Shane Hooks – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Can Shane Hooks become Hugh Freeze’s next great receiver?

Hooks was Jackson State’s top receiver last season, and hopes to have similar success at Auburn.

[autotag]Shane Hooks[/autotag] was Jackson State’s leading receiver last season, so it came as a surprise to learn that he elected to transfer to Auburn instead of following his former coach, Deion Sanders, to Colorado.

Hooks reeled in 66 catches for 775 yards and ten touchdowns last season at Jackson State, and he has already given Auburn fans a taste of his playmaking ability. Will he be added to the list of great wide receivers coached by Hugh Freeze by season’s end? He has potential, but there is one aspect of his game that Freeze hopes to see improvement in.

“I wish he played the game a little faster. We’ve got to get him to do that. I think some of that comes from maybe not playing against the speed of this level yet,” Freeze said. “If we can get him convinced to run every route and knowing, ‘Dude, you can get a break. Run this route like the game depends upon it.’ I think that’s the case, truthfully, with a lot of our transfer receivers.”

When it comes to receivers, Freeze has a type. His best receivers at Ole Miss were 6-3 or taller. As for Hooks, he stands 6-4, which fits the mold of what Freeze looks for in a receiver.

“I think you have to have a catch radius in this league,” Freeze said. “You’re not going to create tremendous separation in this league when they’re in man-to-man situations all the time.”

Wide receivers coach [autotag]Marcus Davis[/autotag] says that he likes Hooks’ ability to win 50-50 balls and that he is a physical player.

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How Payton Thorne can win the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (and maybe the Heisman)

Is a special season brewing for Payton Thorne?

The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Foundation released its preseason watch list on Wednesday. Among the quarterbacks listed was recently named Auburn starting signal caller [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag].

After coming to Auburn as the favorite to quarterback the team in 2023, Thorne struggled a bit in spring and fall camp, allowing [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] and [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag] to push the quarterback competition all the way up to mid-August before he eventually won the job last Thursday.

Thorne spoke to the media for the first time since being named QB1 on Wednesday. He seems confident in his growth within the offense.

“I think I’m an accurate quarterback… I feel like when we’ve been going fast in my past [in the] two-minute drill, I feel like we were efficient doing that,” Thorne said. “With the up-tempo stuff, I feel like that was a plus in my game the last two years. Just seeing defenses, being able to think quick and process quickly is definitely something you have to do in this offense and I feel like I’m able to do that. Now [it’s] about going out and executing.”

Thorne will need to go out and execute at a high rate frequently this year if he hopes to win the Golden Arm Award, which is given to the top upperclassman quarterback in college football. The watchlist includes 47 other names from across the NCAA, including Heisman favorites like [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Quinn Ewers[/autotag], and old friend [autotag]Bo Nix[/autotag].

Thorne’s path to winning the Golden Arm will undoubtedly be difficult (he is currently +20000 to win the Heisman on Fanduel), but as NBA legend Kevin Garnett once said, “anything is possible.” If he can accomplish these four things, he’s got a chance.

Fourteen Tigers named to Reese’s Senior Bowl watch list

Auburn has plenty of talented veterans on its roster.

Auburn has struggled to produce draft picks over the past few NFL drafts but that could be changing soon. The Reese’s Senior Bowl revealed its annual watch list on Wednesday and the Tigers are well represented with 14 players making the list.

The group includes six offensive players and eight defensive players. The offensive group consists of quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag], left tackle [autotag]Dillon Wade[/autotag], tight end [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag] and wide receivers [autotag]Jyaire Shorter[/autotag], [autotag]Ja’Varrius Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Shane Hooks[/autotag].

Auburn’s secondary is full of players to monitor with cornerbacks [autotag] DJ James[/autotag], [autotag]Nehemiah Pritchett[/autotag], [autotag]Keionte Scott[/autotag] and safety [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag] making the list. They are joined by defensive linemen [autotag]Justin Rogers[/autotag] and [autotag]Elijah Mcallister[/autotag] as well as linebackers [autotag]Larry Nixon III[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen McLeod[/autotag].

The 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl will be played on Feb. 3, 2024, and will be shown on the NFL Network.[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1364]

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In Photos: Auburn’s second scrimmage of fall camp

Take a look at the best photos from Auburn’s final scrimmage of fall camp.

Auburn is nearing the end of its first fall camp under [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] as the start of the 2023 college football season is getting closer and closer.

The Tigers had their second and final scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday and freshly named starting quarterback [autotag]Peyton Thorne[/autotag] looked much better Freeze said.

“He had two really bad decisions, I thought, but really settled in and I thought played really solid. I thought he pulled a couple of good quarterback runs, and obviously we’re blowing it pretty quick. I’ll be anxious when it gets real to see what he does (running the ball). I thought he played solid. I think it was the first two possessions, I think he made two poor choices. And then he settled in and played really well.”

This comes after Freeze admitted that he thought Thorne was “pressing” in Auburn’s scrimmage last week.

