Tag: Christian Robinson

Hugh Freeze fires all but three assistant coaches as he begins to build staff

Cadillac Williams, Zac Etheridge and Christian Robinson are all still with the program.

The [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] era of Auburn is officially underway, and it will come with many changes.

Matt Zenitz of On3 reported on Wednesday that Freeze has fired every Auburn assistant coach, save three: former interim head coach [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag], secondary coach [autotag]Zac Etheridge[/autotag] and linebackers coach [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag]. Williams had already been announced as a returning member in previous days.

Williams is the only one of the three who was hired by Gus Malzahn in 2019. Both Etheridge and Robinson joined the staff in 2022 under Bryan Harsin.  Etheridge previously was at Houston and Robinson at Florida in the same roles they are currently serving on staff.

It is unknown who Freeze will pick to fill in his staff at Auburn. Freeze used Matt Luke and Dan Werner as co-offensive coordinators during his tenure at Ole Miss and Dave Wommack as his defensive coordinator. Luke last served on Georgia’s staff from 2020-21. Werner last served as South Carolina’s quarterbacks coach from 2018-19, and Wommack last served as Ole Miss’ defensive coordinator in 2016.

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Photo Gallery: Auburn Football’s revamped staff leads its first practice

Here is a look at the first practice under interim head coach Carnell Williams.

Just one day after the announcement of the dismissal of [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag], offensive coordinator [autotag]Eric Kiesau[/autotag], tight ends coach [autotag]Brad Bedell[/autotag], and several other staffers, a revamped coaching staff was constructed and revealed to the public.

The staff, led by interim head coach Carnell Williams, includes new roles for seven assistant coaches and staffers. Several coaches’ roles remain the same, including defensive coordinator [autotag]Jeff Schmedding[/autotag], defensive line coach [autotag]Jimmy Brumbaugh[/autotag], linebackers coach [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag], and special team coordinator [autotag]Roc Bellatoni[/autotag].

Tuesday, the new-look staff held its first practice, as they prepare to coach their first game this Saturday at Mississippi State. Here is a look at the best images from Tuesday’s practice, courtesy of Auburn Athletics photographer Todd Van Emst.

Three-star LB from Georgia lists Auburn in top eight

Auburn is the current favorite to land Marcellius Pulliam, a three-star linebacker from the 2023 recruiting cycle.

Auburn could soon add some depth to the linebacker room for the 2023 cycle.

[autotag]Marcellius Pulliam[/autotag], a three-star linebacker from Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Georgia, has listed Auburn in his top-eight college choices.

Auburn is in a good spot to land Pulliam according to On3. According to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, Auburn is in the lead with a 46.3% chance to earn Pulliam’s commitment, leading Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Pulliam’s draw to Auburn is in due part to the relationship that he has built with linebackers coach [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag].

”Coach C-Rob, we chop it up almost every week,” Pullium said in a recent interview with Auburn Live. “Every time he’s got a moment and I’ve got a moment we’re always on the phone laughing it up and talking football. It’s a great relationship between me and him.”

Joining Auburn in Pulliam’s top eight are Clemson, Miami, Kentucky, Louisville, Indiana, Mississippi State, and Georgia Tech. A commitment date has yet to be announced, but he has scheduled an official visit to Auburn during the weekend of Sept. 24, when Auburn plays Missouri.

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Auburn Football: Contract details released for three new assistant coaches

Contract details emerge for three position coaches on Bryan Harsin’s staff.

Auburn Football and head coach [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] added a handful of members to the staff for the 2022 season, which included three new position coaches.

Defensive Line coach [autotag]Jimmy Brumbaugh[/autotag], as well as receivers coach [autotag]Ike Hilliard[/autotag] and linebackers coach [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag], were hired in an effort to produce a boost to their respective positions in both on-field production and recruiting.

Now that they are settled with Auburn, details of their contracts have been released.

AL.com received the details for the contracts of Brumbaugh, Hilliard, and Robinson through an open records request. According to the report, those three coaches have signed two-year contracts that will run through January 31, 2024. However, the salaries of those contracts all vary.

