23 things things are looking forward to in 2023 for Auburn football
What a year for Auburn football. From quarterback changes to coaching changes to recruiting flips and a new facility, the season has been far from what Auburn fans hoped for and the players wanted to achieve. Now, under a new regime and a top 20 class under Auburn’s belt to end the year, it’s time to turn the calendar to 2023, and to 23 things Auburn fans have to look forward to next season.
Auburn Football – If 2022 taught me anything, it’s that no matter the circumstances, the win-loss record or the frustrations with the coaches, Auburn fans LOVE Auburn. Jordan-Hare was packed for every game, even down the stretch and the players played lights out for every down and the fans loved the heck out of ‘em. From Tiger Walk to Toomer’s Corner and all the miracles, madness and mayhem in between on Pat Dye field, Auburn will always be a special place to watch football every Saturday. No matter what happens next season, be it 12-0 or 3-9, Auburn football is going to be alright. War Eagle, everyone.
Hugh Freeze – The division in the fanbase was heard all across the internet when Freeze was hired. The man who beat Bama twice (once with Bo Wallace at QB) and guided Ole Miss to new heights re-emerged at Liberty after taking a few years off from coaching after he resigned from the Rebels. Now, he has been given another shot at the SEC and man has he nailed it out of the park so far. He started recruiting 20 minutes after accepting the job and the results showed on early signing day, bringing Auburn into the top 20 after a 5-7 season. His offenses are high powered, RPO based passing attacks and average between 35-40 points per game. The players love him and he loves Auburn, so time to be excited and see what else he does with his second chance.
Jarquez Hunter – The cowboy hats and cool jackets return for what will be a monster Junior season. While sharing carries with Tank Bigsby, Jarquez still racked up 668 yards alone, and with his ability to catch balls in space every number in his stat sheet are about to go way, way up. Under Jake Thornton’s O-Line at Ole Miss, Quinshon Judkins had over 1,500 yards rushing. Now, it’s Hunter’s turn.
Robby Ashford – This kid never quits, and if you saw what Freeze did with Malik Willis at Liberty you have to love the potential that Ashford has in this new offense. Robby is a true Auburn man and natural leader on the field, and while his numbers weren’t Heisman worthy (1,613 passing, 704 rushing, 14 total touchdowns and 7 interceptions) he certainly looks to improve under Freeze and QB guru Phil Montgomery. Robby is all in on the new regime and it’ll be fun watch him play again.
Coach Caddy – Auburn football had become as exciting as watching paint dry under the last Head Coach, who was dismissed after the Arkansas debacle. Enter Cadillac Williams, who shot a bolt of energy throughout the Auburn fanbase the minute he was named interim head coach. His love for Auburn and passion for the players instantly turned around the Tigers and complied a 2-2 mark to end the year. A master recruiter and a players coach, Freeze made the absolutely right decision to retain Williams on staff.
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Camden Brown – As a freshman, the former St Thomas Aquinas High star wideout tallied 123 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns. Those numbers don’t exactly pop off the chart, but Auburn’s passing game didn’t really take off in 2022, but when Brown was called upon to make a play he delivered, showing off his full range of talent against Arkansas with 88 yards and a score. The kid has Seth Williams vibes to him and it’ll be fun to watch how Freeze uses him in 2023.
Alex McPherson – The Carlson family might be out of eligibility, but the kicking unit is in good hands. The top kicker of the 2021 recruiting class and younger brother of current Cincinnati Bengals star kicker Austin McPherson, Alex enters his sophomore year with SEC experience after taking over for Anders Carlson in 2022, having hit 100% of his extra point attempts and a long field goal of 51 yards.
DJ James – After transferring from Oregon to Auburn, James has been one of the conferences best corners, earning second team All-SEC from the coaches poll and AP voters. He got better as the season went on and finished with 38 tackles and one pick-six.
Nehemiah Pritchett – The senior from Jackson, AL returns for one more year, after pacing the defense with 22 solo tackles and a forced fumble. He’s been a leader on the field and is a huge return for the Tigers defense, which will look to generate more turnovers under Ron Roberts.
Jordan-Hare - No other place in college football best showcased the passion and excitement for their team like Jordan-Hare did against Texas A&M. There should be plenty more games like that when Freeze gets the program going. Officially, JH seats around 88,000 fans, but when the electricity hits the crowd it can feel like playing in front of hundred of thousands, all screaming to every big play or yelling “War Eagle!” from the opening kickoff. There’s no place like home, and it’s about to be rocking.
Ja’Varrious Johnson – Auburn’s leading receiver from last year with 438 yards should benefit greatly from Montgomery and Freeze’s passing game principles. He was mostly underused in an offense that seemed to lack an identity before Cadillac Williams took over and got the ground game going. His ability to win the one-on-one matchups as well as getting yards-after-catch will keep opposing secondaries on their toes all year long.
