Tag: top players

Auburn’s Ike Irish on College Sports Wire’s SEC Player of the Year watch list

Way ahead of the 2025 college baseball season, CSW places Auburn’s Ike Irish as a candidate for the 2025 SEC Player of the Year.

Auburn baseball is coming off of a season that was undesirable, finishing 27-26 and missing out on the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2016. That does not take away from some of the raw talent that the team has had as of late though, and another player is making his case to be explosive in 2025.

Catcher and outfielder [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] has been included on College Sports Wire’s list of “5 way-too-early 2025 SEC Player of the Year candidates.” He is also with Jace LaViolette and Gavin Grahovac of Texas A&M, Max Belyeu of Texas and Ethan Petry of South Carolina.

Irish has been valuable for the Tigers throughout his first two seasons, preparing to be an early pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.

He has posted a batting average of .343 with 20 home runs and 109 RBI in his college career, making great use of his time at the plate. Despite having 53 less at-bats in 2024, he produced a lot more contact and power with eight more home runs and nine more RBI than in 2023.

Amongst his notable accolades in his time on the Plains, Irish was named to the 2023 SEC All-Freshman Team and received Freshman All-America honors from multiple national baseball outlets. He also earned First Team All-SEC honors in 2024.

Irish now prepares for a junior campaign in 2025 where he will likely see more time with catching duties, hoping to avoid the injury bug that plagued him last year. He is on pace to be a key veteran leader for a program that is trying to turn around after a big down year under head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag].

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Tyler on Twitter @traley34

Five star players from week three of Auburn baseball

Following Auburn baseball’s 3-1 week, take a look at the five players who contributed the most towards the Tigers’ success on the diamond.

Auburn baseball took three out of the four games it played this weekend, including winning its series over UConn.

The Tiger bats exploded on Tuesday night, taking down Samford 12-3. They took advantage of the long ball in that game, launching three home runs on the night.

The scoring continued in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against UConn, as the Tigers took the victory 8-1, before losing game two 8-4. [autotag]Cooper Weiss[/autotag] and [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] combined for six RBIs in game one.

Auburn’s offense returned in the rubber match on Sunday, as the Tigers took the decider 8-2. Ike Irish had himself an amazing day with three hits, including two home runs.

Many players on the squad contributed greatly to Auburn’s success this past week. Here are the five players who stood out the most in week three of Auburn baseball.

Chiefs take exception to Creed Humphrey’s nonappearance on ‘NFL Top 100’ list

The #Chiefs were less than thrilled that center Creed Humphrey wasn’t named to the ‘NFL Top 100’ list for the 2023 season.

Creed Humphrey has become one of the most dominant linemen in the NFL since joining the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021 but was inexplicably left off the ‘NFL Top 100’ list ahead of the 2023 season.

The annual television program releases a ranking of the top 100 players in the league as voted on by their peers, and despite landing three Chiefs in the top 10, it seems that Kansas City was left wanting.

The team took its angst to Twitter on Tuesday, posting a picture of the decorated center, who looked about as disgruntled as Chiefs fans were when Humphrey was left off of the prestigious rankings.

Humphrey was a second-team All-Pro selection and a Pro Bowler in 2022 while helping Kansas City secure its second Super Bowl championship of the Patrick Mahomes era. He was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded player at his position last season and has the tape to back up his claim to top-100 status, whether his peers agree or not.

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PFF shares who they believe are the Saints’ top 3 players for 2022

PFF shares who they believe are the New Orleans Saints’ top 3 players for 2022, via @DillySanders:

For a team with as much talent as the New Orleans Saints, there are bound to be arguments about who the top players on the roster are. Recently at Pro Football Focus, Ben Linsley gave his thoughts on who the top three players for each team in the NFL are. For the Saints he listed Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk, and Cameron Jordan.

For his reasoning, Linsley said this:

“The Saints are in an odd spot as a franchise. They’re entering the second season of the post-Drew Brees era, yet they have refrained from hitting the rebuild button. Instead, they continue to push their chips further and further into the pot. And it’s not difficult to see why when you do an exercise like this, as there is still a lot of talent on this roster.

Lattimore, Ramczyk and Jordan are some of the best players in the league at their respective positions, and the same could be said for Michael Thomas, Demario Davis, Alvin Kamara and Tyrann Mathieu when those players are at 100% and fully healthy.”

Lattimore is an easy choice for a top-three player on the team in my opinion. He has moments where he slips up, but at cornerback that is to be expected. He is a leader on the defense who has made his case as one of the best cornerbacks in the league, making the Pro Bowl in four out of his five seasons in the league.

Ramczyk is less of a lock as a top-three player in my opinion, but he certainly deserves to be in the conversation. I believe that 2021 was a step back for him, especially in terms of pass blocking. To be fair to Ramczyk, he was battling injuries last season, and a rotating supporting cast in the offensive line certainly doesn’t help. Should he bounce back and return to an All-Pro level this season, the argument in his favor here would be even stronger.

Jordan is a beloved player, but I do believe his time as a top-tier player on the team is behind him. He is still a great leader, run defender, and had a great second half of the season in 2021 as a pass rusher.

