Tag: Cadillac Williams

27 Days, 27 Picks: RB Cadillac Williams

The latest player in our 27 Days, 27 Picks series recently won two games as Auburn’s interim head coach in 2022.

In 27 Days, 27 Picks, Bucs Wire will analyze the last 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-round draft picks, one for each day leading up to the 2023 NFL draft. We’ll take a look at the player’s college stats, their pre-draft numbers (either via the NFL Combine or their Pro Day), their NFL stats, some player footage and analysis at the end on whether the pick itself was a good one.

Our next player in the series was an electric running back at Auburn (a team he recently led to two wins as an interim head coach in 2022), but ended up being another cautionary tale about drafting running backs in the first round.

Check out the draft rundown on [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] below:

Jarquez Hunter listed as a breakout contender by Mike Farrell Sports

The staff at Mike Farrell Sports entertains the idea of Hunter being the SEC’s leading rusher in 2023.

[autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] has made a difference since arriving at Auburn for his freshman season in 2021. Making an instant impact in a backfield shared with [autotag]Tank Bigsby[/autotag] was a challenge, but Hunter answered by carrying for 593 yards and three touchdowns off of 89 carries.

The 2022 season was an even better year for the Philadelphia, Mississippi native as Hunter rushed for 675 yards and seven touchdowns off of 104 carries.

An article from Mike Farrell Sports written by Matt Perkins listed Hunter as the top bet for an SEC player to have a breakout season.

“The departure of Tank Bigsby, coupled with the offensive system brought in by [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag], make Hunter a big-time breakout candidate in 2023. Retaining [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] on the coaching staff will also be a blessing for Hunter, who has a really good chance to lead the SEC in rushing.”

Hunter will be taking on a bigger role for the Tigers in 2023 as he is expected to be the lead running back and take the most carries. Sophomore [autotag]Damari Alston[/autotag], South Florida transfer [autotag]Brian Battie[/autotag], and incoming freshman [autotag]Jeremiah Cobb[/autotag] will also have roles in the rebuilt offense that will feature an improved offensive line unit up front.

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Auburn earns spot in 2024 receiver’s top schools list

Auburn is in the mix to land a priority four-star receiver from Tampa, Florida.

Auburn will look to boost its receiver room in the 2024 recruiting cycle and is on its way to making it happen.

[autotag]T.J. Moore[/autotag], a four-star receiver from Tampa, Florida, recently dropped his top 13 choices, and Auburn is in the mix.

Auburn was one of the first schools to extend an offer to Moore by joining Central Michigan and UCF in doing so last August. Since then, Moore has earned 36 offers from Power Five programs including USC, Michigan, Oregon, and Texas.

Since the start of the Hugh Freeze era, [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] and wide receivers coach [autotag]Marcus Davis[/autotag] have taken over as Moore’s primary recruiters. This helps, as Moore plays high school for former Auburn receiver [autotag]Jeris McIntyre[/autotag] at Tampa Catholic.

According to a scouting report by Andrew Ivens of 247Sports, Moore is a “big play wide receiver with exceptional hands” and “should be viewed as a potential WR1 at the Power Five level.” In his 11th-grade season at Tampa Catholic, he caught 42 passes for 1,021 yards and 13 TD.

Moore is a 6-3, 190-pound four-star wide receiver that ranks No. 21 in the nation at the position and is the No. 22 overall prospect from Florida for the 2024 cycle. The 2024 recruiting class for Auburn currently ranks No. 22 according to 247Sports and is headlined by four-star QB [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] and four-star RB [autotag]J’Marion Burnette[/autotag].

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Five-star CB Na’eem Offord has a specific game he wants to return for

Auburn is firmly in the mix for the No. 1 corner in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Five-star cornerback [autotag]Na’eem Offord[/autotag] is one of the top prospects in the 2025 recruiting cycle and essentially every program in the country wants him.

Fortunately for Auburn, the 6-foot-1, 175-pounder is from Birmingham and has plenty of interest in the Tigers. Auburn offered him a scholarship last year when he visited to watch the Mercer game and he returned in March to check out the program.

He recently spoke with Cole Pinkston of On3 and it’s safe to say that he enjoyed the visit.

“I like them, I like them,” Offord said. “Still top-tier.”

