3.19.24 Football Articles

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Former first-round pick from Auburn joins Commanders

Updated: Mar. 17, 2024, 1:22 p.m.|Published: Mar. 17, 2024, 1:11 p.m.

4–5 minutes

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Noah Igbinoghene celebrates with teammates after scoring on a blocked field-goal attempt during an NFL game against the New York Giants on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.(AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

By

Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com

Cornerback Noah Igbinoghene has followed Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. from the Dallas Cowboys to the Washington Commanders.

Acquired by the Cowboys in a trade with the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 29, Igbinoghene’s position coach in Dallas was Whitt and his defensive coordinator was Quinn in 2023. Now Quinn is the head coach of the Commanders and Whitt is Washington’s defensive coordinator.

Jalen Hurts’ new backup aims to be an asset for the Eagles

Da’Shawn Hand stays put in NFL free agency

Former top prospect at Auburn returns to the NFL

Igbinoghene becomes the fourth player from the Cowboys’ 2023 team to sign as a free agent with Washington this offseason, with the Washington Post and ESPN reporting the former Auburn standout’s signing on Sunday.

In 2023, Igbinoghene played in five games for Dallas, getting on the field for 25 defensive snaps and 77 special-teams plays.

In his first game with Dallas, Igbinoghene scored his first NFL touchdown as he picked up the football after a blocked field-goal attempt and ran 58 yards for a score in the Cowboys’ 40-0 victory over the New York Giants on Sept. 10.

Igbinoghene was an All-State selection in the athlete slot for Hewitt-Trussville in 2016, when the Huskies’ undefeated season ended in a 29-28 loss to Gadsden City in the second round of the AHSAA Class 7A playoffs.

Igbinoghene also was a track-and-field star at Hewitt Trussville, with championships in the AHSAA Class 7A boys’ indoor and outdoor long jump and triple jump as a senior among his achievements.

Coming to Auburn as a wide receiver, Igbinoghene made the switch to the secondary during spring practice in 2018 after one college season as a pass-catcher.

After Igbinoghene’s two seasons in the Tigers’ secondary, Miami made him the 30th selection in the 2020 NFL Draft.

In Igbinoghene’s rookie season, cornerback Byron Jones went down four snaps into the second game, and he missed the third and fourth games.

In for Jones in his second NFL game, Igbinoghene got matched against Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who took a step toward earning first-team All-Pro recognition for the 2020 season with a 153-yard performance. Igbinoghene’s rookie roller coaster also saw him take the blame for a coverage bust on a key play in a 31-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Game 4 after going all the way in the Miami secondary and breaking up a pass in a 31-13 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Game 3.

Jones returned in Game 5, and Igbinoghene played 64 defensive snaps in the remaining 12 games.

In 2021, Igbinoghene played all 66 defensive snaps as an injury replacement in Game 6, and 12 in the remaining 16 contests.

In 2022, Igbinoghene played 238 defensive snaps, with 75 coming as an injury-replacement starter in a 16-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 23. Igbinoghene sealed the victory by making the only interception of his career in the end zone on the Steeler’s final snap.

The Dolphins dealt Igbinoghene to Dallas in exchange for cornerback Kelvin Joseph between the end of the preseason and the start of the regular season in 2023.

During his NFL career, Igbinoghene has played in 37 regular-season games and one playoff contest.

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.

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auburn.rivals.com

AuburnSports - Freeze: 'Phenomenal' week recruiting

Caleb Jones

~2 minutes

There were plenty of moving parts in Auburn Saturday.

From early in the morning until late afternoon, the Woltosz Football Performance Facility was a hub for activity.

The day was jam-packed for Auburn's staff, starting in the morning with team meetings, moving to spring practice and concluding with a mini food truck festival in the parking lot, complete with a DJ.

Not to mention the plethora of high-caliber recruits that got to see and experience it all.

Auburn hosted well over 30 recruits Saturday. These weren't just local kids, either. Recruits traveled from Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma and North Carolina to see what Auburn is trying to build under head coach Hugh Freeze.

"This whole week has been phenomenal," Freeze said Saturday. "It’s a lot of work. I met with kids yesterday at my house from 2-9 and then this morning we started early."

Team meetings kickstarted the day and most recruits were on campus in time to sit in on the meetings, to get a feel for what it's like to be part of the program. It gives them an opportunity to see how coaches interact with their players on an everyday basis.

Then, it was off to practice. Several recruits spoke highly of the energy the team brought to practice and they weren't the only ones.

