Tag: Shaun Shivers

Know your foe, Indiana: Which Hoosier players Ohio State needs to focus on

Do any of these Hoosiers make the Buckeyes nervous? #GoBucks

[autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag] opens it’s season on the road with a conference matchup against Indiana.

The Hoosiers are most likely going to go through a transitional season. They lost a majority of their top performers either to graduation, (quarterback [autotag]Connor Bazelak[/autotag] and running back [autotag]Shaun Shivers[/autotag]), or transfer, (linebacker [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag]).

Indiana doesn’t reload like the Buckeyes, but that doesn’t mean head coach [autotag]Tom Allen[/autotag]’s crew will completely roll over on Saturday afternoon. There will be more than a few players in the Hoosiers’ home opener that will want to establish themselves this year. Find out five Hoosiers that could potentially give Ohio State some problems this weekend.

Bo Nix achieved ‘ultimate goal’ while at Auburn

Although he is no longer with the program, Bo Nix says that he was able to accomplish many of his goals on the Plains.

For two seasons, the pairing of [autotag]Bo Nix[/autotag] and head coach [autotag]Gus Malzahn[/autotag] was a great match.

Nix passed for 4,957 yards and 28 touchdowns while rushing for 701 additional yards and 14 touchdowns in two seasons under Malzahn. After a slight drop in production due to a coaching change and an ankle injury, Nix felt that he needed a change.

“Everything led to Oregon,” Nix said in an interview with Pro Football Focus. “Coaching staff, players, situation. Everything was just Oregon all the way. I kept asking myself, ‘Why not Oregon?’ and I could not find the answer. Oregon was by far the best situation for me, and it’s worked out unbelievably well, far better than what I could’ve imagined. I wanted to go somewhere and give myself a chance, and a chance I definitely got.”

The change ultimately worked out for Nix, as he got to experience his most successful season at the college level by passing for 3,593 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also had his best season on the ground by rushing for 510 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Ducks won 10 games in 2022, including three games over top-25 opponents.

Although he has moved on from Auburn, he has not forgotten how special his time was on the Plains. He tells Pro Football Focus that he accomplished several goals during his three years at Auburn.

“My whole life, I wanted to play football at Auburn,” Nix said. “I got to accomplish my dream and do a lot of really fun things around some great people. I met my wife at Auburn and got my diploma from there.”

However, he achieved his top goal on the football field in 2019.

“One of my ultimate goals was to play football at Auburn and beat Alabama. I did that,”  Nix said. “That’s what I’ll remember. We had some fun seasons and some not-so-fun ones. That’s what made me into who I am today.”

Nix passed for 173 yards and rushed for 44 more in Auburn’s 48-45 win over the Crimson Tide in 2019. Running back [autotag]Shaun Shivers[/autotag] infamously trucked Alabama’s Xavier McKinney on his way to an 11-yard touchdown rush in the 4th quarter. Nix’s two-point conversion pass to [autotag]Shedrick Jackson[/autotag] would be the deciding factor in Auburn’s win.

Heading into his fifth season of eligibility, Nix is the No. 3 quarterback in the country behind USC‘s Caleb Williams and North Carolina‘s Drake Maye. Is he focused? Absolutely. Will he have fun? you bet.

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Walk-on no more, RB Sean Jackson earns scholorship

Running back Sean Jackson has earned a scholarship.

[autotag]Sean Jackson[/autotag] is a walk-on no more for Auburn.

The redshirt freshman was awarded a scholarship after Auburn’s practice Friday, the team tweeted out.

The 5-foot-9, 230-pounder appeared in four games last season, rushing 10 times for 38 yards and a touchdown. With the departure of Shaun Shivers for Indiana and Jarquez Hunter sidelined with a knee injury, he has been serving as the team’s No. 2 running back behind Tank Bigsby.

Jackson was a star at Hewitt-Trussville before joining Auburn. He had 1,425 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior and had a scholarship offer from UAB.

With Jackson earning a scholarship, the Tigers now have three healthy running backs for spring practice in Bigsby, Jackson, and Jordon Ingram. They will add incoming freshman Damari Alson and a healthy Hunter in the fall to get to five scholarship running backs for the season.

Auburn running back sidelined for eight to ten weeks

Hunter should be ready to go by fall practice.

