Sam Jackson V – Syndication Server

Robert Lewis poised to make an immediate impact at Auburn

Lewis’ track record of consistency at Georgia State will be valuable to Auburn’s offense.

Auburn football made history last recruiting cycle by signing four top-tier wide receivers. The Tigers also added valuable experience by reeling in experienced wide receivers such as former Penn State star [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] and former Cal quarterback [autotag]Sam Jackson V[/autotag], who has transitioned to wide receiver.

There is zero doubt that Auburn will be improved on the offensive side of the football, but which addition is poised to make the biggest impact? CBS Sports’ Will Backus has an idea.

Backus revealed his picks for each SEC program’s biggest impact transfers, and he has picked former Georgia State star wide receiver [autotag]Robert Lewis[/autotag] as Auburn’s candidate.

Lewis was stellar in a supporting role under former Georgia State wide receiver Jamari Thrash in 2022 by hauling in 22 catches for 379 yards and six scores. Once Thrash departed for Louisville, Lewis stepped into the premier wide receiver role with ease. Last season, he led all Georgia State receivers by recording 877 receiving yards on 70 catches with seven touchdowns.

His consistency could help Auburn reach new heights writes Backus.

Penn State wide receiver transfer KeAndre Lambert-Smith also deserves a nod here as he likely has more upside, but there’s some concern about his lackluster close to the 2023 season. Lewis provides more consistency and will give the Tigers some much-needed playmaking out of the slot, where he had 877 yards and seven touchdowns at Georgia State in 2023.

Former Texas A&M DL Walter Nolen (Ole Miss), former Utah RB JaQuinden Jackson (Arkansas), and former Georgia QB Brock Vandagriff (Kentucky) join Lewis on Backus’ instant impact transfers list.

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KeAndre Lambert-Smith brings ‘consistency’ and ‘experience’ to Auburn football’s receiver room

The Penn State transfer is the final piece to correcting Auburn’s passing woes.

Hugh Freeze and his staff revamped Auburn’s wide receiver room this offseason by adding talented in-state freshmen receivers including [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag] and [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag].

The transfer portal was kind to Auburn in this regard as they added Georgia State’s [autotag]Robert Lewis[/autotag], Maryland’s [autotag]Rico Walker[/autotag], and former Cal quarterback [autotag]Sam Jackson V[/autotag] in addition to “the Freeze four.” However, there was still a missing piece that Auburn needed to fill, and they were able to fill the void by adding former Penn State wide receiver [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag].

Lambert-Smith hauled in 1,721 yards on 126 catches and 11 touchdowns during his four-year career in Happy Valley, which is understandable that he was one of the most sought-after wide receivers in the spring transfer portal window. ESPN ranked Lambert-Smith as the No. 13 overall available player in the transfer portal before being scooped by Auburn due to his potential role of being a solid No. 2 or No. 3 receiver.

Auburn is getting that in Lambert-Smith says ESPN’s Billy Tucker. Lambert-Smith provides a presence that Auburn desperately needs on offense.

This is a much-needed shot in the arm as Auburn finished 121st in passing offense last year and the returning unit lacks experience and proven game-breakers. While the Tigers are bringing an impressive 2024 receiver class, they will be freshmen and adjusting to the speed of the SEC.

Lambert-Smith might not step in and be the go-to target, but he will bring consistency and experience to a complex offense as a No. 2 or 3 target. He will also bring a veteran presence to young receiver room, and that is important as well.

Auburn finished last in passing offense last season by passing for just 2,109 yards and 18 touchdowns. [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] is expected to return to Auburn’s starting quarterback role, and should be more comfortable heading into the 2024 season with a new-look wide receiver room.

Auburn lands former Penn State WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith out of portal

Auburn football is continuing to improve its receiving corps for the 2024 season, adding Penn State WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith

Auburn football is continuing to make moves to its roster through the transfer portal, gaining some high talent from other programs within the last few days.

Things got better for coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and this Tiger offense, as former Penn State wide receiver [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] announced he is joining this new and improved receiving squad on Wednesday.

Auburn lands the senior after he entered the transfer portal on April 15. Lamber-Smith left State College after four years of playing under James Franklin, making a significant impact on the field for the Nittany Lions.

He started in 12 of the team’s 13 games last season. He ranked fifth in the Big Ten with 53 catches on the year and sixth in receiving yards, posting 673.

The 6-1, 185-pound receiver only racked up four touchdowns, with his longest being a 72-yard house call in the Penn State’s season opener with West Virginia. He was able to post over 80 yards catching four times, as well.

He is currently the only player in Nittany Lion history to have ever recorded multiple 80-yard reception. He also has three touchdown receptions of over 70 yards to his name, to go along with his 20 catches of over 20 yards.

Lambert-Smith is set to join veteran transfers [autotag]Robert Lewis[/autotag] out of Georgia State and [autotag]Sam Jackson V[/autotag] out of California in this receiving corps, to go along with highly touted freshman class the Tigers are bringing in at the position.