Offord is the No. 6 overall player and No. 1 cornerback in the On3 Industry Rankings. He is also the No. 1 player from Alabama for the 2025 cycle.

He is being recruited by [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Zac Etheridge[/autotag], arguably Auburn’s top two recruiters, and the duo has Auburn firmly in the mix to land the talented corner.

The Parker High School star is eager to return again and is already planning to return when Auburn faces Ole Miss on Oct. 21.

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Twitter reacts to Auburn landing four-star running back J’Marion Burnette

The Tiger faithful were pretty excited about the addition.

Once again, [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] got his guy. This time it’s four-star running back [autotag]J’Marion Burnette[/autotag], who committed to the Tigers on Friday.

Williams and Auburn offered Burnette a scholarship all the way back on April 7, 2022, and watched him become one of the most coveted running backs in the country. Despite pushes from Alabama, Georgia, and nearly every other top program Auburn was able to come out on top.

The Andalusia native is a bruising back at 6-feet-1 and 225 pounds who loves to use his size and athleticism to run between the tackles and through any defenders.

He is the No. 158 overall player and No. 10 running back in the 247Sports Composite ranking. He is also the No. 8 player from Alabama.

The massive commitment fired up the Auburn fanbase which took to Twitter to celebrate, here are the top reactions.

Auburn football adds fourth commit of the 2024 class

Four-star RB J’Marion Burnette has joined Auburn’s star-studded 2024 commitment list.

Ever since he committed to Auburn on Feb. 3, four-star QB [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] has been recruiting the top prospects from the 2024 recruiting cycle heavily.

On Friday, one of his top targets made their pledge to Auburn.

J’Marion Burnette, a four-star running back from Andalusia, announced Friday that he will be committing to Auburn and head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] over Alabama, Georgia, and Florida State.

Burnette’s commitment will add to an already talented running back room for Auburn. [autotag]Jeremiah Cobb[/autotag] will join the roster this fall, and there is the possibility that [autotag]Damari Alston[/autotag] and [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] could still be in the rotation in 2024. According to Auburn Undercover, Auburn is also heavily pursuing Tuscaloosa County running back [autotag]Kevin Riley[/autotag] as well.

His relationship with running backs coach [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] is what seems to have pushed Burnette in Auburn’s direction. He told Christian Clemente of AuburnUndercover during Junior Day on Jan. 28 that he has built a strong relationship with Williams, and that he “could see him coaching me in the future.”

Burnette is a four-star running back from Andalusia High School. He is the No. 10 prospect from the state of Alabama for the 2024 cycle and is the nation’s No. 10 running back. He joins a strong list of players that are committed to Auburn for the 2024 class which includes four-star QB [autotag]Walker  White[/autotag], four-star CB’s [autotag]A’Mon Lane[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayden Lewis[/autotag].

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Key Auburn running back target J’Marion Burnette sets commitment date

Auburn is one of his 10 finalists.

Four-star running back [autotag]J’Marion Burnette[/autotag] is one of Auburn’s top targets at running back and his recruitment will be coming to a close soon.

According to Christian Clemente of Auburn Undercover, he will be announcing his commitment Friday.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Burnette is from Andalusia, Alabama, and has a top 10 of Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan, Penn State, Texas, Oregon, and Florida State.

He is the No. 158 overall player and No. 10 running back in the 247Sports Composite ranking. He is also the No. 8 player from Alabama.

He has visited Auburn multiple times and has spoken glowingly of Auburn running backs coach [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag]. Burnette rushed for 1,479 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. He averaged 133.9 yards per game as he led Andalusia to a 14-1 record.

Auburn has received two Crystal Balls to land Burnette by 247Sports writers.

The Tigers currently have three commitments in their 2024 recruiting class, four-star quarterback Walker White and four-star cornerbacks Jayden Lewis and A’Mon Lane.

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‘Big-boy ball’ awaits transfer Brian Battie at Auburn

Battie was a 1,000-yard rusher in 2022 at South Florida. Now, he has the chance to prove his talents against SEC competition.

After Tank Bigsby announced his intentions to declare for the NFL draft following his junior season, Auburn’s running back room remained stacked with talent, but a question mark arose in the form of experience. That all changed the day that [autotag]Brian Battie[/autotag] arrived on campus.

