12.22.23 Football Articles

aubiefifty · December 22, 2023

Caldwell Column What a job by Freeze and Auburn staff

Jason Caldwell

4–5 minutes

Most important class in the last 25 years

I was a young kid when Bo Jackson, Alan Evans and others signed in the 1982 class, but I remember watching that group of young guys combine with a hard-nosed group of veterans to really put Auburn football back on the map. This is a class that has the potential to have the same type of impact for the Tigers when you talk about the type of talent that Hugh Freeze and his staff are bringing to the Plains.

The class features six Top 100 players and 10 in the Top 247. Last year they had five in the Top 247 with Keldric Faulk in the Top 100. The previous two recruiting classes saw Bryan Harsin sign just seven Top 247 players combined and none in the Top 100.

That’s the type of talent you need to dig yourself out of a deep hole, and that’s exactly where Auburn was when Freeze took the job. Were there some good football players left on the roster? Yes, some very good players. Were there enough of them? Not even close.

Freeze talked about stacking classes being the key to having sustained success and that started with getting guys like Faulk, Connor Lew, Kayin Lee and others at the end of last year’s cycle. It carried over this year and looks to be moving in a great direction already for the 2025 class.

If you want to compete with Alabama, Georgia and the other top programs in college football on a yearly basis and not just when you play them at home, you have to get more talent across the board. That is now happening at Auburn once again.

Light years ahead in just 13 months

When Freeze was hired last year, he took over a roster that was almost completely depleted on the lines of scrimmage and several other key areas. They immediately set out to fix things as quickly as possible in year one, starting with the offensive line. Bringing in one-year transfers Gunner Britton and Avery Jones helped to stabilize the offensive line. Dillon Wade was a strong player that would eventually settle in at left tackle while his Tulsa teammate Jaden Muskrat became a key reserve for the Tigers. Junior college tackle Izavion Miller stepped in to earn the starting job at right tackle with true freshman Connor Lew eventually becoming the starting center. Throw in additions like Dylan Senda from Northwestern and true freshmen like Tyler Johnson and Braden Joiner and the offensive line has undergone a facelift in just a year. Adding DeAndre Carter and junior college transfer Seth Wilfred earlier in the day on Wednesday, Auburn got a huge addition late on signing day when Favour Edwin signed with the Tigers over Alabama and Florida

With Johnson coming on strong during bowl practices, Auburn feels like he could be an answer at tackle sooner rather than later. Now with Edwin onboard and Wilfred another possibility at tackle, the Tigers are continuing to add some much needed pieces along the offensive line. While Marcus Davis, Josh Aldridge and others deserve a lot of credit for what they’ve done in recruiting, there’s not a coach on the staff that has done more work overhauling a room than what Jake Thornton has done on the offensive line.

Phenix City pipeline open again

The last Auburn signee from Phenix City was John Broussard, who played for the Tigers in 2016-17 before transferring out. Prior to that, Jonathan Wallace was with the Tigers from 2012-15 and started a few games during his career on the Plains. You have to go all the way back to James Joseph and Ed King, who both finished in 1990, to find full-time starters from Phenix City for the Auburn Tigers.

In fact, there have only been 13 lettermen in Auburn history from Phenix City, which is hard to believe considering it’s just 35-40 minutes away. That makes the signing of Cam Coleman so much more important than just because it’s adding one of the best players in the country.

You’re getting an elite talent at wide receiver, but it’s also getting you back into a school that continues to churn out top prospects year in and year out. We’ll see what type of impact this has, but it sure feels like this is an important one for Auburn’s chances at getting more players from Central in the future.

aubiefifty · December 22, 2023

auburnwire.usatoday.com

Massive offensive tackle Favour Edwin signs with Auburn

JD McCarthy

~2 minutes

Auburn has landed its second commitment of the day and it is once again along the trenches.

The Tigers announced that three-star offensive tackle Favour Edwin had signed with the program late Wednesday night. He is Auburn’s 20th signee of early signing period.

Offensive line coach and Jake Thornton beat out Alabama and Florida for the McDonough, Georgia product, who is in his first year of playing football.

