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Alabamians are weeks away from college football season, and with that comes speculation and predictions for how the Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers are going to perform this fall.
Andy Burcham is the director of broadcast services for Auburn University and has been the voice of the Auburn Tigers since 2019. While fans wait for September, Burcham said he hopes to offer some insight in the meantime, as Auburn takes the practice field.
One of the biggest changes Auburn football saw ahead of this season was its head coach. Hugh Freeze was named the Tigers’ 31st head football coach in November 2022. Freeze has been a head coach at the collegiate level for 12 years, including Liberty University from 2019 to 2022 and the SEC West-team Ole Miss from 2012 to 2016. He also coached for Lambuth University and Arkansas State University. His coaching record since 2011 is 103-47.
Since arriving to The Plains, Freeze and his recruiting team have made several new additions to the Auburn team. In fact, Auburn was able to flip two on-the-verge athletes just last month. Five-star wide receiver Perry Thompson switched from the Crimson Tide to the Tigers during one of Auburn's "Big Cat Weekend" recruiting events. Four-star linebacker Demarcus Riddick also flipped to Auburn after an initial pledge to the Georgia Bulldogs.
“One thing he has done since the moment he was hired is bolster the roster, and it is a very different roster for Auburn than it was going into the 2022 season,” Burcham said. “I think he has hit the ground running to be sure that he has recruited relentlessly and has done that. He is also recruiting for the future. He has addressed many of the needs for the 2023 season, but, as he said at SEC Media Days, the success of Auburn in the future will be that 2024 class, that 2025 class, and what he hopes [if] he's still here is that 2026 recruiting class. It’s the lifeblood of the Southeastern Conference. If you don't recruit well, in this league, you're going to struggle.”
However, it is not just the team that looks a little different. Burcham said Freeze has also hired new staff members, including Ron Roberts as the defensive coordinator and Phillip Montgomery as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Despite new faces, the head coach has kept existing Auburn staff members on the roster. Zac Etheridge, a former Auburn player, is a secondary coach. Carnell Williams, who was Auburn’s interim head coach for the last four games of the 2022 season, is the associate head coach and the running backs coach.
When looking at Auburn’s game performances, last season was its best for offensive plays. According to Athlon Sports, a news source for sports expert analyses and predictions, Auburn ranked 11th in the Southeastern Conference for scoring and yards per play. The team also had a low national ranking for passing attacks, ranking 119th overall. Burcham said Auburn saw a few hiccups last year but is expected to improve this season.
“It was a struggle for Auburn offensively,” he said. “Auburn was never really set with a quarterback until late in the season when Robby Ashford took over. Auburn also went through a coaching change about two-thirds of the way through the season, as Bryan Harsin was let go. Carnell Williams was the interim head coach for the last four games. Ashford showed flashes of brilliance. He's an outstanding runner, and we saw him start to develop as a passer for the Auburn offense, but it was not the best passing attack that Auburn has seen. Hugh Freeze is known as a quarterback’s coach and has developed quarterbacks wherever he has been as a head coach.”
How Auburn will perform offensively this year remains to be seen. Another lingering question for the Tigers is who will lead the team’s offense. Burcham said there are several quarterback contenders but not much is known as to who Auburn’s starter will be.
“Robby Ashford is the incumbent. He was the starter at the end of last season,” he said. “I think Holden Geriner will get an opportunity for Auburn, and I think had a very good spring practice for Auburn. Payton Thorne will also be given a great opportunity to come in and take over the spot as well. I don't know if Auburn has the answer for quarterback right now, and we will find out in the next few weeks how that unveils and unfurls for Auburn heading into that season opener on Sept. 2 against UMass.”
Geriner is a redshirt freshman from Savannah, Georgia. Geriner is considered a top-rated quarterback prospect with more than 7,100 career passing yards and 71 touchdowns in his high school career. Thorne was received from Michigan State University. During his time with the Spartans, he threw more than 10,000 yards two seasons ago and more than 6,000 last season.
“I think Auburn will be better equipped to be a better passing team this year,” Burcham said. “I think Auburn is going to be a good running ballclub. Auburn is always going to have a good running attack, but a quarterback offense should be better than it was a year ago.”
In addition to offense, Auburn’s defense remains to be seen. The team allowed the third most total points in franchise history last season, but, like offense, Burcham said things are looking up for the Tigers this year.
“Auburn will be better than it was a year ago in the secondary [defensive backs] for the simple fact that it returns just about everybody in the secondary,” he said. “Nehemiah Pritchett, D.J. James, Zion Puckett, Jaylin Simpson, Donovan Kaufman and Keionte Scott and others make the secondary for the Tigers.”
However, Burcham said if there is a question mark for the Tigers it is the team’s front seven, or the seven nearest defense players closest to the line of scrimmage.
“Auburn lost a lot from that defensive front a year ago to the NFL Draft. Guys like Marcus Harris, who transferred in from Kansas, and Keldric Faulk for the Tigers will need to step up. A guy like Elijah McAllister, a transfer from Vanderbilt will need to step up for the Tigers, in addition to Zykeivous Walker up front,” he said.
Burcham said the NFL Draft also impacted Auburn’s linebacker positions.
“While Auburn has depth there, it lost a great deal [from the NFL Draft] in Owen Pappoe from a year ago,” he said. “Guys like Austin Keys, Wesley Steiner, Eugene Asante and Cam Riley will have to step up for the Tigers at the linebacker spot. I think from a pass defending standpoint, Auburn is going to be very good this season. The question mark for Auburn, I think, is that front six, front seven on the defensive front and at linebacker. There's a lot of questions to be answered.”
Despite these losses, Burcham said the Tigers have several strengths to showcase heading into the season.
“Auburn should be very good in the running back spot,” he said. “How early we see Jarquez Hunter is a question mark, but he is one of the top returning running backs in the SEC. I think Auburn will be solid at tight end, and Auburn should be improved at offensive line. It's one area this coaching staff spent a great deal of time in the transfer portal on and continues to recruit for the 2024 cycle. I also think Auburn is going to be very good in special teams this year and in their kicking game. Auburn returns Oscar Chapman whose punting averaged almost 44 yards a punt a year ago. Alex McPherson takes over as placekicker and was six of seven in limited duty down the stretch a year ago. I think this is a much improved Auburn roster from a year ago.”
Burcham said the team’s other strength is its fans. In fact, Auburn just set a record for season tickets sold this year with 63,500 season tickets sold so far. This surpasses Auburn’s previous record, which was 62,900 season tickets sold during the 2014 football season.
The Auburn Tigers will start the season playing the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) at home on Sept. 2. The team is then on the road to play the California Golden Bears at the University of California, Berkeley on Sept. 9. Here is the Tigers’ remaining football schedule:
- Samford (home), Sept. 16
- Texas A&M (away), Sept. 23
- Georgia (home), Sept. 30
- LSU (away), Oct. 14
- Ole Miss (home), Oct. 21
- Mississippi State (home), Oct. 28
- Vanderbilt (away), Nov. 4
- Arkansas (away), Nov. 11
- New Mexico State (home), Nov. 18
- Alabama (home), Nov. 25
Burcham said he predicts Auburn will have the toughest time playing against the Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs.
“Auburn’s two biggest rivals are also the best two programs in the Southeastern Conference right now,” he said. “Georgia is the two-time defending national champion and [represent] the oldest football rivalry in the Deep South. Then, of course, you have the Iron Bowl. They’re always going to be on Auburn’s schedule. It’s a very tough schedule, but everybody in the SEC West has a very tough schedule. Auburn’s not the only one.”
