12.29.23 Football Articles

aubiefifty · December 29, 2023

al.com

Maryland observations: What are the Terps doing at QB without Taulia Tagovailoa?

Published: Dec. 28, 2023, 2:28 p.m.

3–4 minutes

Penn State defensive end Jake Wilson pressures Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards during the fourth quarter on Nov. 12, 2022. Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com

Maryland will be getting an immediate look at its future under center in the Music City Bowl at 1 p.m. this Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee without entrenched starter Taulia Tagovailoa.

After transferring from Alabama to Maryland following the 2019 season, Tagovailoa spent four years — including three full seasons as a starter — becoming the all-time leading passer in Big Ten history.

But with his eyes set on the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, Tagovailoa opted not to play in the Music City Bowl.

So during a period of Maryland practice open to reporters Thursday at The Ensworth School in Nashville, the Terps showed the beginnings of an upcoming quarterback competition.

At least concerning the short term, Maryland appears likely to start redshirt sophomore Billy Edwards Jr. At Thursday’s practice, Edwards was the first quarterback in the rotation during drills.

Edwards transferred to Maryland after not playing in 2021 at Wake Forest. Across 14 total appearances in the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Terps, Edwards completed 32 of 56 pass attempts for 315 yards.

The second quarterback in the rotation was redshirt freshman Cameron Edge. Edge throws a crisp ball, he showed in practice, though he has hardly seen the field over his first two years of college football. Edge has only played in one game and has only attempted three passes.

He is likely to see the most playing time of his college career against Auburn this weekend as Maryland looks to see what it has in two of its contenders to win the starting quarterback job next season.

The other factor in Maryland’s quarterback mix is MJ Morris, who transferred to Maryland from N.C. State earlier in December.

Morris is with the Terps in Nashville and was practicing as a part of the quarterback group, but he is not eligible to play in the bowl game.

Morris has by far the most college experience of any passer on the Terps’ roster, with 1,367 passing yards over nine games in two seasons. Brennan Armstong was N.C. State’s primary starter this season and Devin Leary was the primary starter in 2022.

Morris though earned several spot starts. Seven of the nine games he played at NC State were starts. Maryland won’t get to see him in action against an opponent though until next season.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

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Edited December 29, 2023 by aubiefifty

aubiefifty · December 29, 2023

al.com

Why Auburn’s QB situation in the Music City Bowl vs. Maryland is a ‘huge advantage’

Updated: Dec. 28, 2023, 1:46 p.m.|Published: Dec. 28, 2023, 1:37 p.m.

5–6 minutes

When the Auburn Tigers take the field of Nashville’s Nissan Stadium Saturday, they’ll do so with their starting quarterback – a luxury that seems to be rarer and rarer in bowl games these days.

“We’re glad we got Payton back,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said Wednesday, referring to the Tigers’ starting quarterback, Payton Thorne.

On Dec. 18, Thorne told reporters he arrived at Auburn in the spring with the hopes of being in a position to decide if he wanted to stay for his final year of college football or if he wanted to turn his attention to the big leagues.

“To be honest, as the year went on and we weren’t performing on the level we hoped, I was leaning toward coming back,” Thorne told reporters on Dec. 18. “I didn’t want this to be my last year.”

Throughout the regular season, Thorne tallied 1,671 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions — all while spending more than half of the season stuck in the middle of a funky quarterback rotation with Robby Ashford, who announced his intentions to transfer Dec. 15.

So, Thorne will return to The Plains in 2024 for his final year. But first, he’ll finish out his 2023 campaign in Saturday’s TransPerfect Music City Bowl, where he and the Tigers will see the Maryland Terrapins, who fall in the category of being without their starting quarterback for the postseason.

After being Maryland’s starting quarterback for four seasons, it was announced on Dec. 19 that Tualia Tagovailoa would be opting out of the Music City Bowl to instead focus on preparing for the 2024 NFL Draft.

In Maryland’s regular season finale against Rutgers on Nov. 25, Tagovailoa, who is the younger brother of current Miami Dolphins and former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, broke the Big 10′s record for career passing yards as he polished off his career with 11,356 passing yards.

“Like any position, it’s next man up,” said Maryland head coach Mike Locksley.

But who is the next man up for Maryland?

Throughout the regular season, redshirt sophomore Billy Edwards Jr. and redshirt freshman Cameron Edge were the two behind Tagovailoa at the quarterback spot.

Together, the two combined for just 13 passing attempts throughout the 2023 season, meaning the film on either quarterback is few and far between.

