2.9.24 Football Articles

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247sports.com

Marcus Harris Auburn got a good one in new DL coach Vontrell KingWilliams

Jason Caldwell

~3 minutes

AUBURN, Alabama—Auburn defensive lineman and future NFL player Marcus Harrisknew exactly where he hoped Hugh Freeze would turn when he heard the news that coach Jeremy Garrett was moving on to the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars to coach the defensive line. Working alongside Vontrell King-Williams since he came to Auburn to coach with Garrett after a year at Eastern Michigan, Harris said it was a no-brainer in his mind to see him take that next step.

“I was saying to myself, ‘if I was coach Freeze that’s what I would do,’” Harris said. “I knew coach Freeze was going to do that. Just seeing how he brought coach JG from Liberty with him here and gave him a chance, I knew coach Freeze saw how hard coach Vontrell worked and how good of a person he is. And how hard he works in recruiting.

“That man works hard in recruiting. A lot of the players we’ve got are due to both coach Vontrell and coach Garrett. Coach Vontrell has been a vital part of everything. I’m happy that he finally got his chance.”

While King-Williams was limited in what he could do in terms of coaching the defensive line last season, Harris said it was enough to show him that Auburn has hired a difference maker for the position and a guy that is hungry to do a great job.

“He’s always the same,” Harris said. “He never changes up. He’s always him. He would meet with us extra in the classroom trying to build us up. He was acting like he was the defensive line coach even though coach Garrett was at the time. They had that relationship where it was like we had two defensive line coaches. \

“A lot of times he couldn’t really put hands on us (in terms of on-field coaching) but the times he was around us he gave us so much knowledge and so much confidence that we could play at that level. He never changes. His energy is so contagious. A lot of days players came in sad and he would pick everybody up. I can’t wait to see how he does.”

Preparing for the NFL Combine following a strong week in Mobile for the Senior Bowl, Harris said he’s pumped to see how his younger brother Malik Blocton and the rest of Auburn’s defensive line grows under their new coach.

“It made me so happy I almost shed a tear just knowing his story and knowing how hard he works,” Harris said. “He doesn’t want any credit for the work he does. He does it out of the genuine goodness of his heart. Coach is a good one.

“The way he loves his players and treats his players, he’s hard on them but at the same time he lets them know that he loves them. He’s always working extra. I can’t wait to see him prosper.”

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si.com

Auburn quarterback talks about the dynamic in the quarterback room

Andrew Stefaniak

~2 minutes

Auburn fans wanted the Tigers to go get a quarterback in the transfer portal, but Hugh Freeze stuck with what he has on the roster. 

Quarterback play was questionable last season, and with one role player from last year deciding to transfer the room aside from one player is young and inexperienced. The way Coach Freeze has talked to the media, it seems like every quarterback on the roster will get a fair shot to win the job. 

Many assume Payton Thorne will win the job as he is the experienced veteran, but Hank Brown, Holden Geriner, and Walker White will all have a chance to win the starting role. 

Brown joined the Locked On Auburn Podcast, and host Zac Blackerby asked him about the dynamic in the quarterback room. Brown had this to say, "I love the quarterback room. We're all super close. And adding Walker to that is, you know, awesome. You know, he's a great guy. And so, you know, all of us together, I think we've grown and got a lot closer throughout the past year being together. And so, you know, I just, I couldn't say enough good things about it. We're super close, and we're just excited to compete against each other and grow together."

It will be a battle to see who wins this job, but all four of these names discussed have a real shot to win it. The betting odds would favor Thorne in this race, but it would surprise no one to see one of the young guys win. 

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theplainsman.com

Auburn hires Vontrell King-Williams as new defensive tackles coach

2–3 minutes

With the recent departure of Jeremy Garrett to the NFL as the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive line coach, Vontrell King-Williams will take over defensive tackles duties heading into the 2024 season, according to multiple reports. The news was first reported by Brian Stultz of Rivals. 

King-Williams is considered a young up-and-comer in the coaching ranks. He got his career started as a defensive line intern in 2017 at UTSA, where he had a short stint as a player. He then moved on to Eastern Michigan for the 2018-19 seasons as a defensive graduate assistant. 

