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VIDEO: Cam Newton’s throwing session at Auburn’s Pro Day
On Tuesday, Carolina Panthers great Cam Newton got back to his roots in an attempt to get back into the NFL. The former Most Valuable Player and Heisman Trophy winner hit his alma mater of Auburn University to throw for NFL teams during the program’s pro day.
Here’s how it went down.
Many believe Panthers legend Cam Newton is toast. But tomorrow, at Auburn’s pro day, he’ll get a chance to prove that he’s still the bread.
Many folks may believe Cam Newton is toast. But tomorrow, he’s going to try and prove that he’s still the bread.
As announced by Newton himself on Monday night, the Carolina Panthers great will throw at Auburn University’s pro day tomorrow. Apparently, the free-agent quarterback is still firm on the belief that there aren’t 32 *bleeper bleepers* better than him.
Newton, 33, has not played an NFL down since the 2021 campaign—when the Panthers brought him back for the final eight games of the season. He started five of the eight outings for Carolina—throwing for 684 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions while running for 230 yards and five scores.
The 2015 Most Valuable Player, obviously, has his sights set on a return to the gridiron. While the details on his workout in Auburn aren’t clear, Newton will get a chance to show executives, coaches and scouts that he’s still capable of playing under center in the league he once dominated.
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Auburn has hired Hugh Freeze as its head football coach
Hugh Freeze had the perfect resume for Auburn. He coached one season at Arkansas State, and that seems to be what qualifies you to run the Tigers football program.
Auburn hired a former Arkansas State coach, fired him, replaced him with a former Arkansas State coach, fired him and then replaced him with a former Arkansas State coach.
— Andrew Hutchinson (@NWAHutch) November 28, 2022
The trifecta goes: Gus Malzahn>Bryan Harsin>Hugh Freeze
Freeze was named Auburn’s football coach on Monday.
The head coach at Liberty from 2019-22, Freeze led the Flames to four bowl games and a 34-15 record. …
“After a thoughtful, thorough, and well-vetted search, we ended where we started, with Hugh Freeze,” Cohen said. “Of all the candidates we considered, Hugh was the best fit. Fit has several meanings, but the most important factors were student-athlete development, football strategy, recruiting and SEC experience.”
Freeze has experienced similar success at each of his head coaching stops prior to Liberty that include Lambuth University (2008-09), Arkansas State (2011) and Ole Miss (2012-16).
Freeze credited Cadillac Williams, who was the interim coach after Harsin was fired during the 2022 season.
“I want to acknowledge Cadillac Williams for the incredible job he did as interim head coach. The impact he made is immeasurable and cannot be overstated,” Freeze said.
Freeze’s first run in the SEC ended in scandal, as chronicled by The Auburn Plainsman:
Beginning Dec. 5, 2011, he served as the head coach of Ole Miss, during which time the Rebels went 6-6. By his third season, the team improved to a 9-3 regular season record.
In January 2016, the NCAA charged the University of Mississippi with multiple recruiting violations and upon a reopening of the investigation, it was discovered that players were receiving “impermissible benefits,” not monitoring assistants, not properly controlling the program and, most egregiously, soliciting female escorts on his work phone.
In July 2017, Freeze was given an ultimatum to either resign or be fired for violations of the ethics clause of his contract. In February 2019, the NCAA passed down its ruling on the program and vacated 27 of the team’s wins under Freeze.
Auburn has fired head football coach Bryan Harsin
Busy Moday for Auburn. The SEC school is in the process of hiring a new athletic director and in the same swoop, it decided to finally part ways with football coach Bryan Harsin.
Breaking: Auburn has fired head coach Bryan Harsin, the team announced. pic.twitter.com/BjLTPGdggM
— ESPN (@espn) October 31, 2022
Auburn fired Harsin less than two years into his six-year, $31.5 million contract, university president Dr. Chris Roberts announced.
“Auburn University has decided to make a change in the leadership of the Auburn University football program,” a release from the university said. “President Roberts made the decision after a thorough review and evaluation of all aspects of the football program. Auburn will begin an immediate search for a coach that will return the Auburn program to a place where it is consistently competing at the highest levels and representing the winning tradition that is Auburn football.”
Harsin’s firing is far from surprising. In fact, one could say it is amazing he lasted as long as he did after an awkward first season and offseason.
Harson was 9-12 with Auburn and 3-5 in 2022. He is owed 70% of what is left on his contract, or about $15 million.
Meanwhile, the Tigers are hiring Mississippi State AD John Cohen.
