Auburn Football Update

It's been a busy holiday season, so I haven't had much time to write. If you're reading this, I hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The Christmas season certainly is "the most wonderful time of the year." However, it's been a rough December for Auburn football. The Tigers travelled to Nashville to take on Maryland, and they got embarrassed. It was never in question who the better team was on the field that day. Auburn has a lot of things to figure out this offseason. I'm here to discuss some of those things.

I'll start with the elephant in the room. What quarterback is going to trot out week one of next season for Auburn? There are a couple of candidates I have in mind...

-Payton Thorne: I do NOT want Payton Thorne to start for us next year. However, Freeze has made it clear that he will at least be considered. Thorne has experience, and he has demonstrated some arm talent in the past. I have just been very unimpressed by him during his time at Auburn. He is indecisive, and he makes some really ugly mistakes (e.g. dagger pick six against Maryland). Freeze has shown that he can develop quarterbacks in the past, but he is not a miracle worker. I think it's time to move on.

-Holden Geriner/Hank Brown: Both of these guys got snaps for Auburn in the bowl game. Geriner didn't look very impressive, completing only one of six passes and throwing an interception. Hank Brown was then given the nod, and he of course looked better than any Auburn QB has in the past three years. Very fitting way for this season to end. Brown was hitting receivers in stride, he looked poised in the pocket, and he led two very impressive drives that sort of softened the blow of this loss. This was a very small sample size that we got to see from Hank Brown, but I think he opened the eyes of this staff. I expect both of these guys to be considered for the starting role.

-Transfer QB: Auburn has been mentioned as a landing spot for many portal quarterbacks this offseason, but we have not yet landed one. The most recent QB that we have been after has been Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter. Salter has already played under Freeze, so he was an obvious target once he entered the portal. He has since opted to exit the portal and return to Liberty, which was a disappointment for Auburn fans. I still expect Auburn to pursue a QB in the portal to add depth and competition to this QB room. If we do add one, I expect that we will see at least one of our QB's transfer out.

-Walker White: White is a guy I have mentioned in the past, and I still expect him to be given an opportunity to compete for the job next year. I would prefer to not start a true freshman at quarterback, but if he is the guy, then he is the guy. He has recently competed in the Army All-American game, and he looked pretty solid. He has the frame of an SEC QB, and he can sling it. If you want to hear more about him, you can go read my previous post about his potential to start at Auburn next year.

I currently don't have a preference. I just want the guy who will give us the best chance to win. I don't think it's Throne, but I'm also not paid to make these decisions. All we as fans can do is wait.

Now, let's talk about recruiting. Auburn is currently sitting at 7th nationally in the 2024 recruiting rankings, and I am stoked about this. For us to post our third straight losing season and still be this high in the rankings speaks to the long hours this staff has put in recruiting this year. We have what looks to be the best receiver class in the country, and we are still in contention for five-star Alabama commit Ryan Williams. He will visit Auburn just days before announcing who he will sign with. We've added some key pieces on defense as well, headlined by Demarcus Riddick, Amaris Williams, and Jamonta Waller. These "trench" pieces will be huge for Auburn in the coming years. Auburn has been quiet in the portal so far, but I expect Freeze to look for some more linemen and secondary players in the coming months.

There's been some movement in the staff here recently as well. Auburn is moving on from Offensive Coordinator Philip Montgomery, who had just completed his first season at Auburn. We will now search for yet another replacement at OC. I believe this will be our fifth OC in five years, but don't quote me on that. The initial name I am hearing is Ole Miss assistant Derrick Nix. He is young and is a solid recruiter, which is what Freeze is now searching for. I expect Freeze to take over play-calling next year, so our next OC candidate will more than likely focus his full attention on recruiting and game-planning. We have also lost our DB coach Wesley McGriff to Texas A&M. Auburn will replace him with former Colorado defensive coordinator Charles Kelly, who is a known recruiting guru (are you seeing a pattern?). I'm okay with the movement in this staff so far, but I was disappointed to see Keionte Scott enter the portal recently. Scott would have been one of our top returning players next year, and I suspect that Coach McGriff leaving had something to do with his portal entrance. He will be a tough guy to replace.

There will be a lot more movement in both the Auburn Football staff and the roster this offseason. I'm excited to see what's in store for this program. This season wasn't pretty, and the beatdown from Maryland was not the way I wanted to see it end. I am still very optimistic for this next season, and I expect us to make a big leap forward.