2.6.24 Football Articles

[aubiefifty 16,803]

247sports.com

Jason Caldwells Monday morning quarterback column

Jason Caldwell

5–6 minutes

D.J. James won’t let his otherwise successful Auburn career be defined by the final play of it.

Two seasons on the Plains were good to the Spanish Fort, Alabama, native, as he transferred from Oregon to play closer to home ahead of the 2022 season. What followed was an efficient run that gave James the opportunity to come out and head to the NFL after just one year. He decided to come back for Auburn and had arguably an even better season in 2023 as one of the top coverage players in college football. He’s now positioned himself as a Day 2 draft pick in a couple months — maybe higher, depending on how he tests, or what scouts thought at the Senior Bowl.

But James also ended up on the wrong end of one of the biggest highlight plays of the college football season — and the Iron Bowl rivalry.

Isaiah Bond separated from James in coverage on Alabama’s miraculous, game-winning touchdown pass on fourth-and-31 in last season’s Iron Bowl. It was a sequence that will continue to sting for the Tigers for years to come, as they had one play to defend the goal line for an upset against their arch rival.

After the game, Hugh Freeze said he consoled James, who blamed himself for the touchdown. Of course, it was a failure on all levels for Auburn, which didn’t pressure quarterback Jalen Milroe at all — and also wound up in that situation in the first place via a muffed punt by Koy Moore.

But James said it took him only a week or so to put the play behind him. All he could do was tip his cap to Bond, and know he wasn’t solely to blame.

“He just made a great play,” James said last week at the Senior Bowl. “You've just gotta live with it, live with your mistakes, get in the film room and go to the next play.”

James admitted it was difficult knowing he wouldn’t have another game at Auburn to bounce back. He opted out of the Tigers’ bowl game to prepare for the NFL draft, and Saturday’s Senior Bowl was the first time he’s worn an Auburn helmet in a game since.

A short-term memory is exactly what a cornerback needs to succeed, of course, and James said the Senior Bowl and draft process were strong motivators for him to focus on.

“Just knowing the player I am,” James said. “I know I'm a great player. I make great plays all the time. It's something I do. Just have a short-term memory on it. I know I had another opportunity to showcase myself. Not a lot of people have that opportunity after the last game of your senior season, but I did. I knew I had the Senior Bowl invite, and I knew my draft grade. I knew I had another chance to showcase myself.”

James snagged three interceptions and broke up 16 passes in his two years on the Plains, cementing himself as Auburn’s No. 1 cornerback in both seasons. Often matched up against the opposing team’s best receiver, James’ coverage numbers were downright elite, as he finished with the No.6 pure coverage grade in the SEC, per Pro Football Focus, among cornerbacks. That came after his 40 percent reception rate in 2022 was the 10th-best among all cornerbacks in college football.

As such, James is projected anywhere from the second to fifth round in April’s draft. He had the opportunity to be drafted last year, and even received a Senior Bowl invite, but he and fellow starter Nehemiah Pritchett decided to return to school.

“Man, it paid off a lot,” James said of his decision to come back in 2023. “Just being able to compete with my guys at Auburn … just showcasing my skills at the SEC level again, just showing that I can do it.”

Travel was a lot kinder to James’ family — from Spanish Fort, just a few miles from where he played in this year’s Senior Bowl in Mobile — once he transferred to Auburn. James said the reason he left Oregon was because head coach Mario Cristobal took the Miami job. James considered following him to Miami, but going back to high school, Auburn was a place James always saw himself playing.

With the chance to continue Auburn’s recent legacy of NFL draft success at the cornerback position, it’s safe to James took full advantage of his return home.

“I have no regrets playing out there (in the Pac-12) and then transferring to the SEC to Auburn,” James said. “Making that transition was fun, coming back down South and close to home. That was amazing."

*** Subscribe to Auburn Undercover for the latest news and intel, podcasts, recruiting coverage and more ***

*** Get Auburn news straight to your inbox with the Auburn Undercover newsletter ***

[aubiefifty 16,803]

si.com

Three Options For Auburn To Hire As The Next Defensive Line Coach

Zac Blackerby

2–3 minutes

Here are three directions the Auburn Tigers could go with the next defensive line coach.

The Auburn Tigers saw Jeremy Garrett leave for the NFL on Friday.