King-Williams spent time under Hugh Freeze for the 2020-21 seasons before moving back to Eastern Michigan to take over as defensive line coach in 2022. 

Becoming a part of Auburn’s off-field staff in 2023 as an assistant defensive line coach, much of his time was spent assisting Garrett in coaching and recruiting. Now, he will take full control. Per reports, King-Williams will coach defensive tackles while Josh Aldridge moves to EDGE coach and defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin coaches linebackers.

With the hire, Freeze has completed his staff with three weeks until spring practice gets underway. 

Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.

Logan Fowler | Sports Writer

Logan Fowler is a junior from Sumiton, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He joined The Plainsman in Spring 2024.

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al.com

Auburn DL commit Antonio Coleman updates status following Alabama visit

Updated: Feb. 08, 2024, 4:01 p.m.|Published: Feb. 08, 2024, 1:18 p.m.

3–4 minutes

Saraland's Antonio Coleman warms up for the prep football playoff game against Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, in Saraland, Ala. Coleman, an Auburn commit, visited Alabama over the weekend. (Mike Kittrell | preps@al.com) Mike Kittrell | preps@al.com

Saraland All-State defensive lineman Antonio Coleman is still committed to Auburn, but he admits Iron Bowl rival Alabama is not out of the picture.

The 6-foot-3, 280-pound junior visited Tuscaloosa last weekend for the first time with new coach Kalen DeBoer at the helm and liked what he saw and heard.

“Kalen DeBoer is a great coach,” he said. “I like that he wants to win and make sure all his players are good. Coach (Freddie) Roach is like a father figure. He wants the best for you rather you are there or not. The overall visit was great.”

Coleman originally committed to Nick Saban and Alabama in September but flipped his commitment to Auburn three days before Christmas. It appears now it could continue to be a battle between the two Iron Bowl rivals.

“I’m definitely 100 percent still with Auburn, but Alabama is not yet left out,” he said on Wednesday. “They are still a school I committed to, and they are still in my mind, but right now it’s definitely War Eagle.”

Coleman said he likes the Auburn staff and especially head coach Hugh Freeze’s honesty.

“What sticks out to me about coach Freeze is when he talks, he means business,” he said. “He is going to tell you the truth whether you like it or don’t like it.”

Coleman also mentioned USC and Miami as possibly being in his top five and said he would like to visit both. In helping Saraland to its second straight Class 6A final in 2023, he finished the season with 62 total tackles, 22.5 tackles for a loss and 10 sacks. He said he still has some areas to work on in the offseason.

“I want to work on pad level, definitely my ball get off and footwork around the quarterback and just being an overall leader,” he said. “I feel like there is always room to get better at something.”

Coleman is one of four top in-state juniors already committed to Auburn. The others are Highland Home EDGE Jakaleb Faulk, Parker DL Jourdin Crawford and Opelika DL Malik Autry. Coleman, by the way, is not related to the current Williamson head coach and former Auburn star that shares his name.

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al.com

Bo Jackson awarded $21 million in extortion case

Published: Feb. 08, 2024, 11:33 a.m.

5–6 minutes

Sports

Bo Jackson wins extortion case against relatives, awarded $21 million

Bo Jackson is shown with his Georgia-based attorneys David Conley, left, and Robert Ingram. (Photo courtesy of David Conley/Moore Ingram Johnson & Steele, LLP).Submitted

By

Creg Stephenson | cstephenson@al.com

Bo Jackson was awarded $21 million by an Atlanta-area court last week in a civil suit accusing his niece and nephew of extortion.

The 61-year-old Jackson, who grew up in Bessemer and played football and baseball at Auburn before becoming one of the most-recognizable athletes in the world, had filed a complaint in April against siblings Thomas Lee Anderson and Erica M. Anderson — who are his niece and nephew — accusing them of “relentless harassment and intimidation.” On Feb. 2, a Cobb County judge found for Jackson and granted him a permanent protective order against the Andersons in addition to the financial award.

