Tag: Philip Montgomery

USF RB Brian Battie becomes latest name on Auburn’s radar

Battie, who rushed for 1,186 yards in 2022 at USF, visited Auburn on Sunday.

Auburn has done well in the pursuit of transfer portal talent, as they have added seven players since the open period that began on Dec. 5.

Most of its’ finds have been on the offensive and defensive line, as well as one tight end and a linebacker. The Tigers have yet to earn the signature of a skill position player, although many prospects have taken a visit to campus.

The most recent skill player to partake in a visit to Auburn is former USF running back [autotag]Brian Battie[/autotag]. Battie, who has accumulated 1,842 yards in three seasons with the Bulls, visited Auburn’s campus on Sunday. While there, he talked with running backs coach [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag], offensive coordinator [autotag]Philip Montgomery[/autotag], and head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag].

After his discussion with Auburn coaches, he came away feeling that he is a great fit in the Tigers’ system. He was also impressed with Auburn’s newly-built Woltosz Football Performance Center, saying that it “looks like something that colleges not even supposed to have.”

Auburn looks to add depth to its running back room following the departure of [autotag]Tank Bigsby[/autotag], who will take part in the upcoming NFL Draft. [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] and [autotag]Damari Alston[/autotag] return to Auburn’s rotation, and four-star commit [autotag]Jeremiah Cobb[/autotag] is set to join this summer. Battie would be a great addition, as he rushed for 1,186 yards and eight touchdowns for the Bulls in 2022.

According to Auburn Undercover, Battie will visit Colorado in the upcoming days and will make his decision on Jan. 15.

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New hires to Hugh Freeze’s staff become official

Here’s a rundown of the hires that Hugh Freeze has made, and what their role will be within the staff.

Being a newly-hired head coach during this day and time has become challenging.

Not only do you have to construct a new staff, but you must do that while maintaining and improving your recruiting class before the beginning of the early signing period.

Auburn’s [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] has done a great job juggling both tasks. He recently signed the nation’s No. 19 recruiting class, which is a vast improvement from before his hire. He has also put together a respectable staff that is sure to go a long way in rebuilding the program to become one of the best in the SEC.

Freeze’s staff is headlined by [autotag]Philip Montgomery[/autotag], who will serve as offensive coordinator. Montgomery is best known for being the mastermind behind Baylor’s high-powered offenses during the early 2010s and for being the college offensive coordinator for quarterbacks Case Keenum and Robert Griffin III.

Other key hires are [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Zac Etheridge[/autotag], who are retained from the previous staff. Williams served as interim head coach following the dismissal of [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag], and led the Tigers to a 2-2 record to close out the season. Freeze says that one of his first priorities when landing the Auburn job was to keep Williams on staff.

“I had already done my homework on people that we had in common, friends, I knew that my first priority was “I have to have Cadillac on my side to help me drive the culture of Auburn Football,” Freeze said during his introductory press conference in November.

Williams will serve as the running backs coach and associate head coach. As for Etheridge, he will coach the secondary alongside [autotag]Wesley McGriff[/autotag], who comes to Auburn for his third stint. Those three have been vital in recruiting and will go a long way in building sustained success for the program.

Joining Etheridge and McGriff defensively will be [autotag]Ron Roberts[/autotag] as defensive coordinator, [autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag] as the defensive line coach, and [autotag]Josh Aldridge[/autotag] will coach linebackers.

Freeze has also hired two offensive assistants in addition to Williams and Montgomery. Jake Thronton comes to Auburn from Ole Miss, where he will coach the offensive line. Freeze also brings tight ends coach Ben Aigamaua from Liberty to Auburn.

Two other names that have been linked to Auburn are [autotag]Dominic Studzinski[/autotag] and [autotag]Kent Austin[/autotag]. Freeze shares an update on their roles within the staff:

“Strength and conditioning Dominic Studzinski and Kent Austin is our chief quality control of the program that overseas if we say we’re gonna do something a certain way let’s do it that way,” Freeze said. “So I’m excited about our staff and we’ll be bringing in the rest of the off-the-field support staff along with the wide receiver coach at the beginning of the new year.”

The only position group that does not have a coach to this point is wide receivers, which Freeze says will be taken care of soon. Freeze blames recruiting for the lack of a receiver coach hire, but I think that we will let that slide.

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Top transfer quarterback expected to visit Auburn this week

Hugh Freeze and staff are aiming high by contacting one of the best players currently in the transfer portal.

The transfer portal received quite a shake-up on Monday when one of the games’ best signal-callers announced his intent to explore opportunities.

[autotag]Grayson McCall[/autotag], who has thrown for more than 8,000 yards during his career at Coastal Carolina, announced Monday he will leave the program following the Birmingham Bowl against East Carolina on Dec. 27.