"It has been a great day for recruiting," Freeze said. "We have a lot of top guys here and the energy at practice was phenomenal."

Looking at the list of attendees Saturday, it wasn't just the quantity that was impressive, it was the quality.

"It’s all kids we want," Freeze said. "We’re excited and we’re glad they’re here.”

It may not be long before some return to campus for another visit. Some may even decide to stay for 3-4 years.

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2025 Auburn
Football Commitment List

Total Commitments

8

Team Recruiting Rank

7

share:

 

NAMEPOSLOCATIONHTWTSTARSRATINGCOMMITTED

Tavaris Dice

OL Fairburn, GA 6'4" 279 5.8 3/14/24

VERBAL

 

Devin Williams

DB Buford, GA 5'11" 168 5.8 2/26/24

VERBAL

 

Hollis Davidson

TE Peachtree City, GA 6'6" 230 5.8 2/6/24

VERBAL

 

Ryan Ghea

TE Alpharetta, GA 6'5" 239 5.8 11/12/23

VERBAL

 

Jourdin Crawford

DT Birmingham, AL 6'1" 300 5.8 10/16/23

VERBAL

 

Spencer Dowland

OL Athens, AL 6'6" 290 5.6 9/2/23

VERBAL

 

Jakaleb Faulk

LB Highland Home, AL 6'3" 220 5.8 8/21/23

VERBAL

 

Malik Autry

DT Opelika, AL 6'6" 320 5.8 2/1/23

VERBAL

 

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auburn.rivals.com

 

AuburnSports - Freeze making a difference for nation’s No. 3 RB

Bryan Matthews

~3 minutes

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AUBURN | Auburn’s chances of signing the nation’s No. 3 running back changed dramatically 16 months ago.

The hiring of Hugh Freeze as head coach in November of 2022 had a huge impact on and his recruitment.

“Just because of the relationship I’ve built with Coach Freeze,” said the standout 2025 prospect from Elba, Ala. “Because when Coach (Bryan) Harsin was here, I really didn’t communicate with Auburn.

Henderson is closing in on a commitment. (Bryan Matthews/AuburnSports.com)

“When Coach Freeze came in, he showed me and my family that I was his No. 1 guy. He feels like I can be the person to come in and help build the class and obviously recruit another great running back and then everybody else at a position we need.”

Henderson’s recruitment to Auburn hasn’t been without some bumps in the road over that time. Running backs coach Cadillac Williams left for a position in the NFL and was replaced by Derrick Nix, who will serve as AU’s offensive coordinator and running backs coach.

Fortunately for the Tigers, Nix made a quick connection with Henderson, who was able to watch Nix and AU’s team in practice Saturday.

“From day one I met Coach Nix, our relationship hit just like that. So we’ve been tight ever since Coach Lac left,” said Henderson.

“I just wanted to see how Coach Nix interacted with the running backs this spring. He told me I he was going to play a huge role in the offense so I wanted to see how all of that would look. I was pretty impressed.”

5'10" | 190 lbs | RB | 2025

Henderson, 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, narrowed a long list of offers to five schools on Friday: Auburn, Florida State, Miami, Penn State and Oregon.

He’s in the process of visiting most of those finalists one last time before announcing a final decision in the next few weeks. He plans to settle on a commitment date soon.

"I’m just taking my last few visits to see where everything sits and how coaches plan to use me,” he said. “Like what’s their last remarks now that I’m committing here soon and what they want to see out of me before I commit and what I want to see out of them, like how they’re going to use me and where. Just where I fit best in as a family.”

Henderson plans to be locked in once his decision is made.

“I’m kinda glad I’m committing,” he said. “I was planning on committing in July but I can’t go the whole summer with all these coaches blowing me up and stuff.”

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si.com

Former Auburn quarterback given odds to win the Heisman Trophy

Andrew Stefaniak

2–3 minutes

Could this former Auburn quarterback win the Heisman Trophy?

In this story:

Auburn Tigers

South Carolina Gamecocks

One position that will be interesting for the Auburn Tigers in 2024 is quarterback. 

Hugh Freeze has a bunch of options, some young and some old, who can start for the Tigers as they look to improve their record from 6-7. Payton Throne will likely start for Auburn, but Coach Freeze has a ton of options, like veteran Holden Geriner and the young guys Walker White and Hank Brown. Auburn did lose one quarterback to the transfer portal, and he found a new home in the SEC. 

