10 things on my mind as Auburn starts first fall camp under Hugh Freeze
AUBURN — For Auburn football, it finally feels like the Hugh Freeze era has arrived.
Within the past few weeks, the Auburn athletic department announced the largest season ticket sell out in program history, Freeze and Co. flipped 5-star Demarcus Riddick from Georgia and 5-star Perry Thompson from Alabama, and on Thursday, fall camp begins. Recent recruiting events have Auburn entering August with the fourth-highest average rating per commit nationally behind only Ohio State, Alabama and Georgia. In today’s college football, that’s the best company. Those three programs, plus Florida State, Florida and Clemson, along with Auburn, are the only programs with a 5-star commitment to date. Again, fantastic company for an Auburn program looking to get up off the mat from two years of wandering in the wilderness under the leadership of Bryan Harsin.
That’s all great, but you know what must follow. At the end of the day, on-the-field success is all that matters. After a spring camp where Freeze and Co. were simply trying to stay afloat, learn names, instill the basics, all while continuing to recruit the transfer portal, fall camp is a different story. It’s go time. The roster is basically set, recruiting is in a dead period, and the Tigers have four weeks of preparation until it’s UMass game week.
So, having said that, here’s a list of things on my mind as the most anticipated football season since maybe 2014 is only weeks away.
The biggest holes to fill…
How do you replace Derick Hall and Colby Wooden? I think the easy answer is, you don’t. That duo combined for 59 tackles for loss and 33 sacks in their careers. Auburn simply doesn’t have replacements ready to go for those two players. That’s not to say the defensive front can’t have similar production behind different schemes or different player combinations, but the Tigers will miss those two beasts.
Tank Bigsby will be missed, but maybe not so much in the starting role, as having the depth of Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter. The 1-2 punch was fantastic, and it’ll be up to Auburn’s other running backs to fill the role Hunter provided to Bigsby the last two seasons. Hunter is ready to be a star running back in the SEC, but can he stay healthy and fresh? That may depend on someone else stepping up behind Hunter the way he did Bigsby.
That’s really it. Owen Pappoe was a warrior for Auburn, but isn’t necessarily a player that the Tigers can’t find a replacement for this season. The other positive for Auburn is, no offense to any players, but there’s not one person who entered the transfer portal that could be considered any type of hit on the roster. Jeffrey M’ba had potential, but only managed six tackles last season. Keiondre Jones played a bunch of snaps, but was part of some really average offensive lines. Most players who departed simply weren’t producing high-level competition or providing high expectations looking forward.
About this quarterback battle…
I continue to get asked, most recently at SEC Media Days, about the upcoming QB battle between Payton Thorne, Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner. The more I get asked, the more I feel like I’m missing something. I don’t see how Thorne doesn’t win the job. Auburn didn’t recruit a transfer QB to sit the bench, and maybe more importantly, Thorne didn’t leave a potential three-year starter position at Michigan State to sit the bench. If it’s a close battle, I hope we’re crediting Ashford or Geriner for stepping up versus Thorne unexpectedly struggling.
The Hunter situation is resolved (I believe)…
Internally, Auburn took the investigation involving Hunter and others extremely seriously. Because of the nature of the investigation, there were Title IX implications, I know that. The investigation is essentially wrapped up at this point. I will say Hunter is expected to be available for practice is expected to return to the team officially on August 1. Now, it’s still possible Hunter faces a suspension for the UMass game, but I am doubtful any in-season suspension would go beyond one game.
The play caller issue is overblown…
I think too much is being made of who the play caller will be. Freeze said during media days he hired Philip Montgomery for a reason, and that’s to call plays. Of course Freeze will be involved. He’s been one of the better offensive play callers in the last decade of college football. There’s always discussions and opinions being tossed out over the headset during games. A head coach giving suggestions on the offensive or defensive side of the ball is nothing new. As long as Montgomery understands and is OK with the dynamic, there shouldn’t be any issues.
If Montgomery grows tired of not having complete and full control, then that’s another story. But until or unless we get to that point, then Auburn will have two really solid offensive minds collaborating for what could be a dangerous offense, especially while defenses are unsure of the talent and scheme the Tigers will deploy in Year One under Freeze.
