Tag: Auburn Football

Auburn EDGE coach Josh Aldridge to become defensive coordinator at ECU

After coaching Jalen McLeod and Keldric Faulk to success in 2023 and 2024, Aldridge is ready to take on a larger role at an AAC program.

The first coaching move of the offseason has officially taken place.

[autotag]Josh Aldridge[/autotag], who spent the previous two seasons as Auburn’s EDGE coach, departs the program for the defensive coordinator position at East Carolina according to a report by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Auburn’s EDGE rushers were arguably the strongest unit on Auburn’s defense the past two seasons under Aldridge. This season, [autotag]Jalen McLeod[/autotag] and [autotag]Keldric Faulk[/autotag] were the highest-graded defensive players according to Pro Football Focus at 85.5 and 84.7 respectively. The pair combined to create 74 quarterback pressures with 16 sacks and three forced fumbles. Backup EDGE rushers [autotag]Zykeivous Walker[/autotag] and [autotag]Amaris Williams[/autotag] had solid seasons as well by combining to make 13 pressures and 12 quarterback hurries.

McLeod found similar success in 2023 by creating 37 quarterback pressures with six sacks. As a freshman that season, Faulk made 36 tackles with a sack.

Before his time at Auburn, Aldridge spent four seasons under head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] at Liberty, where he began as a defensive line coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator, becoming a Broyles Award nominee in 2021. He has also spent time at Lenor-Rhyne and West Georgia.

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Freshman QB Walker White to enter transfer portal

White’s Auburn career concludes after just one season on the Plains.

One piece of disappointing news has surfaced on an otherwise positive day for Auburn football.

According to reports from multiple outlets, including On3 and 247Sports, Auburn freshman quarterback [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] intends to enter the transfer portal after spending one season on the Plains. The news comes hours after former Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold signed with Auburn as a transfer.

White saw action in one game this season, passing for 18 yards on two pass completions in Auburn’s 48-14 win over ULM on Nov. 16. The Little Rock, Arkansas native signed with Auburn as the No. 5 quarterback of the 2024 signing class and the No. 1 overall recruit from Arkansas.

Although disappointing, White’s decision to transfer is understandable. Auburn signed five-star quarterback [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag] to its 2025 recruiting haul and snagged Jackson Arnold from the transfer portal early in the cycle. [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and the Auburn coaching staff has also made contact with Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy and Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels, as it is expected that Auburn will sign another transfer portal quarterback this cycle to fill in for the departures of Payton Thorne, Holden Geriner, and Hank Brown.

Following White’s anticipated departure, Auburn will bring zero scholarship quarterbacks from 2024 into its 2025 season. Thorne has graduated, Brown will sign with Iowa as a transfer, and Geriner remains in the transfer portal at the time of this post.

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Running back Durrell Robinson commits to Auburn

Robinson finished last season with 731 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns with UConn

Former UConn Huskies running back [autotag]Durell Robinson[/autotag] committed to join the Auburn Tigers on Saturday. Robinson, who originally committed to Charlotte, played one season with UConn before entering the transfer portal earlier this month.

The 6-foot-1 speedster played his high school football at St. Frances Academy in Maryland, which has now become somewhat of an Auburn recruiting pipeline. 2025 Tiger signees [autotag]Blake Woodby[/autotag], [autotag]Bryce Deas[/autotag], and [autotag]Darrion Smith[/autotag] attended the school, and while none made much of an impact while Robinson was there, they did suit up on the same squad.

After playing sparingly with Charlotte in his redshirt freshman season, Robinson finished his first season with the Huskies with 731 yards and 8 touchdowns on just 107 carries. His 6.8 yards per carry led the team, finishing well ahead of starting running back Cam Edwards. The former three-star prospect received an offer from one SEC program during his recruitment process, the Kentucky Wildcats.

Still with three years of eligibility remaining, Robinson joins an Auburn backfield set to be led by senior [autotag]Damari Alston[/autotag] and freshman [autotag]Alvin Henderson[/autotag] next season.  While Alston is the likely candidate to garner the bulk of the carries and Henderson is sure to compete for playing time following his historically phenomenal high school career, Robinson could earn himself a change-of-pace role very similar to the one he had with the Huskies.

At the very least, [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and his staff now have a myriad of options in the 2025 backfield. We’ll see how the Tigers ultimately decide to move forward after losing [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag].

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Auburn football lands Oklahoma transfer QB Jackson Arnold

Has Auburn found its QB1 for the 2025 season?

Following the graduation of [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag], the Auburn Tigers must look to a new name to lead the offense as the team’s starting quarterback.

Their search may have ended on Saturday morning.

Pete Nakos of On3 reports that former Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold, who visited Auburn on Friday, has committed to the Tigers. He commits to Auburn after passing for 1,984 yards and 16 touchdowns in 16 games throughout two seasons.

Auburn head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] says that Arnold is a quarterback who can succeed at Auburn due to his understanding of the current offensive system.

