Category: Auburn Tigers

Auburn lands four-star 2025 offensive tackle Tavaris Dice

Tigers add four-star offensive tackle to 2025 class

Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers continued the early momentum that is currently surrounding their 2025 recruiting class Thursday, as the program secured what is now their eighth commitment of the cycle in Tavaris Dice.

Dice is now the fourth commitment in Auburn’s 2025 class to come from the state of Georgia, where he attends one of the state’s top programs, Langston Hughes.

The now Auburn commit is also rated as a four-star offensive tackle, as well as the No. 26 overall player at the position for the 2025 cycle according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Dice is also considered as the No. 34 overall player in the state of Georgia.

As mentioned previously, Dice is now the eighth commitment of the 2025 cycle for Auburn, and joins fellow four-star Devin Williams, as well as three-star’s Ryan Ghea and Hollis Davidson from the state of Georgia.

Also included in Auburn’s 2025 class are in-state products Jakaleb Faulk, Jourdin Crawford, Malik Autry, and Spencer Dowland.

Auburn lands commitment from 2025 3-star tight end

Auburn picked up a commitment from a three-star tight end in the 2025 class.

Auburn and head coach Hugh Freeze picked up the eighth commitment of the 2025 cycle Tuesday afternoon, as Hollis Davidson officially committed to the Tigers.

Davidson is rated as a three-star tight end in the 2025 class according to the 247Sports Composite and attends McIntosh High School in Georgia. Along with that ranking, Davidson is also rated as the nation’s No. 21 tight end for the 2025 cycle, as well as the No. 42 player in the state of Georgia.

The three-star is coming off a junior season in which he amassed 436 yards and three touchdowns on 30 receptions for a McIntosh team that reached the first round of the 2023 GHSA AAAAA state playoffs.

Davidson now joins an Auburn class that is currently among the SEC’s best for the 2025 cycle and is the second tight end in the group alongside Ryan Ghea. Ghea is also from the state of Georgia out of Milton High School, and is a three-star prospect as well.

Auburn hires former head coach as defensive coordinator

Auburn has named a former head coach as defensive coordinator.

According to reports, Auburn’s search for a defensive coordinator officially came to a close late Monday night, as the Tigers are set to hire D.J. Durkin as their new DC.

Durkin comes to Auburn after spending the past two seasons at Texas A&M, where he has served as the Aggies defensive coordinator. Under Durkin, the Aggies ranked No. 25 nationally in 2022 by allowing 21.2 PPG to opponents, with Texas A&M ranking No. 36 a year ago with 22.1 PPG allowed.

Prior to his time at Texas A&M, Durkin spent two seasons as the Co-DC at Ole Miss in 2020-21, as well as being a head coach at Maryland from 2016-17. As the head coach of the Terrapins, Maryland posted a combined 10-15 record during those two seasons.

Durkin has also served as a DC at one other stop in the SEC back in 2013-14 at Florida, leading the Gators’ defense to averages of 21.1 PPG allowed each year, respectively.

Combining with new co-defensive coordinator Charles Kelly, Durkin will now take over an Auburn defensive unit that ranked No. 43 in the country last season with an average of 22.6 PPG allowed.

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Heated rivalry game leads to a tie in the SEC standings

Alabama’s victory over No. 8 Auburn lands the two tied in the SEC standings.

There is never a dull moment when Alabama and Auburn face off, and lucky for college basketball fans, Wednesday night’s matchup was no exception. The No. 8 Tigers, who were 16-2 and 5-0 in SEC play, were riding an 11-game win streak when they traveled to Tuscaloosa to take on the Crimson Tide who were 13-5 and 4-1 in SEC play.

Unfortunately for Auburn, their in-state rival was looking to end their hot streak and did just that. The game looked over by halftime with Alabama up 14, but as we know in rivalry matchups, the game is never over until the clock hits zero.

A second-half push by Auburn got them to within three points with less than five minutes to go. The game remained close until the end, where Alabama’s Mark Sears hit two free throws to give the Crimson Tide a 79-75 lead with nine seconds remaining. This ended up being enough for Alabama to take the win.

After losing to Tennessee last Saturday, this bounce-back victory set the Crimson Tide up nicely in the SEC standings. Alabama and Auburn now both sit at 5-1 in SEC play, sharing first place in the conference. Tennessee remains half a game back at 4-1. As conference play is just getting started, the standings remain close and should be a battle until the end.

Alabama vs. Auburn could be SEC’s ‘Game of the Year’ so far

Alabama vs. Auburn could be SEC’s “Game of the Year” so far

Two of the conference’s top teams up to this point in the year, is the matchup in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night between Alabama and Auburn the “Game of the Year” in the SEC so far this season?

While “The Iron Bowl” will always be known for the showdown between the Crimson Tide and Tigers on the gridiron, and rightfully so, the matchup on the hardwood has in recent years blossomed into one of college basketball’s fiercest rivalries between the two in-state programs.

This season’s two matchups should be no different between Alabama and Auburn as well, the first of which comes Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa.

The SEC’s lone undefeated team in conference play remaining, Auburn comes to Tuscaloosa ranked as the No. 6 team nationally according to the latest Coaches Poll at 16-2 overall, as well as 5-0 in conference play. Sitting atop the SEC, Auburn is also one of the hottest teams in the country having won their last 11 straight games, and having scored 80+ points in each of their last three.

Alabama on the other hand sits just outside of the Top 25 at 12-6 overall, as well as 4-1 in SEC play. The Crimson Tide, who ranks No. 4 nationally with an average of 89.2 PPG offensively, are also coming off their first SEC loss of the year, which came Saturday on the road at Tennessee, and were playing very well before that defeat having won six-straight.

