3 Bold Predictions for Auburn Tigers’ Offense in 2025

The Auburn Tigers' offense will have a whole new look in 2025, and some records are poised to fall in Hugh Freeze's third season.

Former Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold has the pieces around him to be a record breaker for the Auburn Tigers. / Austin Perryman / Auburn University Athletics

The Auburn Tigers’ offense has undergone some radical changes since the end of the 2024 season. When the Tigers kick off the season against the Baylor Bears on August 29, there will be new starters at quarterback, receiver, running back, and offensive line. 

Nationally, these changes are perceived as positive for Auburn, and the roster shake-up has resulted in some very high expectations for the Tigers. And what are high expectations without bold predictions?

Here are three of ours for the Auburn offense in 2025.

Jackson Arnold will Break Auburn’s Single-Season Passing Yards Mark

Auburn’s single-season passing record was set by former Tigers quarterback Dameyune Craig when he passed for 3,277 yards in 1997. In 2024, under head coach Hugh Freeze, quarterback Payton Thorne passed for 2,713 yards in an offense that clearly did not live up to its full potential.

Crucial turnovers and apparent poor decision-making by the quarterback ended numerous drives prematurely in 2024, which could have been the difference between the mere 564 yards Thorne needed to surpass Craig’s record. 

Now, Thorne is out, and former Oklahoma Sooner transfer Jackson Arnold is in. A lot has already been said about Arnold as a potential upgrade at the quarterback position for the Tigers. Reports out of the spring praised his arm talent, decision-making, and working relationship with Freeze. 

If Arnold is truly the upgrade he is expected to be, he can sustain drives and improve on the 246.6 passing yards per game the Tigers averaged in 2024, then he could easily put together one of the best statistical seasons in program history. 

Arnold will benefit from a quarterback-friendly scheme that has produced big statistical years from quarterbacks, including when Freeze was the coach of Ole Miss in 2015 and Chad Kelley passed for 4,042 yards and 31 touchdowns. 

Also helping Arnold along the way will be perhaps the most highly touted receiver group to ever come through Auburn. Which brings us to our next prediction.

Auburn will Have Two 1,000-yard Receivers

Yes, two. Because, honestly, one feels highly likely at this point, so that’s not much of a bold prediction.  

Auburn hasn’t had a receiver top the 1000-yard mark in a season since Ronney Daniels caught 56 passes for 1,068 yards in 1999. In-state archrival Alabama has had 12 players eclipse 1,000 yards in that same time, for comparison’s sake. 

Much ado has been made over this current group of wideouts that will be running routes for the Tigers in 2025, with the group ranking highly as a position group across sports media. But it has been rising sophomore Cam Coleman who has stood out above the crowd.  

Coleman has been the talk of Tigers fans and coaches since he first stepped foot on campus as a five-star recruit and the crown jewel of the Tigers’ 2024 recruiting class. He responded to the preseason hype with a solid freshman season, recording 37 receptions, 598 yards, and eight touchdowns.

After dealing with a shoulder injury for much of the season, Coleman really flashed over the final three games, tallying 22 receptions, 306 yards, and six of his eight touchdowns. 

If Coleman can continue to build on that strong finish and stay healthy, then expect him to finish the season amongst the country’s best wideouts. He will at least garner his fair share of opportunities early and often. 

Coleman’s 1k running mate is expected to be Georgia Tech transfer Eric Singleton Jr. Singleton amassed 1,468 yards and nine touchdowns in two years as a Yellow Jacket, and proved to be one of the nation’s most dynamic play-makers with 754 yards in 2024. 

Some are already predicting Singleton to be a first-round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft before he has even taken a snap at Auburn. He’s an explosive route runner with the ability to line up all over the formation. His elite playmaking ability after the catch will make him one of Arnold’s favorite targets.

The biggest obstacle for a 1,000-yard dynamic duo, other than relative uncertainty at quarterback, is the rest of the receiver corps. Outside of Coleman and Singleton, the Tigers are still swimming in talent at the wideout position. Returning Tigers Malcolm Simmons and Perry Thompson, and transfer Horatio Fields, will garner plenty of targets of their own. Will there be enough receptions to go around for two players to pass 1,000 yards?

It will be fun to find out. 

Auburn will Have Three Running Backs Rush for over 500 Yards (And Arnold will Rush for over 300 Yards)

Star running back Jarquez Hunter left Auburn for the NFL as one of the most productive players at the position in Tigers history. His 187 attempts and 1,201 yards in 2024 leave behind a vacuum that Auburn will look to fill in 2025. And the Tigers have a talented group of runners vying to fill Hunter’s vacated role. 

Auburn is traditionally a program that leans on one back after one has emerged from the pack. But this stable of backs is too talented to be kept on the bench, and each should earn their fair share of carries.

Senior Damari Alston will get the first crack at the starting gig after serving as the primary backup to Hunter over the past two seasons. Alston has 681 yards and five touchdowns in his career, and has shown plenty of burst and vision to retain the job.

Nipping at Alston’s heels, however, is junior Jeremiah Cobb. Cobb joined the Tigers as a four-star recruit and one of the nation’s top running back prospects, but has mostly only seen action on utility plays and in garbage time in his time on the Plains. In his brief opportunities, Cobb has shown explosiveness and an ability to contribute in the passing game out of the backfield. 

Vying for the third 500-yard rusher will be UCONN transfer Durel Robinson, who rushed for 731 yards and eight scores as a freshman for the Huskies, and true freshman Alvin Henderson. Henderson joined the Tigers as a five-star recruit after breaking basically every Alabama High School rushing record.

As for Arnold, his athletic ability has been apparent on tape, as he rushed for 560 yards while at Oklahoma, including a 25-carry, 131-yard outing against Alabama in 2024. 

The biggest reason to believe this talented group of rushers will surpass the 1800-yard mark is because of the group blocking for them. The Tigers return three starters on the interior offensive line, including center Connor Lew, who many project as a future NFL Draft selection. 

Joining Lew and crew at the tackle spots will be Virginia Tech transfer Xavier Chaplin and USC transfer Mason Murphy. The mix of newcomers and old guard led to Pro Football Focus ranking Auburn’s O-Line as a top ten unit in the country. If the group can live up to that estimation, then 1,800 yards will come easily for the Auburn backfield.

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