John Cohen has informed Mississippi State officials of his resignation from the school, sources tell @SINow.
The expectations is he will be named the Auburn AD as soon as today in a deal that was being finalized over the weekend.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 31, 2022
Auburn remains one of the most difficult places to coach in college football.
When Bryan Harsin stepped in as the head coach of Auburn football last December, he knew what he was getting into.
Harsin was stepping into a place where fans expected consistency and competitiveness. Tiger fans crave excellence in all phases of the game, but at the end of the year, there’s one thing Auburn fans want most: to beat Alabama.
Unfortunately, that’s hard to do.
Auburn has one of the most difficult jobs in college football because of the level of its rivals, and it’s hard for the Tigers to meet expectations that demand play on the same level of Georgia and Alabama when Auburn neither recruits nor coaches better than either of those schools at this point in time.
Lindsay Crosby of the ‘Locked on Auburn podcast‘ shared an interesting article with me written by ‘The Athletic.’ They just recently put out a list of their hardest Power Five jobs in college football, and Auburn was listed at seventh. The teams sitting in front of them included Vanderbilt, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, Washington State, and Miami.
Here is what The Athletic had to say about Auburn.
Auburn is already a difficult job most years, as a less consistentl ysuccessful program in its own state and with a fan base that wants to compete for SEC titles. But in the current state of college football, where Georgia and Alabama rule the annual recruiting rankings, Auburn and Tennessee are the only schools that have to play both each year because of annual cross-division rivalry games.
“That’s like an 8-4 job where everyone there thinks they should be national champ contenders,” one Group of 5 administrator said.
Added one Group of 5 assistants: “The Tennessee and Auburn people are friggin’ vicious.”
It’s a tough gig, for sure. Auburn fans may not realize how good they have it as opposed to some of the other mid-tier teams in the SEC, but unfortunately “mid-tier” is not what fans are looking for. Harsin preached patience when he was hired, and he’s going to continue to need to preach it for the next couple of seasons.
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What do you think about these predictions?
Week two had some wild outcomes in the SEC.
Arkansas beat no. 15 Texas like a drum. South Carolina hit a walk-off field goal to beat East Carolina. No. 7 Texas A&M survived a scare from Colorado and lost starting QB Haynes King in the process. Mississippi State hammered NC State. And Vanderbilt, who I still have no faith in, managed to pull out a win over Colorado State. I went 10-3 on my picks in the Southeastern Conference to put me at 19-6 (76%) on the season. This week, there are a lot more intriguing matchups on paper. Let’s dive in.
Here are my predictions for the week three slate.
Auburn soccer players Sarah Houchin and Hailey Whitaker were both honored by Top Drawer Soccer after Saturday’s 3-0 victory over USA.
Auburn soccer players Sarah Houchin and Hailey Whitaker were both honored by Top Drawer Soccer after Saturday’s 3-0 victory over South Alabama.
Make that 4⃣ straight weeks with a @TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week honoree.@sarahhouchin 🤝 @haileywhitaker_ #WarEagle
— Auburn Soccer (@AuburnSoccer) April 6, 2021
Houchin was named to Team of the Week marking the fifth time this spring an Auburn player received the acknowledgement. It was the second time for both Houchin and Whitaker who earned honorable mention accolades this week.
Houchin, a senior, led Auburn to it’s eighth shutout this season against the nation’s highest scoring offense. Saturday was Houchin’s 76th consecutive start for Auburn on the backline and she assisted on the Tigers’ first goal in the match. Not a bad way to close out Senior Day.
Whitaker, a junior, finished the game with two assists and scored the Tigers’ third goal in the game. After matching her career best with two assists and four points she was named this week’s Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Whitaker was recognized by Top Drawer Soccer last week after scoring the game winning goal against Alabama. This week marks her second honor in a row.
Head coach Karen Hoppa was elated that her players’ efforts continued to be recognized,
“Sarah and Hailey played key roles on the defensive and offensive side of the ball in our win last weekend. We’re glad to see them both recognized by Top Drawer this week.”
On Monday, Auburn University announced that senior gymnast Meredith Sylvia is a recipient of this year’s Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award.
On Monday Auburn University announced that senior gymnast Meredith Sylvia is a recipient of this year’s Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award.
🏆@AULiberalArts Professor Steven Brown + @cosamau students William Illiano and Meredith Sylvia are the 2021 recipients of the prestigious Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award.
👏Congratulations + #WarEagle!