“He’s as natural operating the RPO game as any kid mechanically that I’ve seen,” Freeze said Saturday. “I’ve seen enough on tape that he has a clear understanding of it. The thing that excites me the most is his mechanics are as good as they get. We’re not going to have to change a thing with that.”

Arnold signed with Oklahoma as the No. 4 quarterback of the 2023 recruiting cycle, a class that included Texas quarterback Arch Manning, Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava, and South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers. The Denton, Texas native won Gatorade Player of the Year for his state after a senior season in 2023 that saw him pass for 3,476 yards and 33 touchdowns while rushing for an additional 921 yards and 24 scores.

According to Auburn athletics’ official website, Arnold is the highest-rated quarterback (based on high school ratings) to sign with Auburn. Arnold, along with 2025 signee [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag], will be the first five-star duo to grace the Auburn quarterback room at the same time.

Arnold will now join a quarterback competition between redshirt freshman [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] and 2025 signee Deuce Knight. Following the departures of [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] and [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag], Auburn is expected to add one more quarterback to its 2025 depth chart. Names to watch for in this regard are former Duke QB Maalik Murphy and former Stanford QB Ashton Daniels.

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Former Tiger Hank Brown commits to Iowa

Brown will try to capture the starting job for the Hawkeyes next season

A former Auburn quarterback has found a new home. Shortly after entering the transfer portal earlier this week, sophomore quarterback Hank Brown committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday.

Despite playing well in relief duty of Payton Thorne in the Music City Bowl in 2023, the Nashville, TN native failed to earn the starting signal-caller job for the Tigers in 2024. Still, Brown eventually was thrust into the role after the aforementioned Thorne struggled early in the season. After a nice debut, Brown was forced back to the bench after a brutal three-interception first half against Arkansas.

Brown did not suit up again as the Auburn quarterback, and was seemingly demoted to the bottom of the depth chart after freshman Walker White saw “mop up duty” snaps late in the season. He finished his Auburn career with 403 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions in parts of four games with the Tigers.

Still with three years of eligibility remaining, Brown now joins an Iowa quarterback room that is almost empty following starter Cade McNamara and two of his backups decision enter the transfer portal themselves. While the Hawkeyes are likely to acquire a more seasoned starter as well, Brown likely has a better opportunity to earn the starting role than he would have had against five-star Deuce Knight, sophomore Walker White, and whichever transfer portal quarterback(s) Hugh Freeze and his staff bring to the Plains next season.

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SEC names four Tigers to All-Freshman squad

Several freshmen are being rewarded for their efforts this season with their first conference honors.

The Southeastern Conference has released its postseason awards for the 2024 season, and four Tigers have found a place within the All-SEC Freshmen team.

Auburn relied heavily on several freshmen this season, and they are being rewarded by earning their first conference honor. Wide receiver [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag], offensive lineman [autotag]Bradyn Joiner[/autotag], linebacker [autotag]Demarcus Riddick[/autotag], and cornerback [autotag]Jay Crawford[/autotag] were named to the SEC’s All-Freshman team, the league office announced this week.

Coleman had a spectacular first season on the Plains, ending the year as Auburn’s second-leading receiver behind Penn State transfer [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag]. The freshman from Phenix City logged 37 catches for 598 yards and eight scores in his debut season. He played a vital role in Auburn’s late-season wins over ULM and Texas A&M by hauling in over 100 receiving yards in both games.

Joiner saw action in 10 games as a redshirt freshman for the Tigers in 2024. After participating in 158 snaps over the first eight weeks of the season, Joiner took over the starting role at left guard over Auburn’s final five games. In 486 total snaps, Joiner allowed 11 pressures with three sacks.

Riddick played in 10 games this season in three different positions. He earned his first start in Auburn’s 31-13 loss to Georgia in October and would record two more starts by the season’s end. Riddick’s freshman campaign concluded with 27 tackles, three sacks, and a pass deflection. He made a season-high six tackles in Auburn’s loss to Oklahoma on Sept. 28.

Crawford wraps up Auburn’s representation after making 15 stops with seven pass breakups and an interception. According to Pro Football Focus, Crawford is the fifth-highest-graded freshman cornerback at 77.3. He earns the grade after allowing just 40.3% of passes to be caught and allowing just two opposing touchdowns.

In addition to Auburn’s four all-freshman nods, running back Jarquez Hunter and wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith secured All-SEC honors earlier this week.

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Former Auburn TE Micah Riley commits to fellow SEC program

Auburn will face Riley as part of its 2025 schedule.

The winter transfer portal opened this week, and 11 members of Auburn football’s 2024 roster entered in hopes of continuing their careers in a new setting. On Thursday, one of those players announced that he had found a new home.

[autotag]Micah Riley[/autotag], who played three seasons for the Tigers from 2022-24, shared Thursday on his social media accounts that he has committed to a fellow SEC program, Texas A&M. Riley tweeted a photo of him in a Texas A&M uniform with the “thumbs up” emoji, a nod to the Aggies’ “gig ’em” hand gesture.

