Hank Brown – Page 2 – Syndication Server

What did we learn from Auburn’s loss to Oklahoma?

Auburn made very few, but costly mistakes in its recent loss to Oklahoma.

Auburn football finished its five-game home stand in less than desirable fashion, which seemed to be the name of the game throughout the entire start to the 2024 season.

The Tigers saw a late pick six become the difference in Saturday’s 27-21 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners, dropping them to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the SEC heading into the month of October.

Unlike the team’s other two defeats, this one felt like things were going right for Auburn. While it only scored 21 points, plays were being made and the team was moving the ball. Despite that, it gave up the lead late and horror struck once again for a team with high hopes.

Here is what we learned about the Tigers after the loss.

Quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] was benched a short couple of weeks ago and thrown back into action last week against Arkansas after struggles shown by [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag]. He responded this week in one of the biggest games of Auburn’s season by playing well, which is what fans desperately needed to see.

There were many good deep throws made with smart decisions, but what fans will remember were the other decisions made, the ones that had them holding their breath and just hoping the ball would not be interceptions.

For the most part, they were relieved of that, that was until the Sooners’ Kip Lewis intercepted a ball on a slant route and ran it back to give his squad a late lead. It answered the question of if Thorne had improved in crunch time, which was no.

On the receiving end, [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Malcolm Simmons[/autotag] have become two of the team’s most reliable targets in the early going, and when they get the ball, it always feel like a big play is in motion.

Running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] is also still who every Tigers fan knows him as, a powerful weapon. Despite not breaking 100 yards, Hunter continues to make explosive plays that provide a spark to the offense.

The defense still has many kinks to work out. Containing the quarterback has consistently been a problem all year, and while things improved on Saturday, it gave up two of the more crucial plays of the game in the opening drive touchdown by Michael Hawkins Jr. and his two-point conversion that gave Oklahoma a 24-21 lead.

[autotag]Demarcus Riddick[/autotag] had an explosive game and proved what he can do with six tackles, including a tackle-for-loss and sack. Look for him to continue growing down the stretch.

For the first time this season, Auburn saw its special teams struggle, as [autotag]Towns McGough[/autotag] missed both of his field goal attempts on the day, including one right before the half that would have given his team a 17-7 lead and raised the momentum heading into the break. For a young kicker, he still has a lot to grow on, but those two turned out to be a major miss for the Tigers.

Auburn takes the road for the entire month of October, beginning with a trip to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. That game is set for 2:30 p.m. CST and will be broadcast live on ABC from Sanford Stadium.

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 Tyler on X @traley34

Brent Venables turns to Michael Hawkins Jr. for a ‘kickstart’ on offense

DJ Durkin and the Auburn offense will have to scheme for a new quarterback ahead of Saturday’s game vs. Oklahoma.

One of the most overused lines in cinema is “We’re not so different, you and I.” However, the quote applies perfectly in pregame coverage of Auburn football’s game with No. 18 Oklahoma.

Auburn has lacked consistency at the quarterback position through four games with senior [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] and redshirt freshman [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] earning two starts each with mixed results. Oklahoma is experiencing similar challenges, forcing head coach Brent Venables to change the starter ahead of the Sooners’ trip to Auburn this Saturday.

Oklahoma signed five-star quarterback Jackson Arnold to its 2023 class and he was expected to be the starter for several seasons, however, after a weak showing against Tennessee last Saturday in which he completed 7-of-16 passes for 54 yards, Venables elected to give true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. a try at the position. He did enough to keep the Sooners in the game by passing for 132 yards and a touchdown in the 25-15 loss to the Volunteers.

He performed well enough to earn his first career start this weekend, doing so at Jordan-Hare Stadium against the Auburn Tigers. Venables says that he will look to Hawkins to provide a much-needed spark to the SEC’s last-ranked offense.

“Mike will have his opportunity to run out there and be our guy and see where we’re at and try to give us a kick start,” Venables said Monday on his weekly radio show, Sooner Sports Talk.