➡️https://t.co/gdX4SSv8aC pic.twitter.com/mtcijR5mca
— Auburn University (@AuburnU) April 5, 2021
Each year Auburn University honors two senior students with the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. The award is named after notable New York attorney and humanitarian Algernon Sydney Sullivan who founded the New York Southern Society (now Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation) with the mission to promote,
“The welfare of mankind and to continue, carry out and further the philanthropies and philanthropic aims of the late Algernon Sydney Sullivan and Mary Mildred Hammond Sullivan, and more particularly to contribute funds for the support, education, maintenance, care and training of children of any age and circumstance.”
The award honors students who demonstrate exceptional character and integrity as well as a commitment to serve others.
Sylvia is set to graduate this spring with a degree in conservation biology. She plans to earn her Masters in Arts in education and become a middle school science teacher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEJTPTVhyY4
As a gymnast Sylvia was one of the Tigers most reliable specialists on the beam. The consistent SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient was also reliable within the Auburn community with service dedicated to the Lee County Humane Society, Our House, and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Since the start of the COVID19 pandemic Sylvia has assisted the Lee County Humane Society by providing care for more than 20 animals. Sylvia provided great relief to local overflowing animal shelters by becoming a foster home.
𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙂𝙍𝘼𝙏𝙎 to Meredith Sylvia! Thank you for serving the Auburn/Opelika community so well!
📰https://t.co/S6v4l9KoXj#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/dD0UHXCQMY
— Auburn Gymnastics (@AuburnGym) March 19, 2021
Through Our House Sylvia tutored and mentored local elementary and middle school students by assisting them with classwork. Our House is a non-profit organization that supplies resources to underprivileged families.
For several years now Sylvia and the Auburn gymnastics team have participated in the annual Downtown Trick or Treat event through the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The festive Halloween activity allows athletes to greet fans and pass out candy to kids. Individually she has visited several local elementary schools to encourage the importance of exercise and display her gymnastics abilities. Sylvia has taken part in several Habitat for Humanity service projects through Auburn SAAC by serving as a volunteer in 2017 and service project coordinator in 2019.
Auburn gymnastics’ season is over due to positive COVID-19 test results and contract tracing within the program.
Auburn gymnastics’ season is over due to positive COVID-19 test results and contract tracing within the program. The Tigers were scheduled to compete as the nation’s No.15 seed at the 2021 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Championships this upcoming weekend.
☹️#WarEagle https://t.co/hhwGe7OYuU
— Auburn Gymnastics (@AuburnGym) March 31, 2021
The team as well as individual specialists were hoping to prove themselves worthy of a qualifying spot in the national championship events scheduled to take place April 16-April 17.
The announcement was made Wednesday afternoon. Auburn University said that the decision is in compliance with COVID-19 management protocols established by the NCAA and the SEC.
Auburn’s Football Performance Center has been approved by the Board of Trustees and will cost $91.9 million
On Friday, Auburn University’s Board of Trustees officially blessed the construction of the new “Football Performance Center.” Auburn football will finally bid adieu to the athletic complex and may move into the facility as early as July 2022 if everything goes according to plan.
Site preparations for the facility began back in September when crews cleared 12.5 acres of land encompassing the former Wilbur Hutsell Track and Field and campus tennis courts. The facility itself is 233,400 square feet and will be located at the intersection of West Samford Avenue and Wire Road.
Bids for construction of the facility open next week and building costs are currently estimated to run at $88 million. The project itself is estimated to cost $91.9 million (site preparation: $3.9 million) and per Mark Murphy of 247Sports will be, “financed by a university bond issue with debt service to be paid by athletic department funds.”
The Football Performance Center will consist of the following amenities:
For more photos of the facility view our gallery here.
Auburn’s project summary of the Football Performance Center states, “The Football Performance Center will provide the Auburn University football team with the essential capabilities and resources needed to successfully compete with the Southeastern Conference and with national peer programs.”
Yann Cowart, Vice President of Sports Architecture for Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood of Montgomery, is the architect responsible for designing the facility. Cowart played center at Auburn under Pat Dye from 1983-1986.
Part of Auburn’s plan in implementing the new Football Performance Center is to also construct new campus tennis courts to replace those that were demolished during site preparation. Construction on the new recreational tennis facility is currently underway next to the old CDV apartments close to the intersection of West Thach Avenue and Hemlock Drive.
The 88,000 square feet athletic complex has been home to Auburn football as well as various other sports since its inception in 1989. Once the new football facility is completed, athletic operations currently housed in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum may move to the athletic complex which could expedite the university’s decision to demolish the former home of Auburn basketball.