How good can this offensive line be?
The offensive line has been a disaster more than it’s not over the last three years. Five new transfers, three of which will for sure start in Gunner Britton, Avery Jones and Dillon Wade, and a well-thought-of offensive line coach in Jake Thornton give confidence. I am curious to see these new guys against Texas A&M on the road in week four and Georgia in week five. Western Kentucky, East Carolina and Tulsa aren’t the SEC. Until conference play starts, I’m not sure we’ll know exactly what this line is capable of. However, having all of August and then a three-game run up to conference play should be beneficial.
Does Ron Roberts have the horses to “wreak havoc?”
You’re probably already tired of hearing the buzz words “wreak havoc,” but that’s what Roberts said when describing his defense, so we’ll use the same terminology. It’s the calling card of a successful Roberts’ defense, but does he have the horses to make it happen in 2023? Adding Jalen McLeod was a big step towards making that happen. Justin Rogers needs to be the real deal and Keldric Faulk has to grow up fast. I’m sure Roberts is happy to have an experienced secondary, as it might allow him to take a few more chances in the front seven in hopes the backend can be trusted to hold things down.
How good is Shane Hooks? Can Jyaire Shorter stay healthy?
Hooks has all the tools to be “that guy” in for this Auburn offense. Size, speed, big hands, he’s got it. How quickly has he picked things up? There’s a reason he was sought after. Auburn needs him to step up and I’m really interested to see him on the practice field, and hear what Freeze says about his reps compared to the returning receivers. As for Shorter, he battled a leg injury in 2020 and toe injury in 2021. Freeze said during media days they will have to handle Shorter with some care, making sure he remains healthy and available.
New players all over the field since the end of spring camp…
Upwards of 20 players that didn’t participate in spring camp have joined the team and will go through fall camp. Many of those are important transfers like McLeod, Larry Nixon III, Hooks, Shorter, Caleb Burton, Stephen Sings and Jaden Muskrat, plus a handful of true freshmen, including talented 4-star running back Jeremiah Cobb. Less is expected from high schoolers arriving in the summer and getting their first taste of college football in August, but much more is expected from the transfers. Hooks, Shorter, Nixon, McLeod and others will have to hit the ground running.
The positions with the most competition…
Wide receiver and linebacker stand out as the two positions with the most competition during fall camp. The receiver position is wide open. Hooks and Shorter have nice stats, but prove it at Auburn and in the SEC. And among the returners, only Ja’Varrius Johnson has really accomplished anything of note with five touchdowns and 45 grabs in three seasons. Marcus Davis will have his hands full developing this group as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the linebacker position is especially deep, but there’s some quality bodies. Austin Keys, Cam Riley, Wesley Steiner, Robert Woodyard and Nixon seem to be the top five players. Riley and Steiner have played quite a bit of SEC football, Keys played sparingly last season at Ole Miss, Woodyard redshirted and Nixon tore it up at North Texas, but that’s Conference USA, not the SEC. There’s a lot to be determined about that group.
Past those two positions, the quarterback battle is obviously important and will garner all the focus, the offensive line should feature some nice competition for those two starting guard spots, plus backup positions, and the competition at the nickel spot between Keionte Scott and Donovan Kaufman will be nice.
The positions with the least amount of competition…
Maybe safety, where Jaylin Simpson and Zion Puckett are the presumed starters, with the option to move Kaufman to safety, too. The experience of Simpson and Puckett should solidify their spots with little fanfare. There are some true freshman coming in, but they shouldn’t be in position to beat out Simpson or Puckett. Cornerback is similar with DJ James and Nehemiah Pritchett. There are real talents and threats in Kayin Lee and JD Rhym pushing them, but James and Pritchett shouldn’t be in danger of losing their spots, and Lee and Rhym seem in great position to be the first two corners off the bench on the outside.
The running back position also seems fairly settled, with Hunter starting, Damari Alston and Brian Battie serving as backups in different capacities depending on the situation and formation. Can Cobb make a push? That’s a tall task as a true freshman running back in the SEC.
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