Tag: Austin Keys

Asante, Hunter headline Auburn’s Senior Bowl watchlist representation

Auburn football is well represented on this season’s watchlist.

The coveted Senior Bowl watchlist has been released, and Auburn is well represented.

A total of 14 players on Auburn’s roster made the cut, with linebacker [autotag]Eugene Asante[/autotag] and running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] headlining the representation.

Asante broke onto the scene last season by recording a team-leading 86 tackles with 8.5 going for a loss. He also tipped a pass and returned a fumble 67 yards for a touchdown in Auburn’s loss to Texas A&M. As for Hunter, he came close to reaching the 1,000-yard mark in rushing for the first time in his career last season. He ran for 909 yards and scored seven touchdowns while reeling in 18 passes for 118 yards.

Joining Hunter as offensive players to make the list are QB [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag], WRs [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Robert Lewis[/autotag], tight end [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag], and offensive linemen [autotag]Percy Lewis[/autotag] and [autotag]Dillon Wade[/autotag].

Thorne is projected to take a step forward this season thanks to the additions of Lambert-Smith and Lewis, who were stars at Penn State and Georgia State respectively. Fairweather will be a great threat in the passing game as he returns after hauling in 38 catches for 394 yards and six scores last season. Finally, Lewis joins an experienced offensive line after spending the previous two seasons at Mississippi State. Wade’s 819 snaps were the most among Auburn offensive players last season. In that frame, he allowed just two quarterback sacks.

Six defensive players were also labeled. Outside of Asante, DLs [autotag]Jayson Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen McLeod[/autotag], LB [autotag]Austin Keys[/autotag], and defensive backs [autotag]Keionte Scott[/autotag] and [autotag]Jerrin Thompson[/autotag] are also considered for a roster spot.

McLeod holds the highest grade among returning defenders from PFF with an 80.8, which was third-highest behind [autotag]DJ James[/autotag] and [autotag]Marcus Harris[/autotag], who has since departed for the NFL. Scott had a great season by leading all defensive backs in tackles with 42 with five pass deflections in 2023. He will team up with Thompson, who hauled in three interceptions at Texas last season, to provide experience to the Tigers’ defensive backfield. In two seasons at Auburn, Jones has complied 48 tackles with one registering as a loss.

The final representative on the Senior Bowl watchlist for Auburn is punter [autotag]Oscar Chapman[/autotag]. Chapman recorded 61 punts last season for a career-high average of 44.6 yards.

The 2025 Senior Bowl will take place on Saturday, Feb. 1 at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile. The game will begin at 1:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcasted live on NFL Network.

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Auburn adds LB Fa’Najae Gotay from transfer portal

Gotay recorded a career-best 44 tackles with 2.5 sacks at Maryland last season.

The Maryland to Auburn pipeline became stronger this week, as Auburn has added its third transfer from the Big Ten program in two seasons.

[autotag]Fa’Najee Gotay[/autotag], a linebacker formerly of Maryland, announced Thursday that he will continue his college career at Auburn after spending the last six seasons with the Terrapins.

He joins former Maryland tight end [autotag]Rico Walker[/autotag] by moving from College Park to Auburn ahead of the 2024 season. Auburn received contributions from former Maryland defensive tackle [autotag]Mosiah Nasili-Kite[/autotag] last season. In his lone season on the Plains, Nasili-Kite recorded 10 tackles before tearing his bicep in Auburn’s loss to Georgia in early October, prematurely ending his season.

Gotay enjoyed the most successful season of his college career in 2023 by recording 44 tackles with 4.5 registering for a loss with 2.5 sacks. His college career began in 2018 by playing four games for Maryland. He earned another season of eligibility in 2020 due to the COVID-shortended season, and was granted a medical redshirt in 2021 after an upper-body injury cut his season short after just one game.

Gotay comes to Auburn with 133 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, and two interceptions. According to Pro Football Focus, he averaged 170 snaps per season for Maryland, and participated in 668 snaps over the last two seasons.

