Spring Practice storylines to watch as the Tigers head into year two under Hugh Freeze
As Hugh Freeze enters spring practice for the second year as Auburn's head coach, many of the same questions that came up in year one are popping back up.
Will Payton Thorne be able to lead in the SEC? Will the signees brought in make an immediate impact? How will first-year coordinators perform?
Freeze and staff will look to put some of these questions to bed internally during spring practice, which begins February 27th and will be capped off with A-Day on April 6th.
The 15 practices will be filled with storylines and questions that will try to be answered, these next five will be some of the most influential storylines for the 2024 season, thus being ones fans need to keep an eye out on.
1. Can one of the back-up quarterbacks challenge Payton Thorne for the starting spot?
With the introduction of four-star Walker White the quarterback room for the Tigers gains talent and another competitor for incumbent starter Payton Thorne to have to fight off to retain the starting spot. Hank Brown and Holden Gernier remain where they ended the season as the second and third string, look for Brown to capitalize on his bowl performance and try to surpass Gernier and challenge White and Thorne for snaps.
White, the expected QB2 by many, has been leading throwing sessions since he arrived on campus with his fellow incoming freshmen and returning players, such as Damari Alston. Thorne has been doing the same, gathering the upperclassmen for meetings and throwing sessions since the semester began.
Eric Starling/Auburn Daily
Thorne has the experience and should pull this one out, but with Brown looking to prove his garbage time snaps meant something and White eager to lead this team it won't be easy. Auburn still might even aim to take a transfer in the spring portal window, especially if Brown or Gernier were to decide to seek greener pastures.
2. With the addition of Derrick Nix will Hugh Freeze maintain his offseason stance of calling plays in 2024
The expected move this offseason was to flip the script so to speak, as Freeze prioritized recruiting and let the game planning fall to Offensive Coordinator Philip Montgomery, but with Freeze having signed a top ten class he looked to dust off the call sheet for season two.
Nix, a familiar face to Freeze, has been in the SEC with Ole Miss for close to 20 years. The OC and running backs coach boasts both play calling and recruiting success would hold his own if Freeze were to decide to focus on the trail yet again. The open scrimmages and A-day will be key to seeing if Nix will be incorporated in the play calling and if so how will the duties be split amongst himself and Hugh Freeze.
3. What will the freshman impact be with an astounding eleven blue-chip prospects early enrolling
Auburn signed the 7th-best class in America according to 247 Sports and that talent jumped at the opportunity to get in for the spring. Sixteen scholarship players reported early, with eleven of those being four-star or above. At least one walk-on, Dylan Gentry, has also reported early and enrolled this semester.
Offensively, Wide receivers Cam Coleman, Bryce Cain, and walk-on Gentry will look to mesh with the returning quarterbacks and their classmate four-star Walker White. Favour Edwin and Seth Wilfred look to learn and grow under Josh Aldridge and the upper-classmen along the offensive line.
Defensively, the front seven will have new faces everywhere. Linebackers Jamonta Waller, Demarcus Riddick, D'Angelo Barber, and Joseph Phillips will look to fill much-needed depth roles. Defensive linemen Amaris Williams, Malik Blocton, and TJ Lindsey will push for starting roles in a room that lost seven contributors. The backend also gets the added help of Kensley Faustin, Jay Crawford, Kaleb Harris, and JUCO product Laquan Robinson.
Starting might be a stretch for some of these players but guys like Coleman, Riddick, Phillips, and Cain will look to seize their moment and secure big roles heading into fall camp.
4. How will the defense look under new Defensive Coordinator DJ Durkin
Both coordinator positions experienced turnover and historically the defensive coordinator position has improved.
Durkin, who has been a head coach in the Power Five and has been an SEC coordinator three different times adds both a technical and recruiting improvement compared to the resume of former DC Ron Roberts who left the program to become the Florida linebackers coach.
Former Maryland Terrapins head coach DJ Durkin.
Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
The experienced DC has used various schemes throughout his career, but in his last two SEC stops he has leaned towards a 4-2-5 scheme with 3-4-4 and 3-3-5 variants. The utilization of new front-seven talent will be key for Durkin as well as the depth along the secondary that Auburn has maintained. The linebacker room, who will be directly coached by Durkin will interesting to watch both on the field and on the recruiting trail as he has been in the top 5 recruiter rankings many times.
Durkin will attack the quarterback and the ball carrier as his Texas A&M defense last year led the SEC in sacks, run defense, and was top five in points per game, defensive passing efficiency, and tackles for loss.
5. Look for transfers to fill starting spots on both the defense and the offense.
The Tigers did not pursue the portal as heavily as they did in year one under Hugh Freeze and that selectivity looks to have worked in the Tigers' favor. Only taking in nine players, they attacked needs such as secondary depth with Antonio Kite and Jerrin Thompson both of whom seem to be primed and ready to start immediately. Defensive linemen Trill Carter and Gage Keys will be integral for a Durkin defense that often rotates its three-down linemen. Duke linebacker transfer Dorian Mausi should be a rotational piece on the second team.
Percy Lewis, an offensive tackle from Mississippi State will look to fill the spot of Gunnar Britton who graduated. Robert Lewis will see time in the slot as he has the production and experience compared to Jay Fair and Bryce Cain. Rico Walker will spell Rivaldo Fairweather and be a solid receiving tight end now and will look to blossom in upcoming seasons.
The spring practice session is integral for any team, but for an Auburn team with incredible young talent coming in and new coaches across the board, it will be critical from a learning and chemistry-building standpoint. These questions and more will be answered and even more will pop up in the latter days as a new wave of portal departures and needs will arise.