After Garrett took the job with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Hugh Freeze's newly completed staff needed another assistant coach to fill out the staff at Auburn.

Here are three names that could make sense to be Auburn's next defensive line coach.

Kyle Pope - Georgia Tech defensive line coach

Pope's name popped up as soon as the news of Garrett's departure was reported. He coached for Freeze at Liberty as the inside linebackers coach.

Pope also was at Alabama as a graduate assistant in 2017. he also had two stints at Memphis as a defensive line coach as well as the defensive run game coordinator before landing the defensive line job at Georgia Tech.

Freeze has made it clear that he's looking for a culture fit and guys he can trust. Pope checks both of those boxes and knows what will be asked of him on the recruiting front. Being from Sylacauga, Alabama can't hurt either. 

Rodney Garner - Tennessee defensive line coach

Garner is a fan-favorite at Auburn due to his extended time on the Plains. He coached two different stints at Auburn as a former player and Auburn graduate. His first stint as a coach at Auburn was from 1990-1995 as tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator. He also was Auburn's defensive line coach from 2013 to 2020.

If Freeze goes in this direction, it will make a splash on the recruiting trail. 

Vontrell King-Williams - Auburn Defensive Line Analyst

It seems like Freeze will go with an external hire in this situation but in the case that he wanted to promote from within, it would probably be King-Williams. The defensive line analyst is liked by the players in the room and has their respect already so it could make sense for Freeze to take a flyer and take a risk here. 

Where the risk doesn't make sense is recruiting. Auburn has several key defensive line commits pledged to the 2025 class and this position group needs to remain a strength on the trail for Freeze's program to get where it possibly could in the coming years. 

[aubiefifty 16,803]

auburnwire.usatoday.com

Four-star Georgia commit visits Auburn, DJ Durkin on Sunday

Taylor Jones

2–3 minutes

Auburn has been high on the radar of four-star linebacker Jadon Perlotte for quite some time. Their stock has risen now that they have tabbed DJ Durkin as the new defensive coordinator.

Perlotte, a Georgia pledge since December of 2022, visited Auburn on Sunday for the seventh time since the 2022 football season. One of the main reasons for his visit was to catch up with Durkin, a coach who recruited him heavily during his days at Texas A&M.

Perlotte tells Caleb Jones of Rivals that Durkin sees Perlotte as a player who can be the “quarterback of the defense.” He also says that his experience as a coach intrigues him.

“(Durkin) bringing his knowledge down here is just a big deal for me,” Perlotte said in an interview with Rivals. “We went through a lot of film. He knows what he’s talking about. His backers are very versatile and the next level is the league, that’s where I wanna be at.”

Georgia is the frontrunner at this time, but Auburn and Florida State remain high in the chase. His high school teammate at Buford, KJ Bolden, signed with Georgia during the early signing period, which is important due to a quote published by Sports Illustrated last August which he stated that he and Bolden were a “package deal.”

“I’ve got to play with him,” Perlotte said in August. “Nobody has scored, pass-wise, on our side 1-2 during our whole high school careers. I’ve got to play with KJ (Bolden). Our package is just different.”

Perlotte is the No. 3 linebacker for the 2025 cycle and is the No. 25 overall player for the recruiting class. Perlotte says that he plans to visit Auburn more this year, including several times during the spring practice period.

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 Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

[aubiefifty 16,803]

al.com

Why former Oregon, Auburn QB Bo Nix hopes freshman Walker White gets a chance at Auburn

Updated: Feb. 05, 2024, 1:44 p.m.|Published: Feb. 05, 2024, 1:32 p.m.

4–5 minutes

Auburn commit Little Rock (Ark.) Christian Academy quarterback Walker White passes the ball during the Hustle Up 7on7 national tournament at the Hoover Met Complex in Hoover, Ala., on Friday, July 14, 2023. (Dennis Victory | preps@al.com)

Auburn freshman quarterback Walker White has a friend and mentor whose name many Auburn fans will recognize.

Both training with QB Country out of Mobile, White and former Auburn and Oregon quarterback Bo Nix have had the opportunity to build a relationship that first started over the phone as Nix was in Eugene, Oregon and White was in Fayetteville, Ark.

But since then, the two recently had an opportunity to meet in person.