According to the protective order, the Andersons are barred from contacting Jackson or his immediate family and must stay at least 500 yards away from the Jacksons or their homes, schools and workplaces. They are also prohibited from posting about Bo Jackson via social media and must remove all social media content referencing him.

Jackson was awarded a little more than $1 million in compensatory damages and to offset attorneys’ fees, with $20 million tacked on as punitive damages.

“Defendants have acted with malice, wantonness, oppression, with a conscious effort of indifference to circumstances and with the specific intent to cause Plaintiff harm,” Cobb County judge Jason Marbutt wrote in his ruling.

According to the lawsuit filed by Jackson through his Marietta, Ga., attorneys, the Andersons — one of whom lives in Cobb County and the other in Texas — attempted to extort $20 million from Jackson in exchange for not publicly disclosing information that would cast him “in a false light” and cause “severe emotional distress.” In addition to his earnings as a professional baseball and football player in the 1980s and 1990s, Jackson was also a well-compensated pitchman for Nike and other companies and has also operated a number of successful businesses over the years.

Jackson sought a stalking protective order against the Andersons, who threatened to disrupt an April charity event in addition to posting potentially damaging claims via social media. According to the lawsuit, Jackson feared for his safety and for that of his family.

Marbutt found for Jackson in a default judgment after the Andersons failed to appear in court on Jan. 31 to contest a temporary protective order the judge had issued last May. Because they failed to rebut Jackson’s allegations in court, Marbutt ruled they had accepted the claims as true.

“Unfortunately for those attempting to extort $20 million dollars from Jackson and his family, Bo still hits back hard,” Jackson attorneys from the firm Moore Ingram Johnson and Steele said in a Feb. 5 press release about the case.

This is not the first time Jackson has successfully gone to court over threats to his reputation. In 2005, he sued the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin of California for defamation after the newspaper’s sports editor quoted a dietary specialist saying that the serious hip injury Jackson suffered in a 1991 NFL playoff game (which ended his football career) was the result of anabolic steroid use. The paper later retracted its story and issued a public apology to Jackson.

The 1985 Heisman Trophy winner at Auburn and the 1989 MLB All-Star Game Most Valuable Player with the Kansas City Royals in addition to being a Pro Bowl running back with the Los Angeles Raiders, Jackson now makes his permanent home in the Chicago area. He still appears each year at various events in his home state, including for football games at Auburn, at the Region’s Tradition golf tournament in Birmingham each May and for his annual “Bo Bikes Bama” charity cycling event through east Alabama in the spring.

News of the Jackson lawsuit and the judge’s ruling was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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al.com

 

Auburn receives $50 million payout in SEC distribution for 2023 fiscal year

Updated: Feb. 08, 2024, 2:47 p.m.|Published: Feb. 08, 2024, 2:45 p.m.

2–3 minutes

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Auburn received a $50,160,177 payout from the SEC in its annual revenue distribution from the league, according to Auburn revenue records provided to AL.com in a records request and a press release from the SEC.

The payout comes from the SEC’s total $741 million in revenue distribution for the 2022-23 fiscal year, averaging out to $51.3 million per school.

Those payouts come from media rights deals, bowl games, the College Football Playoff, the SEC Football Championship Game, the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, NCAA Championships and a supplemental surplus distribution.

“The distribution amount does not include an additional $8.1 million of NCAA and SEC grants divided among the fourteen member universities,” according to the SEC’s press release.

Auburn’s payout is divided up into $48,001,566 from media deals and an additional $2,158,611 from the league office. Auburn did not make any money in bowl revenue for the 2022-23 after not playing in a bowl game following the 2022 season.

The $741 million in total revenue distribution was an increase from the SEC compared to the $721.8 million in the previous fiscal year, but Auburn received less in its total payouts.

In the 2021-22 fiscal year, Auburn received $51,506,110 in media rights deals and $3,699,903 in additional revenue from the league office. Auburn also received $1,602,507 in bowl revenue from its 2021 Birmingham Bowl appearance.

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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Guests include Mickey Dean, Steven Pearl, & Carter Sobera

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