3.21.24 Football Articles

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247sports.com

Auburn offensive line on our way under Thornton

Jason Caldwell

4–5 minutes

Auburn's offensive line has had an overhaul since Jake Thornton arrived on campus.

AUBURN, Alabama—When Hugh Freeze was hired to head up the Auburn program and brought in Jake Thornton to coach the offensive line, the job in front of them was a monumental one. Starting in 2020, Auburn’s high school signees for the front five on offense consisted of Avery Jernigan, Tate Johnson and Jeremiah Wright in 2020, Colby Smith and Garner Langlo in 2021, and E.J. Harris in the 2022 class. That’s six total players from the high school ranks over three classes, leaving the offensive line with very little depth and holes at every position.

While he admits there’s still plenty to do on the offensive line to get to where he wants to be, Thornton said they have taken some big strides in the last 16 months to get to this point.

“I feel like we’re on our way,” Thornton said. “Something about me and the o-line, we all embody this deal. We’re never going to be satisfied. We want to win the Joe Moore Award. We want to win the SEC. We want to win the national championship. Hopefully when we get to that one day, we’re going to try to do it again next year. We’re always working and striving to get to where we want to be. I do feel like we’ve covered a lot of ground in a short period of time. That’s a testament to this whole program.”

To say Auburn has covered a lot of ground on the offensive line is an understatement. Since taking over the job, Thornton has brought in Bradyn Joiner (who was already committed), Connor Lew, Dillon Wade, Jaden Muskrat, Dylan Senda, Izavion Miller, Percy Lewis, Favour Edwin, Seth Wilfred and Tyler Johnson. With 4-star signee DeAndre Carter arriving this summer, that’s 11 new faces on the offensive line in less than two full classes. 

While Auburn went to the portal to bring in Lewis in order to move Wade inside and brought in Wilfred to bolster the tackle spot on the other side, the bulk of the players expected to compete for playing time this season are players that return from last year. With Wade at left guard, Jeremiah Wright at right guard along with Harris, and Lew at center along with Tate Johnson, Thornton said he feels like they’ve got some pieces to build on this spring and heading into this coming season.

“I think the biggest thing about creating success upfront is having some consistency and continuity there,” he said. “We definitely have that. I think it starts with having a big presence at center like Connor Lew and Tate Johnson. Tate’s been playing center for us as well and doing a really good job. The guy’s been around Auburn the most in the room. So having him and Connor there to kind of lead those guys has been really, really good.

“Having guys coming back like Jeremiah Wright, who is going to his first real spring as an offensive lineman here. He’s doing a really good job. Big, physical presence. He’s really transformed his body. He’s got a lot of good weight on him right now so certainly excited about him. Having D-Wade and Too Tall back for his second spring as well. So excited about that and what they bring to the table.

“Then the new faces as well. Big Percy coming in. He’s a big personality, brings a lot of life to the room and doing a good job for us. Excited to see his progression over the next five months going into the first game of the year. Then the new guys are obviously doing a really good job with Seth and Favour and all those guys that came back from last year as well. So really excited about the consistency. and the continuity we’re creating right now.”

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si.com

Hugh Freeze discussed which freshmen have stood out in spring practice

Andrew Stefaniak

~2 minutes

Auburn will have a lot of young players on the field this season.

The Auburn football team has a ton of young players getting their first reps as college athletes at spring practice. 

Some of these young players have a real shot to get on the field as true freshmen, which is not something you see all that often in the SEC. 

After Auburn's most recent practice, Coach Freeze was asked about some true freshmen that have stood out to him so far at spring practice, and he quickly said Malik Blocton, Jamonta Waller, Amaris Williams, DJ Barber, Joe Phillips, and, of course, Cam Coleman. 

Later, when asked about the quarterback room, Freeze said freshman quarterback Walker White had done a lot well but is still swimming. Coach Freeze is talking about how White is still learning the speed of college football and the offense, which will take some time, but the flashes have been there. 

Coach Freeze didn't bring in as many players as we expected from the transfer portal, leading many to believe he will go young with this 2024 Auburn team. 

You could see all of these names listed get some serious snaps this season, aside from White, as he would have to win the job over Payton Thorne to make that happen. 

Auburn's defense is going to be young but extremely talented, so 2024 could be a good year, but Auburn's defense in 2025 is going to take the SEC by storm. It sounds like early into spring practice, all of the young talent is impressing the coaching staff, which is a great thing to hear if you're an Auburn fan. 

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al.com

How Marcus Davis helped Auburn land Cam Coleman and what he’s seen out of the freshman WR

Updated: Mar. 20, 2024, 3:45 p.m.|Published: Mar. 20, 2024, 3:36 p.m.