Riley appeared in 24 games for Auburn over three seasons, totaling 200 snaps. His best season stat-wise was his redshirt freshman season in 2023 when he logged two catches for 40 yards and one touchdown. Last season, Riley caught a three-yard touchdown pass in Auburn’s win over New Mexico for his only reception.

Following the departures of [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag], [autotag]Brandon Frazier[/autotag], and [autotag]Luke Deal[/autotag] to graduation and the loss of Micah Riley and [autotag]Grant Hidalgo[/autotag] to the transfer portal, Auburn’s tight end room will be depleted heading into 2025. [autotag]Rico Walker[/autotag], a 2024 transfer from Maryland, as well as 2025 signees [autotag]Ryan Ghea[/autotag] and [autotag]Hollis Davidson[/autotag], are prime candidates to step in and take over the leading role of tight end next season.

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‘I like what I see so far’: Maalik Murphy enjoys recent visit to Auburn

Auburn made quite the impression on Murphy during his two-day visit.

Duke transfer quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag]’s recent visit to Auburn is credited as a success.

Auburn was the first stop on Murphy’s quest to find a new home after a successful redshirt freshman season at Duke. Murphy spent two days exploring Auburn’s campus and football facilities and meeting Auburn’s coaching staff. Murphy spoke with the media during his visit, where he broke down his positive experience on the Plains.

“This has been great,” Murphy said Wednesday. “Being here, being able to meet all the coaches, and be around the facilities, see the place for my first time. I’ve never been to Auburn before, and I like what I see so far.”

While on campus, Murphy spent time getting to know Auburn’s coaches and learning how he would be used in the offense should he sign with the Tigers. He listed that aspect of the visit as a positive as well.

“That’s huge for a quarterback, being able to relate to his head coach, and him being the guy that’s calling your play,” Murphy said. “So it’s been good to see it and kind of take mental notes of how I can see myself in the offense and produce.”

Murphy passed for nearly 3,000 yards and 26 touchdowns for Duke in 2024, his lone season following his transfer from Texas. According to Adam Cole of The Montgomery Advertiser, Murphy’s only scheduled visit so far and there is no timetable for a commitment. Auburn is looking to fill the void left behind by two-year starter [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag], as well as departing transfers [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] and [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag]. Auburn is also scheduled to host Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold for a visit this week.

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Texas A&M lands a commitment from former Auburn TE out of the transfer portal

Texas A&M has landed a commitment from former Auburn TE Micah Riley

Another one. Mike Elko is off to an early start in the portal earning his second commit since the transfer portal opened on Monday, as former Auburn tight end Micah Riley will be in Aggieland next season.

The tight end spot took a big hit after the season and Texas A&M needed to bring in someone with experience to fill out the TE room. Before this commitment, the Aggies only had three scholarship tight ends on the roster after Jaden Platt entered the portal and lost two senior contributors.

Riley has spent three years at Auburn where he served mainly as a depth player who mainly helped block along the line. Out of high school, he was ranked in the top 20 in the position in the 2022 class according to 247Sports and held over 30 offers.

In this offense expect to see more of what we saw at Auburn as he only caught three passes for 43 yards, but two of those receptions went for touchdowns. He’ll likely fill the role of Trey Watson and Shane Calhoun who need to be replaced after running out of eligibility.

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Auburn 2025 signees earning accolades at Alabama-Mississippi All-Star practice

Five new Tigers earned themselves spots on the On3 ‘Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game Top Performers’ list this week.

Auburn finished 2025 National Signing Day with the No. 6 ranked recruiting class in the nation according to most outlets, and some of those top ranked recruits are already making themselves well known. Five in particular, edge rusher Jared Smith, quarterback Deuce Knight, linebacker Jakaleb Faulk, and defensive lineman Malik Autry and Antonio Coleman, earned themselves spots on the On3 ‘Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game Top Performers’ list this week.

The list, which was made by On3 analyst Charles Power, highlighted the top 10 high school prospects that have made an impact through the practices leading up to the All-Star game on December 14. Smith, who was widely considered as a top 3 edge rusher in the 2025 cycle, was the highest ranked Tiger on the list, ranking in the No. 2 spot behind only Colorado signee Carde Smith. Deuce Knight also ranked in the top five, taking the No. 5 spot. Faulk (6), Autry (7), and Coleman (10), rounded out the rankings, giving Auburn spots in half of the 10-man list.

While Hugh Freeze is likely to bring in a transfer portal quarterback to compete with the aforementioned Knight, it is a major possibility all five future Tigers on this list receive a heavy snap share once they touch down on the Plains next season. With plenty of spots opening on the roster and the sizable talent influx set to reinforce Auburn’s roster next year, the Tigers are likely to have a much different look next season.

Standout individual performances by top ranked recruits like these could help propel players like Smith, Autry, Knight, Coleman, and Faulk up the depth chart as next fall approaches.

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