Tag: Zac Ethridge

Auburn remains in hunt for state’s top prospects

Zac Ethridge has kept Alabama’s top 2023 prospects interested in Auburn. Now, Hugh Freeze has the chance to earn their signature.

Two of Alabama’s top 2023 prospects have been frequent visitors to the Plains, despite the turmoil of Auburn’s head coaching situation.

[autotag]James Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Qua Russaw[/autotag], who rank No. 1 and No. 5 respectively in 247Sports’ Alabama recruiting rankings, and teammates at Carver High School in Montgomery, have each taken in four football games at Jordan-Hare Stadium this season, and have remained interested in the Tigers.

Most of that has been due to the efforts of [autotag]Zac Ethridge[/autotag]. Ethridge has remained close with Smith and Russaw, and hopes to rebuild Auburn’s program with those two defensive line stars helping set the foundation.

Ethridge, along with new head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag], associate head coach [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag], linebackers coach [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag], and new defensive line coach [autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag] visited Madhouse Training in Montgomery on Friday, which is home where Russaw and Smith train with founder Tracy Varner.

Varner tells 247Sports that the visit went well, and likes the enjoyed meeting with Freeze for the first time.

“It was actually mine and Hugh’s first time ever talking. I was saying I don’t know how we missed each other when you were at Ole Miss, somehow we did,” Varner said. “Good dude, You know he knows ball. He has that old Southern charm, he can talk to anybody and he does that well. It was good. He was like we’re really going to go after these guys.”

Varner credits Ethridge for keeping Smith and Russaw in contention to sign with Auburn, and believes that Freeze has the chance to land them.

“Zac (Ethridge) did a great job with Qua and James and was one of the few coaches they talked to,” Varner said. “They don’t talk to a lot of coaches and Zac put y’all in good position to see what y’all can do in the next couple weeks.”

Freeze did not meet with Smith and Russaw during his visit to Montgomery, but the plan is for the duo to spend an entire day with Freeze within the next two weeks. Freeze also plans to spend time at each of their homes as well.

The early signing period begins Wednesday, Dec. 21.

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Four members of Hugh Freeze’s Liberty staff are expected to join him in Auburn

Hugh Freeze is in the beginning stages of constructing his first staff at Auburn.

Newly named Auburn head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] has a busy few weeks ahead.

Not only does he have to build relationships with key recruits ahead of early signing day on Dec. 21, but he needs to build a strong staff to begin the rebuilding process for Auburn football.

He started by releasing several members of Bryan Harsin’s staff, including wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard, offensive line coach Will Friend and defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding. He has announced [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] will remain on staff as associate head coach and running backs coach. Freeze is also expected to retain cornerbacks coach [autotag]Zac Ethridge[/autotag] and linebackers coach [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag], although their new role is unknown at this time.

As for the staff he plans to hire, four from his staff at Liberty are reportedly making their way to The Plains, including one on-field staffer.

Freeze has hired [autotag]Jeremy Garrett[/autotag] as defensive line coach. Garrett spent one season with Freeze at Liberty. Prior to his time with the Flames, Garrett served as an assistant defensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns. He coached former SEC stars Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney when the pair combined to record 25 sacks during the 2021 season. He also spent time at Vanderbilt, serving under head coach Derek Mason.

Three more former Liberty off-the-field staffers are expected to follow Freeze to Auburn.

According to Matt Zenitz of On3, Associate AD for football operations/chief of staff Matt Bevins, general manager A.K. Mogulla and director of recruiting analytics and operations Kennedy Harvey will also be hired by Freeze.

Freeze, who was hired Monday after a 28-day search, will continue to build his staff over the coming weeks.

“I have a list of every position and a lot of great candidates,” Freeze said during his introductory press conference on Tuesday. “There are some here, there are some (from) where I just came from, and they’re all around the country. I’m constantly getting texts.”

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Auburn suffers first decommit of Hugh Freeze era

This four-star prospect has re-opened his commitment in part due to changes made to Hugh Freeze’s staff.

Auburn football suffered a hit to its’ 2023 recruiting class on Thursday.

Four-star wide receiver [autotag]Adam Hopkins[/autotag] announced via Twitter that he has decommitted from Auburn and reopened his recruitment.

His decommitment is reportedly due to [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s decision to not retain wide receivers coach [autotag]Ike Hilliard[/autotag], who played a key role in Hopkins’ recruitment. It was announced Wednesday that Freeze would keep only [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Zac Ethridge[/autotag] and [autotag]Christian Robinson[/autotag] on staff.

Hopkins committed to Auburn on Sept. 15, one week after taking his official visit to campus. Since his commitment, Hopkins visited Arkansas and Kansas State, in addition to being in town for Auburn’s win over Missouri.

Despite decommitting, Hopkins still has a high chance to sign with Auburn. According to On3, Auburn still has a 98% chance to land Hopkins’ signature.

Hopkins is a four-star wide receiver from Thomasville, Georgia. He is the nation’s No. 41 wide receiver for the 2023 cycle and the top receiver from the state of Georgia.

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