“I know they’re getting a really good player,” Nix said of White during Senior Bowl media day in Mobile on Jan. 31. “They’re getting a good guy, too. I understand that he works really hard and he’s a great teammate.”

After having been committed to Auburn since Feb. 3, 2023, White officially onboarded with Hugh Freeze and the Tigers during the early signing period in December, inking his national letter of intent on Dec. 20.

Less than three weeks later and after appearing in the All-American Bowl on Jan. 6, White made his way to Auburn’s campus, officially enrolled as a Tiger.

And Nix played a small role.

More: How a late night in a hotel lobby and talks with Bo Nix led Walker White to Auburn

For White, coming to Auburn meant breaking away from family tradition and playing somewhere other than the University of Arkansas, where his father and two of his brothers spent their college careers.

And considering Nix found himself in a similar situation when he was weighing his decision to transfer from Auburn, where his father Pat Nix played quarterback in the 90s, he was able to offer White a bit of advice.

In an interview with AL.com, White’s mother, Amy White, told the story of her son and Nix’s interaction.

“If you want to go somewhere else, go somewhere else,” said Amy White, echoing what Nix told her son. “And I think that kind of pushed Walker a bit.”

In an interview with The Athletic, White said Nix was quick to offer him a useful piece of advice.

“You’re only as good as the people around you,” White said, echoing what Nix told him.

And it was that comment that led White to become one of Auburn’s biggest recruiters, helping Hugh Freeze and the Tigers secure the seventh-ranked recruiting class in the country and a historic wide receiver class.

Now White finds himself in the same shoes Nix did in 2019 – as a freshman quarterback on Auburn’s football team.

“I expect him to have a fun career. He’s going to be able to learn and pick up a lot because I’ve just heard the people he’s worked with in the past and everyone I’ve talked to speaks very high about him,” Nix said. “I’ve only been able to talk to him a few times and be around him just a couple, but I think Auburn got a good one.”

Coming in as a 4-star prospect, White joins an Auburn quarterback room that features three other scholarship quarterbacks in incumbent starter Payton Thorne, sophomore Holden Geriner and redshirt freshman Hank Brown.

Following Auburn’s loss to Maryland in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30, Freeze called Auburn’s quarterback race “wide open” after Thorne and Geriner struggled, while Brown turned some heads.

Throw in White, and Auburn could be looking at a four-man battle in the spring.

“I just hope they give him a chance,” Nix said of White.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

[aubiefifty 16,803]

 

al.com

 

When ‘Uncle Bo’ tried to help Auburn beat Jameis Winston

Updated: Feb. 05, 2024, 8:11 p.m.|Published: Feb. 05, 2024, 8:00 p.m.

7–8 minutes

---

When quarterback Jameis Winston won the Heisman Trophy and led Florida State to the national-championship game for the 2013 season, it allowed the Bessemer native to start a relationship with another Heisman Trophy winner from his hometown.

But Winston figures Bo Jackson had an ulterior motive for initially contacting him. Jackson won the 1985 Heisman Trophy as an Auburn running back, and Winston was leading Florida State against the Tigers in the BCS national-championship game.

“The first time I talked to Bo Jackson was after I won the Heisman, and you’re from Bessemer, Alabama,” Winston said during an interview for “Pardon My Take” that was released on Monday. “Now I know he lived in Chicago and all that, but he was calling me, he was like, ‘Hey, what’s up, Jabo?’ I was like, ‘That ain’t my name,’ I told him. ‘What’s up, Jameson?’ ‘That’s not my name, but I’m grateful to be talking to you.’

“This man, he called me – I don’t know what booster from Auburn was in his pocket or in his ear, but he would call me at all times of the night, like, wanting to talk, saying, ‘Hey, this Uncle Bo. Just calling to check in on you.’ I’m like, ‘Uncle Bo!’ I ain’t talked to you in my whole life, and I’m from your neighborhood. You calling me right before the national-championship game? Listen, when is the next time I talked to Bo Jackson? After the national championship? No. Next time I heard from him was at a Panini signing. ‘Hey, what’s up, Uncle Bo?’

“When I look back at it, I was like, well, you got to give credit to Uncle Bo because he was doing everything he could for Auburn. He knew I loved him, and he’s going to call me at all times of the night, inspiring me to whup his team even more? That was something funny, man.”