Edwin is the No. 680 overall player and No. 52 offensive tackle in the 247Sports composite ranking. He is also the No. 80 player from Georgia.

Originally from Nigeria, Edwin is listed at 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds. The only linemen on Auburn’s roster who are the same size are Gunner Britton and Tyler Johnson, who are also 6-foot-6.

Edwin is Auburn’s third signee along the offensive line, joining four-star DeAndre Carter and three-star Seth Wilfred. You can view all of Auburn’s activity during the early sighing period here.

BOOM!! WE AIN'T DONE YET! 💥@EdwinFave is an Auburn Tiger!
🏠 McDonough, Georgia
💪 Offensive Line pic.twitter.com/zl9MBhA7bF

— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) December 21, 2023

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15

aubiefifty · December 22, 2023

si.com

Did Auburn's Recruiting Class Help Close The Gap With Alabama and Georgia?

Brian Smith

4–5 minutes

The top of the SEC has Alabama and Georgia above all others, but will Auburn's 2024 recruiting class help to get the Tigers into that conversation?

The answer is a resounding yes! Here's why, with four points being covered that talk about the long-term effects of the 2024 Auburn recruiting class.

1) Walker White can be a big-play quarterback.

Long-term, Auburn's offense will be versatile but also operate primarily through its signal caller. That's where White comes into play. His ability to create plays with his feet and his arm gives Hugh Freeze and the offensive staff a playmaker behind center.

Of note, White's downfield passing ability will be a great addition to what the Tigers do on offense. He has a big arm. To throw to the players being brought in with him, that arm shall be put to good use. That brings us to the point about playing against Bama and UGA.

It's hard enough to sustain 10, 12, and 14-play drives versus mid-level SEC teams. Doing that one or two times, in a single game against Bama or Georgia is not out of the question. Sustaining long drives, over and over, against the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs, is not all that realistic.

Auburn needs chunk-yardage plays and White can provide that. He has a chance to be Auburn's next big-time quarterback.

2) Playmakers will help tilt the advantage toward Auburn.

The speed of a slot receiver like Bryce Cain can be utilized in numerous ways. Cain likely sees a plethora of single coverage as well because of the players also coming to the Plains.

Hard to imagine Bama and UGA consistently playing man coverage against Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson, and the same should be brought up about Malcolm Simmons.

Coleman and Thompson are the big-bodied receivers who make the 50-50 ball catches; they provide top-end speed. When needed, each of them will also make a defender miss. Simmons is quite as big but do not be fooled because he's another weapon when the football is in his hands.

All four of these young men will be hard for Alabama or Georgia to cover. To that point, do not be surprised if Auburn uses more four-wide receiver sets to place pressure on defenses by spreading them out. Auburn will be able to place pressure on the Bama and Georgia defenses.

3) Auburn's defensive line recruiting is big-time.

If you did not yet watch the HUDL film for Amaris Williams, take the time to do so. He's an absolutely incredible athlete who plays running back and wildcat quarterback for his Clinton (N.C.) High School program, at 265 pounds!

Along with TJ Lindsey, Malik Blocton, and eventually Dimitry Nicolas (signing in February), this is a versatile group that adds all of the size, speed, and athleticism to allow the Auburn coaching staff to be creative.

It's one thing to be pumped to play Bama or Georgia, it's another to have the raw trench-talent to create havoc behind the line of scrimmage. These four defenders are going to elevate Auburn's defensive front and create chances for more big plays against the Tide and Bulldogs.

4) The defense will have the talent to be aggressive, even against Bama and UGA.

Bama and Georgia often run over the opposition during the late third quarter and fourth quarter of any given game; each of them wears an opponent down. Auburn is helping itself with the 2024 class to no longer be one of those teams that get blown off the football or have tired legs at a position like cornerback.

More size, more speed, and more sheer numbers of talented players for the Tigers, that's the 2024 class in a nutshell. A player like Demarcus Riddick is a prime example. He's a speedy defender who can play against a slot receiver or bang in the box against the run. Playing safety for Chilton County High School in Clanton, Ala., Riddick is a known playmaker who will help Auburn match up better against either of their SEC rivals.

aubiefifty · December 22, 2023