The news raised eyebrows around College Football. He instantly becomes one of the best available options within the transfer portal. His recruitment became even more exciting for Auburn fans when reports surfaced Tuesday night that he is planning to visit the Plains within a week.

Brandon Marcello of 247Sports reported Tuesday that Auburn is expected to receive a visit from McCall this Saturday.

This is the second known report of Auburn having connections with a quarterback in the transfer portal. Earlier this week, Brian Dohn of 247Sports reported Auburn was one of six programs that had reached out to former NC State quarterback, Devin Leary.

McCall thrived in Jamie Chadwell’s offense at Coastal Carolina, which is similar to what [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and [autotag]Philip Montgomery[/autotag] will install at Auburn. He passed for 8,019 yards and 78 touchdowns during his four-year career in Conway. His decision-making is important to note as well. He has only thrown eight interceptions in his career.

Auburn’s quarterback room is thin heading into spring season. [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] and [autotag]Holden Griener[/autotag] are expected to be the only returning players.

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SEC analyst praises Hugh Freeze’s coordinator hires

This popular SEC analyst says that Hugh Freeze has “knocked it out of the park.”

Sometimes, things are just worth the wait.

Auburn fans were growing antsy due to the lack of news regarding coordinators for Hugh Freeze’s staff. The wait ended on Sunday night when news broke of the hires of Philip Montgomery as offensive coordinator and Ron Roberts as defensive coordinator.

[autotag]Roberts[/autotag] led the Baylor Bears to a great season defensively, and [autotag]Montgomery[/autotag] has a great track record of developing offensive players and directing them to produce impressive numbers.

Fans, as well as the national media, were pleased with the hires. One analyst, in particular, says that Hugh Freeze “knocked it out of the park.”

SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum was a guest on the Monday edition of “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning,” where he discussed the hires of Montgomery and Roberts. Finebaum said he likes the hire of Montgomery as offensive coordinator, due to his experience working with Art Briles.

“You’re talking about (Philip Montgomery) in as OC who was working high school with Art Briles,” Finebaum said. “You’re talking about somebody that understands every aspect of offense, especially where the offensive philosophies are today. I think (Freeze has) done extremely well.”

While he is impressed with the hires, Finebaum says he is not all that surprised Freeze was able to pull off great hires.

“With the resources that Auburn has and the money behind that school right now and the energy behind that school, you knew he could go out there and bring in good coordinators, perhaps not to this caliber,” Finebaum said.

Both hires became official on Monday, as both coordinators have officially changed their Twitter display photos to Auburn-related ones. Roberts has also stayed busy by interacting with Auburn fans on the social media platform.

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Report: Auburn Football nearing deals with respected coordinators

Reports surfaced Sunday that Hugh Freeze is nearing deals with two experienced, successful coordinators.

Auburn fans have been intrigued by [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s recruiting efforts since taking over the head coaching job on Nov. 28.

While recruiting has picked up steam, fans have gotten antsy by the lack of news surrounding coordinator hires. Those worries may have been put to rest Sunday evening.

Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports has reported that Auburn is nearing a deal with Baylor defensive coordinator Ron Roberts for the same role.

Roberts’ defense this season allowed 137 yards per game, which is third-best in the Big 12, and was fourth in the Big 12 in overall yards allowed with 370 yards per contest. Roberts’ top defender at Baylor this season was Al Walcott, who recorded 81 stops, ten of which being for loss.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise, as he was also linked to the open defensive coordinator position at Arkansas as late as Saturday. Roberts has been a coach at the college level since 1997, with stops at Texas State, Louisiana, and Baylor. He also served as head coach for Southeastern Louisiana and Delta State.

Soon after the news of Roberts’ hire was reported, Brandon Marcello of 247Sports broke the news that Auburn is targeting former Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery for the offensive coordinator position.

He was recently fired as head coach of the Golden Hurricane but is known for his stellar offenses under Art Briles at both Houston and Baylor. During his first and only season as Houston’s offensive coordinator, Montgomery led quarterbacks Case Keenum and Blake Joseph to 1,000-yard passing seasons.

At Baylor, Montgomery coached Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III. Griffin passed for 4,293 yards and 37 touchdowns during his Heisman-winning season in 2011. Baylor quarterbacks Bryce Petty and Nick Florence also had 4,000-yard passing seasons under Montgomery’s leadership.

The hires of Montgomery and Roberts become the sixth and seventh outside hires of the new Hugh Freeze staff. [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag], and [autotag]Zac Etheridge[/autotag] have been retained from Bryan Harsin’s staff for on-the-field roles.

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