Hawkins has not earned the right to be a full-time starter for the Sooners yet. However, a great outing on the road at Auburn could lead to a permanent role writes Aaron Gelvin of Sooners Wire.

“Venables didn’t name Hawkins the starter for the rest of the season, and that distinction will come down to play on the field,” Gelvin wrote. “Hawkins earned a shot to be the starter against the Tigers, and if he plays well, it’s likely Venables and his staff will stick with the youngster.”

Hawkins has been more effective despite not having equal snaps to Arnold. According to Pro Football Focus, Hawkins has thrown just one turnover-worthy pass in 22 pass attempts and is given nearly a second longer to make throws than Arnold. As for Arnold, he has thrown three turnover-worthy passes, all three resulting in interceptions. It does not help matters that Arnold has been sacked nine times through four games and is given just 2.5 seconds to throw.

The Sooners enter the weekend with the No. 16 offense in the SEC with an average of 299 yards gained per game and ranks No. 14 in passing with 171.3 yards per game. Oklahoma football looks for Hawkins to be the team’s saving grace as they look to finish the SEC slate on a strong note after beginning 0-1. If Hawkins can not get the job done, Venables may look at giving Arnold another shot or may fall back to sixth-year senior Casey Thompson, who transferred to Oklahoma from FAU last offseason.

Oklahoma and their new starting quarterback will trek to the Plains for a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday.

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 Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

What did we learn from Auburn’s loss to Arkansas?

Auburn Wire’s Tyler Raley breaks down Auburn’s loss to Arkansas from his point of view.

The Auburn Tigers have put themselves in a very tough position heading into the rest of the season with a lot of concern being voiced by their fanbase.

The Tigers saw the turnover bug become a huge problem in their 24-14 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, making them 0-1 in conference action.

Much like the loss to California, the shining moments that Auburn had in this contest were few and far between. Now, both the offense and defense have major questions to answer if better performance is going to come.

Here is what we learned about the Tigers after the loss.

The most obvious component of this game was the large amount of turnovers from around the offense, but especially the quarterback play. [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] made his second start of the season after a brilliant outing against New Mexico and threw three interceptions in the midst of the team’s five turnovers, with the other two coming from a [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] interception and a [autotag]Damari Alston[/autotag] fumble that cost the team a touchdown.

Head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] expressed his frustrations in the loss, discussing how they need to give themselves more of a chance with wide open receivers running all over the field instead of turning it over.

The rushing attack gave itself a chance and seems to be getting more comfortable as the season progresses. However, the receiving corps seems to be on the opposite end, dropping many passes that need to be caught in order for Auburn to have success.

[autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] is turning out to be an amazing pickup in the portal, tallying five catches for 156 yards and both touchdowns in the game.

The defense is about as confusing as anyone could make it out to be. It has four interceptions over the last few games, meaning the aggressiveness is increasing.

The other side to this is that the Tigers are giving up way too many third down conversions to opponents. While they have only allowed 37.3% (25 of 67) of third downs this season, they gave up nine on Saturday, including a 58-yard heave in the third quarter to give Arkansas the lead.

With that in mind, the defense must get off the field on third down in order to possibly give the offense some momentum and string together quality plays.

Auburn looks to bounce back next week as it finishes off a five-game home stand with a matchup against the Oklahoma Sooners.

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 Tyler on X @traley34

Hugh Freeze talks ‘miserable’ quarterback play following loss to Arkansas

For the second time in three games, Auburn quarterbacks threw four interceptions in its SEC-opening loss to Arkansas.

Auburn head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] hoped to have a clear answer for his quarterback woes during the Tigers’ SEC opener with Arkansas on Saturday.

However, after an abysmal performance from the position in Auburn’s 24-14 loss to the Razorbacks, it appears that Freeze will need more time to figure the problem out.