Robby Ashford decided to make the move from Auburn to South Carolina to finish his college football career. This is Ashford's third stop as he played at Oregon before coming back home to the state of Alabama to play for Auburn. Ashford will compete for the starting job at South Carolina and has an excellent shot to win it. FanDuel Sportsbook just put out Heisman Trophy Odds and gave Ashford +30000 odds to bring home the most prestigious award in college football. Auburn quarterback Thorne was right ahead of Ashford with odds of +25000 to win the award. 

Craig Meyer of USA Today had this to say about the former Auburn quarterback, "Ashford's arrival in Columbia will come at an opportune time. South Carolina entered the offseason in search of a new starting quarterback after Spencer Rattler, its starter the past two seasons, announced he was declaring for the NFL Draft after an up-and-down two-season stint with the Gamecocks. With Ashford, South Carolina gets a seasoned player with SEC experience to at least compete for the starting spot at what might be the most important position on the field."

Ashford is a good football player who couldn't find a starting role last season in his first year playing for Coach Freeze. It will be interesting to see if he wins the job in Columbia and, if so, the kind of numbers he puts up for the Gamecocks. 

Well Alrighty Then................

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si.com

Auburn Makes 'Smart' Hire To Scout And Recruit Elite Prospects

Brian Smith

~3 minutes

A top recruiting addition with strong ties to Georgia, Florida, and the Southeast

Auburn's recruiting success will be going up another level.

Hiring elite personnel is the objective of a corporation, small business, and a college football program, to be more successful. At the center of a company's infrastructure are talented individuals with the right contacts to help a business flourish. Auburn is making a move to push forward its football program via a person with just the right all-around talents.

With vast experience in the recruiting industry, adding Georgia Tech's Director of Scouting Kenyatta Watson is a boom for the Tigers' recruiting department. Here are more details on the Georgia Tech athletics website defining Watson's experience:

"Most notably, from 2014-18, he served as director of football operations and recruiting for the ultra-successful football program at nearby Grayson H.S. (Loganville, Ga.). During his five years at Grayson, he helped nearly 120 football student-athletes earn collegiate scholarships."

He came to Georgia Tech from Florida State where he held a similar role as the director of player relations for the Seminoles. Watson's experience also extends to working with the Under Armour All-America Game and UA Next Middle School Camp Series, plus the Rivals NextGen Showcase, among other recruiting events. 

Beyond the jobs themselves, it's about where Watson's recruiting roots grow deepest.

He's entrenched in the greater Atlanta metro area where Auburn possesses a history with players like quarterback Cam Newton from Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake and defensive tackle Derrick Brown from Buford (Ga.) Lanier. Auburn's presence is known in Atlanta, but it's now going to be more powerful with Watson.

While working for companies is one accomplishment for Watson, he's also built something with youth football that's great, as well as in a tremendously successful area.

Watson is the founder of the Gwinnett Chargers youth football program, located just east of Atlanta. Gwinnett County is home to several tremendous prep football programs like the aforementioned Grayson and Lanier, as well as Parkview where 2024 Auburn signee Jalyn Crawford hails from, and then there's Buford, North Gwinnett, Mill Creek, Collins Hill, Brookwood, and Norcross among others.

With Hugh Freeze bringing Watson to the Plains, look for the Tigers' recruiting efforts to take another major step forward.

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si.com

Coach Freeze Was In A Great Mood After Coaching Saturday's Practice

Brian Smith

~4 minutes

Auburn's 2024 spring practices are making head coach Hugh Freeze happy.

"I really loved out week," Freeze said to the media after Saturday's practice. "I thought, coming back off of spring break, it's usually a little sluggish. They usually have to get their legs used to really working.

"But I thought the energy and the attention was good. We're doing something a little different this year. On Thursdays, we're just totally teach, teach, teach, teach, teach...

"I really like that. We have so many young kids that I think we're going to have to depend on. To play a lot of snaps and give us the depth we need. I think it's really beneficial to them, to just pull back and just teach a lot."

Freeze also defined how the day went with so much going on with recruiting as well.

"At the end of the day, it's been a great day for recruiting. We've got a lot of top guys here. The energy at practice was phenomenal. Everything was really good until the team period at the end.

"I thought it was typical (for spring practice) that the defense really had their way. They're playing really hard. Those kids, the staff, did a really nice job. 

"You know, some things, you just hadn't seen; you're not quite ready for it (Freeze smiling and laughing). On the offensive line, in particular.

"Really pleased with the week and I think we're staying fairly healthy. I'm excited about the standard of accountability that we're holding to. It's really player-led, which is the best, I think."

Freeze also took a few moments to comment on some newcomers to the roster and positions overall.

