Texas A&M Week 4 Opponent Preview: Auburn Offensive Players To Watch
Hugh Freeze knows a thing or two about offenses. At least he did while running up and down the sidelines at Ole Miss.
While the Rebels only ranked in the top 10 once under Freeze's tenure in scoring, they remained one of the more consistent units in the passing game. Bo Wallace and Chad Kelly connected with receivers on the regular. The run game, primarily led by Jaylen Walton and Jordan Wilkins, kept drives alive and the first downs coming.
Freeze, who's now a quarter of the way through his first season, skipped the recruiting part of the job and went right to the transfer portal. He hand-picked the quarterback to lead the charge into conference games. Four of the five main targets played elsewhere in 2022. The same goes for three of the five starting linemen.
It's hard to understand how good the Tigers' offense truly is. On one hand, Auburn ranked 26th nationally in scoring and 18th in rushing. On the flip side, the Tigers have scored 104 total points on FCS Samford and a one-win UMass squad.
With conference play underway, fans on The Plains will get a better indication as to where the Tigers rank among contenders in the SEC. Texas A&M, which struggled to make routine tackles against Miami, is looking to prove it can hang with at least middle-tier rosters in its division.
Both programs need a win Saturday at Kyle Field. For Auburn, it's about keeping pace in the race for first place for the SEC West division title. For A&M, it's about proving that the performance in South Beach was a fluke.
Who walks away the bigger winner?
Follow along with AllAggies.com as we preview every aspect of A&M's matchup with the Tigers throughout the week. Before diving in, here's a quick overview of the essential things to know before kickoff at Kyle Field come Sept. 23.
Now, let's take a look at several offensive players for Auburn.
Offensive Leaders
QB Payton Thorne
Thorne won the starting job over Roby Ashford and has been consistently inconsistent. The Michigan State transfer threw for a season-high 284 yards against Samford, but also tossed a pair of interceptions against one touchdown. Thorne's only completed more than 70 percent of his throws once and has relied heavily on intermediate passes rather than deep shots.
Mobility is an asset to his game. Thorne leads the Tigers in rushing through three games, averaging 6.4 yards per run to match his two touchdowns. Against the Bulldogs, he rushed for 11.2 yards per play and became the first Auburn QB to total over 100 yards and pass for 200 in a game since Nick Marshall in 2013.
Auburn also has designed packages for Ashford, so don't be surprised to see a switch depending on the field position throughout Saturday's matchup.
RB Jarquez Hunter
Hunter missed the season opener against UMass due to an internal suspension. Since returning, he's split reps with sophomore Damari Alston but remains efficient in the short game. Entering Saturday, he's averaging 4.1 yards per carry and has eight first-down runs.
Last season, Hunter split reps with Tank Bigsby and worked well against the Aggies' front. Bigsby was the thunder who knew how to ground and pound the rock up the middle. Hunter, a bit more of the lightning type, averaged 8.8 yards and totaled 113 en route to a 13-10 win at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
WR Jay Fair
No one has really been a stout No. 1 weapon this season in the passing game, but Fair is the most consistent. He's totaled five or more catches in two games and averaged over 13 yards through the air. Fair also leads the team in receiving yards (174) and receiving touchdowns (2) through three games.
TE Rivaldo Fairweather
Tight end play has been promising on The Plains and the new guy on campus headlines it. Fairweather spent three seasons at Florida International and is coming off a breakout season where he averaged 15.2 yards per catch. In two games, Fairweather has eight catches for 92 yards. Half of his receptions have either been for touchdowns or first downs.
OT Dillion Wade
Wade followed Phillip Montgomery over from Tulsa after his firing this offseason, so there's familiarity with the offensive concept. He's experienced on both sides of the line, starting five games at right tackle in 2021 and playing all 12 games on the blindside a year later. So far, results have been mixed at left tackle.
