Tag: Jarquez Huner

What Hugh Freeze and Auburn’s players said after losing to Ole Miss

Auburn’s players had plenty to say after their loss to Ole Miss.

Auburn fans are growing frustrated with the two-quarterback system but it doesn’t sound like [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] has any plans to stick with one quarterback moving forward.

“I don’t think it had anything to do with the outcome of the game,” he said after the game. “I think both had a really good package and both worked at times. It would be nice to have one for sure but we’re searching to see what the best avenue is for us to go and win. I still think that Robby (Ashford) should have a package. I felt good about both of these packages tonight. I think they both worked at times, but it was when you get into the third down area that we didn’t convert.”

[autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] and [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] both played extensively in Auburn’s 28-21 loss to Ole Miss Saturday night in Jordan-Hare Stadium but neither one was able to effectively move the ball.

Thorne finished the game 9-of-13 passing for 100 yards and one touchdown and rushed 11 times for 34 yards. Ashford went 3-of-4 for 22 yards and added 27 yards on eight carries. Each quarterback also threw an interception into double coverage that ended a scoring opportunity.

Here is everything Freeze and Auburn’s players had to say about Auburn’s fourth straight loss of the season.

Five reasons Auburn won’t upset Texas A&M

Auburn is facing their toughest opponent yet.

Auburn is looking to improve to 4-0 in the [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] era but their set to face their toughest opponent yes as they take on the Texas A&M Aggies (2-1) this weekend.

The Aggies have had an up-and-down start to the 2023 season, they utterly dominated New Mexico and ULM but lost to Miami 48-33. Making the game even tougher, Auburn has to travel to Kyle Field to take on the Aggies and what should be a loud and energetic crowd. All of this has combined to make Texas A&M a 7.5-point favorite over Auburn, according to BetMGM.

Here is a look at five reasons why Auburn won’t be able to pull off the upset Saturday and will suffer their first loss of the season.

Luke Deal is excited about Auburn running the ball

Auburn tight end Luke Deal is a believer in Auburn’s running game.

Auburn’s running backs have had a great offseason and are expected to be a strength of the offense, however, their success has some wondering if they are that good or if Auburn’s run defense needs improvement.

“We’ll find out more Saturday.” [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] said Monday. Are we effective running the football kind of team against other opponents or has our defense made us look that good? I think when you start getting into a game week and start game planning and you figure out that this is what we’re going to try to do, hopefully we’ll be in the right spots and play well on both sides. That’s the hope.”

Senior tight end [autotag]Luke Deal[/autotag] is confident that Auburn’s running backs are just that good and that Auburn will have success running the ball this year.

“I think our running game is really good. I think you guys have seen it, even in the past. There are some familiar names in that running back room who have done some really great things at Auburn so far. Jarquez (Hunter) is an incredible back, that entire room, Damari (Alston), Sean (Jackson), even Jeremiah (Cobb), a young guy coming up, (Brian) Battie all those guys are really really good players.

“We’ve got such a talented room that I would lean on the side that we have a really good run game and we’ve seen production in the past. I’m excited to see how that works out against another defense.”

“Hopefully, our defense stops that run too against UMass.”

Auburn’s five running backs each bring something different but together they give Auburn a deep and talented rotation that should be able to keep all of them fresh during the game. They are also set to benefit from Auburn’s reworked offensive line, which has three transfers set to start.

UMass has already played one game on the season, a 41-30 win over New Mexico State, and struggled to stop the run. The Minutemen allowed 222 yards and one touchdown on the ground as the Aggies rushed for 5.8 yards per carry.

Auburn will look to enjoy similar success when they face UMass on Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game is set to start at 2:30 p.m. CT and will be on ESPN.

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247Sports makes bold predictions for Auburn’s 2023 season

What do you think about these predictions?

With the end of spring practice and the closing of the second transfer portal, we now have a better understanding of what each team’s roster is going to look like for the 2023 season and it is time to make predictions.

Brad Crawford, a national writer for 247Sports, made 50 bold predictions about the SEC in the 2023 season recently and several were about Auburn.

Crawford was particularly impressed with Auburn’s efforts to rebuild the offensive line, something the Tigers have been trying to do for the past several years. This work will also help [autotag]Jarquez Huner[/autotag], someone, Crawford has high expectations for.

He also doesn’t think Auburn is done in the portal and expects Auburn to land a specific quarterback now that [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] has moved on.

Here is a look at each of his predictions for [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s first season as Auburn’s head coach.