Former Farragut and Texas A&M infielder transfers within the SEC.
The college baseball season ended on Monday with Tennessee defeating Texas A&M in the College World Series Finals.
Since the contest, Texas A&M utility player Jett Johnston entered the NCAA transfer portal. He announced his commitment to Auburn on Sunday.
“New beginnings,” Johnston said. “Blessed, excited and ready to get to work!! Fired up to be an Auburn Tiger.”
Johnston went to Texas A&M from Farragut High School in Farragut, Tennessee.
Johnston was a starting third baseman when Farragut won consecutive state titles in Tennessee from 2022-23. He appeared in 13 games, including three starts, as a freshman in 2024 at Texas A&M, recording two RBIs and five runs scored.
Carde Smith, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound four-star offensive tackle from Mobile, Alabama, has decommitted from in-state school Auburn. Smith was scheduled for an official visit to Mississippi State in Starkville, but he cancelled to attend the final summer recruiting weekend at USC. Smith had glowing comments about USC after his official visit last weekend.
The offensive line coach at USC, Josh Henson, has been under pressure from fans to land more highly rated prospects as graded by the recruiting services. This would certainly qualify if Henson can close the deal.
Fans should be reminded that the position that this would be a Henson’s fourth four star signee in as many years (Elijah Page and Micah Banuelos in 2022 and Jason Zandamela in 2023)
Despite securing early commitments from standout defensive prospects Justus Terry and Isaiah Gibson, USC defensive line coach Eric Henderson faced setbacks as both players eventually decommitted and were swayed by SEC schools. On the offensive line front, Henson initially gained commitments from top-tier prospects, as reported by national recruiting sites. However, these commitments did not materialize, with players like Manasse Itete changing their decisions before signing and Jason Zandamela transferring after signing day.
Those fans should be reminded that recruiting rankings are far from an empirical science, and one position that is missed often is offensive line when projections on growth potential can me missed. USC has players like Tobias Raymond who are the perfect example of what one year with Rachel Suba, the Director of Sports Nutrition and Bennie Wylie, USC’s Strength and Conditioning Coach can do. Sometimes it comes down to if that player has that “dawg” in them. Grossly underrated players like Alani Noa, Makai Saina and Hayden Treter play with strength and a nasty streak to close out plays that are often missed by these rankings.
As the fully funded NIL program at USC irons out the last wrinkles, the team is building depth on both offensive and defensive lines, a weakness that existed when Lincoln Riley arrived. Fans can expect USC to win more recruiting battles in the future as a result of this program. Additionally, the media and fans may be surprised by how undervalued some of the Trojan linemen were by recruiting services.
Getting Smith, if Henson can finish the job, would be a highly important and encouraging moment for USC football fans who are interested in star rankings, given the acute need for Henson to improve both on and off the field in 2024.
Carrollton (Georgia) five-star quarterback and Elite 11 finalist Julian Lewis has been very active this summer. He has made visits to Auburn, Alabama, Indiana and one remaining visit (his third total) to Colorado, all white remaining committed verbally to USC.
“The Tigers remain the fiercest competition for USC and Lewis has been on The Plains several times this calendar year including a recent 7v7 tourney his high school team won. Early returns from the visit to Auburn are strong per a source,” recruiting analyst Steve Wiltfong recently wrote.
“I’m still locked in with USC,” Lewis told Wiltfong. “That’s my spot, that’s where I’m at. I’m just running through the experience because you only get to do this one time, and everybody’s like — just enjoy what you have, enjoy the process. I’m going to go around and see how I feel with everything, but right now I’m 100 percent with Lincoln Riley and USC.”
The Max Preps Second Team All-American was one of 20 signal-callers from around the country in the three-day scouting competition in Los Angeles at the Elite 11 event this past week.
Lewis has dominated high school football through his two years of play, entering as one of the best players out of the gate. As a freshman, he threw for 4,118 yards and 48 touchdowns to 12 interceptions as he led Carrollton to a 14-1 record, according to MaxPreps. As a sophomore, he passed for 3,094 yards, 48 touchdowns and only two interceptions as Carrolton went 11-2.
Both served as assistant coaches for Karen Weekly at Tennessee.
“We are incredibly humbled and excited to be a part of the Auburn family,” Chris Malveaux said. “Kate and I are overly thankful to Karen Weekly and the entire Tennessee family for their sacrifices, opportunities and guidance these past three years.
“It is an honor to have the opportunity to lead this storied Auburn program into its next stage and are forever grateful for the trust of John Cohen and his incredible staff for believing in us. We can’t wait to get to work!”
You hear about it often, a rookie or free agent becomes a part of a new team, and the number they’re used to wearing is already taken. You’ll then hear stories of players offering cash, jewelry, or a present in order to get the number on their jersey that they want.
How much does that cost a player?