On Friday evening, Al.com’s Tom Green reported that [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] will be out for eight to ten weeks. He underwent a minor procedure to clear up some damage in his leg. Head Coach [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] announced that the procedure would cause Hunter to miss the rest of the spring.

Last season, Hunter looked very impressive. In his freshman campaign, he carried the ball 89 times for 593 yards and 3 Touchdowns. The Mississippi native split time with other running backs [autotag]Tank Bigsby[/autotag] and [autotag]Shaun Shivers[/autotag]. With Shivers transferring to Indiana, his role at running back should definitely increase.

Along with Hunter, receivers [autotag]J.J. Evans[/autotag] and [autotag]Ja’Varrius Johnson[/autotag] have also been sidelined with different injuries. Evans is expected to miss the rest of the spring after receiving a knee procedure recently. Johnson has a lingering hamstring injury, but he should be back sooner rather than later.

For the most part, Auburn will have the majority of its’ running back room returning for next season. The Tigers are bringing in true-freshman [autotag] Damari Alston[/autotag] and walk-on Justin Jones, who transferred from UAB in the offseason. Hunter should have a bigger role for the Tigers in 2022. I certainly think that Auburn has one of the more premier backfields in the SEC and the entire country as well. The combination of Hunter and Bigsby will play a huge role in how well the Tigers perform on offense this season.

With Hunter not sustaining a significant injury, he should be ready to go by the start of fall practice. It will be interesting to see how Auburn’s offense performs to start the season.

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College football’s most surprising transfers of the offseason thus far

A few of these decisions may have surprised some.

The transfer portal has been as active as ever this offseason with top talent moving all over the country.

After the implementation of the one-time transfer rule that allows for athletes to transfer once without penalty, every offseason has turned into college football’s version of NFL free agency.

There has already been hundreds of players enter their name into the portal, and while some were expected due to losing their coach or starting job, there are quite a few that turned the college football world upside down.

Certain teams like Michigan State have made a living off of the transfer portal, as they have added multiple players to help boost their team for next season and make up for the players they will lose. Other schools like Texas have used the portal, but to get a major piece that can help the program escape its mediocrity.

Here are my most surprising transfers of the offseason up to this point, whether it be the destination they picked, or just entering the portal in general.

Five reasons why Auburn will beat Georgia State

Here are five reasons why Auburn will beat Georgia State on Saturday.

Auburn heads into the Georgia State game with a daunting five game stretch following.

Games against LSU, Georgia, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M all follow this final cupcake game of the season for the Tigers. Of course, I expect the Tigers to not worry about their future schedule at all. Harsin wants this team to focus on being 1-0 this week. It’s time to get back on track after a  heartbreaking loss at Penn State last weekend. Can the Tigers put their foot back on the gas pedal against Georgia State?

Here are five reasons why Auburn will beat Georgia State on Saturday.

Bryan Harsin updates injury status of Shaun Shivers, Owen Pappoe

Here is an update on Shaun Shivers and Owen Pappoe.

Auburn will get one veteran player back Saturday but may lose another. 

Bryan Harsin said on the weekly SEC coaches teleconference that running back Shaun Shivers returned to practice Tuesday after missing the past two games, but linebacker Owen Pappoe has been limited in practice after suffering an injury against Penn State.

“It’s been really good to have him back,” Harsin said of Shivers. “He’s an energy guy; he’s a vibe guy as far as practice goes. … I thought that was a good pick-me-up yesterday having him out there.” 

Shivers had two touchdowns on three carries in the win over Akron but has not played since. 

Pappoe, a team captain, exited the Penn State game in the second half and didn’t return. 

“Owen is doing some things (in practice) right now,” Harsin said. “We still have practice later today, so we’ll see where he’s at and how many reps he’s able to get and what type of work.”

Zakoby McClain, Auburn’s other starting linebacker,  will be unable to play in the first half of the game against Georgia State after being ejected for targeting in the second half against Penn State. 

Chandler Wooten had a career day in their absences, finishing with 10 tackles and will serve an even bigger role if Pappoe is limited. 

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Does Auburn have the best running back tandem in the country?

Auburn’s running back room has been firing on all cylinders.

Even with the absence of Shaun Shivers, Auburn’s running back room has still been firing on all cylinders.

