3.14.24 Football Articles

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247sports.com

Thompson making an early impact in Auburn secondary

Jason Caldwell

4–5 minutes

Jerrin Thompson transferred from Texas and is making a name for the Auburn Tigers.

AUBURN, Alabama—Losing veteran safeties Jaylin Simpson and Zion Puckett off last year’s roster, one of the things that Auburn needed to find for the 2024 season was a veteran capable of handling multiple spots in the secondary and being a leader for the defense. Looking all over the country, Auburn settled on Texas transfer Jerrin Thompson and so far he’s been a guy that has answered the bell, both on and off the field, said Auburn assistant and DB coach Wesley McGriff.

“You're talking about a veteran that's broken the huddle at this level,” McGriff said. “Man, you can just see on the grass that he's communicating -- his confidence. That's the value of a guy with playing experience and a guy with a mustache. He brings a lot of value, and I'm excited to continue to watch his growth and watch him have an impact. It was really good to get him at Auburn, and he's going to have an impact sooner rather than later.”

The playing experience is just part of the package for Thompson. Perhaps the biggest thing he brings to the table for coach Charles Kelly as a safety/nickel is his ability to communicate. It’s something the first-year assistant said is vital to being able to play at this level.

“He’s proven that he can make plays in big-time situations,” Kelly said. “When you play in the SEC, I told our guys today, we were talking about communication, I said, ‘Listen, when you play in the SEC, you play in front of a packed crowd every week. You talking to each other like we’re talking right now? No, we gotta be able to signal and everything.’ But I think, having played in those venues and playing in those games like that, having that experience makes you better. 

“All of us, everybody in this room, we are better, we are more educated because of our experiences. The more experience you have, that helps you as a player. I think the biggest adjustment for him, just like it is for a coach, coming in for a head new head coach or a new coordinator is learning how we do things. We do things a certain way. You gotta make sure that you learn how to do those things. He’s had a great attitude. That’s why we brought him here, we felt like he could help.”

Something else that Thompson brings is versatility. Coaching guys like Jalen Ramsey, Derwin James and Brian Branch over his years in the secondary, Kelly said one of the most important things to have to play at a high level is the ability to play multiple positions. That’s something Thompson has.

“Me as a defensive back coach, I think the number one thing that you have to do in today’s football is be multiple,” Kelly said. “First of all, there’s good coaches on the other side of the ball. They’re going to be able to figure out ways to get people matched up on somebody just because of your alignment or whatever. Being multiple is one of the number one things we look for in recruiting and we look for in players. 

“Being able to play nickel, being able to play safety, that gives you a lot of.. It creates more opportunities for you as a play caller to be able to do certain things when you have confidence you can do those things. Jerrin’s been put in some of those situations before in his career and hopefully, we’ll be able to see, with our own eyes throughout spring and throughout fall camp, how well he adjusts to what we’re asking him to do.”

VIDEO: Auburn's defensive staff talks spring practice

Hear from Auburn's defensive staff as spring practice continues on.

AUBURN, Alabama — With a new defensive coordinator, a new co-defensive coordinator and some staff shuffling following offseason departures, it's a new look on the defensive side of the ball for the Tigers. Three practices into spring ball, defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin, safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator Charles Kelly, newly-elevated defensive tackles coach Vontrell King-Williams, cornerbacks coach Wesley McGriff and defensive ends coach Josh Aldridge met with the media to discuss their roles, their players and more.

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al.com

Why Wesley McGriff returned to Auburn after flirting with role at Texas A&M

Published: Mar. 13, 2024, 4:34 p.m.

5–6 minutes

Auburn Football

‘You know my passion Auburn’: Inside Wesley McGriff’s return to Auburn after funky offseason

AUBURN, AL - February 02, 2023 - Auburn Cornerbacks Coach Wesley McGriff during a media availability at the Woltosz Football Performance Center in Auburn, AL. Photo by Austin PerrymanAustin Perryman / AU Athletics

There was plenty of catching up to do when Auburn secondary coach Wesley McGriff walked in the door to meet with reporters Wednesday afternoon in what was his first media availability since August of 2023.

But before he’d get into any of his funky offseason, which followed an odd regular season on The Plains, McGriff was sure to remind reporters that regardless of what had transpired in the last five months, he was still the same old Wesley McGriff — or Coach Crime, as his players call him.

When asked how he’d been, McGriff answered like everyone expected him to.

“I’m top shelf, baby,” McGriff said.

Yep, he was still the same old Wesley McGriff who started last season as Auburn’s defensive backs coach, only for things to unravel a bit as the season went on.

Midway through the 2023 season, McGriff took a step back as he voluntarily took an off-the-field role with the Tigers while he worked through a “personal issue.”

Meanwhile, McGriff remained with the program and served as Auburn’s “chief of accountability” while also assisting with “in-house recruiting.”

Then, one day after Auburn’s loss to Maryland in the Music City Bowl, the other shoe dropped as McGriff was reportedly set to join Mike Elko’s assembling staff at Texas A&M. The Aggies went as far as announcing the addition of McGriff in a post to their official website on Jan. 3, but the page has since been taken down.

But McGriff’s stint in College Station was about as short as they come as reports of his return to Auburn surfaced on Jan. 12.

It likely isn’t a coincidence that McGriff’s return came just four days after former Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts left the program for a role at Florida as On3 Sports’ Justin Hokanson reported Roberts’ “no non-sense style caused some issues internally” and cited such as the reason for McGriff departing his on-the-field role midway through Auburn’s season.

“In this industry, you gotta get prepared for change,” McGriff said Wednesday. “I had other opportunities, but the best opportunity is being back here at Auburn with Coach Freeze.”

When McGriff was hired as part of Freeze’s inaugural staff in December of 2022, he was returning to The Plains for his third stint as an assistant coach after previously coaching at Auburn in 2016 and the 2019-20 seasons.

“The biggest thing about it that I like is the fact that I’m back,” McGriff said. “It’s a blessing to be back at Auburn. You know my passion for Auburn, you know how I feel about Auburn, so that is the biggest thing.”

A well-liked coach by his players, the excitement that came with McGriff’s return to Auburn was mutual.

“It’s great for me. I know me and Crime — we built a great relationship since being here at Auburn,” sophomore cornerback Kayin Lee said. “That’s something I hope to continue and he’s just overall a great coach.”

Even some of Auburn’s former players weighed in on the news and what it meant for the Tigers’ secondary.

“Everybody was sad when Coach Crime Dawg left,” former Auburn cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett told AL.com in an interview during the NFL Combine. “But it’s great news for them, especially for the freshman that had just came in, just to get Crime Dawg back and having someone they worked with in the past.”

The reality is, the return of McGriff and his familiar face is significant considering how much turnover the Auburn defense saw throughout the offseason.

The Tigers brought in D.J. Durkin as the program’s defensive coordinator, as well as Charles Kelly, who will work in tandem with McGriff as Auburn’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. Meanwhile, along the front line, former analyst Vontrell King-Williams was elevated to defensive line coach after Jeremy Garrett was hired away by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

And as excited as McGriff is to be a returning piece for Auburn’s offense, if he’s being honest, he wasn’t sure if it was going to be in the cards.

“I guess we always talk about as coaches to be where your feet are,” McGriff said when asked if he thought he’d be coming back to Auburn. “To answer your question, no.”

“But am I happy I’m back home? Yes I am.”

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