Tag: Jake Thornton

Auburn is ‘at the top somewhere’ for 4-star OL DeAndre Carter

Auburn is firmly in the mix for one of the best lineman in the country.

Auburn hosted four-star offensive lineman [autotag]DeAndre Carter[/autotag] on an official visit over the weekend and its safe to say they knocked it out of the park.

“They (Auburn) shot pretty high up,” Carter told Auburn Undercover’s Christian Clemente. “I really loved it here, they’re definitely up at the top somewhere.”

“It went really good, I loved it a lot,” Carter added. “My first time being here, pretty much everything stood out. It was a big eye-opener for everything. It was very family-oriented. I love the coaches, I love their energy, I love what they want to do with the program. Loved everything.”

It was the first trip to Auburn for the Santa Ana, California native as Auburn is looking to pull him all the way across the country, something Carter is ok with doing.

“I’m open to it, it doesn’t really bother me leaving or staying,” Carter said. “I’ve been gone far from home for a couple months and didn’t really bother me.”

Carter is the No. 88 overall player and No. 2 interior offensive lineman in the 247Sports Composite ranking. The 6-foot-4, 340-pounder is also the No. 13 player from California.

While he is listed as a potential guard, Auburn offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] thinks he has a chance to stick at tackle and is recruiting him as a guard or tackle.

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Recently offered IOL Kahlil House projected to Auburn

The Tigers are suring for the massive offensive lineman.

[autotag]Kahlil House[/autotag] was one of several recruits to visit Auburn for its OL/DL camp this week but he is definitely one of the biggest winners from Thursday’s camp.

The 6-foot-4, 311-pounder was offered a scholarship by offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] afterward and it changed his recruitment, according to a conversation House had with Auburn Undercover’s Jason Caldwell.

“It changed the game,” House told Caldwell. “It changed my recruiting. I plan on setting an OV. I plan on announcing that soon. It’s really changing. I have already shown interest here and have talked about my interest in Auburn because of how close to home it is and Auburn is a big school.”

Despite just entering the race the Tigers have quickly emerged as a team to watch with House naming them one of his top schools alongside “UCF, Cincinnati, Ole Miss, Louisville and Stanford.”

Christian Clemente of 247Sports actually thinks Auburn is the team to beat as he logged a crystal ball for the Tigers to land House on Thursday. It is currently the only prediction of where he will commit.

House is the No. 783 overall player and No. 50 interior offensive lineman in the 247Sports Composite ranking. The Warner Robbins product is also the No. 92 player from Georgia.

The Tigers will have a fight to land him though as he has already taken official visits to UCF and Cincinnati with ones scheduled to Ole Miss (June 12) and Louisville (June 23).

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Four star OL Casey Poe to officially visit Auburn in June

Poe, a top-25 lineman from the state of Texas, lists Auburn among his schools to officially visit.

The number of offensive linemen that have made their way onto Auburn’s roster over the last year has been rather surprising but in the best way.

What better way to keep the momentum going than by bringing one of the class of 2024’s top linemen to campus for an official visit?

That is what Auburn will do this June as [autotag]Casey Poe[/autotag], a four-star lineman from Lindale, Texas, has announced that he will be visiting Auburn officially on June 16 according to Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports. According to his itinerary, Auburn will be Poe’s third official visit of the summer. He also plans to visit Clemson, Alabama, and Oklahoma.

Poe has only visited Auburn once, but offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] is actively working to sign Poe by pitching the opportunity for early playing time.

“Just kind of how I can help flip the program and get it back to where it’s supposed to be. I’d come in and play early and fight for that spot. Depending on how I do, maybe I’d play as a freshman and get some time there,” Poe said in a recent interview with Auburn Undercover ($). “It’s a number of things he’s selling, but mostly overall it’s the family atmosphere, the family vibe and they’re ready to win a championship again.”

Auburn currently has five players committed for the 2024 cycle, led by four-star quarterback [autotag]Walker White[/autotag]. Several other priority 2024 recruits have locked in official visits such as wide receiver [autotag]Nick Marsh[/autotag] and EDGE [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag].

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Four-star OT Fletcher Westphal puts Auburn in top 5

He has visited Auburn three times already.

Auburn is in the top group for four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Fletcher Westphal[/autotag] who announced his top five schools Sunday.

The 6-foot-8, 305-pounder included Auburn, Florida, Arkansas, Clemson, and Georgia in his final group. The Leesburg, Virginia native has visited each of his finalists multiple times and has taken three trips to the Plains.

He is the No. 244 overall recruit and No. 22 offensive tackle in the 247Sports Composite ranking. He is also the No. 5 player from Virginia.

Offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] and [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] are both recruiting Westphal and have made sure to let him know he is a key target for Auburn.

The Tigers have already landed five commitments in the 2024 recruiting cycle but are still looking for their first commitment along the offensive line.

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Four-star OT Ethan Calloway puts Auburn in top 8

The Tigers are in the mix for one of the top offensive tackles in the 2024 recruiting class.

The Auburn Tigers have started to put together an impressive recruiting class in the 2024 recruiting cycle but they are still looking for their first commit along the offensive line.

They got some good news on that front Friday when four-star offensive tackle [autotag] Ethan Calloway[/autotag] put them in his top eight. The Mooresville, North Carolina native also included Georgia, Florida State, Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina, LSU, and Penn State.

