Tag: Jeremy Garrett

Auburn not completely out of the running for Keldric Faulk

The four-star Florida State commit visited Auburn Sunday. Could this mean good news for Hugh Freeze and staff?

Sunday was a busy, yet exciting day for [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and Auburn football.

Ahead of the early signing period that begins Wednesday, the Tigers secured two flips: Tennessee pledge four-star safety Sylvester Smith and former Arkansas commit Stephen Johnson, a three-star defensive lineman. The addition of Smith and Johnson to the class runs the flip total to five since Freeze took over in late November, and he appears to have one more flip in mind.

[autotag]Keldric Faulk[/autotag], a four-star defensive lineman from Highland Home, reportedly paid a visit to campus on Sunday afternoon according to Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports. Faulk, a Florida State commit, visited Tallahassee on Saturday, but gave Auburn one last chance to sway him to stay in the state.

Faulk chose Florida State over Auburn on July 5 and said “something dramatic” will need to happen for him to abandon his commitment to Mike Norvell’s program. However, he has developed a relationship with defensive assistant [autotag]Zac Etheridge[/autotag] and has gotten to know defensive line coach [autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag] during the last several weeks.

“He’s a really great dude,” Faulk said of Garrett. “We talk on the phone for more than hour. He just wants to get to know me better in this short amount of time.”

Faulk is the No. 8 player in Alabama and the No. 8 defensive lineman nationally in the 2023 cycle. He chose Florida State over Auburn and Clemson in July.

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Christian Robinson will not be retained by Auburn Football

Robinson served as linebackers coach for Bryan Harsin’s staff for the 2022 season.

It appears that Auburn’s linebackers coach during 2022, and a favorite among recruits, will not be coaching under Hugh Freeze going forward.

Nathan King of 247Sports reported Thursday morning that Auburn linebackers coach [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag] will not be a part of the new staff. Following the hiring of Hugh Freeze, Robinson remained at Auburn to help with recruiting efforts alongside [autotag]Zac Etheridge[/autotag] and [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag].

It was believed that Etheridge and Robinson would be retained on staff, but their roles were not immediately known.

In the three weeks since Hugh Freeze has been the head coach at Auburn, he has hired three defensive coaches: [autotag]Ron Roberts[/autotag] (defensive coordinator), [autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag] (defensive line coach), and [autotag]Wesley McGriff[/autotag] (defensive assistant). Zac Etheridge is also expected to be retained on staff.

Now that Robinson’s fate is known. It appears that Freeze needs to hire a linebackers coach, as well as a receivers coach, to round out his staff.

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Auburn offers Arizona transfer Dion Wilson Jr.

Auburn is looking to the portal to fill some holes along the defensive line.

Auburn needs to replenish its depth along the defensive line and is looking to the transfer portal to do so.

New defensive line coach [autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag] has set his sights on former Arizona Wildcat defensive lineman [autotag]Dion Wilson Jr.[/autotag] as someone who can help. He entered the transfer portal on Dec. 9 after spending the past three seasons at Arizona.

Wilson, originally a three-star recruit, redshirted in 2020 and has been a rotation player for the past two seasons. He appeared in 10 games this past season, making 19 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack and one pass defended.

The 6-foot-6, 295-pounder has two seasons of eligibility remaining and already has several other offers since entering the portal but Auburn is his first Power Five offer.

Auburn will have to replace the production of Colby Wooden, Marquis Burks, Morris Joseph Jr., Zykeivous Walker, Marquis Robinson who are either heading to the NFL, in the portal or out of eligibility.

Bringing in several transfers is a must for Auburn’s coaching staff and an experienced player like Wilson would be a good start.

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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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Auburn remains in hunt for state’s top prospects

Zac Ethridge has kept Alabama’s top 2023 prospects interested in Auburn. Now, Hugh Freeze has the chance to earn their signature.

Two of Alabama’s top 2023 prospects have been frequent visitors to the Plains, despite the turmoil of Auburn’s head coaching situation.

[autotag]James Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Qua Russaw[/autotag], who rank No. 1 and No. 5 respectively in 247Sports’ Alabama recruiting rankings, and teammates at Carver High School in Montgomery, have each taken in four football games at Jordan-Hare Stadium this season, and have remained interested in the Tigers.

Most of that has been due to the efforts of [autotag]Zac Ethridge[/autotag]. Ethridge has remained close with Smith and Russaw, and hopes to rebuild Auburn’s program with those two defensive line stars helping set the foundation.

Ethridge, along with new head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag], associate head coach [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag], linebackers coach [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag], and new defensive line coach [autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag] visited Madhouse Training in Montgomery on Friday, which is home where Russaw and Smith train with founder Tracy Varner.