  • Brumbaugh, who played defensive line for the Tigers from 1995-99, will earn $625,000, with a base salary of $250,000 and a bonus of $187,500 for personal appearances and endorsements.
  • Hilliard is set to earn $600,000 per year, $250,000 in annual base salary and $175,000 in endorsements and personal appearances.
  • Finally, Robinson will begin with a salary of $525,000, which will increase to $550,000 in year two of the contract. His endorsement and personal appearance pay will begin at $275,000 and will jump to $300,000 in his second season at Auburn.

Brunbaugh, Hilliard, and Robinson join coordinators Eric Kiesau and Jeff Schemedding as new additions to Bryan Harsin’s staff for the 2022 season.

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Auburn offers sought-after JUCO linebacker

He’s slated to visit Texas A&M and UF in the coming weeks.

A Justin Jefferson might be headed to the SEC, but not the one you may be thinking of.

Linebacker Justin Jefferson, a linebacker (unlike the former LSU wideout) from Memphis, Tennessee, who plays at Pearl River Community College, was just recently offered by [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] and linebackers coach [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag] on Tuesday. Jefferson, despite being a 2023 JUCO prospect, has no current ranking on 247Sports. That’s not to say that he doesn’t have a lot of talent, though, as he boasts on his Twitter page that he’s run a 4.34 40-yard dash time.

Jefferson is a hot commodity as a JUCO product, having gotten offers from SEC teams like Alabama, Texas A&M and Florida. He has an official visit set with both the Gators and the Aggies, who have already offered him previously — as such, Harsin and Robinson will likely have their work cut out for them if they intend on luring Jefferson to the Plains with such tough competition already pulling out all the stops for his services.

Although he’s a little undersized — he clocks in at 6’1, 215 pounds — his raw athleticism seemed to impress Harsin and his staff, and it will be interesting to see what they try and do to bring him to Auburn in the coming weeks.

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Tigers extend offer to rising sophomore linebacker from state of Florida

Auburn extended an offer to 2025 LB Tarvos Alford on Thursday.

On Thursday, the Auburn coaching staff extended an offer to 2025 linebacker Tarvos Alford. He is the fourth linebacker that the staff has offered in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Alford is going to be just a sophomore at John Carroll High School when school begins in August. That doesn’t stop him from receiving offers though. Other schools like Indiana, Florida Atlantic, and Penn State have offered him as well. There will certainly be more schools that enter the mix as his high school career unfolds.

He is listed at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds. By the time he becomes a senior in high school, he will likely add muscle weight making him even more valuable to the Tigers coaching staff. No one can predict the future, but Alford certainly has the chance to be a highly-ranked recruit by the time he enters his junior season. It will be interesting to see how linebackers coach Christian Robinson and the rest of the coaching staff pursue the Florida native.

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Brother of Auburn cornerback set to visit the Plains in June

2023 four-star linebacker Jaiden Ausberry will be visiting Auburn on the weekend of June 3. His older brother Austin plays cornerback for the Tigers.

On Wednesday, 2023 four-star linebacker Jaiden Ausberry announced via his Twitter that he will be visiting the Plains from June 3-5. He is the younger brother of 2022 signee Austin Ausberry. His father, Verge Ausberry, played linebacker for LSU. Verge is now the Executive Deputy AD for Louisiana State. It is clear that football runs in the Ausberry’s DNA.

Jaiden is regarded as the No. 92 prospect in the country according to 247Sports’ recruiting rankings. The site also has him ranked as the No. 7 linebacker in the country. The product of University Lab has received numerous offers as his brother did just a year ago. Several of the programs that have offered him thus far are Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, Georgia, LSU and Ohio State, among others. There have been no crystal ball predictions at this time. However, On3‘s RPM favors LSU at 82.7%.

Here is what Ausberry said several months ago when he spoke with Auburn Live’s Jeffrey Lee:

“I talk to Coach Robinson almost every day,” Jaiden Ausberry said. “He’s cool. He’s a real good guy. I have had a relationship with him since he was at Florida. He recruited me hard there and now he’s recruiting me hard to Auburn.”

