Tag: auburn football news

Lee Hunter named one of 247Sports freshmen to watch in SEC

The true freshman from Blount High School in Eight Mile, Alabama is expected to contribute immediately for Auburn in 2021.

Auburn needs some help along the defensive line. Could that assist come in the form of true freshman Lee Hunter?

The writers over at 247Sports think so as they have Hunter listed as one of the freshman in the SEC to watch during the 2021 season.

Auburn’s defensive tackle room is rather unproven, and Hunter, who ranked as the Tigers’ top overall signee in 2021, has an excellent chance to break into the rotation right away. Hunter brings college-ready strength to The Plains at 320 pounds, and his nastiness in the trenches pops up on film. There’s a need inside, too. In fact, nobody on the interior of Auburn’s defensive line finished with better than a 59 PFF Grade last year. Auburn is resetting at this spot, and Hunter has a great chance to play a lot even with UAB transfer Tony Fair joining the roster.

From Blount High School in Eight Miles, Alabama, Hunter was a four-star signee and ranked the No. 7 defensive tackle in the nation. He should contribute immediately as a key player in the trenches for Derek Mason’s defense.

Vegas releases lines for six Auburn football games in 2021

The oddsmakers in Vegas have released early lines for six of Auburn’s most crucial games during the 2021 season.

The people in Vegas are not high on what Bryan Harsin and the Auburn Tigers can accomplish in 2021.

Oddsmakers have released lines on six crucial Tiger games for the upcoming season including the trip to Penn State, the rivalry game against Georgia and the Iron Bowl.

Let’s take a look at each one.

Auburn lands defensive end transfer Marcus Harris

Auburn added depth to its defensive line on Friday with the commitment from Kansas defensive end transfer Marcus Harris.

Auburn just added some depth to its defensive line.

On Friday, Kansas defensive end transfer Marcus Harris announced his commitment to the Tigers.

From Montogomery, Alabama, Harris recorded 27 total tackles (17 solo) and a team-leading 7.5 tackles for a loss for Kansas as a redshirt freshman in 2020.

Top 10 SEC running backs for 2021 season

Ranking the top 10 SEC running backs for the 2021 college football season.

SEC talent is always at the top of college football, and this year is no different, especially when it comes to running backs.

In 2020, the league’s rushers were led by Alabama Heisman finalist Najee Harris, who was drafted in the first round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in this year’s NFL draft.

But who will lead the rushing attacks for SEC programs in 2021?

We rank the top 10 SEC running backs for 2021 by production and overall ability:

Predicting every SEC team’s final 2021 record

Predicting all 14 SEC teams’ records for the 2021 college football season.

We are less than four months away from the start of the 2021 college football season and that means many predictions will start to come out.

While many things can change between now and opening weekend, we do have a good feel of how the SEC teams will perform after spring practice and looking at their schedule.

Let’s take a look at our predictions for each SEC team’s final regular season record for the upcoming season.

Ranking Auburn’s 2021 schedule game-by-game from easiest to most difficult

Taking a look at Auburn football’s 2021 schedule and ranking each opponent by the difficulty of the game for the Tigers.

Coaches will tell you that every game, no matter the opponent, brings a different challenge.

While we understand they say this to keep their team focused, there are some games that are just going to be more difficult than others.

In 2021, Auburn faces a gauntlet of a schedule with trips to Penn State, LSU and Texas A&M while hosting Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss.

But which games should be the easiest for the Tigers in Bryan Harsin’s first year and which ones will provide more difficulty? Glad you asked. Here is a game-by-game ranking of each opponent on Auburn’s 2021 schedule, starting with the easiest.

Note: Scale runs from 1 (easiest) to 10 (hardest).

Auburn cracks top 10 in ESPN’s future defense power rankings

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg has Auburn’s defense in the top 10 of his future power rankings heading into the 2021 season.

There’s a new man in charge on the Plains of Auburn’s defense as Derek Mason has taken the throne after Kevin Steele made the Tigers one of the most fierce defenses in his six years and the expectations for Mason’s first defense is quite high.

While the defensive front has to work itself out, Auburn is more than loaded at the linebacker and secondary positions with Owen Pappoe, Zakoby McClain, Smoke Monday, Roger McCreary and the crew leading the way.

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg thinks highly of the Tigers defense, ranking them No. 10 in his future power rankings.