Auburn’s linebacker room gains experience by adding Gotay. Gotay joins the group headlined by returners [autotag]Eugene Asante[/autotag] and [autotag]Austin Keys[/autotag]. Former Duke star [autotag]Dorian Mausi Jr.[/autotag] joins the roster this season to provide another block of experience while players such as [autotag]DJ Barber[/autotag], [autotag]Demarcus Riddick[/autotag], and [autotag]Robert Woodyard[/autotag] continue to develop.

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First half highlights: The Iron Bowl is tight through one half

Auburn is trailing No. 8 Alabama at the break at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Here are the plays that defined the Tigers’ first half play.

The first half of the 88th Iron Bowl is complete, and there is a fun finish brewing at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide leads Auburn at the break, 17-14 thanks to a few late scores in the 2nd quarter. Auburn’s Ja’varrius Johnson scored with 2:24 remaining in the half on a reverse play that was set up by a 56-yard rush from running back [autotag]Damari Alston[/autotag] on the previous play. Three plays later, Alabama took the lead back on a 68-yard pass from Jalen Milroe to Jermaine Burton with 1:33 to go in the first half.

The Tigers ended with 201 total yards after being able to gain just 74 in the 1st quarter, all on the ground. Hunter and Alston combined to rush for 153 of Auburn’s 181 rushing yards while [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] completed just 2-of-10 passes for 20 yards. Defensively, [autotag]Austin Keys[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen McLeod[/autotag] lead in tackles with four each.

Here are the plays that defined the first half between Auburn and Alabama.

Auburn makes one change to depth chart for game against Arkansas

The Tigers made just one change to the depth chart from last week.

Auburn is looking to pick up its third straight win and its second on the road when they face the Arkansas Razorbacks this Saturday.

The Tigers announced their depth chart for the game on Monday and there was just one change from last week’s edition, [autotag]Austin Keys[/autotag] is now listed as the only starter at middle linebacker. He was listed as a co-starter with [autotag]Larry Nixon III[/autotag] last week as he returned from injury.

Keys started and played 42 snaps in Auburn’s win over Vanderbilt, making three tackles, one sack and forcing one fumble. Nixon played 22 snaps and did not record a stat.

Here is a look at Auburn’s full depth chart.

Auburn shakes up depth chart for Week 9 matchup with Mississippi State

Austin Keys and Keionte Scott are back as starters after returning last week from injury.

Auburn returned two starters on defense last week and they are now back in the starting lineup ahead of Auburn’s Week 9 game against Mississippi State.

[autotag]Keionte Scott[/autotag] missed three games after undergoing ankle surgery but couldn’t be kept off the field against Ole Miss. He played 71 snaps and made five tackles and defended two passes and is back as the starting star cornerback.

Middle linebacker [autotag]Austin Keys[/autotag] also made his return after missing five games, playing 26 snaps and making four tackles. He and [autotag]Larry Nixon III[/autotag] are both listed as the starting middle linebacker for Mississippi State, separated by an OR

There was another change along the defense with [autotag]Justin Rogers[/autotag] now listed as the starting nose tackle after backing up [autotag]Jayson Jones[/autotag] all season, Jones is now the backup.

Rogers actually started against Ole Miss and played a season-high 42 snaps. He made the most of his opportunity, making four tackles, including one for a loss.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and Co. also tweaked the offensive depth chart, [autotag]Jeremiah Wright[/autotag] is now listed as a backup right guard with [autotag]Jalil Irvin[/autotag]. Wright was previously listed as the backup right tackle but has been replaced by [autotag]Jaden Muskrat[/autotag].

Here is a look at the complete depth chart.

Hugh Freeze provides injury update ahead of Auburn’s game against LSU

Hugh Freeze provided an injury report ahead of Auburn’s matchup with LSU.

Auburn had an extra week to get healthy ahead of their game against LSU but they are still pretty banged up [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] revealed Monday.

Starting linebacker [autotag]Austin Keys[/autotag] and nickel cornerback [autotag]Keionte Scott[/autotag] are both still out for the “foreseeable future.” He also reiterated that starting defensive end [autotag]Mosiah Nisili-Kite[/autotag] is done for the season.