~4 minutes

First look at Auburn 5-star WR Cam Coleman - Auburn Spring Camp

Cam Coleman didn’t make it easy on Auburn’s coaching staff.

But then again, what 5-star football prospect does — or should — in this day and age.

“It wasn’t only me, it was Coach Freeze, it was everybody that was involved in his recruitment,” Auburn wide receivers coach Marcus Davis said of recruiting Coleman. “We never stopped.”

Auburn’s staff never stopped because they couldn’t stop.

Between Coleman spending a good amount of time committed to Texas A&M, then decommitting after the firing of Jimbo Fisher, if it wasn’t the Aggies the Tigers were battling, it was other programs that were pursuing the 5-star wide receiver like Florida State.

“The biggest thing was just never stopping,” Davis said Wednesday during his first media availability since Coleman’s signing during early signing day on Dec. 20 — just 19 days after Coleman delivered the good news.

Coleman officially flipped his commitment from Texas A&M to Auburn on Dec. 1 and never looked back.

According to Davis, it was he and Auburn’s staff relentlessness that made the difference down the stretch.

“Even when things went down, he was like, ‘Coach, you guys never stopped. Every time I came, it was still the same. I never felt bad for committing because when I came to campus it was always the same,’” Davis said, echoing Coleman. “So I think just the consistency of the entire staff recruiting him was key to how things went down at the end.”

And the successful addition of Coleman ended up being one of the biggest keys to Auburn’s highly touted recruiting class, which finished ranked seventh in the country when all was said and done.

Now that Coleman is on campus, it’s also expected that he’ll be a key in improving the Tigers’ offense.

“Cam Coleman just makes us look different,” Freeze said in his first press conference of spring camp on Feb. 29. “Can’t tell you how excited I am about him... When you watch him run around out there, we’ve improved ourselves. He’s naturally gifted.”

Spend a few minutes out at one of Auburn’s football practices and you’ll see just what Freeze is talking about.

First, Coleman’s 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame makes him hard to miss among the rest of Auburn’s receiver corps.

Then you’ve got his sheer athleticism.

Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne said it himself: Coleman can “jump out of the gym” and “runs a 4.4 — maybe less when he gets to the combine in a couple years.”

During Tuesday afternoon’s spring practice, Thorne connected with Coleman for a 35-yard touchdown pass.

“There’s no question whether he’s talented or not,” Davis said of Coleman.

But the 5-star wide receiver’s talent isn’t even what’s stuck out to Davis.

“The best thing I like about Cam Coleman is he wants to be coached. He’s super coachable,” Davis said. “He’s going to try to do exactly what you tell him to do. He loves football, so it’s easy coaching him because he wants the feedback. He’s coming to you before you can even get to him in terms of what he needs to do to get better. So it’s been a joy, so far, to coach him.”

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247sports.com

Freeze looking for balance to open up passing game for Auburn offense

Jason Caldwell

4–5 minutes

AUBURN, Alabama—Only five times in program history has Auburn thrown for more than 3,000 yards as a team, but it’s something that Hugh Freeze wants to see the Tigers accomplish in 2024. Led by Dameyune Craig, the 1997 offense threw for 3,282 yards for the largest total in school history. Auburn also topped the mark in 2017, 2021, 2004 and 2010. That’s it. That’s the list.

While the 1997 team didn’t have a running game to lean on, the other four were all teams that could run the football and make a defense respect that part of the game. It’s something that Freeze said will be important for his team this fall if they’re able to have success as well.

“I want to get it back to where it’s been everywhere I’ve been,” Freeze said. “I would love to see us at the end of the year have 3,000 yards passing or more. We can get there. We’ve got to get those receivers right, but we can get there. If we can get to that point and obviously the rushing is hopefully well above that. That ratio would sure be helpful.”

Saying that ideally his offense would be around 55 percent run and up to 60 percent if they’re able to get that part of the game going really well, Freeze said something that he believes is going to be beneficial is getting back to a familiar system and having guys like Derrick Nix and Kent Austin joining the offense. Being able to make adjustments is a key to success at every level, especially when you’re talking about the offensive side of the ball.

It all comes back to being able to run the football, said Freeze. Staying ahead of the chains means forcing teams to focus on the run. That allows the offense to dictate the game, something the said is a big part of what he wants to do.

“I do think that if we can be consistent in our RPO game that it really opens up us to be more effective in the passing game because you're not always having to drop back protect which I just don't think that's a great recipe in this league if you're having to call a bunch of drop back protections,” Freeze said. “Usually that other side is a little more athletic and can figure out a way to outnumber you. So that's the key to me to stay in balance is us being able to run the ball and throwing the ball off of run actions where you're not having to vertical pass it a whole lot. So that's hopefully what our identity will be.”