He is the No. 215 overall player and No. 19 offensive tackle in the 247Sports Composite ranking. He is also the No. 4 player from North Carolina.

The 6-foot-7, 300-pounder visited Auburn on March 3 after offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] offered him on January 3.

That is his only trip to the Plains so far but with the Tigers in his top eight, they are firmly in the mix to receive an official visit from Calloway.

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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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Four-star offensive tackles Fletcher Westphal schedules visit to Auburn

Auburn is one of his top 10 schools but has plenty of work to do.

Four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Fletcher Westphal[/autotag] has scheduled a visit to Auburn, according to Chad Simmons of On3.

Fletcher will visit Auburn on April 7 as part of 12 visits he will be taking during March and April. The 6-foot-7.5 and 305-pounder has not visited Auburn since the Tigers offered him but he did include the Tigers in his top 10 schools on Nov. 30, 2022.

He is the No. 187 overall player and No. 12 offensive tackle in the 247Sports Composite ranking. He is also the No. 3 player from Virginia.

Auburn is battling Michigan State, Tennessee, Oregon, Washington, Arkansas, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Florida for the coveted prospect and will have a chance to stand out during his visit.

The Tigers and offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] are once again looking to sign a large class along the offensive line and Fletcher would be a key piece of that class.

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Auburn OT target Izavion Miller decommits from Ole Miss

Could he be Auburn’s next flip?

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and Auburn have already flipped five recruits this cycle and they look to be closing on a sixth.

[autotag]Izavion Miller[/autotag] officially visited Auburn this weekend and on Monday morning he announced he was decommitting from the Ole Miss Rebels, a program he had been committed to since July 31.

A major reason for his commitment was [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] who is now Auburn’s offensive line coach after having the same role at Ole Miss. The move and a path to immediate playing time opened the door for Auburn to make a push for Miller.

The 6-foot-5, 318-pounder is expected to sign on Wednesday when the early signing period opens, and Christian Clemente of Auburn Undercover thinks it will be with the Tigers. He submitted a crystal ball in their favor Monday shortly after Miller announced his decommitment.

Mississippi State is also battling for Miller and a lot can happen between now and when he signs his national letter of intent.

He is the No. 2 junior college offensive tackle and No. 9 overall JUCO player according to the 247Sports composite. He has spent the past two seasons at Southwest Mississippi Community College.

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Recent commit has faith that Hugh Freeze will do ‘something big’ at Auburn

Tyler Johnson flipped from Texas Tech to Auburn last weekend, citing that trust within the staff was a deciding factor.

Auburn hosted its’ first big recruiting weekend under Hugh Freeze last weekend and came away with two flips.

To begin the day, Auburn landed the commitment of Tyler Johnson, a three-star offensive lineman that was previously committed to Texas Tech. Later, Freeze earned the commitment of Auburn legacy Colton Hood, who originally pledged to Michigan State.

Johnson shifted from the Big 12 to the bright lights of the SEC and says that he knew Saturday night that Auburn was the best place for him. Following a talk with Freeze and offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag], he knew that he could trust him and his staff to rebuild the program to its winning ways.

“I can really trust this staff. I believe they’re going to do something big over here at Auburn University. That’s why I came over and visited,” Johnson told Jeffrey Lee of Auburn Live following his commitment. “Coach Freeze is going to turn Auburn around. He’s very serious about business. Coming to Auburn, he’s going to turn it around. I believe (Jake Thornton) is going to do good, too.”

After committing to Auburn, Johnson told Lee that his recruitment has ended, and that he will be signing with Auburn during the early signing period beginning Dec. 21.

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Hugh Freeze adds Kent Austin to staff

Austin comes to Auburn after a four-year stint as Liberty’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Hugh Freeze continues to build his new staff at Auburn piece by piece. His most recent addition is a 20-year coaching veteran.

It has been reported by Auburn Live’s Keith Niebuhr that [autotag]Kent Austin[/autotag], who served as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Hugh Freeze from 2019-22, is now a member of Auburn’s coaching staff.

While at Liberty, Austin was instrumental in the development of quarterbacks Stephen Calvert and Malik Willis. Calvert threw for 3,663 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2019 and had a streak of 295 passing attempts without throwing an interception. Following a stint at Auburn, Willis led the Flames in passing and rushing in 2020 and 2021. He passed for 5,107 yards and 47 touchdowns over his two-year career as Liberty’s starter while rushing for 1,822 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Austin began his coaching career in 2003 in the Canadian Football League, coaching quarterbacks for the Ottawa Renegades. He continued to climb up the coaching ladder in the CFL, where he became the offensive coordinator for the Toronto Argonauts from 2004-06, and served as head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2007.

He returned to American soil in 2008 to become the offensive coordinator for Houston Nutt at Ole Miss until 2009. He left Ole Miss to become the head coach at Cornell from 2010-12 before moving back to Canada to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 2013-18. In addition to his head coaching duties, Austin was also the general manager and director of operations for the franchise.

Austin becomes the third member of Freeze’s staff from Liberty to follow him in Auburn, joining [autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag] and [autotag]Ben Aigamaua[/autotag]. Freeze has also hired [autotag]Wesley McGriff[/autotag] and [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] from Louisville and Ole Miss respectively while holding onto Cadillac Williams, Zac Etheridge, and Christian Robinson from Bryan Harsin’s staff.

Austin’s role within Freeze’s staff has yet to be announced.

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