Thorne was named Auburn’s starting quarterback on Thursday and will have two weeks as the top dog before Auburn opens its season against UMass on Sept. 3 in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Here is a look at the best photos from Auburn’s scrimmage, including wide receiver [autotag]Shane Hooks[/autotag] making a catch that Freeze thought was worth of being on SportsCenter.

ONE-HANDED HOOKS 😱@shanehooks6 🤝 #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/0vGGJQWXIe

— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) August 19, 2023

Hugh Freeze shares thoughts on the enhancement of receiver room

The Tigers needed a boost to its receiving corps, and got just that from the transfer portal.

The position group with the most buzz this fall camp is quarterback. However, a quarterback is only as good as his supporting cast.

In addition to enhancing the quarterback room by adding [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] from Michigan State, [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] boosted his offensive line and receiving corps.

Auburn failed to have a receiver reach 500 yards last season and the last receiver to come close to a 1,000-yard season was [autotag]Darvin Adams[/autotag] in 2009 when he reeled in 60 catches for 997 yards.

As someone who is known for having solid receivers, Freeze knew that he needed to upgrade his receiver room for his team to reach its true potential.

“We needed to overhaul that room and improve it for sure,” Freeze said Thursday. “I say that and truthfully I don’t know, the evaluation sample was so small for most of them because this system is totally different than what they’ve played in.”

Javarrius Johnson returns as the Tigers’ leading receiver after reeling in 26 catches for 493 yards and three scores last season. [autotag]Koy Moore[/autotag] is back, as are several tight end options such as [autotag]Brandon Frazier[/autotag], [autotag]Tyler Fromm[/autotag], and [autotag]Luke Deal[/autotag].

Freeze enhanced the group by adding [autotag]Shane Hooks[/autotag] and [autotag]Jyaire Shorter[/autotag], who were Jackson State and North Texas’ leading receivers last season respectively. He also grabbed a tall target in [autotag]Nick Mardner[/autotag], as well as another tight end in [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag].

The potential is there, but it is time now for them to prove it on the field.

“I do think we’ve improved that room in recruiting, and I do think there are guys here that can be better than what they’ve shown,” Freeze said. “We’re excited to see, I think we’ve seen glimpses of that but now we’ve got to go and do it when it’s real and live. But we are excited about the fact that I think we’ve improved that room for sure.”

The receivers, as well as the offensive line, will use this two-week period of fall camp to prove that they are worthy of a starting position.

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Jyaire Shorter named a top-10 player in the SEC West ahead of 2023 season

ESPN’s Bill Connelly feels that the North Texas transfer will be a great addition to Auburn’s receiver room.

During his SEC West preview, ESPN’s Bill Connelly documented what Hugh Freeze has done to correct Auburn’s passing troubles.

“Auburn’s 2022 offense could only run, so Freeze brought in Michigan State quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] and five receiver transfers,” Connelly said.

Connelly is keeping an eye on one of Auburn’s five receiver transfers.

Included in his preview were his ten favorite players from the SEC West. He mentioned North Texas transfer Jyaire Shorter.

Shorter was a valuable asset to the North Texas offense for the last five seasons, with his best season coming in 2022. He reeled in 23 passes for 628 yards and a team-high 11 touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus, Shorter caught 41% of passes thrown his way with only five drops.

Connelly feels that Shorter will be a great deep-ball option for Auburn.

In the past 10 seasons, only two players have averaged at least 2.5 yards per route with a catch rate under 50% (and 50 minimum targets): Michigan State’s Jalen Nailor (2021) and Shorter at North Texas (2022). Doing so requires a lot of deep routes. Deep routes are fun.

Shorter joins a long list of exciting receiver transfers. Auburn also added [autotag]Shane Hooks[/autotag] from Jackson State, [autotag]Nick Marder[/autotag] from Cincinnati, [autotag]Caleb Burton[/autotag] from Ohio State, and [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag] from FIU.

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Hugh Freeze updates status of Daquayvious Sorey

He signed with Auburn back in December but it no longer looks like he will be joining the team.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] spoke at SEC Media Days on Tuesday and he provided an update on wide receiver [autotag]Daquayvious Sorey[/autotag], who no longer appears set to join the program.

Freeze expressed optimism that JUCO defensive lineman Quientrail Jamison-Travis would be able to join the team for the season before telling reporters “not quite as much (confidence) about Sorey.”

Sorey was Auburn’s only high school wide receiver in the class and signed with the program back in December. The three-star prospect now appears to be taking the JUCO route, adding #JUCOPRODUCT to his Instagram bio.

He was ranked as the No. 471 overall player and No. 63 wide receiver in the 247Sports Composite ranking. The Campbellton, Florida product was also the No. 85 player from The Sunshine State.

While he was Auburn’s only high school signee they also added four receivers out of the transfer portal in [autotag]Nick Mardner[/autotag], [autotag]Shane Hooks[/autotag], [autotag]Jyaire Shorter[/autotag] and [autotag]Caleb Burton[/autotag].

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Auburn Tigers Snapshot Profile: No. 11 Shane Hooks

The veteran has a chance to be Auburn’s top wide receiver.

Going into the 2023 football season, Auburn Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Tigers’ roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] in his first season on the Plains.