Varner tells 247Sports that the visit went well, and likes the enjoyed meeting with Freeze for the first time.

“It was actually mine and Hugh’s first time ever talking. I was saying I don’t know how we missed each other when you were at Ole Miss, somehow we did,” Varner said. “Good dude, You know he knows ball. He has that old Southern charm, he can talk to anybody and he does that well. It was good. He was like we’re really going to go after these guys.”

Varner credits Ethridge for keeping Smith and Russaw in contention to sign with Auburn, and believes that Freeze has the chance to land them.

“Zac (Ethridge) did a great job with Qua and James and was one of the few coaches they talked to,” Varner said. “They don’t talk to a lot of coaches and Zac put y’all in good position to see what y’all can do in the next couple weeks.”

Freeze did not meet with Smith and Russaw during his visit to Montgomery, but the plan is for the duo to spend an entire day with Freeze within the next two weeks. Freeze also plans to spend time at each of their homes as well.

The early signing period begins Wednesday, Dec. 21.

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Four members of Hugh Freeze’s Liberty staff are expected to join him in Auburn

Hugh Freeze is in the beginning stages of constructing his first staff at Auburn.

Newly named Auburn head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] has a busy few weeks ahead.

Not only does he have to build relationships with key recruits ahead of early signing day on Dec. 21, but he needs to build a strong staff to begin the rebuilding process for Auburn football.

He started by releasing several members of Bryan Harsin’s staff, including wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard, offensive line coach Will Friend and defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding. He has announced [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] will remain on staff as associate head coach and running backs coach. Freeze is also expected to retain cornerbacks coach [autotag]Zac Ethridge[/autotag] and linebackers coach [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag], although their new role is unknown at this time.

As for the staff he plans to hire, four from his staff at Liberty are reportedly making their way to The Plains, including one on-field staffer.

Freeze has hired [autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag] as defensive line coach. Garrett spent one season with Freeze at Liberty. Prior to his time with the Flames, Garrett served as an assistant defensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns. He coached former SEC stars Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney when the pair combined to record 25 sacks during the 2021 season. He also spent time at Vanderbilt, serving under head coach Derek Mason.

Three more former Liberty off-the-field staffers are expected to follow Freeze to Auburn.

According to Matt Zenitz of On3, Associate AD for football operations/chief of staff Matt Bevins, general manager A.K. Mogulla and director of recruiting analytics and operations Kennedy Harvey will also be hired by Freeze.

Freeze, who was hired Monday after a 28-day search, will continue to build his staff over the coming weeks.

“I have a list of every position and a lot of great candidates,” Freeze said during his introductory press conference on Tuesday. “There are some here, there are some (from) where I just came from, and they’re all around the country. I’m constantly getting texts.”

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Report: Browns assistant Jeremy Garrett to leave for Liberty University

According to a report, one assistant is on his way out. With success on defense this year, Garrett may not be the last:

The Cleveland Browns did not meet their goals in 2021 despite loading up talent around the roster. The defense started out slow but slowly developed into one of the best units in the game late in the season.

There has been some thought that defensive coordinator Joe Woods could get an interview for one of the head coaching positions available in the NFL. Woods took criticism from fans early in the year but was able to put together a solid defense despite issues with injuries and COVID-19.

According to a report, a member of Woods’ coaching staff will be moving on soon. Jeremy Garrett, the team’s assistant defensive line coach, is reportedly accepting a job at Liberty University:

Garrett’s time with the Browns was his first as a coach in the NFL. He played college at Ole Miss, coached at the high school level then worked at Vanderbilt before joining Cleveland in 2020.

When defensive line coach Chris Kiffin was sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols, Garrett stepped in to lead the group against the Green Bay Packers this year.

With the Browns defensive success, Garrett could be the first departure but more could follow. Success tends to lead to the poaching of both players and coaches. In this case, Garrett returns back to college and takes over the defensive line for himself.

Browns complete their coaching staff, add 6 more assistants

The Kevin Stefanski staff for 2020 is now complete

With days to go in advance of the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, the Cleveland Browns have completed the hiring process for the entire coaching staff under head coach Kevin Stefanski. The team announced the hiring of six more assistants on Wednesday in conjunction with the inaugural press conferences for new coordinators Alex Van Pelt and Joe Woods.

The Browns added the following sextet of assistants to Stefanski’s staff:

  • Ben Bloom – senior defensive assistant
  • Stephen Bravo-Brown – defensive quality control
  • Ryan Cordell – coaching assistant
  • Jeremy Garrett – assistant defensive line
  • Brandon Lynch – assistant defensive backs
  • Seitu Smith – offensive quality control to the coaching staff

Cordell is the only coach who is a holdover, having served as a football research analyst for the Browns in 2019.

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