He did provide positive news about starting safety [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag] who he expects to return.

“He’s day-to-day and said he’s feeling better each day, so I’m hopeful and expecting that he will go.”

Switching to the offensive side of the ball, running back [autotag]Damari Alston[/autotag] is doubtful, wide receiver [autotag]Malcolm Johnson[/autotag] is day-to-day and [autotag]Ja’Varrius Johnson[/autotag] is questionable with an elbow injury.

“So, that’s where we are,” Freeze said. “It’s the next man up, and we’ve got to get some of these younger kids to play more consistently. We worked on that hard last week in the open week. They got a ton of reps, because we’re going to need them before this season is over, with the remaining seven games we have.”

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Auburn DE Mosiah Nasili-Kite out for season with torn bicep

The veteran appeared in every game before suffering the injury against Georgia.

Auburn’s defense has lost yet another starter to injury, and this time it’s for the rest of the season.

Starting defensive end [autotag]Mosiah Nasili-Kite[/autotag] suffered a torn bicep in Auburn’s game against Georgia and will miss the rest of the 2023 season [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] announced Wednesday.

“Unfortunately, we lost Mosiah for the year,” Freeze said. “That’s really going to hurt us in the defensive line.”

Nasili-Kite played in all five games this season, making 10 tackles, 0.5 for loss and two quarterback hurries. True freshman [autotag]Keldric Faulk[/autotag] has emerged as his backup and will likely see a larger role moving forward.

Auburn is dealing with a rash of injuries and is hoping to use its bye week to get healthy ahead of next week’s game against LSU. On the offensive side of the ball, running back [autotag]Damari Alston[/autotag] is recovering from a separated shoulder and wide receiver [autotag]Ja’Varrius Johnson[/autotag] is battling a hamstring injury.

Defensively, safety [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag] left the Georgia game with a calf injury, defensive back [autotag]Keionte Scott[/autotag] is recovering from surgery to address a high ankle sprain and middle linebacker [autotag]Austin Keys[/autotag] is still weeks away from returning after breaking his thumb.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15

Auburn tweaks depth chart ahead of matchup with Samford

Auburn’s coaching staff has made several changes to the depth chart.

For the first time this season, Auburn has made some changes to its depth chart. The Tigers revealed their depth chart for their Week 3 game against Samford on Monday and there have been several changes on the defensive side of the ball.

The first is that starting middle linebacker [autotag]Austin Keys[/autotag] has been removed from it. This is no surprise after it was announced that he had surgery for a thumb injury and is out indefinitely, [autotag]Larry Nixon III[/autotag] has been elevated to the starter in his absence.

There has also been a change at weakside linebacker but this one is due to the breakout of [autotag]Eugene Asante[/autotag]. He was one of Auburn’s top players last week and led the Tigers with 12 tackles and is now listed as the starter.

The next change is at jack, where [autotag]Jalen McLeod[/autotag] is now listed as the starter. McLeod was held out in Week 1 as he recovered from an injury but was on the field for 57 snaps and made three tackles in Auburn’s victory over Cal.

Here is a look at the full depth chart ahead of their game against Samford Saturday night in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Brian’s Column: Auburn needs its linebackers to play better in week two

The Auburn Tigers run defense struggled in week one. This week they go up against a Cal team that had 357 rushing yards a week ago.

The Auburn Tigers are coming off a great 59-14 win over UMass in their home opener last Saturday. The offense was efficient, the special teams nearly broke multiple returns, and the defense was solid enough.

That defense relied heavily on their talent and size against the UMass Minutemen. While that worked against an inferior team, Auburn’s defense, specifically the linebackers, is going to have to play more fundamentally sound football if they hope to move to 2-0 after the dust settles on Saturday.

That means the quintet of [autotag]Cam Riley[/autotag], [autotag]Jack Levant[/autotag], [autotag]Robert Woodyard Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Wesley Steiner[/autotag], and [autotag]Larry Nixon III[/autotag] are going to have to step up against a Cal running attack that just gashed North Texas for 357 yards on the ground.

