Ad Disclosure
The 6-7 record spoke for itself, but Hugh Freeze’s first season at Auburn was best summed up by the fact that the Tigers lost by a wider margin against New Mexico State (21 points) than they did against Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama combined (17 points).
What exactly you choose to draw from that summary is up to you.
The incoming recruiting class is the best at Auburn since the pandemic, but Payton Thorne remains the starting quarterback and the talent level at large remains at least a year or two behind the curve.
There’s a reason DraftKings set the Tigers’ over/under win total at a modest 7.5 and why I picked them to finish 11th in the SEC.
Tigers at a Glance …
2023 Recap: 6-7 (3-5 SEC; Lost Music City Bowl)
Best Player: RB Jarquez Hunter
Best Pro Prospect: Hunter
Best Addition: DB Jerrin Thompson (Texas)
Best Name: OL Jaden Muskrat
Most Grizzled: WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (38 career starts at Penn State)
Emerging Dude: Sophomore DL Keldric Faulk
Biggest strength: Bookends Jalen McLeod and Keldric Faulk are worthy successors to a long line of disruptive Auburn edge rushers. McLeod, an undersized transfer from Appalachian State, was easily the Tigers’ best pass rusher in 2023 with 37 QB pressures and 6 sacks. But Faulk, a 6-6, 281-pound sophomore who can play inside or out, is the one who’s really going to make opposing linemen sweat. He’s due for a big leap in Year 2.
Nagging concern: Quarterback, as usual. Auburn hasn’t finished in the top half of the conference in pass efficiency since 2017 (Jarrett Stidham), and the past 2 years have been particularly grim. The incumbent, Payton Thorne, has 38 starts and more than 2,500 snaps at the FBS level — more than enough to go ahead and assume that if he hasn’t turned the corner by now, it’s not going to happen in Year 6.
Looming question: Are the freshmen ready to make an impact? If you ranked every player on the roster by his initial 247Sports composite rating as a recruit, the incoming class would account for 7 of the top 11 scores, including each of the top 4. The top 2, wide receivers Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson, have a chance to play right away at a position that has been bereft for years. (More on which below in the individual awards section.) If the team is doomed to another year of mediocrity, at least the kids can give them a glimpse of a future worth looking forward to.
The schedule: A 4-0 start is likely, but life comes at the Tigers fast after that in a hope-killing stretch against Oklahoma, Georgia and Missouri. Improving on last year’s 6-6 regular season will require at least 1 upset.
RELATED: Predicting every Auburn football game in 2024
The upshot
Brief as it was, the Bryan Harsin era set the program back years at a moment when the rest of the conference was only getting more competitive. It’s easy to see the product improving in Freeze’s second season; envisioning how the record will reflect it against a tougher schedule, not so much.
Matt Hinton, author of 'Monday Down South' and our resident QB guru, has previously written for Dr. Saturday, CBS and Grantland.