Phillip Montgomery – The architect behind Robert Griffin III’s Heisman winning campaign in 2011 brings his talents to the Plains. Freeze and Montgomery run a similar scheme, but Phil will have complete control of the offensive playcalling, which usually produces a 3,000+ yard passer (Such as RGIII, Bryce Petty or Dane Evans).
AP Photo/Thomas Graning
Rivaldo Fairweather/Landen King – Close your eyes and picture Evan Engram and Darren Waller playing on the same field. That’s essentially what this duo will look like in the fall. Landen King was a former four-star recruit who has an excellent catch radius, while Fairweather racked up over 400 yards of offense at FAU last season. Freeze likes having one big bodied receiver/blocker in the offense and perfected the college TE with Engram while he was at Ole Miss, so it’ll be fun to see how he uses these two.
Ron Roberts – The former Baylor DC has led a top 3 run defense in the Big 12 each year he was with the Bears, and top 5 in turnovers the past two years, which should be exciting for a defensive unit that ranked near the bottom of every turnover category. He was pursued by Arkansas before Auburn swooped in and snatched the mastermind who taught the likes of Dave Aranda and Pete Golding.
New Offense – 74th. That’s where Auburn’s total offense finished the season out of 131 FBS rankings. There hasn’t been a ground game as dominating as the 2013 rushing unit or a pass game as balanced as the 2017 attack led by Jarret Stidham. Fortunately, Freeze has often installed a potent passing attack that should lift the Tigers into the upper echelon of SEC offenses, no matter who is at quarterback for the Tigers.
New O-Line – Jake Thornton was poached from the Rebels and immediately set to work re-tooling the offensive line. At Ole Miss the offense ranked third nationally in rushing, and with the bog bodied additions of Clay Wedin and Bradyn Joiner it should be an immediate upgrade from what we saw last year.
The Schedule – Make no mistake, Auburn will never shy away from a challenge. The strength-of-schedule for the Tigers will always be in the top ten based on playing Smart and Saban every year anyways, so what’s a Clemson here or a Penn State there? Fortunately, this year Auburn gets both its main rivals at home along with the two Mississippi schools and the SEC crossover opponent is baseball school Vanderbilt. Cal is the non-SEC matchup, which figures to be tough because of the time-zone change but aside from that, the schedule shakes up well for an Auburn team looking to make noise in Freeze’s first year.
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Kayin Lee – Ohio State has little problem putting defensive backs in the first round of the NFL Draft with the likes of Eli Apple and Jeffrey Okudah, and they figured Lee would continue that trend. It had to be a massive headache for the Buckeyes when Lee decided to stay closer to home and bring his talents to the Plains. Etheridge and McGriff teamed up to convince the four-star Georgia native to compete in the SEC, where he figures to start sooner rather than later.
Keldric Faulk – A major pickup for Auburn was Highland Hill star Keldric Faulk, who was committed to Florida State before Etheridge turned up the heat. Faulk grew up an Auburn fan and wanted to play at the school, but didn’t receive an offer from Auburn until Freeze showed up. Our new D-Line coach Jeremy Garret should have little problems getting sacks out of the 6-5, 240 pound beast.
Wesley McGriff – One of the reasons Auburn managed to put together a super talented class in so little time was the prowess of Auburn’s own Wesley “CrimeDawg” McGriff. Nothing sells a school like a former player or returning coach, and both Wes and Zac Etheridge used their passion for Auburn to flip some notable names along the trail. Last time McGriff was at Auburn he mentored Noah Igbinoghene into a first round pick along with Daniel Thomas going in the fourth, so it’ll be exciting to see what he does with all the studs around him.
2023 Recruiting Class – Auburn recruiting had gone stagnant under the previous administration, which is why coach Freeze made bringing in talent his top priority upon being offered the job. The results could be felt instantly as Auburn’s rankings shot up from 62 to 20 almost overnight, and the scary thing for other SEC schools is that more could be incoming. Those rankings rose in four weeks. Imagine what Freeze could do with a whole offseason.
Running Back Room – Auburn’s running backs combined for 1,723 yards last season, and that was from behind an inconsistent and injured offensive line. Now, Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston welcome the highly ranked Jeremiah Cobb along with a few massive transfers along the O-Line, which figures to create even more havoc from the backfield and yet another three-headed rushing monster.
2023 NFL Draft – This one’s right around the corner! Auburn fans will want to keep on eye on this years draft, as the Tigers will be well represented this year. With the likes of Derick Hall, Owen Pappoe, Tank Bigsby and Colby Wooden figure to go in the first three rounds as Auburn continues to pump talent into the NFL. Who knows, perhaps your favorite team will draft them!
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