“Obviously it’s difficult when guys don’t have a lot of game film to kind of game plan for them, but we’ve got a good enough staff to find some tendencies with their offensive coordinator, different people to make sure the game plan’s right,” said Auburn Jack linebacker Elijah McAllister.

Reading between the lines of some of Locksley’s comments leading up to the bowl game, it sounds like the Terrapins will go with Edwards out the gate, making for just the third start of his college career.

“I’m excited to see what Billy’s able to do,” Locksley said. “You kind of look at this game almost like a preseason game leading into next year. It gives us an opportunity to evaluate our quarterback situation going into the next year. But we’ve got a lot of faith in Billy, we’ve got a lot of faith in Cam, that both those guys have the ability and skill set to operate our system.”

In 2022, Edwards went 28-for-46 through the air, good for 308 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Measuring 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Edwards has been used as more as a short-yardage rush threat this season as he’s tallied 14 yards on 13 carries with six rushing touchdowns.

“Their backup had taken some good snaps and done well with that,” Freeze said of Edwards Wednesday. “I’m sure that he’s had all of the practices leading up to this. He’s got some really good receivers and running backs around him.”

Maryland wide receiver Jeshaun Jones leads the way for the Terrapins’ pass catchers with 741 yards and four touchdowns. Meanwhile, Tai Felton has tallied 723 receiving yards, but is a bit more efficient with six touchdowns on the year.

In the backfield, it’s running back Roman Hemby who leads the way for the Terps with 687 rushing yards, an average of 4.9 yards per carry and scored four touchdowns through the course of the regular season.

While that trio is talented, no doubt, their combined 14 touchdowns is less than half of what Tagovailoa was responsible for throughout the offseason as he tallied 25 passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns.

And knowing how much production the Terrapins will be without in the absence of Tagovailoa, it leaves the Tigers feeling awfully grateful for the return of their starting quarterback.

“We’re confident in Payton. He’s confident in us,” said Auburn tight end Luke Deal. “It definitely is a huge advantage.”

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aubiefifty · December 29, 2023

247sports.com

Auburn excited to use new technology in Nashville

Jason Caldwell

7–9 minutes

Auburn football takes on Maryland in the Music City Bowl.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee—In this year’s bowl games, some teams have had the options of using technology as a test run for potentially moving forward in the college game. One of those is Auburn, who will be using sideline tablets like NFL teams have available for use in between series on both offense and defense.

It’s something that coach Hugh Freeze said he’s not real sure how it’s going to work out, but he’s excited to see if it’s something that can be beneficial for them while also giving decision makers some feedback for potential changes to the college game moving forward.

“We'll take the tablets, so we are taking and using the tablets,” Freeze said. “Curious to see how that goes on the sideline. Obviously, it's not something that we're going to get to practice with, really, until the game. So that's always awkward, for me to feel, like, great about it.

“I plan to go over and do that. But it'll be interesting. I'm sure Payton can (use it). It'll be difficult for me to utilize, because I'm flipping back and forth between offense and defense and paying attention to the situations. Our coaches on the sideline will hopefully be able to see things. I do hope that's something that's permanent. For sure. I don't know why anyone would be against that, unless it's a cost issue for certain conferences.”

Watching NFL games and seeing quarterbacks come to the sidelines and be able to look at certain coverages or defensive fronts they are getting during a particular series, Payton Thorne said he believes it’s something that can really help the game moving forward.

“I think it could be cool for college football,” Thorne said. “College is kind of behind the NFL and high school in terms of technology usage. The biggest thing I want is the iPads, or the Surfaces, on the sideline. I think we have that, so that's what I heard. That'd be cool to see next year for college, but I don't know where all that stands, to be honest.”

Auburn also had the option to use helmet communication like teams have available in the NFL. While Maryland decided it was something they would try this week, Freeze said he just wasn’t comfortable making such a drastic change in such a short period of time.

“The helmet is a whole different deal,” Freeze said. “This is kind of an 'above me' discussion. Truthfully, the idea alone, with us being able to communicate with our quarterback, I like. I think it's something that will help with some of the signal issues we're having, and obviously, everybody's trying to pick off your signals during games. It's just part of the game. But I do think that can help.

“It was just a lot of things in a short amount of time to try to process,” he added. “I said, 'Look, I'm OK. We've signaled now for 12 games. I think we'll be OK for a bowl game.' It doesn't bother me at all if Maryland chooses to do that. It just felt like an awful lot of conversations were having to be had, and I was in the middle of recruiting and trying to get ready for a bowl game, and I didn't want to meet with these different manufacturers. I just said, 'It's just not that important to me for a bowl game.'”