Up next is transfer wide receiver [autotag]Shane Hooks[/autotag]. The veteran is entering his sixth season of college football and has a chance to be a difference-maker for Auburn in the passing game.

Preseason Player Profile

Hometown: Orlando, Florida

Height: 6-4

Weight: 191

Previous School: Jackson State (2021-22), Ohio (2018-20)

Class in 2023: Senior

247Sports Composite Ranking

Three-Star / No. 334 in FL / No. 317 WR

Career Stats

Year	G	Receptions	Yards	YPC	YPG	TDs
2018 (Ohio)	5	0	0	0	0	0
2019 (Ohio)	13	26	515	19.8	39.6	5
2020 (Ohio)	3	8	120	15.0	40.0	1
2021 (JSU)	6	16	199	12.4	33.2	2
2022 (JSU)	13	66	775	11.7	59.6	10

PFF Grades

Year	Offense	Receiving	Drops	Run Blocking
2018	41.8	41.9	2.7	62.9
2019	72.4	74.5	78.4	65.6
2020	59.4	63.3	58.9	43.8
2021	64.9	64.6	85.1	60.1
2022	70.7	70.2	78.7	66.6

Depth Chart Overview

Hooks bring a ton of experience with 40 career appearances and has the ability to play all over the field for Auburn. His speed will allow him to take the top off of defenses from the slot while his impressive 6-foot-4 and 191-pound frame enables him to be a jump-ball machine while lining up outside or in the red zone.

While [autotag]Camden Brown[/autotag] and [autotag]Nick Mardner[/autotag] should also see plenty of reps at the Wide Receiver-X spot, Hooks is set to be a focal point of the passing attack and is a breakout candidate for Auburn.

Shane Hooks’ Photo Gallery

Does Shane Hooks’ first season at Auburn have breakout potential?

He was Jackson State’s leading receiver last season. Can Shane Hooks produce at a higher level this season?

When Deion Sanders announced that he would be leaving Jackson State to take the same role at Colorado last December, he was poised to bring many of his playmakers with him to Boulder.

One player, however, did not make the trip.

[autotag]Shane Hooks[/autotag] was the go-to target for Shedeur Sanders last season at Jackson State, as he led the team in receptions (64), receiving yards (748), and receiving touchdowns (10). So it was easy to see why Hugh Freeze and staff were eager to get him on campus.

They succeeded, and now Hooks is a member of the Tigers’ receiving corps. He will be a giant asset to Auburn’s offense and will complement [autotag]Ja’varrius Johnson[/autotag] in the receiving unit. Hooks’ potential on the Plains has one outlet predicting the newcomer to have a “breakout” season.

Roll Tide Wire recently selected a potential “breakout” player for each SEC program heading into the 2023 season and has listed Hooks as Auburn’s representative.

There will be a new No. 1 wide receiver on the Plains in 2023. Jackson State transfer Shane Hooks has the frame and skillset to become the go-to wide receiver option for quarterback Robby Ashford. At 6-foot-4, Hooks uses his size to overmatch opposing defenders. Not to mention, Hooks has a track background. Meaning he has enough speed to blow by defenders. In two seasons at Jackson State, Hooks hauled in 80 receptions for 947 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Hooks is one of several pieces from the transfer portal that is expected to become immediate contributors to the Auburn offense, joining offensive linemen [autotag]Avery Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Gunner Britton[/autotag], and quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag].

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Jersey numbers for spring transfers unveiled

Here’s a look at what number each of Auburn’s eight spring transfers will wear this fall.

After finding success in the first window of the transfer portal window, [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and his staff continued to work to fill needs for their team in the spring portion.

As part of their spring transfer haul, Auburn gained support at wide receiver, jack linebacker, offensive line, and quarterback. [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] headlines the spring additions, as Freeze now has a worthy quarterback to compete with [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] for the starting QB1 job.

Whoever wins the quarterback battle will also have more options to throw to thanks to the addition of three wide receivers in [autotag]Shane Hooks[/autotag], [autotag]Jyaire Shorter[/autotag], and [autotag]Caleb Burton[/autotag].

Defensively, the biggest position Auburn needed to fill was JACK linebacker. In the winter window, Auburn added [autotag]Elijah McAllister[/autotag] from Vanderbilt to build depth. However, Dylan Brooks elected to leave the program, which left more room to fill. The Tigers received assistance, however, by landing [autotag]Jalen McLeod[/autotag] from Appalachian State and [autotag]Stephen Sings[/autotag] from Liberty.

At linebacker, Auburn gains [autotag]Larry Nixon III[/autotag]. Nixon was the second-leading tackler at North Texas last season with 105 total stops and was named first-team All-Conference USA.

All eight transfers are now on campus and have received their jersey numbers for the upcoming season. Here’s a look at what number each spring transfer will wear this upcoming season.

No.	Name
1	Payton Thorne, QB
10	Caleb Burton, WR
11	Shane Hooks, WR
14	Jyaire Shorter, WR
16	Stephen Sings V, JACK
30	Larry Nixon III, LB
35	Jalen McLeod, JACK
63	Jaden Muskrat, OL

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