Tag: Jake Thornton

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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Wesley McGriff expected to join Hugh Freeze’s staff

This will be McGriff’s third stint as a defensive assistant at Auburn after serving two different terms under Gus Malzahn.

The Crime Dog has returned.

[autotag]Wesley McGriff[/autotag], who served as co-defensive coordinator at Auburn alongside Kevin Steele in 2016, and returned as a defensive backs coach from 2019-20, is reportedly set to return to Auburn for the third time.

Jason Caldwell of Auburn Undercover reports that McGriff is expected to join Hugh Freeze’s staff as a defensive assistant. McGriff’s hire becomes the fourth outside hire that Freeze has made since being introduced as head coach on Nov. 29, joining [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] (offensive line), [autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag] (defensive line), and [autotag]Ben Aigamaua[/autotag] (tight ends). [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Zac Etheridge[/autotag], and [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag] have been retained from Bryan Harsin’s staff.

The Tigers improved tremendously during McGriff’s first stint at Auburn in 2016. Auburn finished top-three in the SEC in scoring defense, rushing defense, and third-down conversions. Auburn’s strong defense played a role in Auburn’s berth in the Sugar Bowl that season. Auburn allowed 19.5 points per game in 2019 with McGriff as an assistant.

McGriff returns to Auburn after spending the 2021 season at Florida, and the 2022 season at Louisville.

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Jake Thornton set to join Hugh Freeze’s staff as offensive line coach

Thornton most recently served in the same role at Ole Miss for two seasons.

It appears that not EVERY coach at Ole Miss is safe from Auburn.

According to a report by Matt Zenitz of On3, Ole Miss offensive line coach [autotag]Jake Thornton[/autotag] is set to take on the same role at Auburn under Hugh Freeze. He joins [autotag]Ben Aigamaua[/autotag] (tight ends coach), and [autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag] (defensive line coach) as new hires to the staff. [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Zac Etheridge[/autotag], and [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag] are the only coaches retained from Bryan Harsin’s staff.

Auburn’s biggest need on offense is an improvement to the offensive line, and Thornton has the capability to get that done. His offensive line at Ole Miss this season played a role in the Rebels’ gaining 491 yards per game, which is third-best in the SEC. Ole Miss gained an SEC-best 262 yards per game on the ground.

He will need time to develop Auburn’s linemen into the quality of Ole Miss’, as several of Auburn’s front will be graduating including [autotag]Killian Zierer[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Council[/autotag].

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A look at how Dewayne Alexander’s Tennessee Tech coaching tree has spread to Josh Heupel, Lane Kiffin

A look at how Dewayne Alexander’s Tennessee Tech coaching tree has spread to Josh Heupel and Lane Kiffin in the SEC.

Tennessee Tech (0-2) will play at Tennessee (1-1) Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

Kickoff is slated for noon EDT. SEC Network+ will broadcast the in-state matchup.

Dewayne Alexander is in his fourth season as Tennessee Tech’s head coach.

During Alexander’s tenure at Tennessee Tech, he has formed staffs in which assistants have advanced careers to join Southeastern Conference positions.

From 2018-20, Tre Lamb served as Alexander’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Lamb is now serving as Gardner–Webb’s head coach.

Lamb has tailored his offensive philosophies and concepts from studying the likes of Appalachian State and Josh Heupel’s veer-and-shoot style.

“We’re Air Raid passing game,” Lamb said on the show “Football Two-A-Days” in January, two days before Heupel was hired as Tennessee’s head coach from Central Florida. “Air Raid principles with an inside power-running game. I do believe you got to run the ball to win games in certain situations. All our passing game is Air Raid principles.

“If you want to compare our offense to somebody, it probably would be a hybrid between Appalachian State and Central Florida. Those are two teams we study the most. I like the outside zone play that App. State runs and I like the way Central Florida formations you and throws the ball down the field. Those are the two teams we watch the most and cater our offense to our players.”

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles head coach Dewayne Alexander watches his team during the second half at Fortera Stadium Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018, in Clarksville, Tenn. © Courtney Pedroza/The Leaf-Chronicle

In 2019, Kelsey Pope served as Lamb’s wide receivers coach on Alexander’s Tennessee Tech staff.

Lamb hired Pope to serve as his passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Gardner-Webb. Pope would depart Gardner-Webb as Heupel hired him as an offensive analyst at Tennessee.

Lane Kiffin has implemented the Baylor, veer-and-shoot offense into his Ole Miss program with offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, much like Heupel has done during his head coaching career.

Kiffin also hired an assistant from Tennessee Tech’s coaching staff that runs the similar scheme of Heupel and Lebby.

Jake Thornton is in his first season as Ole Miss’ offensive line coach after serving as run game coordinator and offensive line coach for Alexander at Tennessee Tech from 2018-19. Thornton followed Lamb and Pope to Gardner-Webb in 2020 as the Bulldogs’ run game coordinator and offensive line coach.

Alexander joined the show “Football Two-A-Days” ahead of Tennessee Tech playing at Tennessee. The show can be listened to here or below.

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