Freshman Jarquez Hunter has been playing exceptionally well through his first three games of the season. Through two games, Hunter had out preformed Tank Bigsby (257 rushing yards compared to Tank’s 241 rushing yards), Auburn’s stud running back and Heisman contender.

Where does this duo stand nationally? Could they possibly be the best tandem in the nation?

Auburn message board legend Charlie5 joined Zac Blackerby on the “Locked on Auburn Podcast“to share his thoughts on the duo’s hot start to the season.

Charlie5: “I don’t think we understand how good Jarquez Hunter is. To be able to build your gameplay around not just Bigsby but Hunter as well… call me a homer, but at worst, (Bigsby and Hunter) are the best running back tandem in the SEC. At best, possibly the best running back tandem in the country. I don’t think we understood that before (the Penn State game). We looked at Hunter as an ancillary back to compliment instead of getting 40 combined touches between (Bigsby and Hunter). There’s not hardly a drop off between either one. We now know that we can lean heavily on our running game. To the point where we can make our offense about those two guys.”

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Multiple Auburn Tigers out for game vs Alabama State

Auburn will be without two starters and some depth players during their matchup with Alabama State.

Auburn will be without two starters and three depth players during their matchup with Alabama State today at 11 am CT.

Starting wide receiver Ja’Varrius Johnson is not going through pre-game warmups, per Christian Clemente of Auburnsports.com.

Shaun Shivers is not expected to play today as well. Tar’Varish Dawson will dress out but is not expected to play. Expect to see a lot of Jarquez Hunter, Jordan Ingram, and Sean Jackson to fill in during the second half. Cornerback Jaylin Simpson will dress out but is not expected to have a full workload due to a groin injury.

Cornerback Ro Torrence will not see the field today.

Dreshun Miller, the talented transfer from West Virginia, is expected to fill in for Simpson and Torrence.

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Offensive stats from Auburn’s 60-10 win over Akron

Some really impressive numbers from Saturday night…

Here are the offensive stats from Auburn’s 60-10 win over Akron. 

Scoring

Tank Bigsby opened the scoring with a 32-yard run and a one-yard touchdown on the fifth drive.

Bo Nix connected with Shaun Shivers on a 19-yard touchdown pass on the second possession. He then found Ja’Varrius Johnson for a 34-yard touchdown on the third drive and Kobe Hudson for a 28-yard touchdown on the fourth.

Anders Carlson closed the half with a 44-yard field goal to give Auburn a 37-0 lead.

Shivers opened the second half with a 26-yard touchdown rush for his second score of the night. Akron then snapped the ball over the head of their punter before a safety. 

T.J. Finley scored his first touchdown for Auburn on a quarterback sneak on the ensuing drive before freshman Jarquez Hunter scored his first career touchdown to give Auburn the 60-10 win.

Team Stats

Total yards: AU 612, AK 212

Pass yards: AU 297, AK 191

Rush yards: AU 315, AK 21

Yards per play: AU 10.6, AK 3.4

Penalties: AU 3-25, AK 5-35

First downs: AU 28, AK 12

Third downs: AU 4-6, AK 3-14

Sacks: AU 6, AK 0

Individual Stats

Bo Nix: 20 of 22, 275 yards and 3 touchdowns, 3 rushes for 32 yards

T.J. Finley: 2 of 5, 22 yards, 1 rush for 1 yard and 1 touchdown

Tank Bigsby: 13 carries for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns, 1 catch for 19 yards

Shaun Shivers: 2 carries for 26 yards, 1 catch for 19 yards and 1 touchdown

Jarquez Hunter: 9 carries for 110 yards and 1 touchdown

Sean Jackson: 2 carries for 24 yards 

Shedrick Jackson: 5 catches for 79 yards

John Samuel Shenker: 5 catches for 38 yards

Ja’Varrius Johnson: 3 catches for 51 yards and 1 touchdown

Kobe Hudson: 2 catches for 41 yards and 1 touchdown

Demetris Robertson: 3 catches for 28 yards, 1 carry for 7 yards

Ze’Vian Capers: 1 catch for 13 yards

Elijiah Canion: 1 catch for 9 yards

Malcolm Johnson Jr.: 1 rush for 1 yard

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