I think another player on the defense that should have been listed was Demario Davis. Davis has been consistently underrated, I believe there is an argument to be made that he is flat out the best player on the team. You could also make that argument about newcomer Tyrann Mathieu, of course it remains to be seen how he will fit in on the defense but they brought him in for a reason.

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Two Tigers make ESPN’s top 100 college football players

Two Tigers get some ESPN love.

Ahead of the 2021 season, ESPN ranked the top 100 players in college football and two Auburn players made the list. 

Auburn is represented on both sides of the ball as Tank Bigsby and Smoke Monday both made the list.

Bigsby is Auburn’s highest-ranked player at No. 27 and is the fourth highest running back.

Bigsby was one of the top running backs in the country last season as a true freshman, rushing for 834 yards and five touchdowns on 138 carries, good enough for 6.04 yards per carry. 

Bigsby is expected to be the focal point of the offense in 2021 and has a chance to finish the season as the best running back in the country.

Here is what ESPN said about him:

“There might not have been a more impressive rookie running back in the country than Bigsby, who burst onto the scene with 122.4 all-purpose yards per game last season, winning SEC Freshman of the Year honors. The Georgia native is expected to be the focus of the Tigers’ offense once again now that last season’s top three receivers (Seth Williams, Anthony Schwartz and Eli Stove) are all gone.”

Monday comes it at No. 77 and is the third highest safety behind Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton (No. 7) and Northwestern’s Brandon Joseph (No. 62). 

Monday is now one of the veterans of the defense and is looking to show he belongs in the NFL in his senior season. 

Here is what ESPN said about him:

“Some of the best news this offseason for Auburn was that the 6-3, 199-pound Monday was returning for his senior season. A bruising tackler, Monday broke into the starting lineup for the first time a year ago and was fourth on the team with 73 total tackles and two interceptions, one he returned 100 yards for a touchdown against Tennessee.”

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Two Florida Gators make USA TODAY Sports’ Preseason All-SEC Team

Student-athletes from 11 of the league’s 14 schools were chosen to represent either the offense, defense, or special teams.

Comprised of selections from each of the 14 college wire websites, the USA TODAY Sports Preseason All-Southeastern Conference Team was released on September 18.

Student-athletes from 11 of the league’s 14 schools were chosen to represent either the offense, defense, or special teams.

Najee Harris, DeVonta Smith, Kyle Pitts, Trey Smith, Dylan Moses, and Derek Stingley, Jr. earned this honor unanimously, appearing on every ballot.

As for the two Gators to make the cut, it is hard to argue with either selection, even though this writer cast his quarterback vote for Aggie Kellen Mond.

Stepping into the starting role after now-Arkansas Razorback Feleipe Franks suffered a season-ending injury in Lexington last September 14, Kyle Trask piloted Florida to an 8-2 record in his starts as a redshirt junior, throwing for 2,941 yards, 25 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, while completing nearly 67-percent of his passes.

Listed at 6-foot-5-inches and 239 pounds and molded by Dan Mullen, one of college football’s best quarterback whisperers, another campaign like last season’s could vault the Manvel, Texas native into the first round of the 2021 National Football League Draft.

NEXT: Kyle Pitts and the entire poll results

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Two Longhorns listed among college football’s top 50 players

Two Longhorns are listed within 247Sports’ top 50 college football players this season.

The 2020 college football season is rapidly approaching. Continue reading “Two Longhorns listed among college football’s top 50 players”

Packers place 6 players on TD Wire’s top 101 players list, including 5 in top 50

The Packers aren’t lacking in high-end talent, at least according to Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield of Touchdown Wire.

Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield of Touchdown Wire featured six members of the Green Bay Packers on the site’s top 101 players list entering the 2020 season, including five players in the top 50, two in the top 25 and one in the top 10.

Clearly, the Packers aren’t lacking for high-end talent. And the list didn’t even include young, potential future stars in Green Bay such as guard Elgton Jenkins, cornerback Jaire Alexander or safety Darnell Savage.

Here are the six Packers players who made the top 101 list, with accompanying rankings:

No. 62: LT David Bakhtiari (No. 6 offensive tackle)
No. 44: RB Aaron Jones (No. 5 overall running back)
No. 42: QB Aaron Rodgers (No. 9 overall quarterback)
No. 34: DL Kenny Clark (No. 4 overall interior defender)
No. 24: WR Davante Adams (No. 4 overall outside receiver)
No. 9: OLB Za’Darius Smith (No. 1 overall edge rusher)

The list looks about right, especially the six players that made the list, although Packers Wire’s ranking of the 10 best players entering the 2020 season had Bakhtiari as the team’s second-best player and Rodgers as the sixth. Minor squabbles, to be sure.

Bakhtiari’s rank would be the only real debate worth having. He might be the best pass-blocking offensive tackle in football, even if he struggled out of the gates last season in a new offense. He bounced back, played lights out down the stretch and wound up with another All-Pro selection. In fact, I’d argue he’s established himself as one of the NFL’s top 25 players.

Otherwise, the Packers have four players picked among the top five at their position, including the game’s top edge rusher, plus a top 10 quarterback.