Following some competition on Tuesday with both 11-on-11 work, Thursday’s practice will be a learning day for the Tigers before getting some scrimmaging done on Saturday. With more than half of the spring done by the time they get off the field this weekend, Freeze said he’s got some things he wants to see out of the offense as they continue to work on the execution needed to be successful.

“Just staying out of negative plays and taking care of the football,” he said of the goals for Saturday’s practice. “Those are the things that, if we can stay on schedule, we’ll be an effective offense. So starting today, we’ve got a couple of good periods of some second-down competition and even some drives today that you’d love to see us stay out of those negative plays by us recognizing what the defense should do and knowing what the answer is to stay our of the negativity, get into protections, set right from our quarterbacks’ perspective. And then our running backs picking up the blitzes correctly, our receivers running the correct route. All of those things keep you out of negative plays. So that’s what I’d hope to see this week and improve on.”

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theplainsman.com

Food Truck Fridays look to serve the community

5–7 minutes

Food Truck Friday is an event that occurs twice a month in downtown Opelika, highlighting local businesses and their commitment to serving their community. 

Every first and third Friday of each month, food trucks line the streets and offer a variety of flavors to passersby. It is chock full of locals who have started their businesses to provide different tastes and cultures to the area. 

One of the first trucks on the scene is Franky June’s Weeny Wagon, co-owned by Rick Lanier and his wife Karen Lanier. After living in California for 22 years and retiring from the Navy, Rick moved back to Opelika. When he returned, he realized just how much he missed the street food scene in California. 

“When I got back here, I knew I was gonna start a food truck," Rick Lanier said. "This is home.” 

Not only did he miss the food trucks, but he also missed the hot dogs in California.  

“I got started on hot dogs because I just couldn’t find a great one here,” Rick Lanier said. 

After becoming one of the first three trucks to be invited to Food Truck Fridays, the Laniers have had major successes outside of the event, including catering for Auburn University events. 

“We have been everywhere. Tomorrow we’re going to the football complex to serve the team and potential prospects,” Rick Lanier said. 

After all his success, there is still one thing driving the Laniers to continue this business: the customers and the people. 

“I like watching people eat my food. I like seeing people smile and try something new," Rick Lanier said. "I like meeting people. There’s a lot to that here.” 

A little further down the long line of food trucks sits a small, fairly unassuming ramen truck called Red Wolf Ramen. Owners Jonathan “Dude” and Elizabeth Allen are cooking up Japanese-style ramen the authentic way. 

“There was a time when all I could afford was ramen, and I just knew there was a better way to make it,” Jonathan Allen said. 

After watching influencers online succeed in their ramen-based endeavors, Jonathan knew it was in the cards for him. 

“Finding authenticity was so important to me," Jonathan Lanier said. "No fusion, no bags, none of that.” 

With a focus on quality over quantity of items, Red Wolf currently offers three to four menu items at a time. 

Not only is Jonathan’s passion ramen, but he also owns Red Wolf School of Martial Arts, also located in Opelika. This martial arts school and ramen joint is unlike any other around, focusing on the improvement of the community before all else. 

“Standing policy is if you have been assaulted, stalked, harassed in any way, you can come and train for free of charge,” Jonathan Allen said. “You will never see a bill from us. If we can give these people a sense of control back, that is all we care about.”  

Jonathan emphasized that the goal of his operation is never to make money. It is always to give back. Even the people dishing up the ramen are all members of the martial arts gym. 

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“We are a very community-focused event,” Jonathan Allen said. “Everything is fully back to the community here.” 

With more big plans of service to come, Red Wolf continues to put more and more of itself back into the people who made it possible. 

Lastly, one of the last trucks on the corner belongs to VV's Sweet Treats. Co-owned by culinary students Bonnie Wise and Lori Yarbrough, the mother-daughter team noticed a lack of fair foods outside of fairs. 

“The idea was fair food,” Yarbrough said. “Fairs only come around once a year, but sometimes you just crave a funnel cake.” 

Somewhat new to the food truck game, Wise mused on the humble beginnings of the business. 

“My grandson had never had cotton candy before, so we decided to make him some here," Wise said. "We thought it would be fun.” 

Another reason they chose a truck over a restaurant was the price difference, though they do hope to open a restaurant at some point. 

Scrawled across the front of the truck are several messages from Bonnie’s grandson, claiming he “was here."

“He draws on the front of the truck, so at every event, we decided to let the kids draw on it too,” Wise said. 

With Food Truck Friday being their biggest event so far, there is even more room to grow for VV’s. 

With so much variety and new trucks invited every month, there is always something different to try during Food Truck Fridays.

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