Auburn and Maryland kick off at 1 p.m. on Saturday on ABC.

Music City Bowl notebook: Tigers back on the practice field

Auburn got back to work in preparation for the Music City Bowl.

All present and accounted for

After practicing in Auburn for a week before taking some time off around Christmas, Auburn arrived in Nashville on Tuesday night and hit the field at Vanderbilt on Wednesday afternoon at full strength, or at least as full as the Tigers can be following the opt-outs of D.J. James, Nehemiah Pritchett and Marcus Harris along with the losses to the transfer portal. With everyone healthy and ready to go as the Tigers gear up towards Saturday’s kickoff, this is a team that has plenty of bodies for the game but will count on young players at several positions to shore up some depth issues. By my count, Auburn has 64 scholarship players available for the game. That doesn’t walk-ons who were put on scholarship before or during the season.

Decision to make for Rogers

Early on Wednesday morning, the East-West Shrine Game tweeted out that Justin Rogers had accepted an invitation to play in their all-star game. That is partially true, from what we have been told. Rogers did accept an invitation, but still hasn't made a final decision on whether or not he'll return for the 2024 season. We have heard that Rogers has been leaning towards coming back for the Tigers, which would be big with the loss of Marcus Harris from this year's team. A decision isn't expected from Rogers until sometime after the bowl game. Speaking of Harris, he was at practice on Wednesday to support his teammates even though he decided not to play in the game.

Bug going around

Payton Thorne said he practiced just one day on campus last week while dealing with flu-like symptoms and that has continued with the team getting to Nashville. Hugh Freeze said the team is dealing with several players that have had sickness and that included two that were left at the team hotel instead of practicing on Wednesday morning at Nashville.

“Yeah, we've had a run of sickness,” Freeze said. “We actually left two guys at the hotel today, too. We had a run, last week, of guys missing practice with flu-like symptoms. He seems to be feeling good, but it's really good to let him get outside and hopefully get him today and tomorrow. I haven't seen the weather for tomorrow, but this is a good day for him to have a good practice, for sure, because he did miss — shoot — last week, I think every day but one.”

Newcomers continuing to work

Auburn had several early enrollees on campus for bowl practices and they have continued that in Nashville. Defensive lineman Malik Blocton, linebackers DJ Barber, Joe Phillips and Demarcus Riddick, defensive back Kaleb Harris and wide receiver Bryce Cain were all practicing with the team and going through individual reps. The coaches said they’ve been pleased with the early work the group has shown as they get a crash course in learning the defense and offense.

Tight ends back to full strength

After Luke Deal, Rivaldo Fairweather and Brandon Frazier were all having to share a ton of reps during bowl practices last week in Auburn, the group welcomed back Micah Riley-Ducker to full contact reps on Wednesday. That’s a big deal for the offense with the lack of wide receivers available in this game. Auburn could use two or more tight ends at times against Maryland, and without Tyler Fromm that meant a whole lot of work in practice settings for the three older tight ends.

Young DBs getting work

In the viewing periods we had for Wednesday’s practice, the young defensive backs were heavily involved across the board with Kayin Lee, Tyler Scott, Colton Hood and JC Hart all getting reps at cornerback. Scott also got some work at the nickel position for the Tigers along with Champ Anthony. At the safety spot, Sylvester Smith and Terrance Love worked in getting some significant reps along with Caleb Wooden while seniors Jaylin Simpson and Zion Puckett coached them up in between reps.

aubiefifty · December 29, 2023

si.com

Auburn Briefing: What does bringing in Sam Jackson V mean for Auburn?

Daniel Locke

~2 minutes

Auburn will see a complete overhaul at wide receiver over the offseason.

The position was one of the weaker groups for Auburn throughout 2023 and Hugh Freeze is looking to change that.

Bringing in Sam Jackson V shows just how committed Freeze is to getting more versatile options for the Tigers' passing game.

Auburn returns to action on Saturday when it takes on the Maryland Terrapins in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT and the broadcast can be found on ABC.

Auburn basketball update

Auburn's men's basketball team will return to action for its second-to-last non-conference game on Dec. 30 when it hosts the Alabama State Hornets at Neville Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT and the broadcast can be found on SEC Network.

Auburn's women's basketball team returns to action for its final non-conference game when it hosts the North Alabama Lions on Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. CT.