Starter [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] could not live up to his pregame declaration to “dominate Arkansas” on Saturday by throwing three interceptions and completing just 54% of his passes for 72 yards in the first half. [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] did well in mop-up duty in the second half by throwing two touchdowns and completing 13-of-22 passes for 213 yards in the second half, throwing one interception.

Following the game, Freeze shared his displeasure with quarterback play with the media. He opened by stating his frustrations with mistakes in an otherwise strong offensive first half.

“Our offensive guys played hard. It’s just discouraging,” Freeze said postgame. “You have one possession in the first half that you don’t turn the ball over as you’re moving it. We turned it over on Arkansas’ 29, the zero and the 27. Obviously, the possession time in the first half and you’re doing that is atrocious. It’s miserable to watch that.”

Freeze went on to back up his decision to start Brown and says that he will not change his opinion on Brown based on one game. Freeze also complemented Thorne’s performance in the second half. Overall, he is not pleased with how he and his staff are coaching Auburn’s quarterbacks currently, and says that he has not officially named a starter for next Saturday’s game vs. Oklahoma.

“I have no idea sitting here right now, but I’ll go back to work tomorrow,” Freeze said of who will start at quarterback next week. “I’ll be as locked in as I’ve ever been to try and get that fixed.”

Freeze and the Tiger quarterbacks will get back to work at practice this week and will look to bounce back next Saturday against SEC newcomer Oklahoma. Auburn and Oklahoma will kickoff next Saturday at either 2:30 or 3:15 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Gallery: Arkansas topples Auburn, 24-14

Here are the best images from Auburn’s tough loss to Arkansas on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Auburn football welcomed Arkansas to Jordan-Hare Stadium for the 2024 SEC opener on Saturday and walked out disappointed.

The Tigers committed five turnovers, including four interceptions in its 24-14 loss to Arkansas.

After a successful first career start last Saturday vs. New Mexico, quarterback [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] was benched following his first-half performance, which saw him complete 7-of-12 passes for 72 yards and three interceptions. [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] provided a shot in the arm to the Auburn offense by passing for 213 yards and two touchdowns with one interception during the second half. Thorne completed touchdown passes of 10 yards and 67 yards to [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] in the game.

Defensively, [autotag]Jerrin Thompson[/autotag] and [autotag]Dorian Mausi[/autotag] led the team in tackles with eight while [autotag]Sylvester Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Kayin Lee[/autotag] each picked off passes from Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green.

Overall, Saturday was disappointing for the Tigers. However, there were plenty of great photos taken of the action. Here are the best photos from Auburn’s 24-14 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday.

Sam Pittman looks for Travis Williams to inspire Razorbacks at Jordan-Hare Stadium

Former Auburn linebacker Travis Williams returns to Auburn this weekend as the Razorbacks’ defensive coordinator.

Auburn football opens SEC play this Saturday afternoon against the Arkansas Razorbacks and hopes to perform well against a Tiger legend.

The Razorbacks are led defensively by [autotag]Travis Williams[/autotag], who starred as a linebacker for Auburn from 2001-04 and later returned to the Plains as an assistant coach under [autotag]Gus Malzahn[/autotag]. Saturday will not be the first time Williams has coached against the Tigers, but it will mark the first time he has coached a game from the opposing sideline.

When asked about Williams’ return earlier this week, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman says that he hopes that will bring extra motivation to his defense as the Razorbacks look to begin the SEC season with a victory.

“I hope so. I mean, we’re counting on it,” Pittman said. “Obviously, the whole team knows that he played there, and he’s well-liked, well-respected in the building, and on defense, obviously as well. We didn’t play well (Saturday vs. UAB), so we’ve got to get that fixed, so if that’s a little more inspiration to the kids, then we’ll certainly use it.”

Pittman discussed several other topics ahead of the Auburn game including [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag]’s impact and the success of the road team in past matchups. He was also asked to compare Auburn quarterbacks [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] and [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag], where he shed light on what makes each quarterback different.