Combine the rivalry environment with those resumes, as well as the fact that Alabama and Auburn are two of the SEC’s top offensive teams, and it’s clear why Wednesday night’s game will be a must-see.

So, will the Crimson Tide hand Auburn their first SEC loss, or will the Tigers pick up a signature win in Tuscaloosa to remain unbeaten atop the conference? Only time will tell.

Auburn hires long-time Ole Miss assistant as offensive coordinator

Auburn hires long-time Ole Miss assistant as offensive coordinator.

Auburn’s search for an offensive coordinator has now officially come to a close, as long-time Ole Miss assistant coach Derrick Nix has been named the Tigers’ new OC.

Nix has spent the past 16 seasons as an assistant coach at Ole Miss, with a majority of that time, 12 seasons, spent as the Rebels’ running backs coach. The last four seasons have been spent as Ole Miss’ wide receivers coach, with Nix also considered a strong recruiter with obvious SEC experience.

Also coaching running backs at Auburn, Nix now inherits a Tigers offense that averaged 26.2 PPG a year ago to rank No. 74 nationally. That unit is also set to return quarterback Payton Thorne, among others, and has also added multiple impact new players through their 2024 recruiting class and the transfer portal.

Nix is now one of a few new staff additions recently for Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze, as well as the second coordinator hire joining Co-DC Charles Kelly.

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Pair of Auburn defenders enter portal as grad transfers

Auburn losing a pair of key defenders to the transfer portal.

According to reports, two members of the Auburn defense officially entered the transfer portal Tuesday afternoon, as Cam Riley and Donovan Kaufman announced their intentions to search for new opportunities in 2024.

Riley, who came to Auburn as a member of the Tigers 2020 class, has seen action each of the last four seasons on the Plains to amass a combined 120 tackles, eight TFL, and 2.5 sacks.

The linebacker has however played more of a prominent role for Auburn’s defense across the last two seasons, which has included 97 tackles, seven TFL, and 2.5 sacks during that span, as well as 32 tackles, 3.5 TFL, and 2.5 sacks in 2023.

As for Kaufman, the former Vanderbilt transfer has been a prominent name in the Tigers secondary across each of the last three seasons, which has included a combined 109 tackles, eight TFLs, two sacks, two INTs, six FFs, and one FR. Kaufman has also ranked top five in the SEC in forced fumbles twice (2021 and 2023) and is coming off a season in which he had 37 tackles, 4.5 TFL, one sack, one INT, and two FF.

Both Riley and Kaufman are now in the portal as graduate transfers.

Auburn lands veteran safety through transfer portal

Jerrin Thompson, a former All-Big 12 Honorable Mention in 2022, had close to 200 career tackles and five interceptions with the Longhorns.

After officially entering the transfer portal earlier this month, former Texas safety Jerrin Thompson now has a new home for the 2024 season, as he has committed to the Auburn Tigers.

Thompson is the eighth transfer portal commitment of the offseason so far for Auburn and the first in the secondary.

A former four-star prospect in the Class of 2020, Thompson was a multi-year starter in the Longhorns secondary, amassing a combined 176 tackles across the last four seasons. Thompson also had four tackles for loss and five interceptions from 2020-23, and he was named a 2022 Honorable Mention All-Big 12 selection with the Longhorns coming off a season in which he compiled 83 tackles, 0.5 TFL, and one interception.

Now entering his fifth season of college football in 2024, Thompson provides much-needed experience to an Auburn secondary set to lose a notable amount of production, including familiar faces such as Zion Puckett, Jaylin Simpson, Nehemiah Pritchett, and DJ James.

Thompson is now likely expected to be a day-one impact player in the Auburn secondary next fall.

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Two assistants resign from Auburn coaching staff

Two prominent assistants resign from Auburn, both played for the Tigers.

Hugh Freeze’s coaching staff on the Plains has undergone some change in the past 24 hours, as a pair of assistant coaches, Carnell “Cadillac” Williams and Zac Etheridge, have both announced their resignations from Auburn’s coaching staff.

Williams announced his decision late Thursday night, while Etheridge’s was announced early Friday morning.

A former star running back at Auburn from 2001-04, Williams has spent the last five seasons as the Tigers running backs coach, while also serving as the interim head coach after former head coach Brian Harsin was let go in 2022. Under the leadership of Williams, the Tigers would go 2-2 to finish out the 2022 season, which included a pair of victories over Texas A&M and Western Kentucky.

Etheridge, who was also a former on-field star for the Tigers from 2007-10, has served as the defensive backs coach at Auburn since 2021. According to 247Sports as well, Etheridge is now set to take an assistant coaching position at Houston.

Auburn fires offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery

Hugh Freeze will be looking for a new OC for 2024.

After finishing the season 6-7, the Auburn Tigers and head coach Hugh Freeze has made a change with his staff. It was announced Friday that former Tulsa head coach and Auburn offensive coordinator Phillip Montgomery has been fired following the struggles of the 2023 season.

The Tigers finished the 2023 season averaging 26.2 points per game, which was tied with North Carolina State, Iowa State, and Bowling Green for the No. 72 scoring offense in FBS. Against the SEC, that number dropped to 24.9 and No. 75 in the country.

Freeze announced the decision on Friday.

“I informed Philip today he would not be retained as our offensive coordinator. Philip is a good coach and a good man. Decisions like this are never easy, however, I decided this is best for our program moving forward. I’m appreciative of his efforts this past year and wish him nothing but the best.”

Freeze will need to find a new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. One particular name to keep an eye on is Kent Austin. He served in that role under Freeze with Liberty from 2019 to 2022. This past season he was the special assistant to the head coach/quality control coach for Auburn. It would likely be a seamless transition for both Austin and the Tigers head coach.

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