Check out the latest podcast

Auburn football could take a huge step forward in 2024 with Hugh Freeze at the helm but they need to accomplish some goals in the process. On today's Locked On Auburn, Zac Blackerby is joined by Mike G of the War Rapport to discuss how Auburn football can be more successful in 2024 is they accomplish these goals.

aubiefifty · December 29, 2023

saturdaydownsouth.com

Hugh Freeze shares message to Auburn players before Music City Bowl

Parker Gillam | 1 day ago

2–3 minutes

Hugh Freeze spoke with the media on Wednesday to preview Auburn’s upcoming matchup with Maryland in the Music City Bowl on Saturday.

Freeze was complimentary of Mike Locksley’s program but knows that his team needs to end its season on a high note with a victory.

“We’re not quite the same team that finished the year [referencing opt-outs], but in some ways that’s exciting for kicking off the next year,” Freeze said. “We’re not in the Playoff this year, so it’s an extra game for young kids that we’re going to depend upon.”

He went on to talk about how important it is for the team to play at a high level every time it wears the Auburn jersey, adding that this group has been inconsistent in doing so this season.

When asked about the opt out of Terrapins’ quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, Freeze said that his team has the benefit of fielding an experienced quarterback in Payton Throne, although there are plenty of missing pieces around him.

“Payton has to play well, and the pieces around him have to play well,” Freeze said. “We’re thin at receiver, so it’ll be interesting to see how we perform with that. But, we’re excited to have Payton who has the experience of playing in bowl games before.”

Auburn and Maryland will square off at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game can be viewed on ABC.

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Parker Gillam

Current Missouri student entering my third year of covering Tiger football and basketball. Contributor to The Transfer Portal CFB and overall college athletics enthusiast.

aubiefifty · December 29, 2023

lindyssports.com

Minus star QB, Maryland meets Auburn in Music City Bowl | Lindy's Sports

4–5 minutes

Instead of having the Big Ten’s all-time passing leader under center, Maryland will turn to a pair of untested quarterbacks when it faces Auburn in the Music City Bowl on Saturday in Nashville.

Maryland (7-5) will be without quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who opted out of the bowl game. Auburn (6-6), under first-year coach Hugh Freeze, will be looking for its first bowl victory since 2018, when the Tigers routed Purdue 63-14 in the Music City Bowl.

Tagovailoa, brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, set almost every Maryland passing record, as well as the Big Ten record for all-time passing yards.

In his absence, the Terrapins will turn to redshirt sophomore Billy Edwards Jr. and redshirt freshman Cameron Edge, who combined for 13 pass attempts in the regular season. Edwards did have six rushing touchdowns, five of them coming on just nine carries the past two games.

“You almost look at this game kind of like a preseason game going into next year,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said. “We’ve got a lot of faith in Billy. We’ve got a lot of faith in Cam. Both those guys have the ability, the skill set, to operate our system.”

With Tagovailoa at the helm, the Terrapins passed for 284.8 yards per game while rushing for 108.9. Roman Hemby is the leading ground gainer with 663 yards and four rushing touchdowns.

Jeshaun Jones is the leading receiver with 53 catches for 747 yards and four touchdowns. Tai Felton has 48 receptions for 723 yards and six scores. Tight end Corey Dyches had 49 catches for 491 yards, but he entered the transfer portal and will not play.

Maryland won its first five games, but three of its losses were in the rugged Big Ten East to then-No. 4 Ohio State, then-No. 11 Penn State and then-No. 3 Michigan. The Terrapins average 29.6 points per game while allowing 23.3.

Auburn opened with three victories, dropped four straight, then reeled off another three-game winning streak before a disheartening 31-10 home loss to New Mexico State. The Tigers closed the regular season with a 27-24 loss to rival Alabama, allowing the Crimson Tide to score the winning touchdown on a fourth-and-goal pass from the 31-yard line with 32 seconds left.

Thanks to the stunning conclusion, the Crimson Tide earned the final College Football Playoff berth.

Freeze is now looking ahead to the Music City Bowl.

“That’s always a good thing that we have put ourselves in position to get extra practices in,” he said. “We’re playing a very good opponent. It’s going to be a great challenge for us.”

Auburn averages 27.3 points per game while giving up 21.9. The Tigers average 355.5 yards per game, 198.4 on the ground and 157.1 through the air. They allow 361.1 yards per game, including 201.7 passing.