“I think one game from Brown … The difference in their offense is really, with Throne it was more of a zone read, keep the ball, give the ball, counter read, give the ball, keep the ball. They threw more RPOs with Brown. So it’s the same principle, you’re giving it or you’re throwing it,” Pittman said. “I think with Thorne, a little bit more they gave it, or he kept it. And it killed us last year with him keeping the football. I don’t know what he averaged per run, but it was a bunch. That’s really the difference. I don’t think they changed a whole lot schematically throwing the football with their stops, their go routes or their crossers. They ran a little bit more drop-back with him this past week. I can’t speak for Coach (Hugh Freeze), but I think Thorne was a great threat in running the football. And Brown may be more of a bigger threat throwing it. I mean, he can wing it, now. For his first game to throw four touchdowns, pretty impressive. But that’s probably the biggest difference is, run to pass versus run to run.”

Pittman and the Arkansas Razorbacks trek to Auburn on Saturday to battle the Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT.

Auburn jumps up to No. 13 in SEC Power Poll after week three win

Auburn was able to leapfrog Vanderbilt for the No. 13 spot in the rankings this week

The Auburn Tigers re-found the win column last week against New Mexico in entertaining fashion. Freshman quarterback [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] was fantastic in his first career start, leading his offense to 41 points against the Lobos. While the defense showed some issues, it ultimately bent but didn’t break in the Tigers 41-19 victory.

Auburn’s lopsided win behind a new quarterback not only created optimism for fans, but for experts as well, as the Tigers are near-touchdown favorites in the SEC opener against Arkansas this Saturday. Even Tuscaloosa News’s SEC writer Chase Goodbread, who has been hesitant to provide any kind of optimism towards Hugh Freeze’s program, shot the Tigers up to No. 13 in his week three SEC Power Poll.

Even with the jump into the top 13, Goodbread still manages to take a subliminal jab at Auburn’s head coach, saying Hugh Freeze is officially “out of moves” after switching up his offensive coordinator and quarterback in the same season. While that may be the case, there is no denying Freeze made the correct decision in starting Hank Brown last week against New Mexico. If Brown performs well in the next few weeks moving forward, we may see Auburn climb into the top 10 in the Power Poll for the first time this season.

Currently, the top five consists of Texas (1), Georgia (2), Tennessee (3), Ole Miss (4), and Alabama (5). As for the basement of the rankings, Auburn was able to leapfrog Vanderbilt (14) for the No. 13 spot in the rankings. As it stands, the Tigers sit directly behind Florida (12) and Kentucky (11) on Goodbread’s list.

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

Auburn falls in latest USA TODAY Sports re-rank despite win over New Mexico

It took a while for Auburn to pull away from New Mexico, leaving Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY Sports unimpressed.

Auburn football earned a win last weekend by defeating New Mexico, 45-19 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

However, several experts across the country were not impressed with Auburn’s second victory of the 2024 slate including Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY Sports.

Myerberg released his weekly re-rank this week ahead of week four’s action and has placed Auburn at No. 67, a five-spot drop from week three’s ranking. The Tigers check in one spot behind their week four opponent, Arkansas, and are one spot ahead of Illinois, who gained five places in the ranking after defeating Central Michigan on Saturday, 30-19.

Auburn’s drop in Myerberg’s rankings is expected as the Tigers’ performance did not indicate what the scoreboard projected. It took Auburn three quarters to show signs of having control of the game as two touchdown passes allowed Auburn to move ahead, 31-13. New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier also passed for 293 yards, further exposing Auburn’s struggles at stopping the pass.

Auburn’s offense saw an uptick in production, however, as [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] passed for 235 yards and four scores while [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] rushed for 152 yards. Auburn will need an impressive showing this Saturday at home against Arkansas to be considered for a bump in Myerberg’s rankings next week.