Well, former Notre Dame star quarterback Jimmy Clausen had a number in mind when the Carolina Panthers selected Cam Newton first overall in the 2011 NFL draft.
Cam Newton shared the story online recently. You can see the former Auburn great tell it in full below:
Cam Newton says Jimmy Clausen tried to charge him $1M for a Jersey number when he was in the NFL pic.twitter.com/j9tKjQLSsi
Adding Pritchett and James ensures the Seahawks have more options.
Everybody agrees the Seahawks got their first two picks in the 2024 NFL draft, including Pro Football Focus. There’s far less agreement about the choices they made on Day 3 of the draft, though. The biggest subject of debate concerns Seattle double-dipping at cornerback, a position where they already had one of the better units in the league going into this year. Critics have suggested they should have drafted a safety instead of another cornerback, or better yet a developmental quarterback.
Of course the front office has a slightly different-looking draft board than the ones fans and bloggers use during the offseason for their PFF mock drafts. According to a report by Jeremy Fowler at ESPN, the Seahawks had fourth-round grades for both Auburn cornerbacks Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James, who they landed in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively. Picking both was evidence they stuck with their board.
“Seattle has a deep cornerback room with Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen and Michael Jackson. So why add two corners — Auburn’s Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James — in the fifth and sixth rounds? Value and competition. From what we’ve heard, Seattle had fourth-round grades on both corners. The selection of Pritchett and James signified Seattle sticking to its board.”
In an ideal world, Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen will be starting for this team for a long time to come. That’s far from a guarantee, though. Either one could suffer a major injury next season, Woolen’s coverage might not ever get back to the 2022 level and Witherspoon may never become a great tackler, making him a liability against the run.
Adding Pritchett and James ensures the Seahawks have more options after this coming season, when it’s likely that veteran backups on one-year deals like Mike Jackson (who just took a paycut) and Artie Burns are out of the picture.
Watch Auburn cornerback D.J. James get the call from the Seahawks.
Some of the best content you’ll see every year is that of NFL draft prospects getting the call from the teams that pick them, fulfilling a life-long dream.
Watch Auburn cornerback D.J. James get the call from the Seahawks.
James (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) may be the most polarizing pick that Seattle made this year.
While James’ college production was strong (five interceptions, 24 pass breakups, 108 tackles) and his PFF grades superb (his 88.9 coverage grade in 2023 ranked 10th in the nation at his position), there are some concerns about this particular pick.
For one thing, the Seahawks had already used a pick on another cornerback the previous round, taking James’ teammate Nehemiah Pritchett with the first pick in Round 5. Seattle had needs at safety and offensive line and it wouldn’t have been a terrible idea to pick a developmental QB instead of another cornerback, considering how strong that unit already was. That’s hardly James’ fault though, and the team claims they had a fourth-round grade on him.
One legitimate yellow flag is James’ Relative Athletic Score score (5.82), which was the worst of the team’s eight picks in the draft. While he has awesome speed, James posted poor scores in size and agility, which could be problematic at the next level where James may find himself too small to play the boundary and not quick enough for the slot.
Then again, we can think of a couple defensive backs who also had pretty atrocious RAS scores who turned out alright. Quandre Diggs posted a 2.24 score coming out of Texas and was good enough to make three straight Pro Bowls for this team. Tyrann Mathieu had a 3.94 RAS score and has gone on to be a three-time All Pro and win a Super Bowl.
Point being, it doesn’t hurt to score well but it’s not a prerequisite for success in the NFL. Each draft pick is a gamble and time will tell which way James will go. Intangibles like coaching and exactly how much dog he has in him will be far greater factors than whatever his athletic testing says about his game.
Apparently the Seattle Seahawks believe you can never have too many cornerbacks.
Apparently the Seattle Seahawks believe you can never have too many cornerbacks.
With the No. 192 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft, they have selected Auburn cornerback D.J. James, just two rounds after picking his teammate, fellow corner Nehemiah Pritchett.
James (6-foot-0, 185 pounds) played his first three years of college ball at Oregon, where he appeared in 25 games. He transferred to Auburn in 2022 and broke out, posting three interceptions and 18 pass breakups over the next two seasons.
For now James should project as a backup behind Riq Woolen at the right boundary spot, but he may need to out-compete a few other corners before he sees any playing time outside special teams.
The Broncos have their quarterback of the future! Check out Bo Nix’s highlights here.
The Denver Broncos made a first-round pick in the NFL draft for the first time since 2021 on Thursday night, selecting Oregon quarterback Bo Nix 12th overall.
Nix was a three-year starter at Auburn, before transferring to the University of Oregon for two seasons. Nix finished third in the 2023 Heisman Trophy voting, after a season of career highs.
In 2023, Nix passed for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns and three interceptions with a 77.4 percent completion percentage.
In two seasons with the Ducks, he had almost as many completions as he did in three seasons with the Tigers (628 at Auburn, 658 at Oregon).
