Tag: reaction

49ers 2023 prospect watch: Big, athletic DE YaYa Diaby has top 30 visit with San Francisco

The #49ers would be a perfect landing spot for this super-athletic DE who didn’t put up big numbers in college:

The 49ers could use some defensive end help in the draft. Part of their search includes a top-30 visit with Louisville edge rusher YaYa Diaby per the Draft Network’s Ryan Fowler.

Diaby is a special blend of size and athleticism that makes him worth betting on late on Day 2 or perhaps early on Day 3 of the draft. He measured in at 6-3, 263 pounds at the combine and blew away the 40-yard dash with a 4.51-second sprint. More importantly, he churned out a 1.56 10-yard split. That indicator of explosiveness matters more for a pass rusher than the full 40-yard dash.

While he carries a deep physical skill set, Diaby didn’t post big-time production in college. He had 7.0 sacks in two years for Georgia Military College before transferring to Louisville. In three seasons there he had 10.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss in 34 games.

However, with Louisville he was playing a lot as a 3-4 DE where his athleticism was sometimes limited in ways it wouldn’t be as a 4-3 DE in Kris Kocurek’s Wide-9.

It stands to reason that Diaby can continue developing alongside Kocurek as a 4-3 DE in a defense that won’t require him to focus on much besides rushing the passer in the early part of his career. The production may not have been there in college, but he has a ton of tools worth banking on.

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A-Day 2023: Taylor Jones’ ten players to watch this Saturday

A-Day is coming up this Saturday. Here are the ten players that Auburn Wire managing editor Taylor Jones is most excited to see.

Auburn football is putting the finishing touches on its’ spring practice period and will showcase what they have been working on this Saturday at the annual A-Day game at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The game will not only be exciting from a new staff standpoint, but fans will have the opportunity to see players such as Jarquez Hunter in his new role, transfers settling into their new teams, and the progress that several “flipmas” presents can bring to the program.

There are so many storylines and players to follow during A-Day, which sparked Auburn Wire writers Taylor Jones, J.D. McCarthy, and Daniel Locke to make a list of the top 10 players that they will be keeping an eye on this Saturday.

Taylor Jones’ top 10 is first up. His top players consist of transfer linemen, running backs, and quarterbacks.

Here’s a look at the top 10 players that Jones is keeping an eye on this Saturday.

In-state coach welcomes idea of playing Auburn in spring game setting

One coach is buying into Hugh Freeze’s proposal of shaking up the current spring game model.

If you were to open a book on “coach speak” cliches, the phrase “we will know more about our team once they hit someone else” will more than likely will be found on the first page.

In a hypothetical proposal by Auburn head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag], that idea could come into play earlier in the season.

In Monday’s media availability, Freeze shared his displeasure with intrasquad scrimmages, calling them “wasted days” due to not being able to conceal every plan behind doors.

Freeze does offer a solution to his problem, however. It is something he says that he has wanted to get done since his days at Ole Miss.

“I’m going to cry again for the solution,” Freeze said Monday. “The solution is: Allow us to scrimmage somebody on A-Day. Another team. I think everybody would get out of it exactly what they want.”

He would go on to suggest that his program, as well as Alabama, would play in-state teams such as Troy or UAB. After hearing of Freeze’s proposal, one in-state coach shares his willingness to compete with Auburn or Alabama on the gridiron in a spring setting.

Jon Sumrall, who led Troy to a 12-2 record in his first season in 2022, said Tuesday that he would love the idea of taking his team to Auburn or Tuscaloosa to play, and sees very little drawback to the plan.

“Do you get caught up in preparing for the game more than just using spring as a developmental time for individuals — and for experimenting, adapting and growing within your systems on offense, defense and in the kicking game?” Sumrall said in an interview with 247Sports. “Those are the only drawbacks I see.”

Auburn has played several in-state, FCS-level schools in football in recent seasons, but has not played one of the state’s four Group of Five programs since 2015 when the Tigers hosted Jax State when the Gamecocks still competed in the FCS. Before that, Auburn played UAB in 1996.

This season’s A-Day game will take place Saturday, April 8, at 1 p.m. CT inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

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Baseball composite: Tigers still unranked in every major poll

The Tigers are still on the edge of a top-25 ranking ahead of this weekend’s series with Texas A&M.

Auburn baseball is still unranked after the Tigers dropped a series to Florida on the road.

Auburn got off to a great start by knocking off the Gators on Friday, 10-1, behind a four-RBI game by Ike Irish and a six-run 2nd inning. Auburn head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] called Florida’s offense “the best it gets in America”, and on Saturday, the Gators delivered. Florida had their way with the Tigers by racking up 19 hits in a 12-5 victory on Saturday to even the series. Then, on Sunday, Auburn built an 8-3 lead through 4 1/2 innings before Florida scored 14 unanswered runs to win the series with a 17-8 drubbing in game three.

Next up is a three-game set with Texas A&M who, like Auburn, has had a rough go in the SEC with a 3-6 conference record. Auburn has high hopes to win the series in front of the home crowd, which may help boost their stock in the rankings this time next week.

Here’s a look at where Auburn ranks in this week’s five major polls.

Eagles to host Penn State CB Joey Porter Jr. on a top 30 visit

The Philadelphia Eagles will host a top 30 predraft visit with Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

The Eagles are retooling on defense, and even after re-signing James Bradberry and Darius Slay, the cornerback position will be addressed in this month’s draft.