With his brother set to join the team in the coming months, it is possible that we see the two team up again at the next level. Jaiden has already scheduled other visits to Ann Arbor and South Bend after visiting Auburn in the first week of June. Auburn fans should keep a close eye on Ausberry moving forward. His connection with linebacker coach [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag] is good and his older brother recruiting him certainly helps the Tigers’ chances of landing him.

This 4-star IMG Academy LB has locked in his official visit to Florida

One of IMG Academy’s finest will be on campus at the University of Florida on June 3.

The latest recruit to lock in an official visit with the Florida Gators is IMG Academy’s four-star linebacker [autotag]Jordan Hall[/autotag]. He’ll be in Gainesville over the weekend of June 3, according to On3.

The Gators made Hall’s top 12 on April 13 but now he’s beginning to narrow things down to meet his desired commitment date of July 16, his mother’s birthday. After he visits UF, Hall will head to Michigan State the following weekend and to Auburn the next. Penn State is also pushing for an official visit, but nothing has been set up just yet.

Florida is thought to be the leader of the bunch after Hall made three separate trips to the Swamp.

“The new (Florida) staff is always reaching out and it feels like family when I am there,” Hall said. “It is like I belong there when I am at Florida. I have gotten to know the coaches and it is a comfortable feeling for me there. Kamari Wilson is there too, and he has told me a lot of good things about the staff.”

Auburn could be a team to watch out for with former Gators coach and current Tigers linebacker coach [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag] leading the charge for Hall. There’s also Hall’s family to consider. The 6-foot-2-inch, 224-pound recruit says they will play a big role in his commitment.

Napier and Co. have a fairly strong track record of catering their recruiting pitch to the parents, so that should be a plus when it comes to wooing mom and dad. Hall is the No. 18 linebacker in the country, according to the On3 Consensus, and the No. 230 overall recruit in the class of 2023.

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A look at the new Auburn staff under Bryan Harsin

The on-field coaching staff is now complete.

Following the addition of new wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard, head coach Bryan Harsin has officially filled all of his vacancies ahead of spring football.

The most recent vacancy was created when Eric Kiesau moved over to quarterbacks and accepted a promotion to be the offensive coordinator. Harsin brought in a very respected wide receivers coach from the NFL level. How he is on the recruiting trail remains to be seen. Hilliard’s entire coaching career has been at the professional level.

On defense and special teams, the Tigers needed to act swiftly to replace Bert Watts’ vacancy. The special teams coordinator and edge linebackers coach left to rejoin the Denver Broncos staff. Harsin countered by promoting Roc Bellantoni into that role.

We break down the on-field new staff under Bryan Harsin for the 2022 college football season.

Former UGA linebacker takes job with Auburn Tigers

Christian Robinson, who played linebacker at Georgia from 2009-2012, is now the linebackers coach for the Auburn Tigers.

Christian Robinson, who played linebacker at Georgia from 2009-2012, is now the linebackers coach for the Auburn Tigers.

Robinson served as a graduate assistant at Georgia under Mark Richt from 2013-2014. Robinson also held a similar role at Ole Miss and Mississippi State before becoming the linebackers coach at Florida under Dan Mullen in 2018. Billy Napier and the Florida Gators moved on from Robinson following their bowl game.

Robinson recorded 159 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss during his career with Georgia. Robinson served as Florida’s interim defensive coordinator after the Gators lost to South Carolina this season. Robinson did not do enough for Napier to retain him.

The Auburn Tigers hired Robinson on Jan. 22. Auburn officially announced the move via Twitter:

Auburn is an excellent landing spot for Robinson, who will continue to coach in the SEC. Robinson will also be the defensive run game coordinator for the Tigers.

Georgia will wish Robinson well, but the Dawgs will not be cheering for the Tigers on Oct. 8 when Auburn comes to Athens.

Robinson had the following message for Auburn fans:

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