Nix was the sixth quarterback selected in the first round (as of publication), behind Michael Penix Jr, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels and J.J. McCarthy, which ties an NFL record. The number of quarterbacks ties the famous 1983 NFL draft, when former Broncos quarterback and future Hall of Famer John Elway was taken first overall.
The Auburn men’s golf team has never had a golfer like Koivun.
The Auburn men’s golf team has never had a golfer like Jackson Koivun.
Although he’s only a freshman and hasn’t even completed his inaugural season in college, Koivun is making his mark as one of the best Tigers in program history. He had one of the best regular seasons in team history, and he’s prepared to lead the top-ranked Tigers into the SEC Championship and NCAA postseason.
All he has to do is continue to play like he has in his first 10 events.
Look no further than the Auburn record books, which is going to need plenty of updating after this season.
Just in Auburn’s 10 regular-season events, Koivun has set the freshman records for top-10 finishes (9), rounds in the 60s (13) and sub-par rounds (21).
But forget just freshman records. Koivun is on pace to break the single-season scoring average mark (he’s at 69.47; the old mark is Brendan Valdes at 70.03 last year); Koivun has twice tied the 54-hole tournament scoring mark of 17 under and if he continues at his current pace, he could set the mark for single-season sub-par rounds (24), rounds in the 60s (16) and top-10 finishes (9).
“He came out of high school as the best junior in the country, and he’s just very mature,” Auburn coach Nick Clinard said. “He’s got a calmness and maturity about him on and off the golf course.”
A lot of those attributes Clinard credits to Koivun are things he has worked on since arriving on campus.
Last summer, Koivun struggled during the Elite Amateur Series. His best showing was at the Western Amateur, where he had three rounds in the 60s but still missed the match-play cut.
Heading into the U.S. Amateur, he didn’t have many expectations, but whatever he did had, he blew them out of the water.
“You know, you get up there and you see all of these names,” Koivun said. “All these people that have done all these things. But I started making a run, and it opened my eyes that I belong here and I can do great things as an amateur.”
Jackson Koivun shakes hands with Blades Brown’s caddie Jack Bethmann after Koivun during the round of 32 of the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills. (Photo: Chris Keane/USGA)
Koivun earned the No. 32 seed for match play and won 1 up in the Round of 64. Then he took down top-seeded Blades Brown 4 and 3 in the Round of 32. Up next, he dispatched Matthew Sutherland in 19 holes to move on to the quarterfinals. Then, he took on Nick Dunlap and gave the eventual champion his hardest match of the week, losing in 19 holes.
But Koivun’s mentality changed. He grew tougher and learned a lot about himself. He was ready to compete on the biggest stage and could battle with the best in the amateur game.
And that’s exactly what he has done this season.
In his first collegiate start, he finished T-2 at the Mirabel Maui Jim in Arizona. He added two more top-10 finishes and a T-19 to close out the fall.
The spring has been even better. He has lost to only 10 golfers in six starts, picked up his first victory at the Wake Forest Invitational at Pinehurst No. 2 and his worst finish is T-4. He’s squarely in contention for the Phil Mickelson Award, given to the nation’s top freshman, and the Fred Haskins Award, given to the nation’s top player.
“It’s great to play good golf in the fall and the spring,” Koivun said, “but nationals is where it’s all at. It’s make or break. That’s where my attention has been at.”
Clinard said Koivun’s practice has improved since he got to Auburn, meaning he’s more focused during practice and not just pounding golf balls on the range like a lot of juniors do. Having one of the best teams int he country helps, too, with many of his teammates also pushing Koivun.
Qualifying rounds can be pretty competitive, leading to some animated competition between teammates, but all of that has pushed Koivun to be one of the best golfers in the country this year. As a squad, Auburn has lost to only four teams all season.
If the rankings are any indication, SECs should come down to No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Vanderbilt for the title. Perhaps Koivun will match up with Vanderbilt superstar and World No. 1 Gordon Sargent come match play.
It’s something he would welcome because he knows it would be a growing experience, win or lose.
Auburn’s Jackson Koivun. (Photo: Lucas Peltier)
Koivun’s father, George, taught him the game. Koivun guesses the first time he beat his dad was when he was 7, but he attributes where he is now to his parents for their teaching and guidance. Clinard said that guidance is a big foundation for Koivun, and he has only grown as he has come into his own.
“He’s like a sponge,” Clinard said of Koivun. “He wants to learn. He wants to get better. He wants to know what it’s going to be like on Tour and what it’s going to be like when pins are tucked and greens are firmer and faster. And what he has to do to win, not just play well.”
Those lessons instilled in Koivun since his junior days have grown as he has gotten comfortable in college, and he has become one of the best amateurs in the game.
Koivun has put together one of the best seasons in Auburn history, but as he acknowledges, it’s what he does in the postseason that matters the most.
