{"id":47092,"date":"2024-04-10T12:38:10","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T17:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=47092"},"modified":"2024-04-10T12:38:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T17:38:10","slug":"brief-thoughts-around-football-basketball-rosters-rolling-through-april","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/brief-thoughts-around-football-basketball-rosters-rolling-through-april\/","title":{"rendered":"Brief thoughts around football, basketball rosters rolling through April"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUBURN \u2014 <\/strong>As April is ramping up and both football and basketball portal windows are essentially cranking (football officially starts April 15), here\u2019s some quick thoughts on both rosters.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Hugh Freeze<\/a><\/strong> said as much after spring camp ended: there will be more players coming and going from the program over the next few weeks. The nature of the transfer portal has made it a guarantee that I think most fans are getting used to. Players will leave every portal window. It\u2019s the new norm.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Some questions I am thinking about regarding personnel\u2026and in this day and time, you have to think and wonder about these things. The portal has completely changed everything, nothing seems like it\u2019s ever off the table. Questions at the top of my mind\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Will a quarterback leave, specifically Holden Geriner<\/a><\/strong>? Entering his third year at Auburn, does Geriner feel he can still compete for the QB1 job or is it time to move on? The way Freeze has talked about targeting more receivers, you\u2019d have to think the receiver room changes again over the next few weeks. What are players like Caleb Burton<\/a><\/strong>, Jay Fair<\/a><\/strong> and Koy Moore<\/a><\/strong> thinking? Returning players that are now competing with freshmen and new transfers. Sources have mentioned all three of those receivers as possible transfers, so we\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n

\u2014 In the running back room, are Brian Battie<\/a><\/strong> and Jeremiah Cobb<\/a><\/strong> satisfied with their place in the pecking order? Battie entered the portal in the winter only to return. Cobb is immensely talented, but is at best third on the depth chart. I\u2019m sure Auburn doesn\u2019t want to lose either, but you know in this world, they are weighing their options. Will Wesley Steiner<\/a><\/strong> stick around? He\u2019s a senior linebacker that isn\u2019t going to start, but does add depth. Does he want more in his final season of college football? The defensive line room is surely to change with definite additions, and we\u2019ll see on any subtractions. JD Rhym<\/a><\/strong> is still expected to enter the portal officially, that\u2019s one we reported earlier in the spring. Fortunately for Auburn, the secondary is really deep with talent right now.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Where will Freeze and Co. go in the spring portal window? Well, he said as much on Saturday. \u201cI just don\u2019t think you can ever have enough of (D-linemen). We have a couple of spots left on our roster that if you\u2019re going to fill it, let\u2019s fill it with D-line with receivers<\/em>.<\/strong> That\u2019s where we need to add some more depth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 We talked about it some on the A-Day\/spring camp wrap-up show<\/a><\/strong>, but another interesting variable in deciding where to bring in transfers is how it competes with the development of the younger players, specifically the talented freshmen on the roster. For instance, Auburn is thin at linebacker and will be counting on Demarcus Riddick<\/a><\/strong>, D\u2019Angelo Barber <\/a><\/strong>and Joseph Phillips<\/a><\/strong> (playing Buck, too) to develop and help. Robert Woodyard<\/a><\/strong> is trying to step up as well. While thin, does Auburn want to bring in another portal linebacker that might take valuable snaps away from developing freshmen? That\u2019s one example of how Freeze and Co. have to attack squeezing the most wins out of 2024 versus yes, winning in 2024, but also making sure you\u2019re building the strongest foundation you can for 2025 and beyond. <\/p>\n

Freeze has made it clear that recruiting and building through the high school ranks is how they will go about it, with portal additions sprinkled in. It\u2019s something to keep in mind when you watch the roster shift and change, and looking at where portal additions happen and where they don\u2019t happen. It\u2019s a delicate balance every season of making sure you aren\u2019t doing anything to stunt the growth of the young players and run them off, while also trying to fill important holes and make sure quality depth is present.<\/p>\n

\u2014 On basketball, here\u2019s where I think things stand from talking to sources:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Dylan Cardwell<\/a><\/strong> will return. I expect that official announcement to happen soon. Johni Broome<\/a><\/strong> is still hanging out there. Sources say transfer talk hasn\u2019t been discussed once. I\u2019m sure Broome is weighing all options, but there have been serious indications given to Auburn that Broome will transfer to another program. I think he\u2019s weighing professional options or returning to the Tigers. Obviously, NIL and next year\u2019s roster outlook are important to Broome. There\u2019s still optimism, but no final decisions have been made yet.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Can Tre Donaldson<\/a><\/strong> still return? From talking to sources and reiterating what I wrote earlier, I think the door is still open, but barely. That\u2019s a decision that caught the staff off guard. Nowhere in conversations with Donaldson was transferring talked about. Donaldson is considering a return home to Florida, maybe Miami, maybe Florida State, I\u2019ve heard Georgia at times, maybe somewhere else (NIL and playing time important factors), but I don\u2019t believe it\u2019s completely off the table that he returns. I also think it\u2019s a fluid situation at the moment. The Donaldson camp thinks he deserves 25-30 minutes per game. That\u2019s not happening at Auburn next season.<\/p>\n

\u2014 For anyone paying attention, the Aden Holloway news wasn\u2019t surprising at all.<\/a><\/strong> Auburn would have been fine with Holloway returning, but they are also content with Holloway moving on. There was almost an indifference there after the season ended from talking to sources. Auburn is focused on improving the point guard position, so if Holloway wanted to stay and compete, OK. If he wanted to move on, that\u2019s fine, too. And as I mentioned, Holloway wasn\u2019t seen anywhere around the facilities since the season ended. A source told me a week ago, \u201che\u2019s gone,\u201d they were just waiting on official word.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Staying on point guard, all eyes right now are on Furman transfer JP Pegues<\/a><\/strong> and Washington State transfers Myles Rice<\/a><\/strong>. Pegues looks like an Auburn-Florida battle right now. Sources close to Pegues indicate Auburn still leads, but there\u2019s smoke that Florida is closing the gap. How big a factor will NIL play? That\u2019s something to keep an eye on as Pegues readies for his visit to Florida. Auburn hasn\u2019t pushed for a commitment from Pegues yet, because they want Rice to visit. Sources believe Auburn is in good standing with both, but will obviously only take one. There is risk here. Indiana is a major player for Rice and probably won\u2019t hesitate too toss out a strong NIL offer.<\/p>\n

\u2014 I think from talking to people, Pegues might be looked at as the better offensive player and Rice as the better defensive player. The real intrigue with Pegues is his experience and adding him to what should be an experienced roster next season. He could be a nice fit in terms of stepping in and leading right away with a veteran group. Rice is younger and has all kinds of upside, obviously.<\/p>\n

\u2014 IF<\/strong> Auburn were to somehow miss on both, there will likely be other options that might not even be in the portal yet. Every program does their due diligence, let\u2019s be real, so don\u2019t think Pegues and Rice are the only two possible options. They are obviously two good options, but in case the Tigers miss on both, I\u2019m sure there will be some other avenues to go. I don\u2019t think it will come to that, but I do think Auburn is thinking through options already if both of those players commit elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Past that, we\u2019ll see what Auburn does to add depth on the front line. That remains to be seen, as Auburn is waiting on Cardwell and Broome to announce something, and then try and sew up the point guard situation, then move on to filling out the roster.<\/p>\n

The post Brief thoughts around football, basketball rosters rolling through April<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AUBURN \u2014 As April is ramping up and both football and basketball portal windows are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47092"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47092\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47121,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47092\/revisions\/47121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}