"Safety (Jerrin) Thompson, smart, high IQ. He can play multiple positions. I'm really pleased with him.

"I like our young guys, the 2024 class. (Safety) Kaleb Harris has kind of flashed. He's doing a lot of good things, as is (defensive back) Kensley Faustin. I get to mentioning names, I'll leave somebody out. I mean, Dorian (Mausi) at linebacker, he's been a great leader, too.

"(Wide receivers) Cam (Coleman) and Bryce (Cain) continued to show that they're the kind of athletes that you need to compete at this level. Also, our running back room and our tight end room. Need some of the young offensive linemen to come and give us depth.  

"Yeah, (Wide receiver) Robert Lewis, great addition (to the team). He's not a kid, but he's giving himself a chance at playing time.

"(Wide receiver) Sam Jackson, too. You know he's in a yellow jersey still, from the shoulder deal, but he's been in everything but the contact stuff."

As for the quarterbacks, Freeze had mixed thoughts on their performances.

"Really good in the skill period today. I liked all of them. I thought Payton (Thorne) was sharp. He was making the right decisions, as the other kids (were). Hank (Brown) was throwing it really well, Holden (Geriner) threw it well today, too, in those periods. 

"We went to the team action and they didn't have much time to get rid of it. I'm blowing the whistle pretty quick. So, we gotta see how we process things when you're really going against live bullets. We'll go through the next few weeks and we'll know more then, but as far as them picking up things, really pleased."

To finish up, Freeze went back to some recruiting thoughts.

"Oh man, this whole week has been phenomenal. It's a lot of work (smiling), but we have yesterday...I met with kids yesterday in my house from 2-to-9. This morning, we started early and I still have a few more to go. I'm really excited about it."

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si.com

Auburn's new defensive tackles coach describes his recruiting style

Andrew Stefaniak

~2 minutes

This coach is going to be an elite recruiter for Auburn.

In this story:

Auburn Tigers

Auburn had a bunch of coaching turnover after Hugh Freeze's first season on the Plains, as the Tiger's head coach had to find a new offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, and defensive tackles coach. 

Auburn's defensive line coach from a season ago, Jeremy Garrett, left the program after one season to be the new defensive line coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. This is a great step up for Garrett, who did a great job during his lone season at Auburn, but Coach Freeze is looking for a new coach. 

Instead of bringing in a new defensive line coach he promoted former analyst Vontrell King-Williams to be the new defensive tackles coach. King-Williams will coach the interior guys, while Josh Aldridge will coach the edge guys. Coach King-Williams is beloved by the players, who were ecstatic to hear that he would be the new defensive tackles coach. Coach Freeze and Coach King-Williams already have a solid relationship as they worked together at Liberty. 

King-Williams had this to say about his recruiting style, "Jeremy Garrett is one of those guys who used the relationship piece. That's really how I would describe my recruiting style is relationships. I'm going to be who I am, and we're going to build a relationship. I try to take things I see from everyone and make it my own."

Recruiting is all about building relationships and hearing how much the players like Coach King-Williams there is no doubt that he will bring in some incredible interior defensive linemen during his time coaching at Auburn. 

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DJ Durkin speaks to the media

DJ Durkin speaks to the media

Just How Talented Is Auburn Freshman Defensive Lineman?

Auburn assistant coach defines what makes this early enrollee a special football player

Brian Smith

Mar 14, 2024 8:27 AM EDT

In this story:

Auburn Tigers

Certain football recruits possess traits that are truly hard to place into words.

For Auburn edge coach Josh Aldridge, the look on the man's face when defining defensive end Amaris Williams (pronounced as uh-mar-is) would be telling. 

The #68 player in the nation, per Rivals, he's now on the Plains competing at defensive end. Williams is quite an athlete on the gridiron who even saw time as a wildcat quarterback during his days at Clinton (N.C.) High School. 

"Amaris could be as talented as anybody on our whole defense, just from a freak standpoint." Aldridge began. "You're talking about a guy that ran like what? An 11.3 (100 meters) at 270 pounds in high school?"

Further, here are some of the Auburn defensive edge players going through drills. Williams is No. 10 in the video, while fellow early enrollees Jamonta Waller is #11, Joseph Phillips is #31, and TJ Lindsey is wearing #13. To say the least, Auburn's freshmen defensive line prospects are bringing a lot of talent to the depth chart.

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i found some older stuff i had missed to give you guys something to check out.

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[Mikey 16,600]

I see they finally published a few articles that contained interesting information. Thanks for posting them.

[WarTim 3,456]

Thanks Fifty!!!

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