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Auburn among teams interested in Penn State transfer WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith

Fellow SEC programs Georgia and Texas A&M as well as Colorado and West Virginia have reportedly been in contact with the talented 6-foot-1 receiver.

Auburn has reportedly been in contact with wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith following his decision to enter the transfer portal on Monday. The fifth-year senior is coming off a year in which he led the 10-3 Penn State Nittany Lions in receiving with 673 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Despite the success with five-star freshman quarterback Drew Allar, Lambert-Smith is now seeking a new home. Fellow SEC programs Georgia and Texas A&M as well as Colorado and West Virginia have reportedly been in contact with the talented 6-foot-1 receiver.

If Auburn can land his talents, Lambert-Smith will join an already vastly talented receiving core featuring new faces like five-star freshmen [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag] and [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag] and transfers [autotag]Sam Jackson V[/autotag] and [autotag]Robert Lewis[/autotag].

With spring practices in the rear-view mirror, the former Penn State star will surely want to find a new home soon. We’ll see if Hugh Freeze and company can bring him over to the Plains.

NEWS: Auburn, Georgia, Texas A&M, Colorado and West Virginia have been in contact with Penn State transfer WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith, @PeteNakos_ reports👀

Lambert-Smith is the top available receiver in the portal. https://t.co/tA2FTzX0RB pic.twitter.com/vIGn3u6gs9

— On3 (@On3sports) April 16, 2024

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Mike Farrell Sports lists Auburn’s top three transfer portal additions

Which transfer portal addition will make the greatest impact on the Plains this season?

Auburn football had several needs to fill this offseason and found several great additions through the transfer portal.

The Tigers took care of areas by adding transfers such as former Alabama safety [autotag]Spoodie Kite[/autotag], former Mississippi State tackle [autotag]Percy Lewis[/autotag], and former California quarterback turned wide receiver [autotag]Sam Jackson V[/autotag].

Which of Auburn’s nine transfer portal additions could make the biggest impact this season? Mike Farrell Sports has examined all nine of Auburn’s transfers and has picked three that could have the best chance.

The first player Tony Thomas of Mike Farrell Sports mentions is Georgia State transfer [autotag]Robert Lewis[/autotag]. Lewis was the secondary receiver to Jamari Thrash in Atlanta in 2022 and made his way to the top of the pack in 2023 following Thrash’s transfer to Louisville. He hauled in a team-leading 70 passes for 877 yards and seven scores last season for Georgia State.

Next up is [autotag]Jerrin Thompson[/autotag], a former safety for Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns. Thomas breaks down why Thompson is such a valuable addition to the Tigers’ secondary.

Tied for the team lead with three INTs, Jerrin Thompson returned one of those picks for a 27-yard touchdown in a 31-10 win over Wyoming. In addition, Thompson added 38 tackles and broke up seven passes and was named an Honorable Mention All-Big XII. Thompson will fill a position of need for Freeze and the Tigers. For his collegiate year, Thompson has 176 tackles, five INTs, and 18 pass break ups to his credit.

The final impact transfer this season according to Mike Farrell Sports is former Duke linebacker [autotag]Dorian Mausi[/autotag]. Mausi recorded 192 total tackles in four seasons at Duke, with the 2023 season being his best. In 10 games during the 2023 season in Durham, Mausi made 61 tackles, with 3.5 going for loss with an interception.

The Tigers’ 2024 transfer portal haul ranks No. 40 in the nation according to 247Sports, which ranks No. 15 in the SEC. Their high school recruiting class is top-notch. It wrapped up the cycle as the No. 7 class in the nation.

Auburn among schools interested in Miami (OH) wide receiver Gage Larvadain

Auburn is one of several Power Five programs that are interested in landing one of the MAC’s top receivers.

Auburn has gotten lucky with reeling in several talented wide receivers for the 2024 roster and it appears they are not finished boosting the room.

According to Pete Nakos of On3 ($), Auburn is one of nine Power Five programs that have reached out to Miami (OH) wide receiver [autotag]Gage Larvadain[/autotag]. Other schools that have communicated with Larvadain include Baylor, Duke, and South Carolina.

Larvadain started his career at Southeastern Louisiana and played for the Lions for two seasons before transferring to Miami. He has found success at every stop. He concluded his junior season with 1,983 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns on 138 receptions.

His best season was his sophomore season at Southeastern Louisiana, where he made 59 catches for 731 yards. However, his junior year at Miami was just as impressive. His 679 receiving yards were the second-best in the MAC, trailing Western Michigan’s Kenneth Womack, who logged 691 receiving yards this season.

Auburn has signed two transfer wide receiver so far during this window that is set to close on Jan. 2. [autotag]Robert Lewis[/autotag], formerly of Georgia State, joins Auburn after recording 102 catches for 1,323 yards and 13 touchdowns in three collegiate seasons. The Tigers also landed former Cal quarterback [autotag]Sam Jackson V[/autotag], who will look to rekindle magic with high school teammate [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] as a wide receiver.

Auburn adds former Cal QB Sam Jackson V from transfer portal

In a surprising move, Jackson is set to join Auburn’s roster as a wide receiver.

In a surprising move, Auburn has added a former Pac-12 quarterback to its transfer portal haul… as a wide receiver.

[autotag]Sam Jackson V[/autotag], who played 5 games as a quarterback at Cal last season, is set to transfer to Auburn to begin his transition to wide receiver.

Jackson originally signed with TCU and was a three-star quarterback according to 247Sports from the 2021 recruiting cycle. He was the No. 32 quarterback of the cycle and was the No. 7 overall recruit from the state of Illinois. He was once a high school teammate of Auburn quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] at Naperville Central High School. Before transitioning to quarterback, Jackson was a wide receiver for Thorne.

As a quarterback, Jackson passed for 681 yards and five touchdowns between his stops at Cal and TCU. This season at Cal, he completed 51-of-96 passes for 556 yards and five touchdowns while splitting snaps with Fernando Mendoza and Ben Jackson. He was the Golden Bears’ highest-graded quarterback with a 71.2 according to Pro Football Focus.

Jackson joins [autotag]Robert Lewis[/autotag] as transfer receivers that have signed with Auburn since the transfer portal window opened earlier this month. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 and officially an Auburn Tiger 🖊️

Samuel Jackson V is headed to The Plains!
🏠 Chicago, Illinois
🏈 Wide Receiver pic.twitter.com/EJG5a6EvNJ

— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) December 28, 2023

Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs. California

These two teams are eerily similar, but who has the edge?

A pair of 1-0 teams will face off in week two, when the Auburn Tigers travel across the country to take on the California Golden Bears in Berkley California.

Auburn is coming off a 59-14 thumping of UMass in their home opener, while Cal’s week one game went eerily similar, as they coasted on the road against North Texas, 58-21.

Despite these similar results and Auburn having to travel all the way to the west coach and play in California Memorial Stadium, BetMGM currently has the Tigers as a 6.5 point favorite, giving the Tigers an implied odds of 71.43 to win the matchup outright.

ESPN’s FPI calculator sees this game going differently, as the Index is giving Cal a 54.9% chance to win their home opener.

With the differing opinions on how this game is going to play out, we’ll take it to the tale of the tape to provide some more clarity.

This game features two transfer quarterbacks who have yet to play a full game for their new teams.

On the home side, quarterback [autotag]Sam Jackson V[/autotag] played sparingly in his first two seasons for TCU, completing 6 passes in 6 attempts for 125 yards.

Jackson was named the starter in week one, but an early injury forced him to miss the remainder of the game after he completed 3/4 passes for 33 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 18 yards on three carries.

NC State transfer Ben Finley came in to replace him and played well, collecting 279 yards and a touchdown in the win. Still, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox told Jackson he wants him back, as he’s been named the starter for week two.

On the Auburn side of the ball, [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] played well in his 3+ quarters of action in week one, collecting 141 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 59% of his passes.

Auburn head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] also used a second quarterback frequently in week one, giving [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] a handful of packages in the red zone that led to 51 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

The edge in the quarterback department goes to Auburn, based on the fact Thorne and Ashford boast much more experience than Jackson and Finley.

As for the battle of the skill positions, that is much closer.

Auburn played week one without their number one running back in [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag]. That didn’t stop the Tigers from rushing for 289 yards thanks to great games from their o-line, the aforementioned [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag], [autotag]Sean Jackson[/autotag], and [autotag]Jeremiah Cobb[/autotag].

Cal on the other hand rushed for 312 yards on the back of sophomore running back [autotag]Jaydn Ott[/autotag]’s 188. Ott’s 188 yards and two-touchdown performance comes off the back of a very impressive freshmen season in which he racked up 1,218 total yards (897 rushing) and 11 touchdowns for a team that won a single game.

Ott is probably the best skill position player in this game, and the fact he is paired with a true number-one receiving threat in Jeremiah Hunter (965 receiving yards in 2022) gives Cal the edge over Auburn’s committee backfield and unproven receiver room.

The defenses in this game also stack up fairly evenly. Last year, Cal’s defense was in the middle of the pack in Division 1, giving up an average of 433.2 YPG. Auburn was slightly better, conceding 406.5 YPG to its opponents in 2022.

It was Cal who had the edge in week one of 2023 however, as they were able to hold a solid North Texas team to just 225 total yards. Auburn on the other hand gave up 301 to a UMass team that isn’t very good.

It’s too early in the season to give one team the edge on defense.

If these comparisons have taught us anything, it’s that this game will be as close as many experts expect it to be. These teams very similarly had bad seasons in 2022 and good starts to 2023, but only one of them will continue the positive vibes into week three.

This game should be a doozy, and it all kicks off at 9:30 p.m. CST on Saturday.

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