburn Daily on Socials! Join the Locked on Auburn Discord Follow Auburn Daily on Twitter Like Auburn Daily on Facebook Subscribe to Locked On Auburn on YouTube 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 17,100 Posted July 3, 2023 Author Share Posted July 3, 2023 auburnwire.usatoday.com Auburn football has SEC's fifth-toughest schedule according to CBS Sports Taylor Jones ~2 minutes Auburn football and challenging schedules are a perfect match for each other. That will not change as the Tigers get set to take on the 2023 slate. Auburn will host Alabama and Georgia this season and will pay a visit to Texas A&M and LSU. Those four games alone would be considered a brutal draw for any team, but it seems to be the norm for Auburn. Buy Tigers Tickets How challenging is Auburn’s 2023 schedule? CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee ranked each SEC team’s schedule and has declared Auburn’s slate to be the 5th toughest within the conference. Sallee says that Auburn will undoubtedly play a tough schedule, but there are several games that make the 2023 slate manageable. The Tigers’ schedule is always difficult with rivals Alabama and Georgia on the docket, and there’s nothing first-year coach Hugh Freeze can do about that. However, both of those games are at least at home. The Tigers draw Vanderbilt as their rotating cross-division game, and their Power Five nonconference game is at California. Those games don’t move the meter at all. This is a relatively manageable slate by Auburn’s wildly high scheduling standard. According to Sallee’s rankings, Florida holds the SEC’s toughest schedule while Georgia will play the easiest schedule. Auburn football’s 2023 schedule Sept. 2 UMass Sept. 9 at Cal Sept. 16 Samford Sept. 23 at Texas A&M Sept. 30 Georgia Oct. 14 at LSU Oct. 21 Ole Miss Oct. 28 Mississippi State Nov. 4 at Vanderbilt Nov. 11 at Arkansas Nov. 18 New Mexico State Nov. 25 Alabama 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 Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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SaltyTiger 7,908 Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 Good stuff @aubiefifty. Thanks for what you do. In the old days Athlon and Lindsey put their magazines out around the 4th holiday. I would sit out under a fan in the carport at the beach house, eat ice cold water melon, drink beer, read everything cover to cover two or three times. Was always my unofficial start of football season. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarTim 3,457 Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 12 hours ago, SaltyTiger said: Good stuff @aubiefifty. Thanks for what you do. In the old days Athlon and Lindsey put their magazines out around the 4th holiday. I would sit out under a fan in the carport at the beach house, eat ice cold water melon, drink beer, read everything cover to cover two or three times. Was always my unofficial start of football season. Me too. Usually read at the beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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