Philadelphia had one of the NFL’s top defensive units in 2022, and the elite play at cornerback was a huge reason.

With both Slay and Bradberry expected to be here until at least 2025, GM Howie Roseman could decide to nab a dynamic cornerback at one of the draft’s deepest positions in 2023.

The Birds have met with Christian Gonzalez (Oregon), Devin Witherspoon (Illinois), and now, Joey Porter Jr. (Penn State).

The son of the former Steelers’ pass rusher, Porter Jr. was named third-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and honorable mention by the media in 2021.

That season he made 13 starts at cornerback, finishing with 51 tackles (40 solo), one forced fumble, one interception, and four pass breakups.

In 2022, the cornerback earned second-team Associated Press All-American and first-team all-conference status, winning the team’s Most Valuable Defensive Player Award (27 tackles, 11 pass breakups in 10 starts) despite missing two games.

Porter Jr. earned a 9.63 out of 10 grade on RAS (Relative Athletic Score), an analytics-based outlet that evaluates NFL prospects.

Porter is among the big three corners, including Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez and Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon.

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Browns continue to promote diversity with Girls Flag Football Clinic

The team continues to focus on diversity and inclusion.

Andrew Berry and the Cleveland Browns since he arrived have focused on promoting diversity and inclusion. They have done so on both the coaching side as well as the front office. Assistant wide receivers coach Callie Brownson helped continue the team’s mission for inclusion on Sunday when the team hosted a girl’s flag football clinic.

Coach Brownson has already left her mark on the sport after becoming the first woman to coach an NFL position in a regular season game in 2020 filling in for Drew Petzing. The team is sure to continue to focus on diversity and inclusion and it’s something that is sorely needed in the NFL.

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Eagles news: Kenneth Gainwell set for breakout season; Broderick Jones a prospect to watch?

We’re looking at a potentially more prominent role for Kenneth Gainwell in 2023, and could Broderick Jones be a sleeper pick at No. 10 overall?

The NFL draft is fast approaching, and as the Eagles look for a quick retool on the defensive side of the ball, a third-year running back could be set for a breakout season.

Philadelphia lost Miles Sanders to the Panthers and signed Rashaad Penny,, but Gainwell could be the straw that stirs everyone’s drinks in 2023.

The Eagles will make a movie at offensive line in this month’s draft, but could he take a flier on a road grader from Georgia?

Eagles land dynamic slot WR, versatile RB in Touchdown Wire’s latest 3 round mock draft

The Philadelphia Eagles add dynamic talent on both sides of the football in Touchdown Wire’s latest 2023 NFL mock draft

The Eagles have one of the NFL’s top offensive units, and Howie Roseman could look to shake things up in the draft by adding even more talent.

Defenses don’t necessarily win championships in this high-scoring version of the NFL. The defending NFC Champions could look to stock up at the skill positions while slightly retooling after losing seven key defensive contributors.

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar just released his latest three-round mock draft, and he has Philadelphia spurning defensive personnel for a talented slot receiver that could make Jalen Hurts even more formidable.

Auburn commit makes MaxPreps all-junior second team

This 2024 guard is making headlines following his junior season.

MaxPreps released its 2022-23 all-junior team lists and 2024 Auburn commit [autotag]Labaron Philon[/autotag] made the second team list.

The 6’4″ guard from Mobile attends Baker High School.

“Led the Hornets (25-7) to the Class 7A state quarterfinals after averaging 35.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.6 steals per game while shooting 52 percent from the field, 34 percent from 3-point range and 82 percent from the free throw line. He scored a career-high 51 points in November.”

Auburn’s 2024 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 3 in the country via 247 Sports. Philon is joined by [autotag]Tahaad Pettiford[/autotag] and [autotag]Peyton Marshall[/autotag].

Pettiford is a five-star guard from Jersey City, New Jersey. Pettiford is the No. 21 player in the country and the No. 3 point guard.

Marshall is a four-star center from Marietta, Georgia. Marshall is the No. 47 player in the class and the No. 6 center.

Auburn head coach [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] has put a lot of effort into Auburn’s 2024 class and the work is showing.

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Nets’ Mikal Bridges reacts to disappointing loss to T-Wolves

Mikal Bridges felt that the Timberwolves executed better than the Nets on Tuesday.

NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Mikal Bridges has been an absolute stud for the Nets ever since he came to the team in February. It has been rare to see him have a game in which he shoots worse than 50% from the field. However, Tuesday’s 107-102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves was about more than just Bridges’ off game.

“They (the Timberwolves) executed better than us,” Bridges said after scoring 24 points on just 9-of-24 shooting from the field and 1-of-5 from behind the three-point line. Bridges made a great effort of offsetting the poor shooting performance by grabbing five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. “They just got more stops than us and credit to them. We just got to finish the game better.”

With the score tied at 98 with 2:35 left in the fourth quarter after Spencer Dinwiddie’s step-back three-point shot, Minnesota went on a 9-4 run to end the game. Brooklyn was unable find any good shots down the stretch and that led to the moment where Dinwiddie appeared to have been fouled by Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards with 8.1 seconds left. “We just got to be better on both ends, but they did a really good job.”

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