So what went so wrong for this group in week one and how do they fix it?

It all starts with knowing and staying with your assignments in order to avoid runs like this.

This run by UMass quarterback [autotag]Taisun Phommachanh[/autotag] is one of those plays Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts will want to show to his team once and then burn.

The minutemen run a simple counter. Defensive end #33 [autotag]Mosiah Nasili-Kite[/autotag] gets sucked into the misdirection, creating a need for the filling linebacker, #13 [autotag]Cam Riley[/autotag], to keep outside contain.

Instead of doing that, Riley shoots the c-gap, leaving him in no man’s land next to Nasili-Kite.

That leaves cornerback [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag] out on an island with Phommachanh, a matchup which the UMass quarterback wins with ease. From there, bad angles by the aforementioned Riley and weakside linebacker, #6 [autotag]Austin Keys[/autotag], allow Phommachanh to rumble for 31 yards.

Being out of position was a common theme for Auburn’s linebackers, even on simple play designs.

UMass runs a simple inside concept here, with the offensive line blocking straight up before the left guard comes off his double to the second level.

Again, [autotag]Cam Riley[/autotag] shoots the wrong gap, taking himself out of the play almost immediately.

Austin Keys is late to recognize the run, allowing UMass guard Marcellus Anderson to serve him up a fresh pancake. After Keys goes to the ground, Auburn is left with nobody on the outside, allowing running back [autotag]Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams[/autotag] to pick up a long gain.

Key’s and Riley weren’t the only Auburn linebackers that struggled in the opener.

The Tigers lose contain again on this run play, as [autotag]Elijah McAllister[/autotag] cheats too far inside, allowing [autotag]Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams[/autotag] to bounce his run outside for another large gain.

Again, the job of containment is passed on to a member of the secondary. Although cornerback [autotag]D.J James[/autotag] is a good tackler for his position and makes a nice read, he takes a bad angle and Lynch-Adams has an easy first down.

Bad reads, blown assignments, and missed tackles simply cannot happen often against a good Cal rushing attack. Auburn can’t rely on it’s speed to make up mistakes, as Cal running back [autotag]Jaydn Ott[/autotag] may be the best player on the field on Saturday.

The key for Auburn to win this game is simple.

The run defense just has to be decent enough to hold Cal to one or two big plays. If Jaydn Ott has green grass in front of him, he’s going to back up his trash talk and make the Tigers pay.

Saturday’s game should be a ton of fun, and it kicks off at 9:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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‘A name doesn’t mean anything.’ Cal running back Jaydn Ott throws shade at Auburn

The talented running back from Cal has provided his opponent with bulletin board material ahead of Saturday’s game.

The Auburn Tigers just received some bulletin board material ahead of Saturday’s matchup with 1-0 Cal.

Golden Bears running back [autotag]Jaydn Ott[/autotag] spoke to members of the media on Wednesday, making sure to let everyone know he is not afraid of Auburn.

“There’s a lot of focus on the name Auburn. But what I see on film is not really in comparison to what their name is,” Ott said Wednesday. “I just want to get that into my guys’ heads that a name doesn’t mean anything.”

Ott, who rushed for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns in Cal’s opener against North Texas, obviously sees holes in an Auburn defense that struggled to stop the run in 2022 and was only able to hold UMass to 5.5 YPG a week ago.

The Tigers defense also took a hit this week, and possibly longer, with MLB [autotag]Austin Keys[/autotag] injuring his thumb in last week’s game. Key’s figured to play a large role in Auburn’s defensive front seven this year, but will be “out for a while” according to head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag].

Ott’s words ultimately ring semi-true in the sense that Auburn was not close to the best version of themselves over the last few seasons. The often-feared Tigers played more like house cats under [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag]. The film, and the record, reflect that.

Still, Auburn has been in the midst of finding its identity under [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag], creating hype around the program once again. Quotes like this from opposing players are one surefire way to jumpstart a team coming together as one.

There is little doubt that Freeze and Co. will use Ott’s words to light a fire under this new-look Auburn team.

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Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch