Wilkes burst onto the scene as a two-way star at nearby Wadley High School as an eighth grader in 2021. Since then, he has succeeded as an EDGE rusher and a running back for the Bulldogs. In Wadley’s AHSAA Class 1A state championship win over Maplesville in December, Wilkes rushed for 312 yards and five scores on offense while recording a team-leading 10 tackles with two tackles for loss and an interception on defense.
Auburn currently leads the running to land Wilkes. According to On3’s recruiting prediction machine, Auburn has a 53.2% chance to land Wilkes, with Georgia and Tennessee close behind. Wilkes is the No. 10 EDGE from the 2026 cycle and is the No. 6 overall prospect from Alabama according to 247Sports.
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Brad Crawford of 247Sports expects Arnold to thrive despite a disappointing 2024 season at Oklahoma.
Oklahoma transfer quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] was hyped to have a strong debut season for the Sooners in 2024. However, he failed to meet expectations and decided to find a new home at season’s end.
Arnold landed at Auburn out of the transfer portal, which is seen as a prime place to clean his slate. Because of his new situation, one college football expert believes that Arnold could be one of the sport’s best quarterbacks in 2025.
Former Oklahoma signal caller Jackson Arnold should benefit from that along with better play up front. That’s right — the guy the Sooners temporarily benched during last fall’s spiral could be one of the SEC’s best in 2025. Arnold was sacked 34 times in 10 starts last season, including 16 times total in losses to South Carolina and Ole Miss. Hugh Freeze has to hit a grand slam with this Arnold acquisition — or else.
Arnold passed for 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns while throwing three interceptions for Oklahoma in 10 games during the 2024 season. Most of his issues were due to poor play by Oklahoma’s offensive line and receivers.
Oklahoma held the honor of being the SEC’s worst passing offense last season by throwing for 2,286 yards and 19 touchdowns. Arnold completed 62.6% of his passes last season, with 12 being dropped by Sooner receivers. In terms of pressure, opposing defenses pressured Arnold 132 times, 36 of which resulted in sacks according to data from Pro Football Focus.
Crawford expects Arnold’s production to increase thanks to Auburn’s experienced offensive line and talented receiving corps. Crawford projects Arnold to complete 65% of his passes for 2,910 yards and 25 scores while rushing for 575 yards and four touchdowns on the ground in 2025.
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Hunter finished his career fourth all time among Auburn’s rushing leaders with 3,371 yards. The 5-10, 209-pound senior had a career-best 1,201 yards this season, which ranked second among all SEC players. Hunter rushed for 278 yards, the most by any FBS player on the season, in a 24-10 win over Kentucky on Oct. 27. He had 214 of those yards in the second half, which was a school record.
Hunter rushed for over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career in 2024, earning 1,201 yards on the ground. He achieved career-highs in carries (187), yards per carry (6.4), and touchdowns (8). He rushed for over 100 yards in four games this season and scored at least one touchdown in five games. His season-high was three touchdowns, a feat he achieved in Auburn’s thrilling overtime win over Texas A&M on Nov. 23.
Hunter’s Auburn career ends with 3,371 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns. He also returned 25 kickoffs during his time at Auburn, gaining 517 yards. Click here to see how Hunter’s career stats compare to other Tiger running backs such as [autotag]Bo Jackson[/autotag] and [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag].
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Is Auburn’s final grade a reflection of its 2024 record?
Auburn football had very few highlights during its 2024 season such as the thrilling overtime win over Texas A&M and premier back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] rushing for 1,000 yards for the first time in his career.
However, plenty of forgettable moments led USA TODAY Sports to give Auburn a GPA-crushing grade in its postseason report card feature.
USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg issued final grades for all 134 FBS programs following the College Football Playoff National Championship game earlier this week. Auburn received a “D” for its season performance which resulted in a 5-7 record. Other programs included in this category are Florida Atlantic, NC State, Mississippi State, and Troy.
Auburn ended its 2024 campaign with two SEC wins and was in a great position to earn more. Auburn led Oklahoma 21-10 in the 4th quarter before the Sooners scored 17 unanswered points over the final 8:32 to claim the win. Missouri also stormed back from a 17-3 deficit to beat Auburn in Columbia, 21-17. Missouri’s Jamal Roberts scored on a four-yard rush to cap a 17-play, 95-yard drive with 0:46 remaining in the game. Outside of SEC play, Auburn dropped a game to California despite being double-digit favorites at home.
The Auburn Tigers look to improve their record, and their final grade from USA TODAY Sports, during the 2025 season. [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s squad hits the field for the first time in 2025 on Saturday, Aug. 30 against Baylor in Waco, Texas.
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Arnold will get a fresh start in Auburn this fall. How will he perform in his new uniform?
Auburn football revamped its quarterback room by landing two players with starting experience from the transfer portal.
Former Oklahoma starting quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and ex-Stanford signal caller [autotag]Ashton Daniels[/autotag] join the roster ahead of next season and will compete alongside true freshman Deuce Knight for the right to be named QB1 of the Auburn Tigers.
According to Ryan Aber of The Oklahoman, Arnold is projected to be named starter for Hugh Freeze’s offense in 2025. However, Aber does not expect Arnold to kickstart Auburn’s offense to stellar improvement. In his ranking of potential SEC starting quarterbacks, he places Arnold at No. 12.
Aber cites Arnold’s struggles in 2024 as the reason for his low ranking. However, Auburn should provide a better supporting cast to help Arnold succeed.
The TIgers’ offense was boom or bust this season, struggling with turnovers for much of the year. Enter Arnold, who had a rough first season as a starter with 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns with just three interceptions though he struggled with ball-security issues. Arnold rushed for 444 yards and three touchdowns. Much of his struggles were tied into the lack of protection from OU’s offensive line and a lack of targets among wide receivers. Arnold still has the potential that made him one of the most coveted quarterbacks in the 2023 class.
Auburn returns four of its five starting offensive linemen from the 2024 season, and will have a strong replacement for [autotag]Izavion Miller[/autotag] at right tackle in Virginia Tech transfer [autotag]Xavier Chaplin[/autotag]. Auburn’s receivers will also provide more reliable targets for Arnold. Auburn landed the transfer portal’s No. 1 receiver in [autotag]Eric Singleton[/autotag] last month, who will mesh with [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Malcolm Simmons[/autotag], and [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag] to form one of the best receiving units in the country.
Arnold is ahead of Alabama‘s Ty Simpson, Mississippi State’s Blake Shapen, Missouri’s Beau Pribula, and Kentucky‘s Zach Calzada in Aber’s rankings. LSU‘s Garrett Nussmeier takes the top spot as focus begins to shift to the 2025 season.
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Travis Burgess, a state-championship-winning quarterback, is set to visit Auburn this weekend.
Auburn football will host several key 2026 recruits as part of “junior day” on the Plains this weekend. Among those will be a state-champion quarterback from the Peach State.
[autotag]Travis Burgess[/autotag], a three-star quarterback from Loganville, Georgia, will visit Auburn this weekend for its junior day festivities. Burgess recently led the Grayson High School Rams to the GHSA Class 6A state championship over Colorado signee [autotag]Julian Lewis[/autotag] and the Carrollton Trojans.
In a recent interview with Steve Wiltfong of On3, Burgess explained what he is excited to experience this weekend in Auburn.
“Being able to get on campus and get a personal relationship with Coach Freeze and (Kent) Austin,” Burgess said in a recent interview with On3. “Experience what it would be like to play for the Tigers with the coaching staff, the current players, and other top athletes visiting as well. Also just see how the community is and if it’s a fit for me on a day-to-day basis.”
Although a member of the 2026 class, Burgess has yet to receive a full evaluation by key organizations such as On3 and 247Sports. However, the 6-5 signal caller is a three-star-rated quarterback by ESPN and Rivals. By Rivals’ rankings, he is the No. 14 quarterback in the nation from the 2026 class.
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The Tigers’ legend is now a head coach in the high school ranks.
[autotag]Sammie Coates[/autotag] had an amazing career as a wide receiver for the Auburn Tigers during the early portion of this century. He is now looking to take his talents to the high school ranks.
Huntsville City Schools announced this week that Coates has been hired as head coach of Columbia High School’s football program. Columbia competes in the AHSAA’s 6A classification alongside north Alabama powers Hartselle, Decatur, and Cullman.
Columbia High School principal Dr. Thomas Jones is excited for the Coates era to begin.
“Sammie Coates is a man of character, integrity, and he is committed to making a difference in the lives of our student athletes,” Jones said in a press release. “We are proud to welcome him to Columbia.”
As for Coates, he is ready to make a difference with his players, in addition to leading them to victories on the field.
“My goal is to not only guide these young men to be just great football players, but to be great people,” Coates said.
Coates is set to take over a Columbia program that finished 0-10 in 2024. The program has never had a winning season since its inception in 2006, and has not won a game since the 2017 season, when it won two games.
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Lunsford returns to Auburn after serving as director of scouting during Gene Chizik’s tenure.
Auburn football is bringing back a former staffer for an on-field role.
[autotag]Chad Lunsford[/autotag], who served as director of scouting during the [autotag]Gene Chizik[/autotag] era from 2009-12, is returning to Auburn to serve as special teams coordinator. Matt Zenitz of 247Sports first reported the news.
Lunsford brings a wealth of coaching experience to the Plains. He served various roles at Georgia Southern from 2013-21, which included a four-year stint as head coach of the Eagles’ program. During his time as head coach, Lunsford led Georgia Southern to 28 wins and two bowl victories.
He recently served as special teams coordinator under Tom Herman’s staff at Florida Atlantic from 2022-24. He was the program’s interim head coach following Herman’s firing, where he led the Owls to a 1-1 record. He and new EDGE coach [autotag]Roc Bellantoni[/autotag] coached together in Boca Raton.
Last season, Florida Atlantic returned 21 kicks for an 18.6 yard average, which ranked No. 12 among American Athletic Conference teams. For comparison, Auburn returned 23 kicks for a 22.1 yard average, which was fourth-best in the SEC.
The Owls connected on all 39 of its point after attempts, and went 10-of-18 in field goals. Florida Atlantic ranked No. 5 in the AAC in punts with an average of 43.1 yards per punt, and a net of 39.3. Auburn ranked near the bottom in the SEC in punt average with 42.5 yards per punt, and ranked dead last in the SEC in field goals by connecting on just 12-of-22 attempts.
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Who were the biggest winners and losers from the 2024 season according to the USA TODAY Sports 1-134 rankings?
Oklahoma’s initial foray into the SEC was a disappointment. There’s no other way to put it. At the same time, the SEC’s initial appearance in the 12-team playoff era was also disappointing.
Oklahoma had a losing record for the second time in three seasons. The SEC failed to put a team in the national championship game for the second season in a row. Just disappointment all around, really.
The conference put three teams into the College Football Playoff: Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee. The Longhorns were the only team to win a game, and they needed overtime to beat the Big 12’s lone representative, the Arizona State Sun Devils and Cam Skattebo.
Relative to preseason expectations, several SEC teams disappointed.
Georgia was considered the No. 1 team in the nation, and Texas was No. 3 heading into the season. Both teams finished outside of the top three, with the Bulldogs finishing outside the top five.
No team suffered a bigger drop than the Oklahoma Sooners, though. Oklahoma entered the season as the No. 12 team in the 1-134 rankings and finished at No. 64, suffering a 52-spot dropoff. The offense couldn’t overcome its injuries and inexperience during the season, failing to take advantage of an inspired performance from the Sooners’ defense.
Auburn, Kentucky, and Mississippi State also had huge drops relative to the preseason ranking.
If the Oklahoma Sooners were the biggest disappointment, Vanderbilt was the biggest surprise. They were considered the worst team in the SEC entering the season and finished the season 78 spots better than where they were in August. Diego Pavia helped transform the Vanderbilt offense and the Commodores were able to pull off big wins, notably over Alabama.
South Carolina was also a big winner throughout the season. They were the No. 69 team in the nation in the preseason and closed the year inside the top 25 at No. 22. That 47-spot bump was second only to Vanderbilt. LaNorris Sellers was a revelation in year one as a starter, and Shane Beamer built a defense that terrorized quarterbacks in 2024.
For the Sooners to return to expectations, the defense will have to play as well or better than it did last year and the offense will have to return to the productive level we’ve seen at OU over the last 25 years.
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Where did Auburn finish in the final USA TODAY Sports re-rank by Paul Myerberg?
The Auburn Tigers’ 2024 season did not go as planned, thus resulting in a 5-7 record and no postseason bid for the second time in three seasons.
Auburn’s disappointing season can be reflected in USA TODAY Sports’ final re-rank of the season. Auburn won two of its final three games, however, a 14-point loss to Alabama knocks the Tigers down to a final resting place of No. 86, a six-spot drop from the beginning of bowl season.
Good news for Auburn is that [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and his staff have worked tirelessly this offseason to improve its roster through the transfer portal. The Tigers have the No. 4 transfer portal class for the 2025 cycle according to 247Sports after landing several notable additions including quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], four-star tackle [autotag]Xavier Chaplin[/autotag], and four-star safety [autotag]Raion Strader[/autotag].
The national champion Ohio State Buckeyes claim the top spot in the year-end rankings, jumping four spots from No. 5. UConn made the largest stride in the ranking by climbing 18 spots to No. 59 while Oklahoma fell 16 spots to No. 64 following its bowl loss to Navy.
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