Junior quarterback Payton Thorne has completed 62.6 percent of his passes for 139.3 yards per game with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also is the second-leading rusher with 520 yards and three touchdowns.

Jarquez Hunter is the top rusher with 865 yards at 5.9 per carry with seven touchdowns.

Tight end Rivaldo Fairweather, who spent the previous three seasons at Florida International, is the top target with 33 catches for 349 yards and six touchdowns. Wideout Jay Fair has 30 receptions for 300 yards and two scores. Four wide receivers, including Ja’Varrius Johnson, who had 19 catches for 347 yards and three scores, entered the transfer portal.

On defense, Auburn lineman Marcus Harris and cornerbacks Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James opted out of the bowl game.

aubiefifty · December 29, 2023

theplainsman.com

Auburn signs former Cal quarterback Sam Jackson V as wide receiver

2–3 minutes

Auburn added former Cal player Sam Jackson V as a transfer for its 2024 class. Jackson, who played quarterback in five games for the Golden Bears last season, has signed with the Tigers as a wide receiver.

Jackson transferred to the Golden Bears prior to the 2023 season following two years at TCU. He will have two years of eligibility remaining for the Tigers and is the third transfer, and second transfer receiver, signed by the Tigers, joining former Georgia State receiver Robert Lewis and former Kansas defensive lineman Gage Keys.

Jackson will be one of many newcomers in the receiver room for Auburn next season, as the Tigers also added four scholarship receivers in the freshman class in addition to the two transfers.

The 5-foot-11-inch, 195-pound rising junior played against the Tigers in 2023, passing for 129 yards in Berkeley, California. Playing a new position, he will suit up for the Tigers to face his former team on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

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Matthew Wallace | Assistant Sports Editor

Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.

Twitter: @mattwallaceAU

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aubiefifty · December 29, 2023

247sports.com

Auburn signs former Cal quarterback Sam Jackson V as WR

Christian Clemente

6–8 minutes

The former Cal and TCU quarterback joins Auburn's roster as a WR.

Auburn has an interesting new addition to its wide receiver room.

On Wednesday night the program announced that former TCU and Cal quarterback Sam Jackson V had signed as a wide receiver. Jackson spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons at TCU before transferring to Cal and working in the quarterback rotation throughout 2023. Out of Naperville (Ill.) high school, Jackson V was recruited by schools as both a quarterback and wide receiver.

He played at the same high school as Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne, with Thorne in the Class of 2019 and Jackson a recruit in the 2021 cycle. Jackson was ranked as the No. 374 player, No. 32 quarterback and No. 7 player from Illinois in his recruiting class. As a sophomore at Naperville Central with Thorne as his senior quarterback, Jackson V caught 50 passes for 847 yards and 14 touchdowns. Once Thorne departed, Jackson entered his junior year and converted to quarterback.

Now he's set to return to being a pass-catcher, joining Auburn's receiver room with two years of eligibility remaining. Auburn has already signed former Georgia State wide receiver Robert Lewis to the receiver room, a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility.

Playing minimally for two years at TCU, Jackson got a chance to work in more at Cal in 2023 and completed 53 percent of his passes for 556 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. As a runner, Jackson has 41 carries for 138 yards and three touchdowns in three seasons. Against Auburn, Jackson V threw for 129 yards and both of his interceptions on the season. Jackson missed the tail-end of Cal's 2023 season with an undisclosed injury.

Jackson V is listed at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds.

In the 2024 class Auburn signed four receiver recruits in 5-stars Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson, along with Top247 slot receiver Bryce Cain and Top247 receiver Malcolm Simmons. Auburn has been looking to add some more experience to try and bridge the gap to the younger receivers, with Lewis and now Jackson on board. Auburn has also signed former Kansas defensive lineman Gage Keys and former Duke linebacker Dorian Mausi so far. You can track the Tigers' movement in the portal HERE.

Jackson V has only played three years, but a recent court decision allowing a two-time transfer to be immediately eligible should allow him to see the field in 2024.

247Sports high school evaluation on Jackson V compared him to Pittsburgh Steelers WR Diontae Johnson:

"Not a prospect who stands out physically on the hoof. Average height and needs to bulk up some. Does stand out on film as far as explosiveness and play-making ability. Fast, makes cuts at full speed and shows great ball skills for someone who has not played full-time receiver yet. Also has a strong arm at quarterback. The main question there is size as far as being a college signal caller. Too explosive and athletic though to not make an impact in college somewhere on offense. Even if it is as a receiver who plays quarterback part-time."