Several interesting notes from this week’s re-rank include Oregon jumping five spots to No. 7 after beating rival Oregon State on Saturday, and Toledo cracking the top 25 after upsetting Mississippi State on the road. Indiana was this week’s biggest mover by jumping up 27 spots to No. 58 after beating UCLA in Los Angeles while UTSA and Air Force took the biggest tumble, falling 25 places respectively.

Five-star receiver Caleb Cunningham to visit Auburn this weekend

The 6-1, 190-pound receiver took three visits to Auburn before committing to Alabama in July.

2025 five-star receiver recruit and current Alabama Crimson Tide commit [autotag]Caleb Cunningham[/autotag] is scheduled to visit the Plains this weekend according to a report from Auburn Live.

The consensus top 25 recruit and top receiver from Mississippi committed to Alabama back in July of this year, but showed heavy interest in Auburn before making his decision a few months ago.

The 6-1, 190-pound receiver has taken three trips down to the Loveliest Village on the Plains during his recruitment process, most recently speaking with [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and the Auburn staff in person on May 31 of this year. While the No. 3 receiver in his class hasn’t shown any indication of flipping his commitment, he did make it a point to tell On3 that “he would be in Auburn this weekend” for the Tigers SEC opener against Arkansas.

It’s also worth noting that Cunningham’s current commitment choice, Alabama, is off on a bye week this weekend. The Crimson Tide do host No. 1 ranked Georgia on September 28, and the prized recruit is likely to be back in Tuscaloosa for that matchup, although he has not confirmed it.

Auburn currently holds a consensus top 5 recruiting class for this upcoming campaign. That ranking could increase drastically if the Tigers staff is somehow able to pull a rabbit out of the hat and convince Cunningham to flip his commitment this weekend.

Newly named starting quarterback [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] and the Tigers open up SEC play on Saturday against Arkansas at 2:30 PM CT from Jordan-Hare Stadium. A win to open the conference section of the schedule would not only help this season but could help some recruits on the edge commit to Hugh Freeze’s plan for the Tigers down the road.

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

What did we from Auburn’s win over New Mexico?

Following Auburn’s week three win over the New Mexico Lobos, here is what we learned about the team in Hank Brown’s debut at quarterback

The Auburn Tigers are back in the win column and is making changes to try and keep things on the right track as they prepare for SEC play next week.

On a rainy night inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Tigers took down the New Mexico Lobos on Homecoming 45-19 with a new starting quarterback in freshman [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag].

Brown replaced Payton Thorne after a rough start to the season, making his second game appearance after playing in last year’s Music City Bowl.

With all the buzz of his performance out of the way, here is what we learned from Saturday’s game about this Auburn squad.

The obvious thing to say is that there is easily a lot of potential that Brown has with his play. He went 17 for 25 with 235 yards and four touchdowns, showing flashes of what he can do in his young career.

Brown’s throws were proven to be sharp, even when partially inaccurate. His velocity gets the ball out quick and away from any danger where it may lie.

The downside at moments was the ability to get plays off in an efficient manner. While he was thrown into action on a week’s notice, the Tigers run the offense at an efficient pace and need him to move quicker on a consistent basis.

The running game proved itself again as [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] racked up 20 carries for 152 yards and a touchdown, staying elusive and using his strength to his advantage. While Auburn can not be one dimensional, it needs to be able to run as it has in the past.

The defensive play is still highly questionable for this team, which is a problem heading into a tough conference slate.

Most notably, one-on-one coverage in the secondary has not been great and was especially evident last night. The Tigers found themselves on the wrong end of too many passes that could have gone either way and must improve on turning that around.

On the positive side of it, interceptions by [autotag]Jerrin Thompson[/autotag] and [autotag]Antonio Kite[/autotag] recorded the team’s first two forced turnovers of the season, finally getting on the board after two weeks of no chaos. They look to continue that next week.

Auburn takes the field for its fourth home game in a row against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 2:30. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

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 Tyler on X @traley34