Despite Jackson’s efforts, Winston and Florida State rallied past Auburn 34-31 on Jan. 6, 2014, in Pasadena, California, to win the national title.

Winston said he chose to go from Hueytown High School to Florida State because he felt “cut from the same cloth” as Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher.

“What did I want to accomplish in college?” Winston said. “I wanted to win a national championship, and if I can do that in football and baseball, yes, I’m going to Florida State.”

Winston said not all the fans in his home state supported that decision.

“When I committed to Florida State, the things that happened to me and my family was unbelievable,” Winston said. “Living in the state of Alabama 35 minutes from Tuscaloosa, I mean, my mailbox getting beat down. Thank the Lord, Home Depot had these mailboxes you could stick in the ground. … I still don’t have grass that grows in my front yard at my hometown house. I felt like somebody poisoned my grass. I don’t want to blame Harvey (Updyke) or anybody, but I believe something happened. Like, how does my grass stop growing? And I smelled gasoline when I got home. Me and my dad, we talk about this.

“My grandmother, she worked at UAB Medical Center, God rest her soul, and she was an avid Alabama fan. Fans would send my grandmother – my grandmother – hate mail. You’re going to come after grandma just because her grandson ain’t going to Alabama?”

Winston said he had examples of top quarterbacks from Alabama high schools who went to out-of-state colleges.

“We had JaMarcus Russell (of Williamson), we had Pat White (of Daphne), we had Philip Rivers (of Athens),” Winston said. “These are Alabama quarterbacks that did not go to an Alabama school. So you have these people, and you just look at the course of what they’ve achieved in their life. Pat White, he did great things at West Virginia. Philip Rivers, he’s a Hall of Fame quarterback one day. And JaMarcus Russell, he was the No. 1 pick. He did some great things at LSU. …

“So I was like, ‘Man, I’m going to take this chance.’ At this time, this was when Alabama was the traditional pro-style offense where their quarterback really wasn’t making an impact on their team. They were surrounded by great talent and a great defense, so the opportunity to go to Florida State, team up with Jimbo, who’s an offensive mind, and be around those players and dominate and go against the SEC – do you know how great it was? And it was crazy.

“It was great to beat Auburn in the national championship. One, it was an SEC team. I wish it had been Alabama. That would probably have given me a little more street cred in the state. The whole house probably would have been gone.”

While Winston played at Hueytown, Jackson played at McAdory and DeMeco Ryans played at Jess Lanier. But all three hail from Bessemer.

After his Heisman, Jackson became the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft and earned Pro Bowl recognition with the Los Angeles Raiders and MLB All-Star status with the Kansas City Royals while becoming an endorsement juggernaut.

Ryans was an Alabama All-American, the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, a Pro Bowler and, in 2023, the Pro Football Writers of America’s NFL Coach of the Year for his first season guiding the Houston Texans.

“There are two people from Bessemer, Alabama, that I would say inspired me to be who I am,” Winston said. “One is DeMeco Ryans. He actually was my first signed football. My uncle had coached him from Little League all the way up, so shoutout to DeMeco in Houston, what he’s doing there. And Bo Jackson. …

“So you’ve got those two people from your same city, and I ain’t talking about a suburban area or on the outskirts. We are from the same city. We were probably born at the same hospital. And you got two people like that. How can you not be inspired to be your best self when you got two people that already have paved the foundation for you?”

A Pro Bowler as a rookie in 2015, Winston led the NFL with 5,109 passing yards in 2019 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 2021 and 2022, Winston began the season as the New Orleans Saints’ starting quarterback, but injuries limited him to 10 games in the two seasons.

Winston served as Derek Carr’s backup for New Orleans in 2023. He completed 25-of-47 passes for 264 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions in seven games.

Winston is on course to become an unrestricted free agent on March 13 unless the Saints sign him to a contract extension.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

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

 

Winsten is a turdof the first degree. he stinks. i never liked him and still do not.

[aubiefifty 16,803]

 

[aubiefifty 16,803]

 

[aubiefifty 16,803]

 

[aubiefifty 16,803]

 

[aubiefifty 16,803]

 

[aubiefifty 16,803]

have a great one folks!

[aubiefifty 16,803]

 

[aubiefifty 16,803]