Scouting the Tigers: Auburn didn’t fire head coach Gus Malzahn because of the defense, a unit that should continue to thrive under new coordinator Derek Mason. The Tigers lose some key parts — do-it-all safety Christian Tutt and linemen DaQuan Newkirk and Big Kat Bryant — but bring back one of the nation’s top linebacker groups and more than enough talent elsewhere. Junior Owen Pappoe and senior Zakoby McClain will lead the unit in 2021 after combining for 206 tackles, including seven sacks, last fall. Senior Chandler Wooten, who opted out in 2020, is back, and linebackers such as Cam Riley and Wesley Steiner should take over in 2022, along with sophomore edge rusher Derick Hall (3.5 sacks in 2020). Senior cornerback Roger McCreary (three interceptions, seven tackles for loss in 2020) is a nationally elite player and could pair with West Virginia transfer Dreshun Miller. Veteran safety Smoke Monday also returns. The long-term outlook is solid at cornerback (junior Nehemiah Pritchett, sophomore Jaylin Simpson) and at safety (sophomores Ladarius Tennison and Chris Thompson Jr.).

Mason’s development of the line is worth watching. Auburn will miss its departing players but returns sophomore end Colby Wooden, who earned SEC All-Freshman honors after recording 9.5 tackles for loss (four sacks) in 2020. Zykeivous Walker also saw playing time as a freshman end, and Auburn adds Dylan Brooks, ESPN’s No. 5 end and No. 18 overall recruit for 2021. The Tigers also pick up two coveted interior line recruits in Lee Hunter, a top-60 overall prospect, and Marquis Robinson. They join tackles such as senior Marquis Burks, junior Dre Butler and sophomore Jay Hardy. Auburn’s overall line depth looks very good through 2023.

It will be interesting to see how the defense comes along in Mason’s first season in charge.

Auburn transfer Jaren Handy commits to Big Ten program

Former Auburn defensive lineman Jaren Handy has committed to the Indiana Hoosiers.

Jaren Handy is going from the SEC to the Big Ten.

On Wednesday, the former Auburn defensive lineman who entered the NCAA transfer portal last week announced his commitment to Indiana.

The Hoosiers are an up-and-coming program under head coach Tom Allen, finishing last season 6-2 including 6-1 in conference play.

As a sophomore last season, Hardy posted three total tackles with two tackles for a loss and a sack in a backup role.

Updated BetMGM Heisman Trophy odds for Tank Bigsby, Bo Nix

Auburn running back Tank Bigsby and quarterback Bo Nix are among the players listed in the latest Heisman odds by BetMGM.

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Could Auburn have a battle for who wins the Heisman Trophy in its own backfield?

Probably not, but the people over at BetMGM are putting two Tigers on their list of potential contenders.

Auburn sophomore running back Tank Bigsby, expected to be one of the top backs in the nation, comes in at +6600 on the board while junior quarterback Bo Nix, who quarterback coach Jordan Palmer thinks can be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, is a bigger long shot at +10000.

Bigsby rushed for 834 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman last season while battling injuries during the final part of the schedule. Pro Football Focus has named him the top returning running back for this upcoming season.

Nix, who regressed as a passer as a sophomore, threw for 2,415 and 12 touchdowns while getting intercepted seven times. He completed just 59.9 percent of his passes in the 11 games while also rushing for seven scores.

Here are the top 10 favorites for the 2021 Heisman Trophy:

Odds courtesy of BetMGM, The King of Sportsbooks. 

Spencer Rattler (Oklahoma QB) – +300

DJ Uiagalelei (Clemson QB) – +500

JT Daniels (Georgia QB) – +600

Sam Howell (North Carolina QB) – +700

Bryce Young (Alabama QB) – +1000

Keldon Slovis (USC QB) – +1200

D’Eriq King (Miami QB) – +1200

Matt Corral (Ole MIss QB) – +2000

Jayden Daniels (Arizona State QB)   – +2500

Isaiah Spiller (Texas A&M RB) – +2500

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Pro Football Focus ranks Tank Bigsby as top returning running back

Pro Football Focus has named Auburn sophomore Tank Bigsby as the top returning running back for the 2021 season.

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Welcome to the hype, Tank Bigsby.

The Auburn sophomore has been listed as the top returning running back for the 2021 season by Pro Football Focus.

Bigsby was one of the most impressive true freshmen of the 2020 class, finishing as the fifth-most valuable first-year non-quarterback in the country, per PFF Wins Above Average (WAA). For those who don’t know, running backs actually do matter in college football.

The 2020 four-star recruit — who ranked 40th nationally, according to 247Sports — was easily among the most elusive ball carriers in college football last year. His strong contact balance was on full display as he came away with the fifth-most broken tackles per attempt (0.34) in the FBS.

The 6-foot, 204-pound freshman was the third-highest-graded ball carrier in the FBS behind Javonte Williams and Khalil Herbert before suffering an injury in Week 12 against Tennessee.

Bigsby is expected to be the stud of the Auburn offense under new head coach Bryan Harsin and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo after rushing for 834 yards and five touchdowns during a shortened 2020 season.