Battie, a 1,000-yard rusher last season at South Florida, brings in three years of starting running back experience to mesh with the returning talent of [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] and [autotag]Damari Alston[/autotag]. Mixing in those three with incoming freshman [autotag]Jeremiah Cobb[/autotag], and Auburn potentially owns one of the SEC’s top running back units.

Running backs coach [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] says that Battie will bring a natural running style to the Tigers’ offense.

I know he’s a smaller guy, man, but if you watch his film, he always falls forward,” Williams said of Battie. “He has that natural running style where he makes guys miss. Very seldom does one guy tackle or the first guy ever tackles him so he’s a guy you get him out in space, he breaks tackles, but he also is a guy who can run between the tackles.”

Hunter is also impressed by Battie’s mentality and talents and says that he will work just as hard as the other running backs on the roster.

“He’s going to make us work harder because everyone is competing for a spot,” Hunter said. “He comes out and works hard, does what he’s got to do and does everything Coach tells him.”

Battie had the chance to showcase his talent at South Florida, but now he will have a shot to prove his worth against SEC competition, which has Williams feeling excited.

“I mean, he is a guy who rushed for over 1,000 yards last year. He was a dangerous kickoff returner. Now, his whole thing is he gets to come here and have an opportunity to define his role and play big-boy ball,” Williams said.

Battie joins Auburn’s running back room with three years of experience, where he rushed for 1,842 yards and 10 touchdowns.

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Kendall Simmons to be Auburn’s assistant offensive line coach

He has been an analyst for Auburn since 2019.

With Joe Bernardi leaving the Plains to become Troy’s offensive line coach the Tigers will be leaning on former player [autotag]Kendall Simmons[/autotag], who has been promoted to assistant offensive line coach, according to a report from FootballScoop.

Simmons has been an offensive analyst for the Tigers since 2019. When [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] was promoted to interim head coach last season he served as Auburn’s offensive line coach before [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] hired [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] as the new offensive line coach.

Simmons is one of the greatest offensive linemen in Auburn’s history. He was named to the First-Team All-SEC in 2000 and 2001 and was a Third-Team All-American in 2000. He was then drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 30th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

He was named the team’s Rookie of the Year and won Super Bowls XL and XLIII with the Steelers.

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247Sports names Auburn a winner of the coaching carousel

There is plenty of excitement about Hugh Freeze coming to the Plains.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] has yet to coach a game as Auburn’s head coach but there is plenty of optimism around his tenure.

While some of this is the excitement that Bryan Harsin has been replaced and that the next head coach surely won’t be as disastrous, Brandon Marcello of 247Sports believes there was a lot to like about Auburn hiring Freeze. In fact, he named Auburn one of his winners of the coaching carousel for the hire.

Freeze, however, is the man who has proven capable of not just challenging Nick Saban but is also a threat to beat him every year — even in seasons Freeze has less talent. He did it at Ole Miss and he’ll do it again at Auburn, where talent is not in short supply. The trajectory has certainly changed for the Tigers. Freeze quickly turned Auburn into a top-5 spot in the Transfer Portal while elevating a high school recruiting class that ranked in the 60s nationally under Harsin to 17th in a matter of weeks, according to the 247Sports Composite.

While having a good head coach is important, it is equally important that he surrounds himself with good coordinators and assistant coaches. Freeze appears to have done this by retaining several stars from the previous coaching staff and bringing in his guys.

There is no better example than him retaining and promoting [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] who helped bring Auburn’s program back to life after he was named the interim head coach to end the season. He also retained ace recruiting [autotag]Zac Etheridge[/autotag], who has already landed several key recruits.

The staff Freeze built is anchored by Auburn legend Cadillac Williams, who successfully lifted the Tigers out of the dirt as interim head coach in November, and veteran coordinators in former Tulsa head coach [autotag]Philip Montgomery[/autotag] and Baylor defensive coordinator [autotag]Ron Roberts[/autotag], who turned down overtures from Arkansas to choose Auburn. Freeze also brought former Auburn receiver [autotag]Marcus Davis[/autotag] home to coach receivers and hired his right-hand recruiting man at Ole Miss in 2012: secondary coach [autotag]Wes McGriff[/autotag].

The staff will soon have its first test as spring practice is set to start on Feb. 27 and end with the A-Day game on April 8.

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